There’s a little over a month left until Magento “sunsets†Magento 1 and ceases to provide support services and security patches. Fortunately as a Magento 1 merchant you do have a number of options at your disposal.
Stay on Magento 1, For Now
One of those options is to remain on Magento 1 to buy time. If you are a merchant that is considering drastic change in your business and you are not ready to move off of a current platform that may require an investment then this may be a smart move.
However, be careful not to think of this as a long-term solution. Over time, the lack of support and increased security risk will become a problem, so prioritize solving this problem to make sure your business doesn’t suffer unintended consequences.
Migrate to a Different E-Commerce Platform
If you have a relatively simple business and it can evolve in a simple manner you may want to consider a SaaS platform migration. Shopify or Big Commerce are two of the most popular platforms that merchants with simpler businesses are migrating to from Magento 1. As we talked about last week, there are clear scenarios when a less sophisticated platform is something we’d recommend. If you’d like to discuss if Shopify, Big Commerce, or another platform might be right for you, get in touch!
Migrate to a New Hosting Service
Finally, even if you are moving to a new platform or if you have decided on an upgrade to Magento to support a complex business with a lot of customizations you can temporarily solve the M1 E-o-L problem by changing your hosting to a provider who will support post-sunset services for Magento 1. This may be a good move even if it’s just for a 3 to 6 month period. The cost of a hack can potentially dwarf the short term expense of properly patching and securing a post-E-o-L M1 site until your new site is done.
Three of the more prominent Magento-focused hosting providers have services that you can utilize to keep your M1 store running right now. There is obviously some effort to migrate an existing M1 store to a new hosting provider but it is significantly less time and effort than a migration to Magento 2 or a move to a new platform, even a SaaS platform. Here are three providers we are aware of:
Webscale Magento 1 Support
The summary description from their website:
“Webscale M1 Support is a security-focused SaaS platform that allows merchants to continue to use Magento 1 beyond June 2020, securing their applications against cyberthreats. Webscale will be working with the Magento Association, the community, and Magento experts globally, to develop security patches, and collaborating with digital agencies and developers to apply these patches to merchants’ applications.â€
Webscale is an Accorin Partner, so naturally we have no problem recommending their services. Learn more on the Webscale website.
Mage One
The summary description from their website:
“At Mage One, we offer permanent, competent support for merchants who want to continue using Magento 1 professionally. We provide security updates and technical adjustments so that Magento 1 can continue to be used with the latest technology. We offer each participating company access to the source code and the updates and proactively inform you via our newsletter about new versions. In order to continue to find security vulnerabilities, our team will perform security checks of the existing Magento 1 source code and also offer prize money to security experts and developers who identify security vulnerabilities on their own responsibility and help us fix them.â€
Learn more on the Mage One website.
Nexcess “Safe Harborâ€
The summary description from their website:
“The Magento 1 EOL event affects any merchant or agency that runs websites on Magento 1. While many are preparing to migrate to Magento 2 or other platforms, some will simply not be ready before Magento 1 reaches EOL to take strategic action.
Safe Harbor enables businesses like yours to keep your sites on Magento 1 after EOL by providing security and technology updates for an extended period of time. So, whether you’re still weighing 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.â€
Learn more on the Nexess website.
The Bottom Line
Clearly the situation is not as dire as it was when Magento announced the sunset dates a year ago. However, it still remains important to develop a plan quickly as there is only one month left until Magento ends support and security patches.
Considering the retail industry and many companies that engage in commerce have been impacted by Covid-19, one of the best ways to save money and buy time until your business is stable may be to move your site to one of these post-M1 End-of-Life hosting providers, allowing you time to make strategic decisions about the best long-term approach for your business.
If, like a number of our clients, you would like help moving to an M1 hosting provider like Webscale or have questions around whether a different e-commerce platform might be a good solution for you, please contact us.
