Do I Need To Migrate From Magento 1 To Magento 2?

The straightforward answer is NO.

And this is the question that most Magento store owner asks, and I am not sure if they have found their answer. So in this blog, I have tried to explain how you can determine whether you should migrate or not? The reason I choose this topic because when you ask the same question to the developer, he would say yes, “You must migrate.” And we all know why the developer says yes to such matters. From what I understand website owners can take this decision if they wish to. Kindly do check the following points and make your own decision.

1) Magento 1 Support is ending. Not Magento 1 itself :
So here is the main confusion, when Magento announced that Magento 1 support would end in June 2020 people misunderstood that started migrating Magento 1 to Magento 2 without overthinking about it. The main point is to understand, support end means, they would not release any security patches after June 2020. That’s it.nothing else. 

Magento regularly has released security patches for any vulnerability in the past and still releasing for Magento 2. So form June 2020, they won’t release security patches for Magento 1. But that does not mean your Magneto 1 store is under risk, nor it means that your Magento 1 store will stop running.

Proper security setup at the server level we can try to avoid this at a certain level, like setting up appropriate rules for SQL injection. We can prevent this. If you consider an example of Windows XP, Microsoft has stopped supporting long back, but people still use it. Red Hat 8 has come recently, but at the enterprise level, people still use Red Hat 6 or 7
. We all have to understand that Migration is not an easy job; it would require a significant investment of time, money, and efforts that small retailers would have to do.

2) Migrating to Magento 2 does not mean higher sales :
Please understand very well, and if someone promises you this, then please steer away from them. Migrating to Magento 2 never means that your sales would go up; in fact, it does not have any direct connection to sales. So benefits of Migration would be new features, and better security maybe. You would get the satisfaction that you have moved to the latest technology sooner than others. 

3) Think about Extensions, Customizations :
Yes, this is very important for you. Any extensions, any customization that you have done for Magento 1 will not work as-it-is in Magneto 2. So you have to start fresh, and the developer will begin new coding. You have to think as if you are creating a new site; hardly you will see any difference in overall ETA. You will find ETA on a higher side. You would think that you can use existing logic, but against that, the developer will argue that he/she has to convert whole code structure to a new Magento 2 structure. At the max, you can use the Magento data migration tool which will Migration your data like customers, orders, etc.

You will also see many extensions provider have stored creating the extension for Magento 1 and their focus have shifted to Magento 2 completely. But that should not be the main reason for Migration for Magento 1 to 2. As you can customize your code and most of the Magneto 1 extensions are already there in Marketplace.

On a different note, Before you migrate to Magento 2, please do check this list of Magento bugs. Also, it is my request you to check sample demo of Magento 2 admin before you think about Migration, as that will give a fair idea of what has changed/added/removed in Magento 2.

Also, please do inform your developer to follow the Magento code structure as much as possible. Because when you ask for requirements that are not in the Magneto default environment, the developer will custom code for it, And if that time developer does not follow Magento structure then, any future upgrade is going to take time.

4) Think fresh. Think differently. :
Yes, since you are doing to migrate and are going to invest time, money, and efforts. Its time that you outside the box, Think outside Magento. Try to check if you have other options. Ask your developer for what options you have, ask them what the pros and cons of let’s say moving to a Shopify, WordPress, or even Custom solutions are.
Think of 2-3 years down the line and keep in mind that. Technology will keep changing, and so the Magento. Magento will keep changing versions, keep updating. After 2-3 years, Magento will come up with Magento 3, or maybe Magento will keep releasing patches.

Conclusion
1) Don’t panic. Take your time and then make an informed decision. Make sure you are aware of what you are getting into.
2) You have all the options. Your site is Magento 1 does not mean you have to stick with the Magento only. 
3) Think about the future, your budget, and overall growth. 
4) Ask your developer, Why Magneto? Why not other platforms?
5) Do your research; see online if you any case study which you can refer to.
6) Believe in those who have good experience working with all the platforms. And are in the business of eCommerce for a long time
7) Set your expectaions are right. Magento 2 is not going to increase your sales directly.
8) If the sole purpose is just to move technology then think twice. And see how many technologies you have around.
9) You have enough time as migration can not be done overnight.