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    Should you migrate your website to Magento?

    Guide
    by Kishan Kotecha Partnership Manager

    There’s no shortage of options when it comes to choosing an eCommerce platform. That makes the choice difficult, mainly because once you’ve committed, you know it’ll be a bigger job to change your mind later on.

    So assuming you’re running a non-Magento website right now, is it worth migrating? Let’s have a look at the factors that could influence your decision.

    Benefits of Magento

    First, it makes sense to look at why Magento is so popular. At the time of writing, it’s the second most used eCommerce platform after WooCommerce, but it’s more popular than Shopify, and is trusted by many mainstream companies like Nike, HP and Unipart.

    Magento’s main benefit is its power – it’s a hugely flexible platform that doesn’t tie site owners down to any specific type of eCommerce operation – it gives the basics as standard and allows you to modify it at will.

    Drawbacks of Magento

    Magento’s strength is also its weakness. Although you can run Magento straight out of the box and start selling, it’ll be pretty generic and won’t look like a professional site. To get it to the stage where it’s hosted, fully functional and looking like your own site, you’re going to need real professional input from developers and designers.

    If you’re used to a platform like Shopify, that will be a culture shock for you. But don’t forget that Magento was designed to be that skeletal platform – it’s not a design flaw; it’s a blank canvas.

    Benefits of staying put

    Changing systems is always a bit of a pain. If you’ve ever moved from Apple to Android, Windows to Mac or petrol to electric, you’ll understand that it’s not just the system, it’s the embedded hardware and software that all needs to change too. So even if the destination is better than the current situation, there will always be resistance to moving.

    You’ll inevitably have some disruption, whether it’s server downtime (which can be minimised to zero if planned well), or simply learning a whole new system. But when you know it’s time, it’s time.

    Knowing when it’s time to migrate

    So how do you know when it’s time to migrate to Magento? It will largely depend on where you are now. The most pressing need will come from volume of sales – Magento is unmatched when it comes to dealing with huge volumes of traffic and sales. If your current platform is struggling to cope with the volume, a Magento migration will almost certainly cure it, assuming it’s not a hosting issue.

    We’ve compared Magento with WordPress, Shopify and WooCommerce in the past, so read up on these if you’re currently selling through one of those systems – they lay out the pros and cons of each, and by extension, which you should choose.

    As well as sales volume, you might choose to move if you want more functionality from your site. All the major eCommerce platforms have plugins and extensions, but Magento is widely regarded as having the most comprehensive collection and support network. If there’s a function you want for your site, it’ll probably already exist.

    So don’t be put off by the fact that you’ll need expert help. There’s a good chance that you’re a still a relatively young operation that’s outgrown its start-up platform, so you probably don’t have a dedicated tech team. That’s exactly where Gooey can help. We have Magento specialists in-house and migrating onto the platform seamlessly is bread and butter to them. We’d love to hear from you and guide you through your next phase of growth.