Daily ArchivesJanuary 5, 2022

Magento is a website platform that specializes in ecommerce websites. Its users have access to hundreds of unique features that help users to connect with their customers and sell their products.

Magento empowers thousands of retailers and brands with the best ecommerce platforms and flexible cloud solutions to rapidly innovate and grow their business.

With recent changes in the Magento community, you may be wondering about migrating to Magento 2. Keep reading for a full overview of Magento 2, the costs of migrating, and more.

Understanding Magento 1 and Magento 2

Magento is an open source ecommerce platform written in PHP language. It uses multiple other PHP frameworks, such as Laminas and Symfony. Magento source code is distributed under Open Software License v3.0.

Magento released Magento 2, which is an upgrade to Magento 1. Magento 1 and Magento 2 aren’t the singular versions of Magento. Magento 2 is better than Magento 1 in terms of security, performance, SEO, speed, and ease of use.

The major difference between Magento 1 and Magento 2 is that Magento 2 is faster, more SEO friendly, and more user friendly than Magento 1. Magento 2 also supports the latest PHP and that improves the overall speed of the website.

Magento 2 can take more orders per hour than Magento 1. Page load time is faster too. In addition to that, it also has cleaner coding and a user-friendly dashboard. Magento 2 also offers meta tag functions for better SEO, a critical feature which was missing in Magento 1.

Now let’s discuss some of the other differences between Magento 1 and Magento 2.

6 Key Differences Between Magento 1 and Magento 2

1. Architecture
2. Speed & Performance
3. Extensions
4. Dashboard
5. SEO
6. Security

1. Architectural Differences

One of the key differences between Magento 1 and Magento 2 is that Magento 2 supports the latest PHP versions. These versions include security improvements that affect the store’s speed.

2. Speed & Performance

When compared to Magento 1, Magento 2 offers a faster page load speed. If you’re a Hostdedi Magento user, we have a Redis cache option, which will help to improve your site performance.

Redis is a popular key-value storage database and Magento 2 includes support for both page cache and sessions out of the box. Redis is commonly used on Magento stores for object caching and page caching. You can check out our article here to learn how to configure Redis for Magento 2.

3. Extensions

One of the problems with Magento 1 is the extension conflicts. If two or more extensions are there, they try to rewrite the same functionality. This issue could only be solved manually before, which was an expensive and time-consuming process.

However, with Magento 2, plugins allow code to overlap with core code rather than override it.

4. Dashboard

As mentioned above, Magento 2 has a user-friendly and interactive admin panel.

The dashboard enables you to find information quickly, navigates to all parts of the admin panel, and manages your store more efficiently, which makes the interface user-friendly.

Also, Magento 2 has a comprehensive dashboard that shows lifetime sales, last orders, average orders, top search terms, revenue tax, and other functions.

5. SEO: Search Engine Optimization

Comparing Magento 1 and Magento 2, Magento 2 has not made a great leap from Magento 1 in terms of SEO. But it is better than Magento 1. Magento 2 provides a canonical tag, so you can avoid duplicate content issues. It also enables meta tags for optimizing individual pages.

6. Security

As Magento 1 is at the end of life, there will be no more updates, security patches, or bug fixes for Magento anymore, which leaves the outdated software vulnerable to threats.

Magento 1, End Of Life

Magento 1 reached its end of life in June 2020. However, there’s a way it can still be used safely. M1 can be used on Hostdedi servers provided it’s utilizing the Safe Harbor add-on. Safe Harbor will be available through March 2022.

You can click here to check Hostdedi Safe Harbor >>

Hostdedi Safe Harbor

When new versions of software/applications are released, older versions are maintained for a certain period of time. After that, they are no longer supported.

Magento 1 has reached EOL in June of 2020, which means if you want to extend the life of your store as you decide what’s next, you’ll need to take action to ensure you stay secure.

It can still be hosted on the Hostdedi servers provided it’s using the Safe Harbor add-on.

Safe Harbor is an add-on which enables businesses like yours to keep their sites on Magento 1 after EOL by providing security and technology updates for an extended period of time. So, whether you’re still searching for your options, or already have plans to migrate, Safe Harbor can offer the flexibility you need until you’re ready to move off of Magento 1.

Migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2 can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. Considering the impact of these costs on users, it’s easy to understand why many have been hesitant to make their next move.

Safe Harbor is a product that will give you more time to make the right decision for your website. Safe Harbor provides a cost-effective way for users to remain on Magento 1 while you evaluate your options. Safe Harbor is estimated to add 35% to your current total hosting cost.

You can click here to check out our Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration Guide.

Now What?

As of June 2020, sites using Magento 1 will no longer be supported. They will remain active with all its functionalities, but without the support and updates from Magento.

Once Magento 1 support ends, hackers will try to find the loopholes or opportunities to steal data from users’ unsupported M1 stores.

There are many ways hackers can get information from the store database like DDoS attacks, brute force, spam registrations, and SQL injection. Unsupported sites are easy targets as they lack security.

You may be wondering, what are my best options to avoid a situation like that?

1. Migrate to Magento 2.
2. Move over to different ecommerce platforms.

Migrating to Magento 2

Comparing Magento 1 with Magento 2, Magento 2 is undoubtedly a better ecommerce platform. So after the migration, the users will find an easy-to-use admin interface and improved site performance. Best of all is the support from Magento.

However, please note that migrating to Magento 2 is not only an upgrade. Magento 2 is an entirely new platform with a different framework and structure.

This is not as simple as some one-click upgrade to the next version, but it’s a complete transition to a new platform that requires a plan, lots of time, and resources.

All customized extensions, codes, and theme modifications have to be redone and rewritten to make them work with Magento 2 and the latest PHP.

Moving Over to Different Ecommerce Platforms

There are plenty of ecommerce platforms available on the market. You have to determine if your store is ready to adapt to the new-found technologies and migrate the website content so that you gain a competitive advantage.

It depends on factors like software stack, structure, and architecture of your platform. However, the migration process would still be complicated as you are moving to an entirely different atmosphere.

You can either replace an open source ecommerce platform with another open source platform or you can move to proprietary software.

You can also move your platform to WooCommerce, but you will be entirely starting the website building process with WooCommerce. As we know, WooCommerce is a free, open source plugin for WordPress sites that adds ecommerce functionality to any WordPress site.

Read our blog on Magento vs. WooCommerce to learn more.

Bottom Line

As Magento 1 is at its End of life, Magento is not forcing anyone to upgrade to Magento 2. Your store will not disappear if you do not upgrade to Magento 2. However, as there is no support for Magento 1, it’s better to switch to any other platform.

Magento 2 has more advanced features than Magento 1. Magento 2 is more secure, fast, optimized than Magento 1. You can also go with any other platform to migrate your store, such as WooCommerce.

Consider Hosting With Hostdedi

Web hosting is a service that stores your website and website contents, so you can publish it online. Regardless of the application you use, your website will be hosted somewhere.

Hostdedi offers powerful hosting technology designed for what you need. Our hosting plans include boosted speed, security, scalability, and support for your site.

Also, guess what … FREE site migrations are included with every plan — whether that’s for WooCommerce or Magento.

Learn more about fully managed Magento hosting or fully managed WooCommerce hosting with Hostdedi.

Check out our plans to get started today.

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The end of a year is the perfect time to reflect on the last year and set goals for the year ahead.

Perhaps you experienced burnout and want a little more work-life balance? You could be thinking of mentoring someone or learning a new skill.

In the same way you create a list of resolutions for yourself, why not make a list of new year resolutions for your business to guide you in the coming year?

Many people forgo setting business new year’s resolutions because they think it might not be achievable. However, the secret is setting realistic goals.

If you’re having a hard time setting small business goals for 2022, read the following suggestions for top new year resolutions for businesses.

New Year Resolutions for Business

1. Build a website.
2. Start a blog and update it regularly.
3. Give your store a new look.
4. Enhance your website’s experience.
5. Make your customers’ lives easier.
6. Work smart.

Let’s have a more in-depth look at these resolutions.

1. Build a Website.

If there is something the 2020 pandemic showed us, it’s the importance of having an online presence. Even then, a survey from Top Design Firms showed 28% of businesses don’t have a website.

Not only does having a website make you appear more credible, a good business website brings additional benefits such as:

• Increased sales
• Audience growth
• Brand recognition

Even if you don’t sell products, having a website lets new customers and clients find you via search engines. It can also serve as a medium to share your work or a platform where people can contact you.

2. Start a Blog and Update It Regularly.

Image source

The new year is also the perfect time to start a blog.

Some benefits of blogging for businesses include:

• Driving traffic to your website.
• Enabling you to share valuable information with your audience.
• Giving you content to repurpose on social media.
• Positioning you as a thought leader.

You don’t have to blog every day — one high-quality post a week is better than substandard posts daily.

Make blogging a part of your marketing strategy. Growth may be slow initially, but it will pay off. Just remember to be consistent.

3. Give Your Store a New Look.

You don’t have to rebrand to give your store a facelift — the new year is as good a time as any for a new look.

Why change your website’s look in the first place?

Your homepage is like a physical shop’s storefront. No one will enter or even purchase if it’s not beautiful or welcoming. According to Neil Patel, more than 90% of buyers say that a website’s visual appearance matters.

The good news is, you don’t even need to hire a web designer to give your online store a new look.

There are lots of tools that empower you to switch it up. For instance, signing up for Hostdedi’ StoreBuilder gives you everything you need to build and customize your online store in minutes.

Besides Hostdedi’ premium WordPress hosting, StoreBuilder also includes the Kadence theme and plugins — creative tools you can use to improve the look of your WordPress website.

Take a look at these top ecommerce website designs for inspiration.

4. Enhance Your Website’s Experience.

As with a physical store, your online storefront may get people looking around, but it’s your website’s usability that will get them to buy and return for repeat purchases.

In that sense, a new year resolution for business success could be improving your website’s customer experience. After all, it is critical to sustaining business growth, helps in customer retention, and promotes loyalty.

Besides that, it has SEO benefits. Google released a Page Experience update that determines whether a website should be rewarded with a higher ranking or penalized with a lower one.

If you want to improve customer experience, one of the easiest ways is optimizing speed. Over half of visitors will leave your website if it takes more than three seconds to load. There are several ways to improve website speed, but one of the easiest ways is to choose the right web hosting provider.

The right web hosting provider takes care of not only website speed but also ecommerce security.

5. Make Your Customers’ Lives Easier.

If you’re running an ecommerce store, another great new year resolution idea for your business is to think of ways to make your customers’ lives easier.

It could be anything from implementing a one-step checkout to offering more payment methods or improving the return policy.

6. Work Smart.

As a new small business owner, you often have to take on many roles. While at first you may think you can do it all, you’ll soon realize you can’t — and that’s perfectly fine.

Many entrepreneurs think to be “hands-on” in business means they must have their hands on everything, but that’s not the case. Sometimes, entrepreneurship is about working smart, not working hard — and that should be another new year resolution for business owners.

A well-known secret of productive entrepreneurs is “Eliminate, Automate, Delegate.”

First, eliminate. Assess everything you need to do and say no to things that don’t bring you results or value. For example, you can remove distractions or turn off notifications to prioritize important tasks.

Next, look for ways to automate. There is different automation software available. For example, email marketing makes it possible to send abandoned cart emails automatically. Social media schedulers help automate your marketing efforts.

There are also hosting plans, such as Hostdedi’ Managed WordPress hosting plan, that automatically backup your website files.

Lastly, save time by delegating tasks you dislike, such as social media or taxes.

In his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, author Tim Ferris shares:

“Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Otherwise, you waste someone else’s time instead of your own, which now wastes your hard-earned cash.”

Final Thoughts – 6 Best New Year Resolutions for Business

As we close out 2021, we bring the wins and lessons for 2022. Take notes from this list of new year resolution ideas for business to guide you in the next year.

Maybe one of your resolutions is to make your website faster and more secure? If so, check out fully managed WordPress hosting from Hostdedi.

Sign up for Hostdedi’ Managed WordPress hosting plan today.

Related WordPress Resources

Are you planning to start an online store?

You might be evaluating different order fulfillment methods as the success of your online business depends a lot on how efficiently you deliver products.

The online business ecosystem offers several methods for order fulfillment. Ecommerce fulfillment and dropshipping are two major models.

Statista reports dropshipping had a $128.6 billion market value in 2020. It’s expected to grow a whopping 370% by 2026.

In this guide, let’s compare dropshipping vs. ecommerce and see which one suits your business best.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Purchase to Delivery: The Ecommerce Workflow

How Does Dropshipping Work

Dropshipping vs. Ecommerce: Choosing the Best Option

Final Thoughts: Dropshipping vs. Ecommerce: A Basic Guide to Order fulfillment

Before getting into what dropshipping is and how it works, let’s understand the essential ecommerce workflow.

Purchase to Delivery: The Ecommerce Workflow

Source

Let’s have a quick look at how an ecommerce store works.

Here’s the end-to-end workflow from purchase to delivery.

1. A customer visits the online store and selects a product.
2. The customer checks out the product by paying online.
3. The product is picked up from a warehouse.
4. The order is packed and labeled with the customer’s shipping address.
5. A shipping company delivers the product to the customer.

The last three steps constitute the order fulfillment process. Businesses use ecommerce and dropshipping models for this.

Let’s see how dropshipping works and how it differs from ecommerce fulfillment.

How Does Dropshipping Work?

Source – Depositphotos, Standard License

Dropshipping is not an ecommerce alternative. It’s just another ecommerce business model.

Online stores that use dropshipping have no inventory of their own. Instead, they partner with an order fulfillment vendor, also known as a dropshipper.

Here are the basic steps for running a dropshipping store:

• You own the store and list products, but you don’t own inventory.
• A customer places an order and pays online.
• You put a duplicate order with your dropshipper.
• The dropshipper picks the product from their fulfillment center.
• The dropshipper packs the customer order and ships it to your customers.

Please note that dropshipping is different from 3rd party logistics (3PL). In 3PL, you own the inventory, but a third party does the warehousing. You only outsource the storage, packing, and shipping. But in dropshipping, the dropshipper owns the inventory.

In a nutshell, you can start a dropshipping store without even having a single product in your stock. You procure the product from your dropshipper only when a customer places an order.

The infographic below portrays the workflow of the dropshipping business model:

Now that you know how dropshipping works, let’s compare dropshipping vs. ecommerce to see which works best for you.

Similarities Between Ecommerce and Dropshipping

To start with, when we mention ecommerce, we mean the traditional ecommerce fulfillment process.

Ecommerce and dropshipping follow the same workflow till the order fulfillment step:

• The online retailer builds a website.
• They upload the product catalog.
• They design the checkout flow.
• They advertise and market their products.

There are a lot of commonalities between dropshipping and ecommerce.

How do they differ?

Difference Between Ecommerce and Dropshipping

In the traditional ecommerce fulfillment method, store owners source products and store them in a warehouse. In dropshipping, the business owner orders a product from the dropshipper after a customer places an order. The dropshipper sources, packs, and delivers the products to the customer.

The infographic below illustrates the primary differences between ecommerce fulfillment and dropshipping:

Dropshipping vs. Ecommerce: Choosing the Best Option

Source: Adobe Stock Photos, Standard License

Now that you know the key differences and similarities between ecommerce and dropshipping, let’s see how you can choose a method that suits you.

Dropshipping and Ecommerce: Key Business Impact

Ecommerce and dropshipping are different business models. They both impact the success of your ecommerce site in different ways.

To choose the best method, you need to compare the impact of these models on the following key business aspects.

Initial Investment

Dropshipping: You can start without initial investment as you work without inventory or warehouse.

Ecommerce: You need to procure products and set up a warehouse. It needs initial capital.

Profitability

Dropshipping: Your profit margins will be low as you buy products from a dropshipping supplier — a middleman. Your supply chain may also cost you more as you might need to pay for fulfillment services.

Ecommerce: Your profit margins will be high as you buy products at a wholesale price. You can also minimize the packaging and shipping costs.

Ease of Business

Dropshipping: As a beginner, dropshipping makes it easy to do business. You can avoid upfront product costs, storage, and packaging.

Ecommerce: As you need to procure, store and package products, this method is complex. You may need an experienced workforce.

Branding

Dropshipping: You have minimal control over the quality of products the dropshipper acquires for you. You won’t be able to sell custom products or use unique branding.

Ecommerce: You have complete control over the product you sell. You can sell your own products and brand them as you wish. It helps to create a powerful brand.

Risk

Dropshipping: If you don’t get quick sales, you have no risk as you don’t hold any inventory. But you’ll have some legal risk if the dropshipper doesn’t comply with regulations.

Ecommerce: You’ll face higher losses if products don’t sell. But you control the complete sales process, so you won’t have to deal with legal issues with a third party.

Based on these critical aspects, let’s look at a few tips on when to use dropshipping and ecommerce.

When To Choose Dropshipping Model

Here are a few scenarios when you should choose dropshipping.

• You are a beginner and want to open your store quickly.
• You want to minimize the startup costs.
• You sell products for which branding isn’t necessary.
• You want to minimize risks related to unsold inventory.

When To Choose Ecommerce Fulfilment Model

Here are a few scenarios when you should choose ecommerce fulfillment.

• You have enough funds and a capable workforce.
• You are selling your own branded products.
• You want to have complete control over your order fulfillment.

Final Thoughts: Dropshipping vs. Ecommerce: A Basic Guide To Order Fulfillment

Dropshipping and ecommerce are two useful order fulfillment methods. Both have their pros and cons.

While choosing dropshipping vs. ecommerce, you need to carefully consider the impact of these models on business aspects like:

• Initial Investment.
• Profitability.
• Ease of Business.
• Branding.
• Flexibility.

No matter which fulfillment model you choose, you need to create an excellent store to create a vast customer base.

Are you ready to take that first step in building an online store? You can do it in a few clicks using Hostdedi’s StoreBuilder.

Check out our StoreBuilder plans to get started today.

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