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Disruption. Not a word anyone running a mission-critical business wants to hear. And there’s no shying away from the fact that Magento has introduced disruption into the commerce market by sunsetting the Magento 1 platform and encouraging merchants to re-platform to M2.  

But what about when disruption creates opportunity and innovation?  When disruption brings about a transition to something bigger, better, different, and future-proof?  Well, we think about it in a different frame. Turning disruption into opportunity is how we here at Hostdedi view the pending M1 End of Life in June of 2020.

Many companies like yours are having to make decisions about what happens next to Magento-based online stores. You’re likely seeing messaging that ‘the sky is falling’, wrapped around offers, tutorials, and guides on how to migrate as fast as you can before everything crashes down. But before you get worried, think strategically. This kind of shift will require a transformation – and transformation requires clear-headed thinking, planning, and solid change management.

This is a perfect opportunity to audit where you are and make good decisions about where you’re going. Planning for and executing strategically on this change is where Hostdedi can help you transform challenge into triumph. 

Not every business is the same and knowing that this event was coming allowed us to expand our portfolio of solutions to meet you wherever you are. We’ve developed a brand new product called Safe Harbor for those who want to stay put for now. We also have Magento agencies ready to help you migrate to M2. And if you decide that a re-platform to M2 doesn’t align with your overarching business strategy, we’re prepared to offer extensive support for other platforms that allow you to drive growth.

Getting What You Need from Open Source

With the introduction of Magento in 2007, the commerce landscape was forever changed. What was originally called Community Edition turned into Magento Open Source a few years ago. Upon its arrival, it quickly became the de facto solution for anyone selling online. And we were there. In fact, the first instances of Magento were built on the Hostdedi platform and we have been the #1 hosting provider for Magento stores ever since. 

But today’s landscape is far different than it was a decade ago. There are platforms aplenty for small and large businesses, both open and closed. And with so many options, it can be overwhelming to pare down and prioritize what features and functions are going to make your site the best it can be. Remember – easy doesn’t always mean best – especially if you’re considering a closed platform like Shopify for your foundation. As a SaaS platform, it limits customization, performance, and scalability. A lack of built-in features often requires add-ons that are costly, resource-intensive, and can slow down your site. Add to that restrictive product & SKU customization, a lack of flexibility for site design & modifications, and exorbitant subscription fees and what might seem like an easy path becomes unforgiving and expensive. Shopify’s transaction and payment gateway fees alone could cost you more than 5% of every sale you make. 

So if there’s one takeaway from this moment of transition, it’s that making open source your foundation for commerce directly aligns to achieving long-term growth. From its revolutionary beginnings to current day frameworks, open source optimizes people and technology. The value of rapid contribution from experts, the elimination of extra licensing and maintenance fees, and the ability to inherently know they can meet the needs of every customer is exactly why our industry-leading agency clients invest in open source with us. They know that they can meet the needs of every customer with confidence and without hesitation. We’re proud of our leadership in this space. And we’re committed to continuous investment here, developing the broadest possible community dedicated to open source ecommerce.

Taking Action 

Ready for next steps? We’re excited to share options that will provide a smooth transition for you and your clients: 

Option 1: Stay on Magento 1 with Hostdedi’ Safe Harbor: 

After June 2020, Magento will stop providing core updates and security patches. Safe Harbor offers:

• Updates and security patches that will keep your platform running, safely. 
• Malware scans with visibility into malicious attacks and blocked requests by our WAF. 
• A vetted list of modules we frequently update with recommend extensions that can be used without risk.
• Simple integration that does not require dev support. 

This is a great option available for Q120+ which can avail you more time to work on your broader strategy.

Option 2: Move from Magento 1 to Magento 2: 

If you’re growing fast, have a migration plan already in place, and a high number of customers and SKUs, this option likely makes sense for you. While it requires re-platforming, we’ve made the transition to M2 as seamless as possible by serving up a stable platform with capabilities designed to elevate the consumer experience, while still ensuring your team is supported at every turn. We have a broad set of agency partners we can connect you with who are at-the-ready to help you re-platform.

Security

• Apply security updates and patches
• Create malware signatures and firewall rules

Look and feel and UX

• Design themes
• Data migration
• Basic training
• Product data loading

Support

• Dedicated project manager
• Ongoing support after migration is complete
• Security and core patches
• Store performance analysis and optimization
• Support for most popular extensions for payments, shipping, tax, and email marketing

Option 3: Talk with Us About Alternatives:

We’re experts in open source ecommerce and we’re ready to work with you on building out your plan. Not sure if Magento is still a good fit? We have customers of all sizes on our Managed WooCommerce Hosting platform. One example is an enterprise with more than 5,000 SKU’s, processing 25,000 orders a month, and generating more than $10M in annual revenue. Marrying needs & budget with ongoing support that aligns to your long-term growth objectives is what we do best. 

We’ve learned a lot in the last decade: not only about Magento and the surrounding community, but about ecommerce. Now that you know our plans, we’re ready to hear about yours. Whether you’re staying on Magento 1, moving to Magento 2 or considering alternatives, our ecommerce partners are ready to help you with your next move. Contact us today for a review of where you are now, and how options like Safe Harbor will keep you secure as you determine next steps.

With Magento Live Europe just around the corner, we’re gearing up for one of the biggest Magento events of the year. Before we pack our bags and head to Europe though, there are a couple of other events that we’ve been excited about attending all year, and that you definitely shouldn’t miss out on. 

Since September is one of the busiest Magento event times of the year, we’ve brought together the events we’re planning to attend, so you can pick and mix based on where your favorite Magento hosting company are going to be. 

If you can’t make it, we’ll be publishing what we think the main Magento takeaways are from each event. So keep an eye on our blog post-event. 

What to Know Before You Go

Magento events have a lot of opportunities for merchants, developers, and everyone in between. In order to take the most away from these opportunities, it’s important to know what they are and where you’ll find them. 

Before launching into the events themselves, we want to make sure you know what you can expect from each of them. 

Sessions

All Magento events have sessions. They range from highly technical to more business orientated, and are probably your best source of information at a Magento event. 

Before attending, take a look at the event’s website to see what sessions they have in place and which really speak to you and your needs. Try to manage a timetable where you can take advantage of all three things on this list, but prioritize the most important sessions. After all, you’re probably attending a Magento event to learn.

Sponsors

Sponsors are a big part of the Magento community, and almost every event has at least a handful of them. They’re great to talk to because they can potentially provide you with some awesome ideas for how to improve your Magento store. 

They’re also a really good source for keeping a pulse on the Magento community. Most of the time they know what’s happening, who’s who, and what the latest developments have been. Why not go over and ask they about their Magento experiences, if nothing else. 

We’ll be sponsoring several of the events below and will have our own booth. Come and talk to the team to learn more about how we’re a cloud company that has been with Magento since the start and will continue to support Magento merchants no matter what. 

Networking Events

We know, after a long day of listening to sessions and speaking to sponsors, you probably just want to go home. But wait, there’s still more!

Networking events often take place around Magento events. They offer a good place to meet fellow merchants and developers, and continue that conversation with that one sponsor. 

We suggest making an appearance and talking to a handful of people, at least. The Magento community is really helpful and supportive of newcomers and existing faces alike. 

These events also tend to come with free food and drink as well!

 

 

 

 

Catch Us Around the World

Interested in knowing what events we’ll be attending in the future? Check out our events page and stay up to date. You can also catch us on social media, either through our Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts. Keep an eye on our timelines and we’ll let you know when our next event is.