Magento, an open-source e-commerce platform, has been popular among eCommerce business owners since its launch in 2008. It’s specifically targeted small and medium-sized businesses and has built a following over the years. Now, over 25% of worldwide eCommerce websites run on Magento.
The first version of Magento is now 9 years old. In 2015, the company released Magento 2.0 with many key improvements that people were excited about. The parent company of eBay had acquired a majority stake in Magento several years ago and had dedicated a lot of resources to developing Magento 2.0. However, the launch of Magento 2.0 took a rocky path with ownership transfers.
Many still wonder if Magento 2.0 is worth switching due to the mixed reviews in its Release Candidate stage. Here, we’ll break down the good, the bad, and the ugly about Magento 2.0 so you can make the decision for your online store.
The Good About Magento 2.0
There’s an immense amount of improvements in Magento 2.0 features, ranging from faster speed and mobile-friendliness to easier checkouts that reduce cart abandonment. One of the top Magento 2.0 benefits is its updated performance where it offers full-page caching, CSS pre-processing, and a few other minor changes that allow the application to perform much better while using fewer resources.
Another standout feature is its new mobile-friendly design, which is extremely important in the rise of mobile eCommerce. The new feature also improved the checkout experience, which used to be quite disappointing in the Magento 1.0. The streamlined checkout process makes mobile checkout much smoother, hence decreasing cart abandonment rate and increase sales.
The Bad About Magento 2.0
The “bad” really isn’t all that bad. Making the switch from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2.0 really depends on your current site and its current condition. If your site is performing well on an older version, then you shouldn’t worry about rushing to update. However, do start exploring Magento 2.0 because it’s the future for the platform.
We might note that the move won’t be as smooth as you may hope. Most importantly, themes and code customizations that include 3rd party extensions won’t transfer. You’ll have to redo all the customizations on the Magento 2.0. Some extra investments will be needed for the revamp of the visuals and functionality, but this also gives you an opportunity to generate new ideas for your online store and improve the overall usability of your site.
The Ugly About Magento 2.0
Once you switch to Magento 2.0, there’s no going back. The company stated that it’ll continue supporting Magento version 1 until November 2018 only. If you’re staying put with Magento 1.0 for now, you’ll have to plan for data migration soon. Magento is no longer updating new features or improvements for Magento 1.0 so you’re really missing out on the new extensions and tools.
Questions?
Upgrading to Magento 2.0 can be a big step for your business. If you have any questions about switching to Magento 2.0, leave us a message here.
