Released in 2015, Magento 2 delivers and optimized an improved experience over Magento 1. Now, the platform has been out for nearly three years and the initial bugs are not looming as they once were. If you’re thinking of making improvements to your Magento 1 site, maybe it’s worth considering an upgrade to Magento 2 instead.

Why change if your shop is working just fine on Magento 1? Consider these four reasons if you’re unsure about upgrading.

  1. Support and Security
    Magento 1 will continue to be supported at least through November 2018 with essential security patches for keeping sites safe. After that time, you’ll be on your own, or more likely, you’ll need to either transition your store to Magento 2 or switch to a new platform. With this uncertainty in mind, if you are thinking of making improvements to your current Magento 1 site, maybe now is the time to explore an upgrade to Magento 2. According to security company Sucuri, 94% of Magento security hacks happen to businesses with out-0f-date versions. With the uncertainty of exactly when Magento 1 support will fade, planning for change sooner rather than later is a good idea.
  2. Improve Performance
    Magento 2 was designed with performance in mind with an average page load time of 50% faster than Magento 1. Performance that fast means more user interaction with your site, more products added to customer shopping carts, and more sales with fewer abandoned carts.
  3.  Work Faster
    Time is money in business. Administrating your Magento site has never been easier with Magento 2. Creating products, improved data view/filtering, and a better administration interface increases productivity so you spend less time on administration and more time on business.
  4. Better Customer Experience
    With a smooth and simplified checkout process that’s 38% faster than Magento 1, your conversion rates are sure to increase. With at least 50% of online shopping now done via mobile, Magento 2 offers better search and mobile browsing with responsive themes, which can help make the customer buying experience easier and faster.

The longer you wait to upgrade, the more at-risk your website is of having out-of-date functionality and support. This is particularly problematic for security. Is it troublesome to upgrade? It largely depends on the amount of customization you’ve done to your Magento 1 store. If you’ve been using Magento 1 for some time, this may be a good opportunity to improve user experience or even redesign your entire site.

WSM can help with Magento upgrades or development. Contact us today for more information!