Introduction
Magento end of life has forced ecommerce companies to set sights on migration to Magento 2 and start taking Magento migration steps. Time is short, so you should study this Magento migration guide and act now to ensure seamless, uninterrupted operation of your business and lay a foundation for its further growth.
Many Magento store owners think of Magento migration as an inevitable measure and believe it is just a conventional process of transferring Magento data from one installation to another. Besides, for some reason, none of them see the ultimate opportunity to freshen up their business. Nevertheless, migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 allows implementing a new, robust, highly efficient Magento installation taking into account previous mistakes and wrong choices to increase business performance and profitability.
In this Magento migration guide, we will guide you through all the Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration steps, covering the aspects and specifics we've learned from our hands-on experience of working with one of the leading ecommerce platforms in the world. Keep on reading this guide to discover how to make your Magento migration a success.
Audit
Initial analysis is the very first step a service provider should take prior to commencing any kind of Magento migration activities, be it elaboration or a ballpark estimate.
Of course, the option to skip any research and start the project quickly might be alluring for some Magento store owners. However, profound ground work is required in order to ensure the final solution proposed by a vendor is able to operate properly and effectively support the business as it evolves.
Common mistake
Aiming to optimize Magento migration costs, some customers turn to unreliable Magento vendors that offer attractive prices for their services. Unfortunately, in most cases, lower costs are driven by poor development practices and lack of experience: the ballpark is frequently given based on your current Magento database volume, which is wrong on too many levels to begin with.
In view of this, Staylime conducts an all-round audit of the current infrastructure and workflows on all Magento migration projects that we tackle. The major goal of this phase is to get as much information on the current Magento 1 installation and customer's expectations of the latest version of Magento 2 as possible.
We request the client to provide access to the Magento admin panel and SSH access to the server and thoroughly analyze the configuration of an existing Magento-based store. Here, particular attention is paid to the following aspects:
A clear understanding of the data structure and store functionality is vital for our team to prepare an accurate proposal for the customer. Client briefing is an essential part of the audit process helping us to achieve that.
As a first step, we send out a questionnaire to the customer, asking them to fill in the following information:
Extensions list
- 1.Magento 1 extension name
- 2.Why is it essential for your store?
- 3.Do you need to migrate its data?
- 4.Preferred Magento 2 alternative (if any)
Custom features list
- 1.Custom feature/integration name
- 2.How does it work?
- 3.Do you need to migrate its data to Magento 2?
With the data on the current configuration of Magento 1 and our own expert knowledge at hand, we work closely with the customer's team during the briefing sessions held via email, Skype calls and videoconferencing. We ask relevant questions and make data-driven assumptions in order to get the full picture of the current state of things with the Magento 1 store. This allows us to come up with suitable, optimized solutions that address client's business-specific requirements in the most effective way rather than to rely on generic or overcomplicated options that might not work properly after all.
Specifics of the current Magento 1 design theme are another aspect to consider within the audit framework. We learn the client's vision and plans in terms of design, discussing such options as:
Third-party Magento theme installation, where we can customize a template available on the market, should there be such a need.
Magento 2 theme slicing based on ready-made Magento 1 design layouts. This option allows to take advantage of the design, developed specifically for the first Magento version, saving costs on new design development. However, slicing and integration activities are still to be conducted in this case.
Custom Magento theme development, where our team delivers the design, slicing, and integration of a unique Magento theme from scratch.
All of the above helps us develop a precise Magento migration plan, provide a ballpark, estimate the timeline and efforts, as well as to lay down the precise Magento migration steps that should be taken in order to keep the business going. As a result, we compile a detailed proposal for the customer, covering the following aspects:
The given approach allows us to seamlessly replicate and enhance the business-critical functionality of the current Magento 1 store, whilst ensuring high performance and operability of the Magento 2 one.
Common mistake
Sometimes, business owners decide to split the responsibilities between a number of Magento vendors, entrusting particular process phases (i.g. migration, design, backend development) to different teams rather than to a full-cycle service provider. Even though it may save costs in the short run, such an approach usually results in complete incapability of the customer to merge all the parts into a single and concise Magento installation that works. This inevitably delays the project launch, leading to unforeseen consequences and, hence, expenses.
Communication framework during Magento migration
At Staylime, we pay particular attention to maintaining proactive and transparent communication with our customers to always stay on the same page and successfully guide them through all the Magento migration steps.
The key points of contact on a Magento migration project usually include:
Client Relations Manager
- •Database migration.
- •Prepares and presents proposals to customers.
- •Manages contracts and payments.
- •Continually researches new areas for customer's business improvement.
- •Manages customer's expectations and ensures their business needs are met in the most optimal way.
Project Manager
- •Coordinates the development team.
- •Manages project timelines and deliverables.
- •Provides regular status updates.
- •Handles technical communications.
Technical Specialists
- •Handle technical implementation.
- •Provide expert consultation.
- •Resolve technical issues.
- •Ensure code quality and best practices.
The customer is actively involved into the process during the audit phase. As a rule, the typical collaboration scheme includes the following steps:
RFQ/RFI submission.
Initial inquiry processing. Submission of a questionnaire. Request of access to necessary Magento areas for the initial audit.
Provision of access to our team. Submission of additional information (as requested in the questionnaire).
Information analysis and elaboration. Proposal creation.
Proposal review and discussion with Staylime. Project kick-off planning.
Project Manager is assigned to communicate the proposed project framework to the client (communication process, initial activities, deliverables).
With this framework, we get an in-depth understanding of customer requirements regarding project implementation, starting from Magento theme, functionality, integrations and other technical aspects to time and budget considerations. As a result, we prepare an accurate, all-round proposal that is tailored specifically to the customer's unique objectives and needs and commence the Magento migration project strictly in line with their expectations.
Magento migration plan
Following the client briefing and audit, we develop a detailed Magento migration plan for your particular scenario to ensure predictable, successful migration to Magento 2.
Migration is based on official Magento guidelines and typically involves the following steps:
The given approach has been proved to be highly effective for thousands of Magento-based businesses. Well-thought-out and standardized, it allows to minimize any potential risks, optimize the budget, accelerate product launch, and, ultimately, make the overall process transparent and clear for the customer. However, every ecommerce business is unique, so the Magento migration plan should take into account all specifics and nuances.
Infrastructure considerations
Infrastructure is the cornerstone enabling fast and smooth operation of an online business. If such aspects as performance, functionality, scalability, and security are not taken into account during migration, companies may end up with a newly built Magento 2 store that just doesn't work.
In view of this, when developing your Magento migration plan, our team pays particular attention to framing proper infrastructure configuration for the Magento 2 store. We thoroughly study both current processes and requirements of the customer, as well as their business growth expectations and predictions — all that to select the optimal Magento configuration that would be scalable and efficient to support their needs in the long run. This allows ensuring the store will provide the required functionality and operate just as it's supposed to, and also helps the customer to calculate the total cost of ownership and plan the budget accordingly.
Primary database migration
Primary database migration covers the transfer of the following critical aspects of a Magento-based store to Magento 2:
Settings
Stores, websites, and system configuration like shipping, payment, and tax settings are migrated during this step.
Data
The following types of data are transferred next:
- Catalog;
- Orders;
- CMS content;
- Transactional emails;
- Media files;
- Admin user accounts and ACLs (optional).
Delta migration
The incremental migration tool installs deltalog tables (with a 'm2_cl_*' prefix) and triggers into the Magento 1 database during the data migration process to start tracking further changes to Magento 1 store. The deltalog tables and triggers are essential to ensure that only the changes made in Magento 1 after the most recent data migration are transferred.
These typically include:
The data added by customers via Magento's storefront (placed orders, reviews, customer data changes, etc.).
All order-related operations in the Magento admin panel.
Errors
Incompetent vendors might ignore installing triggers for incremental migration to Magento 1 database. However, triggers are highly important as they allow to track changes during the Magento migration process and ensure that only the changes made in Magento 1, since the last time the data was migrated, are transferred to Magento 2. These include records on orders, products in stock, customer reviews and many others. Thus, in case new data appears before the Magento migration is done, it can be easily identified and added to Magento 2 with the help of the corresponding triggers.
Our team can also migrate delta to the new Magento 2 installation in real-time, when any changes appearing on Magento 1 are immediately moved to Magento 2 automatically.
It is important to note, that all new or updated entities entered through the Magento's admin panel, like products and categories, are not included in delta migration and will not be migrated to Magento 2.
Note
It is vital to differentiate primary data migration and migrating data of the extensions. Orders, clients, and other standard Magento data are transferred during the primary database migration phase, while extensions are installed anew on the Magento 2 instance at later development stages and only then their data is moved.
A running Magento website already has loads of data accumulated as the ecommerce business evolved. This data is the only aspect connecting a legacy Magento 1 version with Magento 2. The best practice is to check the correctness of the data on an empty Magento 2 installation. This allows to verify that all the business-critical data was migrated accurately, and detect errors, if any, prior to commencing design and development.
Common mistakes
We came across a number of cases, when customers first deployed an empty Magento 2 store, installed required extensions and theme on their own, and then turned to a vendor to carry out Magento data migration. However, such an approach contradicts industry's best practices and common sense. The official Magento Migration Tool allows transferring data from Magento 1 only to a clean unaltered Magento 2 installation, while ignoring this practice leads to a whole range of data issues that are hard to tackle. Being an experienced Magento development partner, Staylime can address even the most complicated errors caused by improper practices to allow our customers to focus on business-critical tasks and objectives rather than technical issues.
To carry that out, we first make a copy of the existing Magento 1 database and attempt to migrate it to Magento 2. At this point, all the errors are being thoroughly documented, and we try to resolve them as they arise. Once it's done, the customer has the opportunity to double-check every record on our staging environment. Such an approach allows us to eliminate any risks of data being lost or damaged throughout the Magento migration process.
Upon customer's approval that everything is correct, we proceed to actual migration and set the necessary triggers in the Magento 1 database. The process is performed in the live environment, and the Magento website is switched to the 'maintenance mode' to secure all the data being transferred. We adapt to the customer's timezone and select the slot with the minimal user activity. Before starting Magento migration, we copy the current database to be recovered further to additionally guarantee business continuity and data security. As a rule, it takes 2–4 hours to migrate the Magento database, however, in most cases, we manage to perform everything within an hour.
Common mistakes
Upon primary Magento database migration, when the new Magento 2 instance was ready and the design and development activities were commenced, a customer decided to make changes to their Magento 1 installation. Having completed all the work on Magento 2, they faced a major issue: the data couldn't be synchronized between the two because of these amendments. Hence, it is important to keep in mind that as soon as the Magento migration process is launched, any major changes to Magento 1 are not allowed.
When the data is successfully transferred, we proceed to the development of the required functionality on Magento 2.
Note
It is a much easier option to install your database locally, carry out test Magento migration and then implement it in the production environment. However, in this case, all Magento data is removed from your server, and so the vendor becomes a data controller according to the GDPR. To meet the strict GDPR compliance requirements, Staylime signs an NDA and a Data Protection Agreement and performs the necessary procedures on customer's premises, ensuring all the Magento data remains on your server.
Magento functionality implementation
Extensions
It may sound surprising, but implementation of Magento extensions is the very first aspect to consider when developing Magento's backend. Functionality is a business-critical area for any ecommerce store, and defining core features and capabilities comes prior to any design-related activities. This vital step allows us to set up a framework of relevant extensions and define what data flows it should process, which helps to make informed UX/UI decisions further on and deliver a user-friendly design.
Common mistake
Many clients are looking to install all the extensions they have in Magento 1 into the new Magento version, trying to preserve the existing Magento store as is without taking into account current needs and requirements. The truth is that the large number of extensions only slows the website down and may cost a fortune in terms of further maintenance and support. Being industry experts, we at Staylime know at first hand that regularly audited Magento stores may save the cost of the extensions and features of least utility.
As a rule, the typical process of Magento extension migration involves the following major steps:
First, we compile a list of necessary extensions to be implemented in Magento 2, conducting a thorough review of existing ones, picking the ones that will be migrated as is or suggesting better Magento 2 alternatives. Some of the existing extensions may no longer be relevant, some of them may fail to address new requirements in the most effective way.
Developing a custom Magento extension is always an option. In some cases, it is way easier and more cost-effective to build a piece of critical functionality from scratch rather than to mix and match a bunch of third-party Magento extensions trying to bring in the desired feature.
As soon as the selected Magento extensions are installed and data is migrated to the new Magento version, it is important to make sure that they interoperate seamlessly and there are no compatibility issues involved. We test this out carefully to eliminate any potential risks of the system not functioning properly.
And another aspect to take into account is that the same extension from two independent vendors can be completely different in terms of functionality. We help our customers to select the one that would fit their objectives and plan the installation accordingly.
All in all, performing an in-depth Magento extension screening prior to developing any custom code provides for a whole range of benefits, as it allows businesses to:
- Ensure the best user experience;
- Optimize store performance;
- Eliminate security risks;
- Reduce development costs.
Custom functionality
As soon as the list of Magento 2 extensions is finalized, we get a clear understanding of what functional parts cannot be covered by ready-made extensions and should be built separately. We analyze the required efforts and plan the technical solution to avoid any compatibility issues. Such an approach allows us to optimize resources, ensuring a clear and predictable delivery timeline.
Despite the opposite fact, custom Magento functionality was delivered, and the result far surpasses that of a standard extension in terms of quality and value delivered, providing for much better store performance and long-term flexibility.
Third-party system integration
Taking care of business-critical integrations with external systems and services is the final step of the Magento migration phase. Integrations may intertwine with both extensions and custom code, tapping to the data in the application, so it is important to ensure that third-party systems, if any, are compatible with the existing functionality.
To this end, we analyze current business processes and needs of the customer, and define what integrations (product delivery, payment, etc.) are required. Based on that, we make a decision to integrate the store with out-of-the-box solutions, leverage existing Magento extensions, or implement custom Magento functionality ourselves.
Design
Theming: custom or ready-made?
Magento theme is not subject to migration. In general, it is a common misconception that design can be literally "simply transferred" to Magento. The ongoing pointing aside, those from initial Magento architecture, extensions, etc. selling out to any developers to use, and for other developers have started an anomaly based on the new Magento template.
Ready-made themes
As soon as the list of extensions is finalized, we get a clear understanding of what functional parts cannot be covered by ready-made Magento extension and should be built separately. We analyze the required efforts and plan the technical solution to avoid any compatibility issues. Such an approach allows us to optimize resources, ensuring a clear and predictable delivery timeline.
A ready-made Magento theme is not your best choice:
UX/UX aspects
Being generic, Magento templates cannot reflect unique business identity and usually fail to meet individual needs and requirements of a client. The website running on such a plain theme will neither ensure a seamless and engaging user experience, nor will it stand out from the crowd.
Code quality considerations
Ultimo and Porto, popular Magento 2 themes, get thousands of daily downloads. However, the functionality of the two remains the same from version to version. The themes do not evolve in the sense that they get no optimization whatsoever and businesses get an abundance of features they never use. Underlined by a heavy and slow code, ready-made themes also feature accumulated bugs — all that results in a negative impact on the overall store performance and SEO. And now and now years drifting to mobile, adaptive Magento templates are no longer able to match contemporary requirements and user expectations.
Support
Out-of-the-box Magento themes may be incompatible with existing functionality, whereas a proper support service from vendors to help you address potential issues is usually lacking. This means that when installing a template, businesses face the never-growing technical debt and corresponding increase of support costs. The more sophisticated functionality you have, the higher the costs of supporting the theme goes above acceptable rates. As a result, a ready-made theme requires much more investment than a custom one in a longer run, making businesses pay twice for the issues an out-of-the-box solution just cannot solve.
New Magento theme based on custom design
Developing a new Magento theme from scratch gives an ultimate opportunity to bring your most creative and unconventional ideas to life and achieve your performance goals through an exclusive, well-thought-out design delivered by a team of UX/UI experts.
Here are some of the advantages a custom-built design theme provides:
Custom-designed Magento theme is available one of a kind for your business and serves the designing style, establishing a unique and recognizable brand identity and association that perfectly suits your target audience.
Custom Magento theme development enables your online store audience acquisition capabilities positioning, design approach, features, and functionality that directly reflect your strategy and goals. All these are essential for increasing the major goal.
Clean code of custom Magento theme facilitates smooth maintenance and enhancement of the functionality, enables quick identification and resolution of bugs, guarantees high stability and performance and streamlined SEO work setting.
Custom Magento theme requires require regular maintenance and upgrade with no further compatibility issues involved, which ensures high predictability of costs.
Made from the ground up means that functionality, integration and easily accessible from any Magento version in the long run.
The theme can be designed to fully support any device and screen resolution.
Errors
Custom Magento theme development provides a field for malpractices. Unfortunately, shady consulting agencies position every to build Magento themes off an assembly line and still charge for the completely unrelated service. Opting for such business practices to be overly relying on third-party designers of your store with you. Front, however, as discussed, that there were not fault flaw, wealth, and the rise fast will always perform.
Of course, every bean has its block, and a custom Magento theme has a number of disadvantages as well, including higher initial costs and a necessity to find a skilled team for its implementation. But, as mentioned above, the benefits of the approach can hardly be overestimated in the long run.
Third-party ready-made Magento theme
A ready-made Magento theme provided by a third-party vendor is an option of choice for businesses looking to launch a website as fast as possible on a tight budget. Here are the pros and cons of this solution:
- ✓The total cost of the Magento store will be relatively low as a web company design and subsequent integrating expenses will not incur.
- ✓A set time for the adherence to efficiency regarding of design themes.
- ✓Lower overall upkeep costs.
- ✓Many new updates in 2022, showcasing web party of coding, and correspondingly, for common business Magento.
- ✓Requires subject to technical expertise in cover applications, such as user behavior.
- ✓Increased TCO that quickly affects when a Magento is changing growing business requirements.
- ✓Limits the potential profitability of your store.
- ✗A non-affordable option correspondingly for large companies.
- ✗Longer customization process.
- ✗Scalability issues.
- ✗Compatible issues with extensions.
- ✗Lack of proper support.
- ✗Unable to stand out from the crowd as many Magento stores use the same themes.
Thus, developing a custom Magento theme is the most efficient and reasonable approach, as businesses implement the design that is perfectly tailored to the functionality already in place. In this case, the design is seamlessly integrated into a working solution, providing a robust leverage for your store to capitalize.
Magento theme conceptualization & development
Design has a paramount impact on the overall business performance, as it directly affects user experience and conversion rates. However, in most cases the majority of customers focus on migrating the data and content, leaving the design matters off the table.
Common mistake
Business owners might underestimate proper budget and scope estimates for the design scope of work, believing the task to be easy and sufficient to subcontract to third vendors. However, this could far worse. A local tax payment on the full Magento store is never estimated the design. For some the vendor completes the work, then the budget can be so full, it is used for the guidelines, and takes one of the resources of, at paper work and the.
As mentioned above, the design phase should take place right before frontend development, when the backend and integrations are already implemented. With that in place, designers can build a robust, professional solution making the existing functionality highly user-friendly and appealing.
Here's how Staylime makes that happen:
Clarifying customers' requirements
Prior to starting actual Magento theme development, we focus on clarifying customer's requirements and needs in order to deliver a solution that is fully in line with their expectations.
Working with data
We prepare a brief for the client and conduct a number of calls and/or onsite meetings to understand their business, goals, competitors, and target audience. We work diligently, consulting requirements, finding the solutions that would help to address mission-critical objectives. With a full picture of the customer's domain and business specifics at hand, we get an idea about what the styles and the UI should look like to help the company stand thunder.
Creating a custom design concept
Based on the results of the briefing stage, we proceed to concept-alization. Our Creative Director, Analyst, UX/UI Designers, and SEO Specialist are actively involved in the process to create a custom design concept. As soon as the concept is finalized from our side, we present it to the client. However, not only do we showcase the layout in Figma, but also present motion design to demonstrate how the UI elements will behave when animated. It gives a completely different perspective and immerses into a live design, allowing the business owner to see how the interface will interact with the end user. When the concept is finalized and approved by the client, we create design layouts of the main store pages, including: Homepage, Category/listing page, Product page, Cart page, Checkout page, and others.
Creating a dynamic prototype and a UI kit
When the layouts are ready, we proceed to the development of a dynamic prototype and a UI. Using Figma, our team builds clickable prototype providing a complete store system for usability and user experience testing. The UI kit includes all possible interface elements and their various states: menus, lists, buttons, plus, form, states, plus icons, etc. The documents that build a UI kit helps to make the design complete and consistent by defining interactions between the user and the interface. That UI kit enables frontend developers to do any UI element of the website and use it when working on the next design, thus making the design independent and unified.
SEO
SEO aspects, including the SEO structure, are taken into account and implemented during the design phase too. As a result, we produce a well-thought out Magento store, taking into account both UX and SEO to enhance both rankings and user engagement and conversion.
Magento frontend development
Staylime builds installable adaptive themes, strictly adhering to the official Magento guidelines:
- ✓Frontend developer guide
- ✓Css preprocessor guide
- ✓JavaScript developer guide
The custom Magento theme can either be based on Magento 2 Blank theme or delivered using Magento PWA studio. The latter provides greater flexibility, as it eliminates dependency on any pre-built layouts and makes it possible to create one-of-a-kind design with no limitations. In this case, the frontend is connected to the backend via an API. And given the fact that the frontend is not directly bonded with Magento, it provides an opportunity to achieve the highest level of performance.
Today's solution
Migration of 4 stores of UK's largest recycling products seller to Magento 2.
Read the success story
A custom-built Magento theme may be easily reused for multiple store views. For one of our customers, JayDee Living, we migrated a set of websites to Magento 2. When working on the custom design for the stores, we have implemented a single, unique template that was then customized for all of the necessary stores. This allowed us to provide a signature look and feel to all the websites under the JayDee Living's umbrella, yet significantly optimize the overall development costs, saving on the development of several themes from scratch.
Final steps
As the final step, we double-check the new data aggregated in the Magento 1 database and transfer it accordingly to Magento 2.
With the tried-and-true approach outlined in this Magento migration guide, Staylime successfully helps ecommerce companies to carry out a fast and flush-free migration to Magento 2. All the way, we will take care of any technical aspect of the process, so that you can solely focus on providing value to your customers.
Jan Sanders, Chief Business Development Officer @ Staylime
Feel free to book my time and I'll call you back to help your Magento migration become a top-notcher.