Understanding the Cost of Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2

What it covers:

• Custom functionality migration,
• New feature development and
• Code adaptation for Magento 2

Cost Estimate: $5,000 to $67,000, depending on the complexity

Design and Theme Development Costs

Magento 1 themes are not compatible with Magento 2, so you will have to either design yourself or purchase a new theme.

For websites with intensive requirements, purchasing standardized templates (which are customized for various industries) is also a simpler and low-cost option.

Cost Estimate: The price usually ranges from US $50 to $500.

For companies that want a more sophisticated and unique user experience, custom development of the new theme is an ideal option. It not only improves the redesign of the existing user experience but also implements recent front-end technologies like PWA (Progressive Web Apps) to create an even better user experience.

In this case, companies typically think of hiring Magento developers to build the necessary functions into the new theme.

Cost Estimate: Magento Custom development is expensive, typically US $10,000 to US $30,000, depending on function complexity.

Data Migration Costs (Manual vs. Automatic)

The second important step is data migration, which includes customer accounts, product details, orders, store configuration, etc. (business-sensitive information).

To avoid any data loss, Magento does not handle by default unless you have a tool ready to support migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2, which can result in business disruption. Thus, hiring an expert Magento implementation team to perform the process will be a good choice to avoid any risks.

Magento 1 to 2 data migration is typically estimated at around 40-120 hours, depending on the complexity and volume of data to be migrated. Usually, Magento migration companies charge for Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration services in fixed packages based on the size of the data.

How much does data migration cost?

The cost of data migration varies from US $500 to thousands of dollars for high volumes and complexity.

Testing and QA Costs

Many businesses end up investing in round-the-clock functional, secure, and reliable QA testing for their Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration. This includes testing for data integrity, ensuring all existing functionality works compatibly, and providing a hassle-free user experience with regression, functional, performance, and security testing.

Automated tools like the Magento Functional Testing Framework (MFTF) simplify the process, while manual testing thoroughly checks functional aspects of the front-end and back-end.

Cost Estimate: QA/Testing can take 40-80 hours. The average hourly rate for Magento development in the US is $50-$150/hour. The average testing and QA cost could be between $2,000 and $12,000, depending on the location of the development team and the scope of testing required for your project.

Support and Maintenance Charges After Migration

Not only are development and migration important, but a strong support and maintenance team is also vital. Here are the Magento post-migration support and maintenance costs:

• Cloud services cost: Recurring cloud-related expenses like maintenance, optimization, and managed services
• Monitoring tools: Regular monitoring tools to maintain performance level
• Updates: Regular updates to keep everything running smoothly
• Training: Training users and staff
• Labor: Labor costs related to the ecommerce Magento migration project
• Administration Costs: Costs incurred by the project administrator
• System Maintenance: System maintenance and operation costs
• Software Updates: Software version updates and patches

Hidden Costs to Consider

Site Downtime During Migration

Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure runs the application in maintenance mode during the deployment phase, which means your new site is unavailable until all deployment factors are complete.

Your Production site will be in maintenance mode only temporarily — the duration depends on the site size, number of changes applied during deployment, and configuration with static content deployment.

Staff Training Costs

Training is also a big part of the Magento upgrade journey. A comprehensive training plan would allow team members to quickly become acquainted with new system operations. There are various ways to train your team, such as online courses like Udemy or learning from the official Adobe Commerce tutorial page. The total cost can be $1,500-$7,000.

SEO Considerations

The SEO risks and recovery time can also be considered as cost factors during the migration, as outlined below:

• Restructuring URLs
• Protocol changes (from HTTP to HTTPS)
• Changing hosting providers
• Migrating to a new environment
• Modifying domain names
• Merging domain properties into one

Therefore, migration requires a well-planned strategy from an SEO perspective. We can get either a Magneto SEO expert or Magento managed services, but on average, it costs roughly $2,500–$10,000 for US agencies.

How to Optimize Migration Costs?

Migration has never been an inexpensive task, but you can control some costs associated with it. We cannot deny that significant money will be necessary for the actual migration, but it’s not just about money. We have various points where we can cut costs while getting effective results. Let’s discuss how we can save money without compromising the quality of the process.

DIY Migration vs. Professional Help

Do It Yourself Approach

If you have an experienced team, it can save you significantly on labor costs if you do the migration on your own. You have to be a Magento expert who understands how things work and what problems can arise around data migrations, extensions, performance, etc. If your team has little to no experience migrating Magento, it can be tedious.

Pros:

• Lower initial cost
• More control

Cons:

• Potential for errors
• Time-consuming workflow
• Performance issues
• No optimization specialist

Professional Help

Magento-certified developers make the migration faster, easier, and with fewer to no errors. They are capable of dealing with more complex problems such as Magento database migration, SEO, and performance optimization.

Pros:

• Faster and reliable
• Expertise in resolving issues

Cons:

• Higher cost

Using Pre-built Themes and Extensions

Magento 2 has many built-in themes and extensions that help save development time, which helps reduce the overall project cost—especially for generic features (such as Magento payment gateways SEO functionalities).

Pros:

• Quicker to implement
• Lower cost
• Has a track record

Cons:

• Less customizable
• May conflict with other extensions

Read Also: Build vs. Buy Analysis

Phased Migration Approach

Staged migrations mean very limited disruption while also allowing for testing during migration stages.

Pros:

• Less downtime
• Easier test cases
• Fewer system breakdowns

Cons:

• The migration process will take more time
• More challenging to manage
• Potential data sync issues between Magento 1 and 2

Automated Data Migration

Using automated Magento migration tools, such as Magento’s Data Migration Tool or third-party services (LitExtension, Cart2Cart, etc.), is the easiest way to help users save on manual work and avoid mistakes with data transferring.

Pros:

• Quicker, more precise Magento store migration
• Lower error rate
• Minimal unavailability

Cons:

• Expensive, particularly for big stores with lots of data

Success Story: Examples of some Successful migrations from Magento 1 to Magento 2

1. BAUHAUS

European retail chain BAUHAUS began selling online with Magento Open Source in 2011, then launched a B2B site within the platform in 2015 and had grown to be the fastest-growing store in Europe by 2017. They migrated to Adobe Commerce with ERP integration, moving their entire system to simplify operations and optimize order and account management, as well as Click and Collect capabilities and BankID integration.

Results:

• Year-over-year (YoY) online revenue increase of 296%
• 376% improvement in conversion rate
• Over 80% growth for the B2B business
• Reduced manual processes by more than 80%
• Processing up to 115,000 sessions per day

2. Kurt Geiger

As UK fashion footwear retailer Kurt Geiger sought to increase online growth and deliver a signature shopping experience across its international Portfolio of brands, they migrated to their Ninewest platform. They implemented Magento 2 with Varnish caching to boost performance, along with elastic order management and fast development capabilities.

Results:

With this migration, Kurt Geiger handled increased traffic effectively and launched products in record time. The flexible frontend construction with responsive design further enhanced customer experiences, and its fast checkout process boosted conversions. This helped Kurt Geiger meet growth targets and provide engaging shopping journeys across devices.

Conclusion

For online businesses that want to stay relevant in the competitive eCommerce age, migrating to the latest and stable Magento 2 version is fruitful. Overall, Magento 2 delivers:

• Usability that allows you to drive increased traffic to your site and provide a maximum return on investment (ROI),
• Enhance SEO with improved performance, security, and scalability.

While there are costs associated with migration that mostly depend upon store complexity, features, and customizations being used in the older store, with proper planning and timely professional assistance, businesses can migrate without putting too much burden on their budget!

Struggling with Magento 2.0 migration? Let Ignitiv ensure a frictionless transition with minimal downtime—contact us today!

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