Magento is a leading eCommerce platform that is well-known for its customisability and robust features. Along with WooCommerce and Shopify, they are regarded the top 3 eCommerce platforms worldwide. Indeed, every top eCommerce store is based on either one of these platforms. You may be wondering which is the best platform out of these three?
There is no straightforward answer to this question as various factors must be considered. With considerable experience in eCommerce, we have seen clients opt for Magento to WooCommerce migration and vice versa. There are cases where the store is based on Shopify or WooCommerce, but the client is actively exploring a Magento solution.
Based on our experience, we can conclude that the best platform ultimately comes down to personal and target market preferences. If you have made your mind about migrating your Magento store by FME Extensions to WooCommerce, you have come to the right place. This article will discuss everything there is to know about Magento to WooCommerce migration and a lot more.
Why Opt for Magento to WooCommerce Migration?
Undoubtedly, Magento is a robust platform that offers unparalleled levels of customisation and flexibility. However, it is not without limitations.
Cons of Magento
Maintenance Cost
Regardless of whether you are using Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce, the maintenance cost is quite high. The primary reason for it is Magento’s complexity. You need an experienced team of Magento developers to develop and maintain the store.
Complexity
Apart from the cost, Magento is not user-friendly at all. An individual without prior experience in dealing with eCommerce platforms can quickly find themselves scratching their ends in frustration. Indeed, most merchants complain about the steep learning curve when it comes to mastering Magento solutions.
Lack of In-built Features
While Magento offers robust features, very few of them are offered as part of the platform itself. Instead, much-needed features can only be set up by using extensions. In most cases, these extensions are not free. In other words, when factoring the costs associated with running a store on Magento, you must also consider the costs of various extensions.
Portability
Our experience tells us that many merchants opt for Magento thinking that they can easily switch between Magento solution providers. In other words, they can get the store set up from company A and then switch to company B or C onwards. In theory, this is correct. However, the problem is that each Magento solution provider has different coding practices, making it difficult to switch between companies.
Content Management
One of the key aspects of running an online store is quality content. Magento does not have an in-built blog feature. In other words, you need to buy a Magento 2 blog extension. Naturally, an online store cannot realise its full potential unless you upload blogs to educate consumers and drive organic traffic.
Pros of WooCommerce
Now, let’s look at why switching towards WooCommerce from Magento is a good decision.
Cost
Regardless of the store size, every merchant wishes to keep costs low to maximise profits. Luckily, WooCommerce is quite budget friendly. The development and maintenance costs are quite low. For example, a key component of the maintenance is hosting. Top hosting providers like Bluehost, Hostinger, and SiteGround offer reliable WooCommerce hosting for less than $15 per month. If you opt for annual payment, the cost goes down further. For more information, check out the ‘Best WooCommerce Hosting Providers 2024’.
User Friendliness
Unlike Magento, individuals with no prior coding or eCommerce experience can use WooCommerce. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that just by watching a few tutorials, you can set up a robust online store in eCommerce.
Content Management System
Since WooCommerce is integrated with WordPress, the CMS is quite seamless. After all, WordPress was originally a blogging platform. Users can easily upload blogs, add new content, and much more.
Search Engine Optimisation
Optimising the website for the search engines is easy as 1,2,3. With SEO plugins, you can further improve your online visibility. Here’s a detailed guide on WooCommerce SEO for better clarity.
Support
Lastly, there are dedicated support forums. Regardless of whether you have a very basic question or an advanced query, WooCommerce experts will always be on hand to guide you.
Factors to Consider Before Magento Store to WooCommerce Migration
There are various factors you must consider prior to the migration. If the Magento store is complex, the migration process will be twice as complex. The volume and type of data will have an impact on the time it takes to complete the migration. If you are using custom extensions, you need to ensure they are compatible with WooCommerce.
If not, you must identify alternatives for must-use extensions. Migration will impact your online visibility. Therefore, keep an eye on the URL structures, meta titles, meta descriptions, and other aspects when migrating. Otherwise, recovering your rankings can prove to be a challenge.
Step by Step Guide to Migrate Your Magento Store to WooCommerce
Before elaborating further, you have three options.
Option 1 – Use a Plugin
There are various plugins available that allow you to migrate your entire Magento store to WooCommerce. This involves minimal work except you need to spend money on buying the plugin.
Option 2 – Use a Magento to WooCommerce Migration Service Provider
The second option involves looking for a company that offers migration services. They’ll analyse your store and give you a quote. The best thing about this option is that the company will be responsible for ensuring that all data is compatible with WooCommerce. They can also help with identifying alternatives to existing extensions. We highly recommend using WooCommerce AI Plugins to Future-Proof Your Store.
Option 3 – Manual Migration
This is where you handle the migration process yourself.
How to Migrate from Magento to WooCommerce Manually
Step 1 – Backup Your Magento Store
The first step is to backup all data that you have on your Magento store. Luckily, Magento offers an in-built function to complete the backup. For this, you need to:
- Go to Admin Sidebar
- Select System
- Select Tools
- Click on Backups
Remember, since you are migrating your entire, you need to backup everything. Therefore, ensure that you tick the ‘Include Media folder to System Backup’ option. This will ensure that images and other media are included in the backup process.
Step 2- Set Up a WooCommerce Store
The next step is to set up a WooCommerce account. For the latest guidelines, click here. The guide has been compiled by WooCommerce itself, ensuring that the instructions are always up to date. If you have any queries, you can look for support in the relevant forums.
Step 3 – Export and Import Data
The next step involves exporting data from Magento. Ensure that you export products, customer orders, and customer information. Once the export process is complete, validate the data to ensure there are no inconsistencies. Remember to export the data in CSV format. Afterwards, format the data for use in WooCommerce.
However, this is not required in every case. Now, head to WooCommerce 🡪 Add Products 🡪 Import your products from a CSV file. You can import products using this option but for orders and customer information, you will need a plugin. Lastly, validate the imported data.
Step 4 – Configure the Settings
Of course, you cannot start using the WooCommerce store right after importing the data. You need to configure various settings, ranging from SEO to shipping. We already have an established library of WooCommerce plugins covering various aspects of your store. They can make things easier for you, especially when it comes to shipping methods and rate adjustment.
Your WooCommerce URLs need to be similar to the Magento store URLs. However, if they are not SEO-friendly, we recommend changing them. You can configure the URLs in WooCommerce by heading out to Settings 🡪 Permalinks. To tweak the email settings, head to WooCommerce 🡪 Settings 🡪 Emails. For settings related to user accounts and privacy, go to WooCommerce 🡪 Settings 🡪 Accounts & Privacy.
Step 5 – Perform Tests
This step involves testing your WooCommerce store’s functionality. Firstly, verify the data. You can simply do this by comparing number of products on your Magento store and WooCommerce store. Next, check if the pricing and product descriptions are similar. Use an SEO audit tool to identify SEO-related issues. Work on them before you make the site go live.
Additionally, use performance tools to monitor the store’s performance, especially loading times and mobile responsiveness. We highly recommend that you walk through each step of the consumer buying process to ensure that the experience is seamless. This will also help you identify any issues that a user may encounter. A proactive approach can help you resolve issues long before they affect your users.
Step 6 – Implement Customisations
If you need to customise any aspect of the store or install any plugins, this is the time to do it.
Step 7 – Final Testing
Once all customisations are done, conduct final testing. This should be more rigorous than the previous testing. We recommend asking a professional company to undertake this testing on your behalf. If that’s not an option, ask as many people as possible to browse the website. This will help you identify issues that may have been overlooked previously.
Step 8 – Go Live
Lastly, launch the website. However, this does not mean that your responsibilities have ended. Instead, monitor the website and focus on continuous improvement.
Conclusion
This concludes our article on how to migrate your Magento store to WooCommerce. If you have any questions related to this guide or anything related to eCommerce, feel free to ask our team.
