Magento released in 2008, is an open source e-commerce platform written in PHP. Then it climbed to become one of the most popular e-commerce platforms.

Now, since the release of Magento 2 in 2015, several e-commerce sites are at crossroads. Because unlike upgrading your Android versions on your smartphones, it is not that much easy to upgrade your e-commerce website. So before you are ready to migrate your website to the latest version, you should have a clear idea on what you are dealing with.

Here in this write-up, we will take a look at the key points that you should know.

What Is Magento 2?

As mentioned above, Magento 2 is the upgraded version of Magento, a widely used open source e-commerce platform. Its initial release was in 2015. Magento 2 has three separate editions. They are:

• Magento 2 Open Source - This version of Magento 2 was formerly known as the Community Version. This version is most suitable for small business or those businesses that are newly venturing into the online e-commerce market.
• Magento 2 Enterprise Edition - This is a premium version that is aimed at medium and large businesses. Apart from all the features available in the Magento 2 Open Source version, this one has added features like various marketing options and extensive management tools.
• Magento 2 Enterprise Cloud Edition - This SaaS option in the new Magento 2 version eliminates the need for self-hosting and also provides all the features as the Enterprise Edition.

Before you migrate to Magento 2, you should know what you will benefit from it. So, what indeed is the "more" that you will enjoy in Magento 2 than Magento 1? Let us take a look.

Magento 1 Vs. Magento 2: The Key Points

• Improved performance: When comparing the performance levels of Magento 1 and Magento 2, Magento 2 runs 20% faster than Magento 1. That is, if your website is on Magento 2, it will be run faster than when it used to be on Magento 1. Faster websites are better. They are preferred by users as well as search engines too!
• The admin interface: This is one of the notable features that users will enjoy when they migrate to Magento 2. Magento 1 had an admin interface which most of the non-technical users found was difficult to navigate through. The admin interface in Magento 2 is more user-friendly than its previous version.
• Mobile friendliness: Today mobile friendliness is a big deal. That's because almost everyone accesses the e-commerce websites through their smartphone. Magento 1 did not deliver optimum performance on mobile devices. But in Magento 2, mobile responsiveness is a priority.
• The checkout process: The checkout process in Magento 1 consisted of 6 stages. But Magento 2 has only 2.

As we have seen here, there are more benefits when you migrate your e-commerce website to Magento 2. The whole migration process is going to be time to consume and challenging. So here are a few points or questions that you should ask before and after you migrate to Magento 2.

• Is this the right time to upgrade your website?
  Just because Magento 2 is a better version, you cannot just switch into it. Firstly, you have checked the current condition of your website. If the outdated version is compromising the performance of your store in any way, then you need to migrate immediately. Else, you can wait till the EOL date.
• Be sure to test everything.
  If you thought that all is over for good after the migration process, then you are wrong. That was just the warm-up session! After the migration process, you will need to test everything; starting from the payment processes to any of the custom codes that you had previously implemented.
• Keep in mind that newer versions are on their way!
  You never know when Magento 3 is going to hit the stores. So be prepared. Do not go overboard by spending and investing a lot of your time, effort, resources and money on the migration process.

To sum it up, Migrating your website from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is mandatory. But when to do and how you do is up to you. Before you begin the migration, consider all the aspects, gather as much information you can get on the migration process and then proceed with it. Is it worth it? Since it improves your website's performance and that in turn can help you build your business or brand better, yes, the Magento 2 migration process is worth it.