Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is more than just an upgrade—it’s a strategic move to enhance your e-commerce store’s performance, security, and scalability.
As Magento 1 reaches its end-of-life, the urgency to transition to Magento 2 becomes paramount. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the entire migration process, ensuring you leverage the full potential of Magento 2.
Whether you’re seeking faster load times, robust security features, or improved SEO capabilities, this guide has got you covered. Ready to future-proof your online store and provide an exceptional shopping experience for your customers?
Let’s dive into the step-by-step process of migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2.
Why Should You Migrate to Magento 2?
When Magento introduced the 2.0 platform for enterprise and community editions in November 2015, the community had mixed feelings. Despite the uncertainty, the retirement of Magento 1 in 2020 and Adobe’s discontinuing support make it essential for businesses to migrate to Magento 2.
Magento’s trademark feature has been its adaptability, but this focus didn’t always result in an easy-to-use, high-performance platform. Magento 1 users often had to turn to third-party providers for vital features like performance optimization, mobile responsiveness, and advanced administrative capabilities.
To address these challenges and compete with other top platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, the Magento team developed Magento 2. Key benefits of Magento 2 that make it a better choice include:
Enhanced Performance and Speed
Magento 2 offers significantly faster page load speeds and improved overall performance compared to Magento 1. On average, Magento 2 sites will run 20% faster than Magento 1 sites. This means a smoother shopping experience for customers and increased potential for higher conversion rates.
Robust Security Features
Security is a top priority for any online business. Magento 2 includes robust security features such as two-factor authentication, improved password management, and protection against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
Additionally, the Commerce edition of Magento 2 is PCI DSS Level 1-compliant, ensuring that your store meets the highest standards of payment card industry data security.
Improved SEO Capabilities
Magento 2 is designed with SEO in mind, offering features like canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues and rich snippets to enhance visibility in search engine results. These SEO-friendly features help your store rank higher in search results, driving more organic traffic to your site.
Modern Technology Stack
Magento 2 supports the latest PHP versions and incorporates modern technologies such as Symfony, Composer, and RequireJS.
This makes Magento 2 more future-proof, ensuring that your e-commerce platform can easily adapt to new advancements and integrations, keeping your store up-to-date with the latest technological trends.
If you want to learn more, we wrote a whole article comparing Magento 1 vs Magento 2. Give it a read!
8 Steps to Migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2
Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 can seem like a daunting task, but with careful planning and execution, it can be a smooth transition. This section will guide you through the essential steps and best practices to ensure a successful migration.
Step 1: Plan Your Migration
The first step in migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is thorough planning. Proper planning ensures that the migration process is smooth and minimizes disruptions to your online store.
Here are the key tasks involved in this crucial step:
1. Review and Analyze Your Magento 1 Store
Start by conducting a comprehensive review of your existing Magento 1 store.
Identify which elements need to be retained, modified, or discarded. This includes products, categories, customer data, order history, and other critical business information.
2. List Installed Extensions and Check Compatibility
Compile a list of all extensions currently installed on your Magento 1 store. Check if these extensions are compatible with Magento 2 or if there are equivalent extensions available for Magento 2.
This is vital as not all Magento 1 extensions will have a direct counterpart in Magento 2.
3. Review Your Current Theme
Assess your current theme to determine if it is compatible with Magento 2. In many cases, themes designed for Magento 1 will not be directly transferable to Magento 2.
You may need to find a new theme or have a custom theme developed that leverages the advanced features and capabilities of Magento 2.
4. Prepare an SEO Report
Use tools like Screaming Frog and Google Search Console to generate a comprehensive SEO report of your current site. This report should include information on your site’s structure, meta tags, page load speeds, and other SEO-related metrics.
This information will help you maintain or improve your SEO rankings post-migration.
5. Back Up Your Entire Magento 1 Store
Before initiating any migration activities, ensure that you have a complete backup of your Magento 1 store. This includes all files, databases, and configurations.
A full backup acts as a safety net, allowing you to restore your site if anything goes wrong during the migration process.
By carefully planning your migration and addressing these critical tasks, you can lay a solid foundation for a successful transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2.
Step 2: Set Up Magento 2
Setting up Magento 2 involves several crucial steps to ensure a stable and efficient environment for your e-commerce store.
First, install the latest version of Magento 2 on your new server. You have the option to install Magento 2 using either the Composer or the ZIP archive method, depending on your preference and expertise.
After installation, configure the server to meet Magento 2’s system requirements. This includes setting the correct PHP version, database, and web server, and ensuring all necessary components and extensions are installed.
Finally, set up a testing environment to thoroughly test the functionality, features, and performance of your new Magento 2 store. This testing phase is crucial for identifying and addressing any issues or errors before the store goes live, ensuring a smooth transition and optimal performance for your customers.
Step 3: Install and Configure Data Migration Tool
With Magento 2 set up on your staging server, the next crucial step is to install and configure the Magento Data Migration Tool. This tool facilitates the transfer of your data from Magento 1 to Magento 2, ensuring that your store’s information is migrated accurately.
The Magento Data Migration Tool is essential for transferring your data seamlessly. Download the tool from the official Adobe website.
Follow the installation instructions provided in the Magento documentation to ensure the tool is correctly installed on your staging server.
Once installed, the Data Migration Tool needs to be configured to connect to both your Magento 1 and Magento 2 databases. This involves creating a config.xml file. In this file, you’ll need to input the necessary database information for both versions.
Here’s a basic outline of what your config.xml should include:
<source>
<database host="localhost" name="magento1_dbname" user="magento1_dbuser" password="magento1_dbpassword"/>
</source>
<destination>
<database host="localhost" name="magento2_dbname" user="magento2_dbuser" password="magento2_dbpassword"/>
</destination>
<options>
<crypt_key>Magento1-Encrypted-Key</crypt_key>
</options>Replace the placeholders with your actual database credentials. This configuration file tells the Data Migration Tool how to connect to and migrate your data from the Magento 1 database to the Magento 2 database.
With the tool properly set up, you’re ready to proceed with transferring your data to the new Magento 2 platform.
Step 4: Install and Perform Data Migration
Now that the Magento Data Migration Tool is installed and configured, it’s time to perform the actual data migration. This step involves migrating your store settings, data, and any new data created during the migration process.
Migrate Settings
The first part of the migration process is to transfer your Magento 1 store settings to Magento 2. This includes configurations such as store views, website settings, and general configurations.
- Navigate to the Magento 2 root directory on your staging server.
- Run the following command to migrate your settings:
php bin/magento migrate:settings --reset <path to your config.xml>
Replace <path to your config.xml> with the actual path to your configuration file. This command will transfer all the necessary settings from your Magento 1 store to Magento 2.
Migrate Data
After migrating the settings, the next step is to transfer your store’s data, including products, categories, orders, customers, wish lists, and ratings.
- Execute the following command to start the data migration:
php bin/magento migrate:data --reset <path to your config.xml>
Again, replace <path to your config.xml> with the path to your configuration file. This command will move all your important data from the Magento 1 database to the Magento 2 database, ensuring that your store’s content and transactions are preserved.
Migrate Incremental Data
During the migration process, new data such as orders and customer information may continue to be created in your Magento 1 store. To ensure that this new data is also transferred to Magento 2, you need to perform an incremental data migration.
- Run the following command to update any new data:
bin/magento migrate:delta <path to your config.xml>
This command will transfer any new data created since the initial data migration, ensuring that your Magento 2 store is fully up-to-date.
By carefully following these steps, you can ensure a thorough and accurate data migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2. This will allow you to maintain the integrity of your store’s data and provide a seamless transition to the new platform.
Step 5: Install and Migrate Theme and Customizations
After migrating your settings and data, the next step is to address your store’s theme and any customizations. If your Magento 1 theme is incompatible with Magento 2, you will need to create or purchase a new theme that aligns with Magento 2’s architecture and capabilities.
This new theme should be installed on your staging server and customized to match your branding and design requirements.
In addition to the theme, you will need to migrate any custom code specific to your Magento 1 store. The Magento Data Migration Tool can assist in this process by automating parts of the code migration, making it easier to adapt your customizations to Magento 2.
This tool helps in converting custom modules and scripts from Magento 1 to Magento 2, ensuring that your unique functionalities are retained in the new platform.
By carefully migrating your theme and custom code, you ensure that your Magento 2 store not only looks and functions as expected but also leverages the new features and improvements of Magento 2.
This step is crucial for maintaining a seamless user experience and preserving the custom elements that distinguish your store.
Step 6: Migrate Extensions
Migrating extensions is a critical step in transitioning from Magento 1 to Magento 2. You should have a list of extensions for your Magento 2 store from step 1.
Ensure that each extension is properly set up and integrated with your store’s functionality to maintain the features and capabilities that your customers expect.
This process not only helps preserve the enhanced functionality of your store but also leverages the improved performance and security features offered by Magento 2 extensions.
Step 7: Test and Review
Testing and reviewing your new Magento 2 store is a crucial step to ensure a seamless transition and optimal performance.
Start by thoroughly testing all aspects of your store to confirm that every functionality is working correctly. Pay special attention to any data inconsistencies or missing information, ensuring that all migrated data is accurate and complete.
It’s also important to verify that all extensions and customizations are functioning as expected, maintaining the enhanced features and unique aspects of your store.
By meticulously testing and reviewing your Magento 2 store, you can identify and resolve any issues before going live, providing a smooth and efficient shopping experience for your customers.
Step 8: Go Live
After completing thorough testing and being satisfied with the results, it’s time to prepare for the final migration to go live with your Magento 2 store. Begin by scheduling the final migration at a time that will minimize disruption to your business.
Ensure that all activities on your Magento 1 store are halted, except for order processing, to prevent any data discrepancies. Perform a final incremental data migration to capture any last-minute changes and updates.
Read more – Magento 2 Migration Checklist: 10 Steps For A Succesful Project
Once everything is set, switch your domain to point to the new Magento 2 store. This final step officially transitions your online presence to Magento 2, allowing your customers to enjoy the enhanced features and performance of your upgraded e-commerce platform.
Remember, the migration process from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is complex and requires technical expertise. If you’re not comfortable with these steps, consider using a professional Magento migration service.
Why Choose Tigren for Your Magento 2 Migration?
Since 2015, Tigren has been a leader in delivering top-notch Magento migration services. Our extensive experience over the past six years ensures that your project will be a success.
With over 500 successful Magento 2 migration projects delivered, we guarantee 100% secure data migration with zero SEO ranking drops. Trust Tigren to seamlessly transition your e-commerce platform to Magento 2 and take your business to the next level.
FAQ
What is Magento 2 migration?
Magento 2 migration is the process of upgrading an e-commerce website from Magento 1 to Magento 2. This involves transferring data, settings, custom code, themes, and extensions from the older platform to the newer one. The migration process utilizes the Magento 2 Data Migration Tool to efficiently move products, customers, and other essential data.
How much does Magento 1 to 2 migration cost?
The cost of migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 varies widely based on several factors, including the complexity of the store, the amount of data, and the level of customization required. On average, the migration cost ranges from $2,000 to $10,000 if outsourced to Magento agencies, with data migration alone costing between $500 and $1,000.
Why Magento 2 is better than Magento 1?
Magento 2 is superior to Magento 1 due to its enhanced performance, improved security, and modern architecture. Magento 2 offers faster page load speeds, better scalability, and a more user-friendly admin interface. It supports advanced technologies like PHP 7, HTML5, and Varnish, which are not available in Magento 1.
How to use the Magento data migration tool?
The Magento Data Migration Tool is a command-line interface used to transfer data from Magento 1 to Magento 2. It operates in three modes: settings, data, and delta. Users run migration commands from the Magento root directory, specifying the mode and path to the configuration file.
