Magento 1 Ragnarök: End of Life & Support

February 28, 2017 - E-Commerce, Magento 2

move from Magento 1 to Magento 2

It’s not a secret that the existence of Magento 1 verges to a close. The platform still remains one of the most popular and widely used ecommerce solutions, but it lives on borrowed time. So, when does the Magento 1 Ragnarök start? What are its consequences? And what should merchants do? In the following post, you will find the answers.

Magento 1 is no longer supported! Check the latest information about what to do here: Magento 1 End Of Life Ultimate Guide. In the article, we discuss, how to stay on Magento 1 and keep your business safe and PCI compliant or migrate to Magento 2 or other platforms.

Get FREE Migration Add-on of Improved Import and Export extension for Magento 2

Connect database of your Magento 1 to Magento 2. Select the entities you want to migrate. Start migration.

The add-on comes with the following features:
Selective migration of entities.
Support of all entities: products, orders, customers, etc.
Direct SQL connection.
No store downtime.

The add-on is installed atop of Improved Import and Export extension for Magento 2.

In the same manner as the death of Baldr was the forerunner of Ragnarök, the announcement of Magento 2 became the forerunner of the first platform version sunset. So, what is the last official day of Magento 1?

According to Ben Marks (the most reliable and official source), the M1 life cycle ends in autumn 2018 – November 18th to be exact.

November 2018. November 2018. November 2018. November 2018. November 2018. November 2018. November 2018. November 2018.

???? November 2018. https://t.co/J0RZahpbbD

— Ben Marks (@benmarks) 12 февраля 2017 г.

— Ben Marks (@benmarks) 12 февраля 2017 г.

Almost 2 years are left, but it is already necessary to start your preparation for the migration to Magento 2. Furthermore, the M2 ecosystem is much more stable and feature-rich than a year ago. All major bugs are fixed, tons of reliable extensions are available, Magento 2 has lots of competitive advantages over Magento 1. Of course, some problems related to seamless and rapid migration a still unsolved, but you can spend extra time. The more powerful and feature-rich platform can be fully leveraged to satisfy all ecommerce needs, so the migration is well worth the effort.

It was promised that Magento 1.x would be supported for 3 years after 2.0 came out of beta, but this doesn’t mean you should cut it close. Just check this Magento Stack Exchange discussion to get more understanding on Magento 1.x support.

Good News, Everyone! The Magento 1 Ragnarök is Delayed!

Dear Magento 1 merchants! Your prayers have been heard and the first version of our favorite e-commerce platform will be OFFICIALLY supported until June 2020. The software support may include both quality fixes and security patches depending on your version. The company continues providing software security patches!

But it doesn’t mean that you should use Magento 1 until 2020. It’s time to upgrade your online business since the new platform version is already stable, reliable, and fully featured. It shows top-notch performance and includes many new features out-of-the-box.

Don’t want how to move data from your old Magento 1 store to a new Magento 2 website? Use the Improved Import & Export extension. It will help you seamlessly transfer all entities: products, orders, customers, stocks, attributes and their values, etc.

What if I want to stay with Magento 1 after November 2018?

It’s not the best idea. Of course, it costs more to develop a new Magento 2 site than an appropriate ecommerce storefront on the basis of Magento 1, but 3 years were given not for nothing. This period is enough to gain resources necessary for the migration even in case of the smallest ecommerce merchants. At the same time, during these 3 years the platform will get all the necessary upgrades, updates, and enhancements. So, why is the idea to stay with M1 after the end of the official support is so bad?

First of all, security updates and bug fixes will be no longer available. Of course, you can use this community driven repository, but what are the garanties that it won’t be abandoned?
Another reason why using Magento 1 after November 2018 is a bad idea is the inability to use new technologies. In comparison with Magento 2, Magento 1 already looks outdated. Just check this post: Magento 2 vs Magento 1. You can also read our Magento 2 Technology Stack Complete Overview for further information.
And finally, third-party extension developers will no longer create revolutionary products for Magento 1. All the greatest ideas will be implemented for Magento 2. Of course, this won’t happen right after November 18, but you should be ready for a similar scenario.

All these things will turn any Magento 1 store into a non-competitive system that will be marginalized by more up-to-date online outlets. Now, when you understand the risks of the Magento 1 Ragnarök, let’s return to the last question: what should merchants do?

We recommend changing the platform right now, because, there are already lots of reliable solutions designed to implement the migration. Check our article about Migration to Magento 2. There, we describe the process as well as shed light on modules designed to simplify the migration.

Also, check our digest of import/export extensions for Magento 2. They will help you move various data from M1 to M2: The Best Improved Import/Export Extensions for Magento 2.

There is even a corresponding import-export tool for Magento 2 by Firebear, you can find more information about it here: Improved Import Magento 2 Extension Manual.