In 2017, Jason Woosley made a blog post on Magento’s official site confirming that support for Magento 1 will be continuing for the foreseeable future and that its end of life would not be November 2018. In that post, Jason stated that Magento will give an 18-month notice to version 1 stores when a final date is decided on. Since then, multiple reports have come out suggesting that Magento 1 support will be ending in July of 2020.
The good news for all you Magento 1 users is that you can breathe easy… for now. But while this extension and 18-month notice commitment give you some extra time with version 1, it doesn’t mean you should put off upgrading to Magento 2. There are a lot of benefits to switching over to Magento 2 as it is, but first, we should address what the end of support for Magento 1 will mean to you and your store.
What does “end of life” mean for Magento 1 stores?
- Support slowdown – By today’s standards, Magento 1 is already considered aging technology. The Magento team mostly focuses on Magento 2 development and support so naturally, updates will come slower. Of course, the Magento team will not abandon their users, which is why they extended the shelf life of Magento 1 by 2 years. But it is only natural that as their focus shifts to newer technology and adapting to modern trends like omnichannel support, their ability to quickly and effectively update the older platform will decrease.
- Extension support – Extension developers are also focusing more on Magento 2 as it does not make financial or practical sense for them to support an obsolete platform. So support for your individual extensions would slow down and eventually stop as well and because Magento 1 relies so heavily on extensions and it’s community, this could put an online store in serious trouble. Without a developer supporting your extension, core features that your store relies on may start to slow down or stop working altogether.
- Compromised security – Code is constantly updated and security patches are released on a regular basis to keep your store running as fast as it can while keeping everything secure. Once support for Magento 1 ends, any security compromises from that point on will put your data and the data of your customers at risk. If a security flaw is exploited, not only can the attackers get into your store and shut it down, but your data can be completely compromised as well. Above all else, this is the main reason to stay away from obsolete software and platforms.
Why upgrade to Magento 2 sooner rather than later?
- It’s faster – Magento 2 is twice as fast as Magento 1 which we know is essential to conversion and visitor retention. Magento 2 will continue to adopt the newest versions of PHP and use better data caching methods which will help maintain good performance, even while loading multiple extensions or when under heavy loads. Magento 2 also has more native features which mean using fewer extensions to keep load times down.
- It’s easier to use – Magento 2 is much easier to use than Magento 1. The admin panel looks much better and provides a lot more features like easier, more intuitive product management and better navigation. Magento also recently acquired BlueFoot CMS which means the next major release of Magento will come pre-built with a fully fleshed out Content Management System.
- It generates better data – Magento 2 provides much better data output and advanced analytics tools than Magento 1. Understanding your products and users is essential to boosting traffic, increasing visit duration and increasing conversion. Magento 2 gives you a lot more data to play with, especially when combined with something like the Advanced Reports for Magento 2 extension we featured in August.
- It is designed to follow current trends – Machine learning, omnichannel, AR, voice-search, and other trends are all the rage these days. By going to Magento 2, you are essentially committing to growing your business with these trends in mind as the Magento team and community has put a huge emphasis on “staying with the times”. With the popularity of mobile shopping and the vast amount of devices, app marketplaces, payment methods and so on out there today, companies need to be flexible and have the ability to service shoppers in as many ways as possible from anywhere they want, using whatever payment method or device they wish.
Don’t be afraid of upgrading!
Magento 2 has seen massive improvements this year and will continue this trend for many years to come. It is the most powerful e-commerce platform in the world and if you are a Magento 1 user, it only gets better from here once you upgrade.
However, we know people are afraid to upgrade. The migration process is complicated and time-consuming. It can be a daunting task for someone unfamiliar with the process. This is why it is essential to work with an experienced managed e-commerce partner like Finestshops that has been working with Magento since it’s early days and specializes in online store upgrades and migration.
About FinestShops
Whether you need to upgrade your current online store or want to create a new one, Finestshops has you covered! Sign up for our Managed E-commerce Service and create your new online store risk-free with no commitment. If you already have an online store, request a free performance test for an in-depth analysis of its’ strengths and weaknesses.
If you are interested in upgrading or migrating to Magento 2, ask us about our Magento 2 Upgrade Package. This package is tailored towards businesses without an in-house IT department to provide a complete and feature-rich e-commerce experience. It includes the deployment of Magento 2, a modern look, a number of essential extensions, 24/7 support and top of the line cloud-based hosting.
We use state of the art Rackspace and Google Cloud data centers that serve 60% of all Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Our account managers are knowledgeable, our developers are innovative, and customer satisfaction is second to none.
