Magento has been the preferred platform of choice for many for developing e-commerce platforms. Also, there are several brands, many of them quite big who use Magento to drive their business. Even we too!

The players who are in the e-commerce area are not looking at developing just another website, but an online store that has the capability to handle multiple customer requests while displaying their entire product range. This is where Magento or the Magento 2 Upgrade comes in with its unique advantages which can be narrowed down as:

• Magento is open-source free software.
• Magento is a versatile content management tool.
• Magento has features that make it better suited for SEO practices.
• Magento is powerful — can support multiple products and transactions.
• Magento has different tools to support an e-commerce enterprise.
• Magento is scalable, new features can be easily added.
• Magento is very secure.
• Magento is mobile friendly.

If you are a fan of Magento, you are aware that magento 2.0 upgrade, the latest version of Magento has been released some time back. Yet, it also must be within your knowledge that there are many applications that are still stuck with Magento 1.9. So, it is a justifiable point to think about — is migration from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2.0 necessary, if at all necessary how to go forward for magento upgrade.

What is Magento 2 Upgrade

Magento 2.0 is a much-improved version of Magento 1.9 with completely new features that shall be helping online marketers drive their business better.

Magento 2 Upgrade: Differences between Magento 1.9 and Magento 2.0

If you decide on Magento 2 Upgrade i.e. migration from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2 Upgrade, it is better you first know the basic differences between the two versions.

Architecture:

• magento 2 upgrade supports the latest versions of PHP.
• New technologies like Apache, Composer, Symfony added.
• Because of the bundling feature minimized JavaScript helps organize assets and serve fewer files to clients resulting in faster websites.

Speed:

• magento 2.0 upgrade offers much faster page load speed as compared to Magento 1.9

Extensions:

• Magento 2.0 plugins provided the feature of allowing code to overlap core code, instead of overriding it. This saves a lot of time and effort. Also, installing and updating new extensions has become easier and cheaper.

Dashboard:

• The admin panel in Magento 2.0 is user friendly and comprehensive. It shows lifetime sales, average orders, last orders, top search terms, shipping, quantity, etc.

SEO:

• Magento 2.0 has been developed keeping in mind the need to rank your product better in search engine results.

You can have a look at this blog post where you can know why the magento upgrade is poised to grow in the future.

Well, now you do have a fair idea of what Magento 2.0 is all about. Still, you are yet to make up your mind for magento upgrade, I mean the migration from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2.0 is at all necessary.

Let us have a look at the possible reasons as to why we need Magento 2 upgrade asap: 

• There might be support services for Magento 1 presently but there might be limitations for innovation in Magento 1. Also, the date when official support for Magento 1 ends is in June 2020. So, in this scenario migration from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2.0 shall be beneficial for your application as you shall receive better support services.

• The technology used in Magento 2 is much advanced as compared to Magento 1. So, along with magento 2 upgrade, you shall be having a platform that provides better speed, performance, and a much higher scale of security.

• Magento 2 is a much more comprehensive system as compared to Magento 1. This shall be leading to better performance of your site which translates into better performance for your business.

• It is just a matter of time before everyone runs for the magento upgrade.

Do refer to this link where the migration process from Magento 1 to Magento 2. has been explained in detail.

So, you see migration from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2.0 makes better sense for your online business if you want to take the fullest advantages of the features of this tool. Reasonably so, if your enterprise is built around the Magento ecosystem, there is hardly any reason for you to shift platforms, more so as Magento is free. Also, since you shall be invested in Magento, why should you utilize the advanced features of Magento 2.0 and be stuck with Magento 1. In all sense, the magento upgrade makes the best possible business decision for your online enterprise.

Is it time to press the Panic button:

There is good news on this front. You can carry on with your application which is housed in the magento 1.9 environment for the present. The support for Magento 1 will be officially ending in June 2020. So, you do have time but it is always advisable not to keep things pending for the last moment. So, go for the magento upgrade asap!

Stages of the Magento 2 Upgrade:

There are four stages of migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2 which make the entire migration process complete.

• Theme migration:

Either create a custom theme for magento 2 upgrade or purchase and install a Magento 2 theme from Magento Marketplace.

• Extension migration:

Since extensions extend the functionalities of your store, you shall have to install the necessary Magento 2 extensions of your choice.

• Customization:

In general, the custom code used by Magento 1 is compatible with Magento 2. As there is a structural difference in the two platforms migration might involve additional work which ensures that custom code shall work properly with your Magento 2 store.

• Data Migration:

In general, the custom code used by Magento 1 is compatible with Magento 2. As there is a structural difference in the two platforms migration might involve additional work which ensures that custom code shall work properly with your Magento 2 store.

You can use the Magento 2 Data Migration tool which ensures easy as well as fast the magento upgrade.

I am in agreement with you that migration from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2.0 is not going to be a piece of cake but is going to be beneficial in the long run. Our organization has been quite proficient in providing Magento based services for clients. So, if you do have any requirements in this area, I mean the magento upgrade, we shall be more than happy to provide you our services so that your requirement is well taken care of.

Well, as you have seen that the magento upgrade makes better business sense which shall ultimately prove to be worth its cause.

Before I log off, do let me know if you have any feedback on this magento upgrade piece or if you would like that a particular area to be taken up for discussion in the future. Do let me know so that our conversation remains interesting.