If you run an online printing company or sell product decoration services, you will be aware that Magento, a leading PHP eCommerce platform, is set to put an end to official support and new security updates for Magento 1.X from June 2020.
That means online businesses running on Magento 1.X will become prone to performance-related glitches and vulnerabilities post that period. Hence, migrating to Magento 2.0 has become essential for uninterrupted business.
There are many upsides of Magento 2.X migration; some of which include:
1. The page load speed gets increased by 50%.
2. The checkout process is faster by 38%.
3. The platform scalability rate of the web-to-print software gets increased by three times.
4. The Magento 2 admin panel is all-inclusive and easy-to-use. The user can track all orders and revenues, review lifetime sales and delivery statuses, calculate taxes, and more from the backend.
5. Installing and updating new extensions on the platform is extremely simple, thanks to technologies such as CSS3, HTML5, Require.JS, and others.
6. Magento 2.X features rich snippets on catalog pages that help improve SERP standing.
7. It has far more advanced customization and security features.
A Magento 2 migration guide for product decorators and printers
Migration to Magento 2.X has enabled product decorators and printers like yourself to increase the number of online shoppers by 200%! If you want to switch at the earliest, here are seven best practices to migrate to the latest version.
1. Enhanced front-end architecture
Magento 2 offers plentiful in-built features to online businesses. Here are three major ones:
a. Responsiveness
Magento 2 makes your online printing Magento storefront development responsive enough to fit in any screen size – be it desktop, mobile, or tablet.
b. Advanced admin interface
The admins can personalize the backend as per their convenience and keep that information handy, which is more important to them. The latest version also has improved product import capabilities.
c. Checkout process
The buying journey for your customers is much faster (by 38%) and smoother. The aim is to reduce the number of abandoned carts – a significant problem in eCommerce.
2. Improved technology stacks
Magento 2 offers updated versions of the tech stacks to the Magento 2.X-certified developers for delivering quality work promptly. That allows online printers to enjoy flexibility and customization – which was not the case in Magento 1.X at all.
3. A systematic base for codes and modules
Unlike Magento 1.X, the latest version doesn’t manage non-optimized codes because of their lack of contribution to the improvement of the user experience. Such codes also don’t optimize the storefront’s speed. Therefore, Magento 2.X works best with optimized codes for increased efficiency.
4. Progressive module development
The open-source eCommerce platform enables Magento 2.X-certified developers to use the default code and override it as per their requirements for developing modules. This specific functionality has initiated a rapid adoption of the latest version.
The sophisticated module development saves a lot of time and energy for those online businesses who want to get started quickly. Additionally, images can be compressed directly on the server-side using the built-in tools on Magento 2.
5. Smooth extension integration
As your customer count increases, your online printing company will need add-ons to manage them. That’s why your storefront should be able to integrate with advanced APIs and off-the-shelf extensions to improve your efficiency.
But extensions, if not updated periodically, often result in multiple crashes on the online store. Magento 2.X makes third-party integrations hassle-free which means zero technical glitches.
6. Better testing capabilities
Enable your Magento 2.X-certified developers to test the code before making it final during the migration process. That will help them in figuring out if any part of your online printing store needs to be fixed and it’s working how it’s supposed to. The testing framework of Magento 2.X includes performance tests, static tests, integration tests, unit tests, and more.
7. Easy varnish caching
In Magento 2, varnish cache acts as a web accelerator, speeds up your online printing store and optimizes its performance. Additionally, it leverages browser caching to ensure that all storefront assets are correctly stored.
What Magento 2.X migration involves
1. Data migration
That includes moving various types of data such as customer details, store configurations, product information, sales and CRM data, and basic SEO set up, such as meta titles, descriptions, and redirects.
2. Extension and code customization migration
Since Magento 1.X extensions and code customizations are not transferable to the latest version, you can fully or partially recreate custom-built functionalities on your online printing store for them to run better.
3. Design migration
Magento themes applicable in 1.X are not transferable to 2.X. But you can easily create a new theme or recreate the old theme from scratch.
4. Advanced SEO migration
Recreate advanced SEO settings such as custom URLs, meta titles and descriptions, formats, cross-links, markup tags, redirects, and more on Magento 2.0.
The DesignNBuy approach to Magento 2 migration
We at DesignNBuy can help you not only migrate to 2.X but also ensure end-to-end upgradation.
Wrapping up
Did you know Magento powers 28% of websites on the internet? More than 2.5 lac merchants across the globe use Magento as their ecommerce platform. Magento itself manages over $155 billion in transactions yearly.
That shows Magento is a force to be reckoned with in the eCommerce space. If you want to beat the competition and continue providing excellent services to your customers on the web and mobile, migrate to the latest version today.
What are you waiting for? Write to us at [email protected] for us to get your web-to-print Magento solution up-to-speed.
