Magento 1 To Magento 2 Migration: Why It is Important & How To Do It

Of late, there has been a major shift in momentum in e-commerce businesses, who are increasingly opting for the new and improved Magento version 2.0, over the original version of the service. Major innovations have been taking place in the Magento e-commerce galaxy and Magento 1 has been becoming more and more obsolete with every passing month.

Therefore, e-commerce stores and businesses are rushing to strategize the shift to Magento 2.0, to take advantage of the latest innovations and stay competitive in the online space. For the best results, businesses should make the move as soon as possible.

By now, almost everyone is aware of why online stores need to migrate to the newer version of Magento. However, many users are still confused about the exact steps they need to take, to successfully transfer their stores to Magento v2.0. The migration process can be quite long and confusing, especially if you’re not properly prepared for the move.

Aspects of the Migration

Some fundamental aspects that you should keep in mind when planning the Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration for your business have been listed below.

The primary elements from your Magento 1 website that you will need to migrate or transfer to Magento 2 are:

• Customer and product data
• Store theme
• Necessary extensions
• Custom code

So, once you have made the decision to upgrade your store to Magento v2.0, you will need to come up with a detailed and well thought out migration plan for maximum ease and functionality. For starters, you need to decide exactly how and when certain steps will be implemented. For optimal efficiency, you should divide the project into smaller and more manageable milestones, so that the process of execution becomes simpler and less confusing.

Magento Migration Process

You only need four simple steps in order to migrate smoothly over to Magento. These steps are:

1. Theme Migration
2. Extension Migration
3. Custom Code Migration
4. Data Migration

In order to help you execute the transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2 with minimal hassle, we will go into greater detail with each of these steps and explain them to you one by one.

Step #1 – Theme Migration

To successfully upgrade your theme from Magento 1 to Magento 2, you will first need to ensure that the theme you were using on Magento 1 is compatible with Magento 2. In case the theme is compatible with the new version of Magento, you will be able to seamlessly install the same theme in your new Magento 2 online store. The process of Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration will be a lot easier and more seamless for you, if this is the case.

If your old Magento 1 theme is not compatible with Magento 2, however, you can do one of two things. You can either purchase and install a new Magento 2 theme from the Magento marketplace, or you can create a custom theme for the new Magento version. Either way, you will need to complete the process of theme migration before you can proceed to the next step.

Step #2 – Extension Migration

For this step as well, you will need to first check whether or not the pre-existing Magento 1 extensions are compatible with the newer Magento 2 version of the platform. If they are, then you can easily integrate the extensions that you already have into your Magento 2 online store. If that is not the case, however, you will have to add new extensions for the process of migration to continue.

If you are not a software developer, you might consider hiring experienced professionals for this task, as it can be quite technical and time-consuming to learn, especially for people who are not trained in programming and Magento development.

Step #3 – Custom Code Migration

You can customize your new Magento 2 online store with the help of a code migration tool. This will help you easily customize your new online store on Magento 2. It will also help minimize the hard work needed for the process of code migration. After running the code migration toolkit on your Magento 2 platform, however, you may have to manually edit some of the files generated during the process of Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration.

Step #4 – Data Migration

The last step in the process of Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration involves transferring data from the old platform to the newer version. For this task, you can use the Magento 2 Data Migration Tool, which will help you quickly and efficiently make the transfer with minimal issues and glitches.

This tool will help you transfer all the critical data that you need in order to keep the store running, including products, categories, orders, and store configurations and settings. All of this information will be transferred seamlessly to Magento 2, ensuring that your site experiences minimal to no downtime during the entire process.

Some Underlying Concepts Needed for the Migration Process

For the successful execution of a migration plan, here are some basic concepts that you will have to master.

• Plan Capacity

To effectively plan the capacity of your new e-commerce platform, you need to plan ahead and decide whether or not your business requires advanced and high-end functionalities. And even if it doesn’t require them now, you should think about whether such functionalities might be needed in the future. If that is the case, you should hire the services of experienced and qualified developers to facilitate the migration process and set up the kind of capacity and functionalities you will need.

• Build and Test

There are two different components needed to properly execute this step. First, of course, you will need to install the Magento v2.0 in your servers. Then, you will have to set up the store while ensuring that the topology and design remain similar to that of the Magento v1.0, in order to facilitate a seamless transition and avoid confusing your customers.

• Go Live

Now, all that’s left for you to do is to go live with your brand new Magento v2.0 store. You should keep in mind, though, that the site might experience a few minutes of downtime during the migration process. This downtime is primarily needed for re-indexing and DNS modifications which have to be completed before the site can go live.

In Conclusion

The process of Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration can be complicated and time-consuming. To ensure perfect and timely execution, you can consider B3NET Inc. software professionals who are experienced in the domain of Magento development. This can be especially helpful if you are not a programmer yourself, in which case it would be best to leave the intricacies of the migration process in the hands of someone who has experience performing such tasks.

Do you want to migrate Magento 1 to Magento 2 for your website?

Let us know

CALL US at (714) 936-0208

or