Magento is one of the world’s most popular e-commerce solutions powering over 300,000 websites and generating over $155 billion globally. Here at Britweb, we’ve been championing this solution for over 10 years and have had the pleasure of designing, building and marketing a number of high profile websites for clients such as Boxfit, Prokit and Angal.
In 2015 Magento released a very early version of Magento 2, a radical update to the framework but not yet ready for production use. It wasn’t until late 2018 that it really gained traction, and new versions of 3rd party extensions became viable.
It’s a radical update, similar to that of a core operating system such as Windows or MacOS and as such needs careful planning to ensure a seamless transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2. For many business owners, the business case to upgrade may be a bitter pill to swallow but it’s worthy of note that support for version 1 of this software ends in June 2020 which may focus the mind somewhat.
Whilst sites will continue to operate the core components (extensions) being used may begin to fail as server software is upgraded.
So what’s new in Magento 2?
Improved speed and performance
Significant improvements have been made in the core architecture which will have a dramatic effect on site speed. These include upgrading to the latest PHP version, security improvements and a reduction in unnecessary browser operation.
- Processing 39% more orders per hour
- Instant server response times for catalogue browsing
- Enable up to 66% faster add-to-cart server response times
- Provide up to 51% faster end-to-end checkout times
Better extension control
These are additional bolt-ons to add extra functionality to your site. The old version suffered from extension conflicts. This issue has been largely overcome in version 2 by allowing code to overlap with core code rather than overriding it.
A far more user-friendly dashboard
The dashboard allows you to find information quickly, navigate to all parts of the admin panel and manages your store more efficiently so you can instantly view:
- lifetime sales
- last orders
- average orders
- top search terms
- revenue tax
- and many other functions
Far better for SEO
Issues such as duplicate content, metadata and mobile-friendly SEO have been massively improved ensuring better visibility across search engines.
Security
From a technical standpoint Magento 2 benefits from the strengthening of hashtag algorithms used in password management. If this means nothing to you don’t worry, it’s good news. The only bad news is that version 1 will receive no security update which without solid support could make your site vulnerable
So, should you migrate to Magento 2?
Well, soon the Magento 1 support will end. Our advice is that if you have no plan to migrate to Magento 2 yet, make one. At the very least you’ll have clarity on the advantages of upgrading even if you decide to “hang on”.
Just in case you’re in any doubt, Magento 2 offers full system support, a better UI (user interface), a sleek dashboard, faster loading times and the overall upgraded platform your site deserves.
Need help?
Get in touch with Britweb and chat through your needs. We’ll give you a fast assessment and can advise on how we can either support your current site or transition you to the all-new, fully supported Magento 2.