Still Running Magento 1? You Need to Pay Attention

Could Cash Flow Dry Up for Magento 1 Shop Owners After June 2020?

Now that I have your attention, consider this: In less than 12-months, Magento 1 will go end-of-life and quite possibly your online checkout will stop working.

June 2020 is the official end of support date for the Magento 1 Platform. If your Magento store is currently in production and you don’t have an upgrade plan in the works, you have a problem.

Magento 1 Security

The main issue is security and your bank.

While you may be unconcerned that development on the platform has ceased, the fact that security updates will soon no longer be released, should have you reaching for something strong. The end of security updates will worry your bank even more. In fact, it is likely that they will eventually sever your payment gateway to protect themselves. This will end cash flow from your site and leave you with no option but to go back to emailed proof-of-payments!

M1 to M2 is a Big Job

The real kicker is that Magento 1 to Magento conversions are much harder than advertised.

Ask anyone who has tried, they will tell you that the upgrade from M1 to M2 is not a task for the faint of heart. In our experience, the hard part is the transfer of products to Magento 2 and the more products you have, the harder it is.

How many products does your Magento 1 store have?

We have found that conversion time requirements and level of difficulty trend upward in direct proportion to the total number of products in a store. The buck stops at the System Import function, be prepared to spend lots of time staring at this particular screen.

There are a few ways to prepare your M1 products for import into M2 and no matter which way you choose, it will be time-consuming.

Also, bear in mind that once your product import is complete, it will still need to be checked. This often requires a manual browse and review of each product detail page on the site.

Finally, don’t forget about your customer data. Customer user accounts need to be brought over, which normally results in customers having to do password reset before logging in, something no online store owner wants to happen.  Also attached to customer accounts is purchase history, which some owners choose to leave behind.

The Volume of Magento 1 Stores Out There

Quite a few commentators have highlighted the bottleneck that looms for M1 owners. As we get closer to the support drop-off date, more will seek help with a conversion. And, as we all know, there are only so many Mage experts out there who can help them.

In conclusion, if your own a Magento 1 store that is in production and making money, you should be already be planning your move.

You do have one option though…

Mage-1 Will Continue Magento 1 Support Indefinitely

For those Magento 1 shop owners who don’t manage their upgrades in time, there is still hope. A new company Mage-1 offers Magento 1 permanent upgrades and support for a monthly fee. The fee is tiered by annual store turnover. Read more

Good luck.

Addendum

Magento Enterprise Versions End of Support Dates