Top 10 Benefits of Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2

We are less than 6 months away from 2025! If you are still contemplating migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2, it is quite likely your competitors have raced ahead. Your store may be near total collapse if it hasn’t closed doors already. After all, Magento 1 reached its end of life in June 2020, whereas Magento 2 was released in November 2015.

Running your store on a platform that doesn’t offer any new features and utilises legacy technology will not help you acquire or retain customers. Nevertheless, it is still never too late to make the switch from Magento 1 to Magento 2. Instead of guiding you through the migration process, this article will detail the top 10 benefits of making this switch.

Once you have made up your mind, you can hire our services for Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration.

Why Migrate to Magento 2?

Magento 1 was a top eCommerce platform and there’s no doubt about it. However, eCommerce is an evolving field. Trends and consumer preferences change over time. This is why store owners need to utilise the latest technologies and features to streamline the overall shopping experience. Here’s why Magento 1 is no longer a practical choice:

1. Outdated Technology

First and foremost, Magento 1 uses outdated technology. This poses serious performance and security issues. After all, there’s a reason developers keep introducing new versions.

2. Performance Issues

Over the years, internet speeds have improved worldwide. Previously, it was said that if a website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, most users will move to a new website. The most recent statistics indicate that 2 seconds is the new normal. Given that Magento 1 utilises old technology, your store’s loading time will be quite low. It can frustrate visitors and lead to lost sales.

3. Non-Mobile Responsive

When Magento 1 was introduced, the concept of mobile responsiveness was not as important as today. Therefore, if your store is still using Magento1, it lacks mobile optimisation. Since the majority of internet traffic now comes from mobile devices, you have already lost more than 50% of potential users to competitors.

4. Complex Customisation

You won’t find any extensions for Magento 1 as developers have long shifted their responsibility towards Magento 2. Therefore, undertaking customisation in Magento 1 is near impossible and not worth the investment.

5. Security Vulnerabilities

Outdated architecture makes Magento 1 vulnerable to cyber threats.

6. No Official Support

As mentioned earlier, Magento 1 has reached its end of life. In other words, it will no longer receive any updates or security patches. This puts your store’s security and overall performance at a risk.

7. Extension Compatibility

Compatibility issues may arise with third-party extensions. On top of it, most developers have ended support for their Magento 1 extensions. Thus, if you buy an extension and run into an issue, forget about support.

8. Limited Marketing

Since its introduction, Magento 1 offered very few built-in marketing features. Admins had to add new features through custom code or using a third-party extension. Given how marketing strategies have evolved over time, Magento 1 is no longer fit for contemporary marketing.

9. Scalability Constraints

Magento 1 may struggle to handle business growth.

10. Outdated Checkout Process

The global digital cart abandonment rate stands at more than 70% as evident below.

Magento 1’s checkout process cannot keep up with modern requirements. It is quite slow and unable to offer features like guest checkout, 1-step checkout, and more.

Why Choose Magento 2? Top 10 Benefits

1. Modern Technology Stack

One of the most obvious advantages which Magento 2 has over 1 is that it uses the latest technology stack. The latest version of Magento 2 uses PHP 8, a significant leap forward from Magento 1's PHP 5. While it may seem meaningless to non-technical people, but let’s assure you that this small change alone improves overall store performance by leaps and bounds.

2. Robust SEO

After setting up your store, the next step is to optimise it. After all, how else do you plan to get organic traffic. Magento 2 offers advanced SEO features, including canonical tags, SEO-friendly URLS, and more. These features improve online visibility, leading to an increase in organic traffic. This is a great way to boost your Magento 2 store sales. More advanced SEO features can be added using extensions such as SEO Ultimate Pack by FME.

3. Practical Admin Interface

Whether it’s a small store or large, managing it can be a challenge. Magento 2 offers a much more refined admin panel. It makes it easier to manage the entire store, including adding products, updating descriptions, taking a backup, and more. You can customise the interface to your specific needs for added effectiveness.

4. Mobile Optimisation

As the below statistic indicates, mobile devices account for more than 50% of the internet traffic worldwide.

Magento 2 in inherently mobile-friendly. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it follows a mobile-first approach, ensuring a seamless experience on smartphones and tablets. This can boost the quantity of traffic to your store and increase overall conversions.

5. Scalability

The reason merchants prefer Magento 2 is because of its scalability. As your business grows, Magento 2 grows with you. Its advanced features can easily handle an increase in traffic and countless number of products. You can even manage multiple stores and store views using Magento 2.

6. Premium-quality Extensions

Extensions help you to add features that aren’t built into the platform. If you search for Magento 2 extensions , you’ll come across thousands of options. These add-ons can enhance your store's functionality and provide unique features tailored to your business needs. Since Magento 2 is still active, you don’t have to worry about developer support in case you face any issue with the extension.

7. Enhanced Checkout Process

As said earlier, Magento 1 is no longer suitable for the modern-day checkout requirements. In contrast, Magento 2 offers various features that streamline the checkout process, thereby reducing the cart abandonment rate and improving customer satisfaction. These features include lightning-fast guest checkout options, customisable checkout form, and more.

8. Payment Gateways

Magento 2 offers three payment gateways by default:

• PayPal
• Braintree
• Authorize.net.

It means you don’t have to waste time on finding a reliable Magento 2 payment gateway. On top of it, integrating other gateways is a hassle-free experience. Even if you don’t have any technical knowledge, you can easily do it yourself.

9. Enhanced Performance

Magento 2 offers various features that enhance overall performance. For instance, the built-in SEO tools increase organic traffic. The modern technology stack improves security, website loading times, and mobile responsiveness. Additionally, Magento 2 supports asynchronous and parallel processing. The tasks can be performed in the background, thereby having no impact on the user experience. It also has a built-in full page caching feature which greatly improves loading times for returning users.

10. Budget-friendly

While the initial cost of setting up a store in Magento 2 is quite high, the investment is worth it in the long term. You get access to the latest technology stack and benefit from the latest features. Also, Magento 2 keeps offering security patches to protect your store and users against online threats.

Magento 1 vs Magento 2 – Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the decision to migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2 isn't merely an upgrade; it's a leap into a brighter e-commerce future. We've explored the intricacies of both platforms, and it's evident that Magento 2 holds countless advantages over its predecessor. Therefore, migrate Magento 1 to Magento 1 right now! Contact us in case you require any help.