Convert Magento 1 to 2 the clean, easy way

Since Magento 2 was released in 2015, it became the way to go. Its structure is different from that of Magento in terms of several useful features and enhanced overall performance. One change is that Magento 2 supports full-page cache by default, PHP 7 and another is that its speed is significantly faster. It is 20% faster than Magento 1 which makes a better customer experience, more sales, and higher search engine rankings. Additionally, Magento has a two-step checkout process compared to Magento 1 that has six.

Another big advantage of the updated platform is that it is mobile friendly. Magento 1 did not deliver good performance on mobile devices. This is important because a lot of buyers use their smartphones and other mobile devices to make purchases rather than desktop computers or laptops. With Progressive Web Application Studio in Magento 2, mobile shopping is optimized. Add the clean, easy-to-use interface that the non-tech savvy can use with ease and it is clear why Magento 2 is a favorite of many online merchants. As at mid 2019, one in four online merchants had migrated to Magento 2.

Getting Ready to convert from Magento 1 and Magento 2

The only dilemma with making the conversion night be being unsure how go go about it. It can be a smooth, uncomplicated process as long as the right steps are followed. Before starting the migration process, it is important to take the following precautions to avoid disrupting store functionality.

• Backup the files, folders and database in your Magento 1
• Do not use the live store for migration. Rather, make a clone of your store.
• Go through your data, files and folders and remove what you will not need.
• Check whether your themes, custom code and extensions are compatible with Magento 2.
• Do the migration from the cloned database.
• Remove outdated and unnecessary data like recently viewed products.
• On the same hosting server where the Magento 1 is located, install a copy of the store.

Converting from Magento 1 to Magento 2

When doing the conversion, it is important to follow this Official Magento Migration Documentation. This process divides the migration process into four stages:

1) Migration of the theme

2) Migration of the extension

3) Migration of the Customizations

4) Migration of data

1. Theme Migration: This cannot be done directly but by creating a custom theme or installing one from the Magento Marketplace.
2. Extension Migration: Magento 1 and Magento 2 extensions are not compatible. Neither are there any tools for migrating them. Migration is done by installing the desired Magento 2 extensions.
3. Customizations Migration: Most stores run non custom code. For safe and smooth migration, using this Code Migration Toolkit is recommended.
4. Data Migration: It is in this last process that orders, customer details, products, store configurations and other data is migrated. It is important to get this step right to avoid losing any data. This Magento 2 Data Migration Tool is helpful for this. This tool is installed via Composer. Before installing it, check that the version of Magento 2 store and the tool are compatible. For instance, install Data Migration Tool version 2.2.0 if you will be using Magento Version 2.2.0. If you are not sure which version your store runs on, go to the root directory of Magento 2. Do this via SSH by keying the command

Leave it to the experts

Ideally, the migration process was a smooth one. However, it is necessary to test the functionality of your Magento 2 store. If it wasn’t, your store will not function as it should which is never a good thing for a website, particularly an e-commerce store. Just a few minutes of downtime gives your competitors or those selling alternate products a chance to get ahead of you.

If you do the process for yourself and it is not successfully, your online store will continue to be down as you try to troubleshoot and get it back up. For instance, when migrating data via Composer, before you start the tool installation, verify that the version of Magento 2 store and Data Migration Tool are the same. For example, if you are using Magento version 2.2.0, you must install the Data Migration Tool version 2.2.0. If you don’t know the version of your store, navigate to the root directory of Magento 2 via SSH and enter a command to retrieve it. Also, before migrating data or settings, you have to create a config.XML file and this has to be done in the right directory.

You would need to be more than a little tech savvy to follow such instructions. This is why it is best to leave the migration of Magento 1 to Magento 2 to experts learn more. You can be sure that, this process will be smooth and your store will soon be up and running on an improved, faster and more user-friendly platform both for you and your customers.