Magento 1: A Comprehensive Overview of its Strengths and Transition to Magento 2
What is Magento 1?
Anyone who is involved with web shops has probably heard the name Magento before. Logical, because Magento 1 is one of the most powerful e-commerce platforms in the world. Many leading companies run on Magento 1 and the successor Magento 2 has now been launched. The platform has many loyal fans and custom building a website is perfect in this system. Add to that the minimum maintenance requirements and you immediately realize why Magento 1 has become one of the top players in the market. The platform can be supplemented with numerous extensions and the possibilities are virtually unlimited.
Where lies the power of Magento 1?
Magento 1 has many advantages, but one of the biggest is undoubtedly the option to supplement the webshop with thousands of extensions. Magento 1 is an open-source system, so thousands of developers are working on it worldwide. This also means that many applications have been developed that complement the basic platform. Want to pay quickly, a delivery module, or a custom template? You name it, anything is possible. This not only saves you a lot of time, it also reduces costs. Choosing a reliable technical partner who is familiar with the code of Magento 1 is essential to get the most out of the platform. Many of those applications are free, but there are also commercial extensions.
In addition to the range of options, Magento 1 also scores excellently in the search engines. The technology is SEO optimized, making your site easy to find. You can provide a lot of important information to your pages and products and you will undoubtedly notice this in the turnover figures of your webshop. Moreover, the platform is packed with tracking options, so you know exactly what is being viewed, whether there has been a conversion, and whether adjustments are needed. Here too, some professional help may come in handy.
Why choose open source?
As mentioned earlier, Magento 1 is an open-source CMS. This means that anyone can develop functionalities for it. Whatever you think of it, there is an extension that you can plug in. It is often a lot cheaper than having to start building from scratch. You are also the owner of your site and switching webshop partners is no problem. If you rent a webshop, such as Shopify or WooCommerce, you will not have the options that you have with Magento 1.
Furthermore, Magento 1 is also perfectly scalable. Start small with about 10 products and then scale up to thousands of references. No problem. Magento grows with you. Things are also good in terms of security.
Multiple web shops planned?
Are you planning multiple websites in the future? Then you can opt for Magento Multistore. This way you can manage multiple web-shops from one management environment. This way you keep an overview, and you can easily manage your web shops and even exchange products between the web shops. In short, with Magento 1 you save time and work efficiently. Multilingual websites and/or webshops per country are also no problem. You can manage your entire e-commerce with one system.
Why switch from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
Meanwhile, Magento 1 is on its last legs and Magento 2 is on the rise. Is switching from Magento 1 to Magento 2 a good idea? Just be sure. We list several convincing arguments:
- Magento 2 has a faster loading time than Magento 1. This means your web shop will score even better in the search engines.
- The administrative interface is even simpler and clearer.
- The technical architecture has been improved and there are numerous new features.
- Customers also benefit, because the user experience is more intuitive.
So it is certainly worth considering a switch from Magento 1 to Magento 2. The migration process is tough, but a specialized agency can undoubtedly help you with it. If you are now starting up a webshop, the choice for Magento 2 is an obvious one. The benefits are enormous.
Are there also negative points about Magento?
Magento 1 will be released soon and that is perhaps the biggest disadvantage. Furthermore, no support is provided by Magento itself, so it is advisable to conclude a support contract with a recognized partner or to work with another specialist. Creating a custom online store does cost something. The initial investment can be quite expensive, but that does not outweigh the benefits you have.