If you are researching Magento migration, you are probably an owner of an E-commerce store, whose ambitious plans are suppressed by the limitations of their current E-commerce platform.
Online stores can be created on a variety of decent and highly functional platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, etc., and they work perfectly for an efficient kick-off. Yet, while growing, their list of functionalities may not handle the extension and modern digital tools, which is why there is a need to migrate all the data and the store to a more functional location – Magento.
Magento is the first choice of professional developers due to its highly functional environment and countless opportunities for customization.
So, what is Magento, and how to organize migration to reveal the true potential of your store? Let’s follow the guide.
What Is Magento?
Magento is an open-source E-commerce platform and the most powerful solution for covering the needs of all types of commercial businesses, regardless of their size.
Magento is the best choice when starting an E-commerce business (as it helps to build an efficient environment for performing commercial operations, as well as extend the market influence and add new features), and when simply having a need to upgrade to a more functional space.
What Are the Reasons for Migrating to Magento?
Among the most common reasons favoring migration to Magento are the following:
1. Need for customization
Oftentimes, E-stores are created with the help of readily-available templates and patterns, just to start sell-buy operations. However, when growing the audience, there is a need to customize the shop according to the strategy for further development, thus, creating the need for Magento-based solutions.
The success of a custom-made E-commerce website fully depends on the quality of Magento development services; therefore, make sure you do research into their projects and reviews of the clients (Goodfirms or Clutch reviews).
2. Need for extension
After an E-store has finally settled in its niche and has grown its loyal audience, there are sure to be plans for further development. Magento, due to its modular structure, allows on-demand scalability, growing together with its owner.
3. Need for advanced functionality
While growing the business needs more integrations with applications, which enhance the functionality of the E-commerce store. Magento supports third-party integrations, as well as offers quite a few solutions of its own.
The Magento Migration Plan
Magento is one of the best solutions to use for a growing business however, the migration requires equally skillful developers, who know how to build a Magento website from scratch and transition the data from a different platform.
1. Goals
Without a doubt, there is quite an obvious reason for migration to Magento – improved functioning, and more growth opportunities. However, such claims are rather generalized and have no specific ideas. Instead, prepare the list of requirements of a new tech environment and a list of functionalities, as they will be used as guidelines for further strategy development.
2. Backup
First things first – data security. E-commerce store data is its most valuable asset, therefore, it is important to ensure its safety right from the start. Before performing any kind of action, ensure the backup of the whole E-store system, being particularly attentive to sensitive data like product details, customer sensitive data, order histories, etc. Only when knowing that the vital data is safe can you proceed to the next steps.
3. Technical and chronometric assessment
It is important to define tech expectations about the migration and set realistic milestones. If there is a lack of in-house tech expertise, it is better to hire a team of developers to ensure the safety and proficiency of the migration.
Another important detail about the migration – investments. The unique digital form will cost more than standard packages of other E-commerce platforms, yet the results will impress with high ROI.
4. Automated vs manual migration
Automated migration is simplified, yet you may lose some features, such as custom coding, shopping, payment configurations, and designs. While they are not vital, they complement the uninterruptedness of the performance. Manual migration provides full control over the data transition, yet it’s more time-consuming.
5. The strategy of development
The strategy is created in cooperation with the team of developers, considering the wishes and demands of the business owner and the corresponding technical capabilities.
All steps of transition and further development should be clearly outlined and agreed upon to avoid any misunderstanding.
6. Development
The development stage is time-consuming, with its length highly dependent on the amount of data to transition and the level of further customization. As a rule, the development takes at least six months, yet, the timeframes are discussed individually.
7. Testing
After all the transitioning and coding, it is important to check if the finalized product meets the expectations of the client. The team of testers checks every possible operation and feature, to verify their functional validity.
8. Deployment
The final stage of the migration is deployment, when the fine-tuned website is added into the digital environment, ready to function and let your business grow.
How to Perform the Migration to Magento?
When considering migration, there are two options to choose from – the in-house team or the outsourcing. Considering the high complexity of the migration, it is better to opt for professional help, rather than relying on the in-house programmers.
A successful and loss-free migration can not be organized and performed by a few people, it requires sheer knowledge and expertise on the matter.
The Bottom Line
Migration to Magento is the right strategy for the future, as it opens the world of advanced functionality, customizations, and limitless scalability.
Magento will provide a decent tech ground for your store development, and open a new world of opportunities for your store.