Magento 2 Migration is a time-consuming and labor-intensive procedure. As a result, there will inevitably be various risks that occur when converting your website from Magento 1 to Magento 2.
Hence, getting to know all the dangers ahead of time allows you to manage your time and money better. It ultimately empowers you to have the finest Magento 2 online shop.
Let’s get started to go through the top ten Magento 2 migration risks and how to cope with them in this article right now.
Contents
10 Magento 2 Migration Risks Merchants Need To Know
#1 The Magento 1 theme is incompatible with Magento 2
Problem
If you do not know, migrating a website from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is essentially rebuilding a new website from scratch. Accordingly, Magento 1 theme is not compatible with Magento 2 because of code conflict.
In other words, when you upgrade your website to Magento 2, you will not actually be eligible to use the previous theme. However, you can rest assured. It is not a big problem because there is still a way to help you handle the website design problem.
Solution
a/ Seek a ready-made template on Magento 2 themes market
The simplest and most affordable way to address a website design issue is to buy and install a premade theme from Magento 2 marketplace
The marketplace is currently providing many rich, sleek, and trendy Magento 2 themes. The cost of buying a theme is meager, ranging between $50 and $100.
Using a Magento 2 ready-made theme, on the other hand, means that the look and feel of your new website will change.
b/ Copy Magento 1’s design to build a separate theme for M2’s website from the ground-up
Fortunately, there is still a remedy you can apply if you seek to keep the original appearance. You can copy Magento 1’s design to develop a new theme for the Magento 2 website.
If you’re going to do that, you will have to search for a ready-to-use theme similar to your Magento 1 website. Then, the migration developer of Magento 2 will then personalize it. However, 100% resemblance is not guaranteed.
c/ Start a whole new style without using available themes or previous designs
Creating a fresh design is a terrific answer if your business wants to revamp the existing website appearance. But, it is also a splendid opportunity to make your online business unique and outstanding, bringing a new vibe to your clients.
#2 Extensions for Magento 1 do not work on Magento 2
Problem
You will not be able to reuse the previous Magento 1 extensions due to the code clash between Magento 1 and Magento 2. But there are some solutions for this.
Solution
You could use the three methods below to tackle this issue.
a/ Take advantage of the features available on Magento 2
There is no need to argue much as Magento 2 is an enhanced version vastly superior to Magento 1. As a result, many modern features have been added to the Magento 2 edition. Meanwhile, these features did not emerge on Magento 1; you need to purchase an extension to gain access to it.
So, before proceeding with Magento 2 Migration, check the available features of M2 first. It would be best to determine if any of them match the features of the present Magento 1 extension. If it is the scenario, there is no need to buy a new M2 extension.
b/ Buy Magento 2 extensions with similar functions
So, when the list of extensions is not included in the Magento 2 available features, how to deal with it? No need to worry, as you will likely find new Magento 2 extensions with similar functions to Magento 1 extensions.
Magento 2 extensions typically range in price from $49 to $299. All you have to do is decide which extensions you will use on your Magento 2 website. Then purchase them, and the Magento migration service provider will install them in your store.
c/ Develop custom functions
So, what should you do if your Magento 1 extension is not on the M2 feature list and there is no Magento 2 extension available? The answer is to build whole new functions. It would be best if you employed a developer to create a custom function that will act as a Magento 1 extension.
#3 During the Magento 2 Migration, website performance may be affected
Problem
Upgrading from Magento 1 to 2 is essentially the same as creating a completely new and independent website. The developer is not modifying and upgrading directly from the Magento 1 site. The risk of harming the performance of the Magento 1 store is negligible if you are working with a professional developer.
It will, however, occur if you come across a developer with a poor track record. As a result, during the data migration from Magento 1, your Magento 1 website may be damaged. As a result, the website may suffer.
Solution
To avoid harm to your website, hiring competent developers is essential. It would be best to entrust your website to Magento 2 Migration developers with at least 3 years of expertise.
To be secure, you should migrate your online store from Magento 1 to Magento 2 during the low season. It is when your website has the lowest traffic. Then, if something goes wrong, it might help minimize the impact on the consumer experience of your online store.
#4 The procedure is more time-consuming than you think
Problem
To begin with, it is undoubtedly essential to complete Magento 2 Migration on schedule. If not, sure enough, it will probably affect your business.
For example, you wish to upgrade your website to Magento 2 and launch a new one before Christmas to boost sales. However, because the migration has been delayed, you will be unable to set up a new website as planned.
It means you’ll have to maintain running the old site at a low-performance level. Accordingly, your plan to increase sales is no longer in effect.
The lack of professional developers can be the reason for the long migration process than expected. In the first place, the provider did not thoroughly analyze the site before proposing the fee. It leads to the source of the problem.
Another factor is that the shop owner did not clearly state his desires or objectives from the start. In addition, the provider did not provide detailed guidance. The inefficient communication between the two parties often leads to misunderstandings.
Solution
To guarantee that Magento 2 runs smoothly, it is best to hire an expert developer. From there, ask them to access the website to check what to do. Then estimate a specific timeline for each part.
As a shop owner, you must also check if you wish to add or delete anything and specify the desired period if necessary. The requirements and the project timeline should be agreed upon by both parties and included in the contract. It can certainly help ensure developers get it right, avoiding taking longer than expected.
#5 The loss of critical data
Problem
The loss of essential information is another risk you could encounter when upgrading from Magento 1 to 2. The developer will be in charge of moving all data from your old website to the new one. It includes data such as items, customers, orders, SKUs.
But if you meet a non-professional developer, Magento 2 Migration is highly sensitive to data loss. The loss of your data is quite a serious matter as it causes harm to your customers and your website’s SEO ranking.
Solution
This risk once more highlights the need for hiring reliable migration service providers. A trustworthy Magento 2 Migration service can safely forward data from the old website to the new website.
To preserve the critical data on your site, you should request that the developer perform a backup of Magento 1 online data before migrating. That way, even if there is a problem with data migration, you will not have to confront the fear of data loss.
Not only that, it would be ideal if you filter out necessary data before sending it to the developers. Filtering the databases before moving is highly recommended. In addition, this action also helps you to save your time and money significantly.
You should only migrate essential data such as products, customers, orders within the past few years. Old data may not need to be migrated to Magento 2. It contains old products that are out of stock and will not be restocked in the future; orders from many years ago that have already been fulfilled.
#6 Hidden costs arise during and after the Magento 2 Migration
Problem
First, remember that the migration process is a reconstruction of a new website. You can not reuse the old Magento 1 design, extension, or functionality for Magento 2. So there are additional costs that may arise.
Extra costs to buy new extensions and themes
You may incur additional costs to buy new extensions and themes for Magento 2 store. You will only have to pay the installation fee if you purchase replacement extensions and themes by yourself.
On the other hand, if you list out the extensions you need and the theme you want, developers will find and install them. You then have to pay the installation charge together with the extension costs.
Additional costs for new requests
Other types of hidden costs can be mentioned as the costs for new requests. For example, it is the expense of fixing the theme after installation. Suppose that after installing the theme on your website, you want to make some changes to make it more sensible. Then re-customizing the theme according to your wishes will take the extra cost.
Cost of after-sale support
Finally, you will also be charged the cost of support after the project ends. Some companies will provide free support for a certain period after migrating the website to Magento 2. However, others do not offer free support packages at all and will charge a separate fee. You will have to pay an extra fee to ask for support.
Solution
To address those problems, you must discuss with the developer all the initial charges. By doing this, you will not overwhelm the list of expenses incurred and can prepare the budget in advance.
Besides, you also need to clarify what will arise and how the developer will charge the fee if there is a problem.
#7 A reduction in SEO performance
Problem
Search engine visibility is, without a doubt, everything for any e-commerce site. High rankings for search engines will make it easy for you to engage potential clients.
Unfortunately, your website may suffer specific issues in terms of your SEO rankings during and after migrating to Magento 2. It can be due to the makeover of the store, duplication of content, and URL changes. Besides, the improper Magento 2 Migration is also causing the SEO ranks to drop.
Solution
Here are some handy tips to prevent unexpected falls in SEO rankings:
Choose an appropriate time for website migration
If your website receives a 404 error, more than 73% of visitors will abandon it. It is why website traffic has a direct impact on your SEO ranking. As a result, the timing of the website migration is critical.
Avoiding times of heavy website traffic or seasonal peaks is an excellent tip to protect your SEO score. It ultimately helps you to save traffic and business.
Design an SEO-friendly URL
Magento migration is also a great chance to tweak your website’s URL. Including keywords in the primary URL is an excellent way to boost SEO value and rankings. With a keyword-rich URL, customers can tighter grip the website’s content.
Another strategy to maintain a website’s SEO ranking redirect your URL during the Magento 2 Migration. Not only that, but you strive to limit SEO and content updates. Keeping the new online store’s content identical to the previous website is an intelligent method. It can avoid losing undesired internet traffic.
There are more ways to maintain your SEO ranking during Magento migration which you might find helpful.
#8 Magento 2 website may not function properly after migration
Problem
Some functions in your online store may stop working correctly after switching to Magento 2. For example, the mini cart checkout button is not clickable, or the grouped products are not added to the mini cart.
You may also come across various threats on the admin dashboard. For instance, you will be neither to update products and categories nor create invoices after migrating. The risks arise mainly when the data migration process fails.
Solution
Testing your website carefully before launching is a must-have task to hinder this risk. You should adequately test not only the development website but also the live website.
Many functions that work flawlessly on the development site do not function on the live site. Test all of your online store’s buttons, links, and features to ensure that everything is in order.
Finally, remind yourself to monitor your site’s performance for at least three months. This action detects leftover issues and requests timely remedy from the Magento 2 Migration provider.
#9 Product images and banners do not fit on Magento 2 website
Problem
Simply put, each theme usually comes with a different banner and product image size. Thus, you can not use the product and banner with the old ratio and apply them to the new theme. It makes your online store will become unbalanced and terrible.
Solution
It would help if you spent time redesigning the banner and product images to make them fit and appear more elegant on the new website. Moreover, ask the developer to measure the size of the new theme in advance to prepare banners and images correctly.
#10 Customers are perplexed by the new Magento 2 interface
Problem
Customers that are already familiar with the Magento 1 website will be bewildered. They will find some of the substantial changes to the new site strange and less engaging. It can be disastrous for your website traffic, causing it to plummet abruptly.
Solution
Notify customers about upgrades and changes, so they are not stunned by the new design of your store. You can tell your consumers in various ways, including email, a welcome page, and social media.
Also, add special offers or discount coupons to welcome your online store’s new appearance.
However, too many changes would make it utterly new to customers is not advisable. Try to carry over functions from Magento 1 to Magento 2, particularly those linked to customer flow in the front end. As such, it will help loyal customers engage with the newer website.
Deal With All The Magento 2 Migration At Once
Find a reputable Magento 2 Migration supplier if you want to sidestep all of the risks stated above together. They will work towards developing a gorgeous new website with minimal risk.
If you want to find a reliable service, check out Tigren’s Magento Migration service. We have been providing Magento 2 Migration service since 2015; that’s why we are able of migrating any website to Magento 2 successfully.
Key Takeaways
Magento 2 migration is an imperative project that requires significant effort. To reduce unnecessary risks before and after the Magento 2 Migration process, keep the following points in mind:
- Thorough planning of your Magento 2 migration requirements
- Find a qualified Magento 2 Migration Company
- Check the quality of your Magento 2 store thoroughly after the migration
Hopefully, after reading this article, you can have a smooth and effective Magento 2 Migration project. Begin your migrating plan right away to capitalize on the power it grants to your online business.
