How to Fast Track Your Magento Commerce Migration

Migrating from M1 to Magento Commerce 2 before the end of support.

With all that's going on in the world today, the Magento 1 end-of-life deadline may have slipped from your radar. But support for Magento 1 is still ending after this month, which means that you need to migrate to Magento 2 as soon as possible. Here are some tips from the Magento Fast-Track Migration Checklist to help you get started.  

Determine whether or not you need a partner 

There are many ways to go about a migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2; you can handle the entire project internally, you can hire it out to a partner, or you can do a little bit of both. To figure out the right option for you, ask yourself:  

• Did we work with a solutions partner to set up Magento Commerce 1?  
• Are we using any strategies that require specific expertise from a partner, such as localized commerce or an omnichannel experience? 
• Do our internal developers have the time and inclination to train and work with Magento Commerce 2? 

Determining the roles of both your internal team and partner team from the start will help everyone work together smoothly.    

Customizations and extensions: keep or eliminate? 

Migrating to Magento Commerce 2 is a great opportunity to evaluate and streamline your current customizations and extensions. The hope is that updated technology will eliminate the need for some older customizations and extensions.  

When considering which customizations and extensions from Magento Commerce 1.x should continue to be leveraged in Magento Commerce 2, ask these questions: 

• What does this module do? 
• Is it essential to the customer experience? 
• When was the last time it was updated? 
• What does it cost to maintain? 
• What would the customer experience be like without it? 

Identify the features you really need 

Similarly to existing customizations and extensions, take stock of what features you're currently leveraging and which new features available in Magento Commerce 2 will be necessary for your business. Some questions that could point you in the right direction: 

• Do we need a responsive mobile experience that integrates native smartphone features? 
• Are we rethinking the customer experience to make it more personalized? 
• Do we need the ability to rapidly update content? 
• Are we expanding into new international markets? 
• Are we adding new brands or product lines? 
• Are we creating loyalty and other programs targeting repeat customers? 

Reassess your business strategy 

A migration can also be a great time to reassess your business strategy and overall business plan. Magento's Fast-Track Business Planning guide can help you get started.    

Keep in mind, a business plan should include the following:  

• A company description 
• A market analysis 
• An overview of the company's people, organization, and management 
• Detailed product and service descriptions 
• An overview of marketing and sales strategies 
• Financial projections 
• Funding requests 

A lot of that should be information that you already have assembled. But to get a clear picture of where you want your organization to be in the future and how to get there, Magento suggests asking these questions for one, two, and five-year time frames: 

• Who are our biggest competitors? What does our market look like? 
• What should our annual revenues be? 
• How many customers will we have? 
• What percentage of our customers will be repeat customers? 
• How will we support our customers? 
• What products will we sell, and where will we operate? 
• What will our marketing and sales strategies look like? 
• What skills will we need? And does our current team have them? 
• What will operating, marketing, and sales costs look like?  

Migrating from Magento Commerce 1 to Magento Commerce 2 is a big undertaking, but with these tips you can get started on the right foot. If you're ready to partner with an experienced Magento team to get the job done, contact us.