What is Magento end of life v1

Magento end of life V1 is everywhere, we even have a countdown to it on our homepage. But what does it mean for you? In this article we’re going to discuss why Magento is ending support for V1, how it’s going to affect merchants using it and what to do after the deadline.

What caused Magento end of life?

In 2014 Magento release version 1.9 and as an open source software, they’ve committed to supporting it for as long as possible. After 6 years, it’s safe to say that Magento have delivered on their promise to support and provide security updates.
On the 17th November 2015, Magento announced the V2 release, but it was only in 2018 when Magento gave notice on V1. As part of their software promise, they gave merchants at least 18 months notice before ending support, which leads us to June 2020.

What happens when support for Magento V1 ends?

Magento V1 websites won’t just stop working on 1st June 2020, but rather Magento won’t release any updates or security patches from that day forward. What that means for merchants is that your site will be out-of-date from a security point of view and may be vulnerable to attacks.

Is my Magento site safe on V1 after end of life?

Because Magento is an open-source platform, it allows developers to extend the core by exposing the base source code. This means that the source code is visible to hackers, and can be manipulated to gain access to the backend of Magento sites. Magento combats these by releasing software security patches that fix known vulnerabilities. When support ends in June 2020, any new vulnerabilities that are exposed won’t have any fixes released by Magento.

When should I upgrade?

Definitely before June 2020, but ideally as soon as you possibly can. More and more merchants are moving towards new eCommerce platforms such as Shopify and Shopify Plus. If you’re planning on upgrading to Magento 2 platform or migrating to a new platform, it’s important that you don’t underestimate how long these processes can take.

Migrate to Shopify from Magento

As a Shopify Plus Partner and a migrations expert, we’ve seen more and more merchants move over from Magento. Every eCommerce business is different and the reasons to migrate to Shopify vary from store to store. The choice to upgrade to Magento 2 or migrate to Shopify can be a tricky one. For an unbiased and in-depth side by side comparison, check out this article by Paul Rogers: Magento Commerce 2 vs Shopify Plus.

If you’re thinking about migrating to Shopify, or have some questions, then tell me about your Magento site. Or read more about Migrating from Magento to Shopify.