Why waiting gets expensive
Anyone who still runs a shop on Magento 1 carries risks that grow every year. This guide shows why you should migrate a Magento 1 shop, what can be transferred, how the migration runs and what influences it.
Table of contents
- 1. The situation: why you should migrate a Magento 1 shop urgently
- 2. The risks of continued operation
- 3. What can be transferred in the migration
- 4. Process: five steps to the new shop
- 5. Cost drivers: what makes the migration more or less expensive
- 6. Checklist: seven points before you migrate a Magento 1 shop
- 7. Common misconceptions when you migrate a Magento 1 shop
- 8. How we accompany your migration
- 9. Summary
- 10. FAQ
1. The situation: why you should migrate a Magento 1 shop urgently
Adobe ended support for Magento 1 on 30 June 2020. Since then the vendor has issued no official security updates. A shop that keeps running may still work, but every newly known vulnerability stays open. That affects your customer data and your payment processing.
There are practical problems as well. Payment and shipping providers change their interfaces, hosting providers remove old PHP versions from their offer and extensions are no longer maintained. A shop stuck on old versions becomes harder to operate and change over time. Whoever wants to migrate a Magento 1 shop should not wait for the day something fails.
If you plan to migrate a Magento 1 shop later, remember that in most cases waiting does not get cheaper but more expensive. The gap between old and current technology grows, knowledge about the old system is lost and the risk of a security incident remains. This guide helps you plan the migration instead of postponing it.
2. The risks of continued operation
In continued operation of an old shop the risks lie in five areas that reinforce each other.
| Risk | What happens | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Security | No official patches for new vulnerabilities | Data leak, manipulation, liability risk |
| Payments | Providers end support for old modules | Payment methods fail |
| Technology | Old PHP and database versions are no longer hosted | Forced hosting change under time pressure |
| Extensions | Vendors no longer maintain Magento 1 modules | Functions break, no adjustments possible |
| Speed and ranking | Outdated frontend, slow load time | Lower visibility, more abandonment |
Some owners rely on community projects that keep maintaining Magento 1. That can be an interim step but is no permanent solution, because extensions and expertise are increasingly missing on the market. When you migrate a Magento 1 shop, you decide for a platform that is being developed further.
3. What can be transferred in the migration
A migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is not an update but a rebuild with data transfer. The data model can largely be transferred: products, categories, customers, orders, price rules and content. There are proven procedures and tools that support the transfer.
Theme, extensions and custom code cannot be transferred. The frontend is rebuilt, ideally with a lean theme such as Hyvä. Extensions are replaced by Magento 2 versions, and individual functions have to be developed again. That is exactly what makes the migration an opportunity: you can shed legacy and take along only what you really need.
Whoever wants to migrate a Magento 1 shop therefore starts with an inventory: which modules are actually used, which adjustments are indispensable, which data is valuable? The result determines effort and cost. More about our approach is on the page about migration.
4. Process: five steps to the new shop
You migrate a Magento 1 shop most safely in five steps. First comes analysis: data, modules, adjustments and integrations are recorded. Then follows the concept, which defines what goes into the new shop and what does not.
In the third step the new shop is built: theme, extensions, adjustments and integrations. In the fourth step the data is transferred and tested, usually several times, so that only a short reconciliation is needed at go-live. The fifth step brings go-live, redirects of the old addresses and aftercare.
Redirects matter for ranking. When addresses change, the old URLs must point permanently to the new ones, otherwise visibility and links are lost. Plan time for this from the start. What the time and cost structure looks like depends on scope, with hints in the guide Magento costs.
5. Cost drivers: what makes the migration more or less expensive
The cost when you migrate a Magento 1 shop depends mainly on four factors. First, the scope of adjustments: the more custom code, the more new development. Second, the number of extensions that have to be replaced. Third, data volume and quality: clean data is easier to transfer. Fourth, the integrations with inventory, shipping and payment providers.
A worked example for the logic: at 30 euros net per hour, 100 hours come to 3,000 euros net. Whether your migration takes 100 or considerably more hours only an analysis shows. The example serves as illustration only. We state the effort in writing after the inventory, with separate items.
You can save by tidying up before the migration: leave out unused modules, archive old data and take over only functions that actually carry revenue or processes. The comparison with a version update is in the guide Magento upgrade costs.
6. Checklist: seven points before you migrate a Magento 1 shop
Seven points before the migration
- ✓Create a list of all modules and adjustments in use.
- ✓Check which data should really be transferred and which can be archived.
- ✓Record all integrations with inventory, shipping and payment.
- ✓Secure the most important search engine addresses and plan redirects.
- ✓Set a test system and a schedule for go-live.
- ✓Agree a backup of the old shop and a fallback plan.
- ✓Plan maintenance for the new shop from the start.
With this list a large undertaking becomes a sequence of manageable steps. The earlier you go through it, the more precise the quote becomes.
7. Common misconceptions when you migrate a Magento 1 shop
The first misconception: the shop is running, so there is no time pressure. It runs, but without official security updates. The second misconception: a migration is like an update. It is a rebuild with data transfer, and the frontend is new.
Do not postpone data protection and security
Anyone who processes personal data of customers must take appropriate security measures. A shop without security updates can become a problem here. Take legal advice on liability and data protection questions in individual cases.
The third misconception: everything has to stay the same. Especially in a migration it pays to rethink processes and get rid of legacy. Whoever modernizes the frontend improves load time and usability at the same time, as the guide Switching from Luma to Hyvä shows.
8. How we accompany your migration
We are a web agency in which fixed freelancers work together, all remotely from home offices. When you migrate a Magento 1 shop with us, we start with an inventory and then state scope and effort in writing. The hourly rate is 30 euros net, see the pricing page. After go-live we take over maintenance if you wish.
This article is general orientation and not legal advice. For a first assessment of your shop a short message through our contact page is enough.
9. Summary
Whoever wants to migrate a Magento 1 shop should not wait. Support ended in 2020, risks and effort grow, and the migration is a rebuild with data transfer.
Migrate a Magento 1 shop, the key points at a glance
Situation
No official security updates for Magento 1 since 30 June 2020
Transfer
Data can be transferred, theme, extensions and code are rebuilt
Process
Analysis, concept, build, data transfer, go-live with redirects
Costs
Adjustments, extensions, data quality and integrations determine effort
Note: This article offers general information and does not replace legal advice in individual cases.