Magento is one of the largest and most accessible eCommerce platforms on the market. In 2020, the eCommerce migration service LitExtension reported that three eCommerce platforms accounted for 86% of the choices retailers made to build their online store for the ease and convenience of delivering a premium shipping and delivery experience to their customers: Shopify at 35%, WooCommerce at 31%, and Magento at 20%. Some tech statistics have estimated Magento systems move over $150 billion worth of goods every year, allowing the website to enjoy a 2.32% market share, according to Statista, of all global eCommerce platforms. Acquired in 2018 for $1.68 billion by the powerhouse software company, Adobe, Magento continues to be integrated into the online stores of merchants everywhere, as well as becoming a key feature of Adobe’s Experience Cloud Business Unit. In other words, you should seriously consider using Magento for your eCommerce needs.
If you are already using Magento for your eCommerce business, you may have noticed that since the release of Magento 2, the platform’s now standard version, there have been over 30 updates or upgrades made available. It is very possible that you have questioned the value of an update on any platform that you use, like the latest iOS on your iPhone for example. We’ve seen large scale mishaps from Rogers and Microsoft that have affected major industries, all stemming from an update to their operating systems. Thus, it would be perfectly understandable for you to hesitate to upgrade your Magento every time one is released, if not out of concern that it could disrupt or halt your ability to service your customers and make sales. While there are a myriad of reasons to stay up to date on the software you use, here are three specific scenarios where we at MGG Digital would highly recommend you consider upgrading your Magento software.
1. Increasing Your Site’s Security & Performance
If you are looking to increase your online safeguards, either through adding on cybersecurity software or upgrading security, you should upgrade your Magento. The company has been focused on keeping your online store from being vulnerable to threats. They can significantly enhance your store’s security and performance with regular updates. Many such updates include critical security patches designed to fix loopholes and address major bugs, such as remote code execution (RCE) and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. For example, Magento 2.4.7 incorporates 40 security enhancements that safeguard your online store against cyberattacks. By frequently updating Magento, you ensure the platform’s code remains robust, thereby providing a higher level of performance.
Enhanced performance translates into optimized website speeds, faster page load times for sections, categories, and inbound pages, and more efficient server operations. This results in a more efficient, high-performing website that boosts sales and conversion rates. The latest release, Magento 2.4.7, includes over 10 functional fixes to the core code, simplifying and optimizing it for faster execution and page loading. These enhancements strike a balance between offering modern features and maintaining ease of use. Staying current with updates allows you to familiarize yourself with upcoming features and take advantage of new tools for product launches and promotions. Not all of these updates can pertain to your store, but if you are seriously looking for ways to improve the performance of your online store, either because you are planning to reveal new products or preparing a promotional campaign, you can leverage these continuous improvements to expand your retail store and empower your team to deliver on helping your business grow.
2. Scaling Up Your Business
One of the most appealing benefits to using Magento is its open-source software that can be inspected and modified by your business for high customization. When you should upgrade your Magento will come into consideration particularly when you’re looking to provide a heightened unique experience to your customers. Your development team can meet those requirements, in addition to finding a wide range of compatible hosting services as well as responsive integration to multiple platforms. These reasons explain why MGG Digital prefers Magento when building fast, secure, customized, and SEO optimized sites for our customers. When it comes to time to scale your business higher, Magento can quickly adapt to your needs.
Magento’s general open source platform can effectively manage your entire site when it comes to managing promotions, marketing strategies, product searching, order management, checkout, payment, and shipping. As you scale to become a larger business, Magento offers a Commerce or Commerce Cloud upgrade that is subscription based, but allows you even more options like customer segmentation, targeted merchandising promotions, gifting options, and even more dynamic customer retention means like reward systems or return management.
3. Testing Changes To The User Experience
With the ease of using the Magento software, it is especially important to make sure your development team knows how to implement changes without affecting the current user experience. It is one of the reasons why our customers trust MGG Digital to manage updates to ensure core files do not get mistakenly overwritten, or redundant extensions slow down the performance speed of your site.
In such cases where you will be upgrading your Magento, it is important to do it in maintenance mode and Magento’s performance toolkit to perform testing. Develop custom functions compatible with the latest version, and install the Composer update plugin to resolve dependency issues. Thorough testing is essential for a seamless user experience, including functional, web usability, interface, and performance testing.
Magento updates can introduce critical changes to the core functions, but these are designed to enhance the framework’s overall quality and robustness. These upgrades result in a faster store infrastructure and greater resilience to high loads, improving your website’s health and efficiency in on-site development. For instance, Magento version 2.4.3 includes improvements across various functional areas such as customer accounts, frameworks and databases, sales, tax, and video integration. Enhancements to the core infrastructure not only improve the framework’s quality but also contribute to a smoother, more efficient development process.
Keeping your Magento platform updated is particularly important for maintaining the security, performance, and scalability of your online store. Regular updates ensure that your site is protected against the latest cyber threats and runs efficiently, providing an optimal user experience. The continuous improvements in Magento’s core functions and infrastructure significantly enhance your store’s resilience and operational speed, which is essential for handling high traffic loads and complex eCommerce operations. At the end of the day, how you want to manage your business is a personal decision, and when you should upgrade Magento can play a factor in those decisions. By leveraging the latest features and functionalities introduced in updates, you can offer a more customized and engaging shopping experience, ultimately driving growth and customer satisfaction. A proactive approach to Magento updates is usually the best way forward, especially as you grow to better understand your business and scale it successfully. Magento upgrades not only safeguard your business but also position it for future success in eCommerce.