Magento is considered the leading e-commerce platform due to its unrivaled scalability and flexibility. Magento 2.0 was released in 2015 and is designed to take the features of Magento 1 and optimize the platform’s capabilities. But like all major business decisions, there are specific aspects to consider when switching to Magento 2.0. Here are the key questions to ask before you upgrade to Magento 2.0.
What features does Magento 2.0 have that will benefit my e-commerce business?
- Higher performance – Magento 2.0 page loads are up to 50% faster and product import capabilities are four times faster than Magento 1. In addition, Magento 2.0 includes an Ajax Cart, so that items can be added to the shopping basket without reloading the page.
- Better UX – Magento 2.0 is redesigned with a new backend admin panel that is more user-friendly for your site administrators. Magento 2.0 also supports product videos natively, has an easy step-by-step product creation tool, and enhanced multi-user functionality.
- Improved checkout – Magento 2.0 has a more seamless checkout process with checkout steps across the top of the page, an automatic guest checkout option, customer login prompts and product images displayed in order summary.
- Enhanced native search – Magento 2.0 now uses ElasticSearch, which is a full-text search engine with schema-free JSON documents.
- Refocused mobile-first approach – Magento 2.0 combines all of the above features to provide a responsive e-commerce website, which enhances the user’s mobile experience.
When is the right time to switch?
Magento has stopped adding new features to Magento 1 and will stop critical updates in the near term. Since the migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2.0 is not a simple upgrade, make sure your brand has the time and capabilities to devote energy and resources to re-platforming your e-commerce site. Given that the support for Magento 1 is coming to an end, now is a good time to start planning your conversion to Magento 2.0.
Do I have the right e-commerce partner for Magento 2.0?
The success of your e-commerce platform migration largely depends on the web development agency you work with. Determine if your current e-commerce partner has the skills and the development team required to offer your business end-to-end project support, including design, customization, configuration, integration, testing and launch.
Conclusion
Magento is the leading e-commerce platform in the world. The advancements in Magento 2.0 make the online shopping experience significantly better for your customers. In addition, the backend administrative improvements of Magento 2.0 allow your admins to create products faster, filter data and add videos with ease. Although migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2.0 can seem intimidating, the improvements are worth the challenge.
Rivers Agency is staffed with a team of in-house, certified Magento experts offering design, development and support to create a comprehensive e-commerce strategy and convert shoppers into buyers.