We sacrifice by not doing any other technology, so that you get the best of Magento.

We sacrifice by not doing any other technology, so that you get the best of Magento.

    Author: m@g3m@nk3y$

    How to build an eCommerce Website in 2021?

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    2020 was the worst year across the world for all the businesses except eCommerce, the only business which prospered in 2020 was eCommerce websites and Apps. Looking at the current scenario people have created a habit of buying things online by sitting at ease at home and this habit is going to remain permanent.

    I am assuming that you already know what is eCommerce and have landed on this page as you have made the decision to join the world of eCommerce by selling something online. It could be your existing products or you may be buying from multiple sources and selling online(What most people do).

    Here I will try to explain what are essentials you should work on to start an eCommerce website and what best technological platform will be useful for that.

    Let’s see some statistics here so you can make the right decision on if it is wise for you to jump into eCommerce or not.

    Worldwide eCommerce sales
    Worldwide eCommerce sales (Image source: Shopify)

    eCommerce Statistics to consider while building a website in 2021

    product category wise internet users
    Source: Statista
    1. 61% of eCommerce purchases in the world have been based on recommendations from a blog and influencers. (Source: Content Marketing Institute)
    2. First online shopping purchase of almost 59% of Millennials is through Amazon, that makes Amazon one of the biggest eCommerce store in the world. (Source: Inviqa)
    3. Statistics says it is the best time to start an eCommerce right now, by the year 2040 almost 95% of all the purchase made in the world will be through eCommerce. (Source: Nasdaq)
    4. In 2020, Amazon accounted for 47% of all US eCommerce sales, which will touch 50% in the year 2021. (Source: Statista)
    5. There is a very high amount (55%) of customers who buy things online tell friends and family when they are dissatisfied with their eCommerce service or product they consumed. (Source: UPS)
    6. Out of the total people using the internet, 93.5% of them have purchased have done eCommerce transactions at least once as of now. (Source: OptinMonster)
    7. The average growth of the eCommerce industry from the last 10 years is at 23% but still, around 50% of businesses in the USA don’t have eCommerce websites. (Source: BigCommerce)
    8. The Next Boom in the eCommerce industry is going to come in B2B business and 69% of B2B businesses say they are going to stop printing the marketing material in the next 2-5 years. (Source: B2XPartners)
    9. Only 2.86% of eCommerce website visits convert into a purchase, so if your site is converting more than this than consider yourself very lucky and give a bonus to your digital marketing team (Source: Invesp)
    10. A survey has found that No. 1 reason people do online shopping as they can shop anytime in the day without any time restrictions. (Source: KPMG)

    Now let’s go through the points which you need to consider before you start building an eCommerce website, these points will help you to list features and functionalities required to build your website.

    Here I am assuming that you have done good research on what products you want to sell online as without having good products to sell thinking about eCommerce is waste of time.

    Initial research and strategies for your eCommerce store:

    • Whom to sell – Your Target Audience
      It is imperative to define your target audience as per the products you are trying to sell, If you are trying to sell baby products than mothers are the most suitable target audience than fathers. If you are trying to sell gifting products then emotion plays a major role in gifting and women should be your major target. If you are trying to sell Electronic products then men are making a major decision and if they are white goods then women are the decision-maker.
    • How to reach your Target audience?
      After the advancement of social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat reaching your target audience has become very easy. You can create an advertisement and target the exact age, sex, city, marital status, and interest of your target audience. Not only that in these advertisements you can even set on what time you want to showcase your advertisements. It is been known that if you want to get maximum sell then you need to target your advertisement at night time after 8 pm when people are just passing time on social media and have enough time to make a decision and purchase your product.
    • Use your competitors to your advantage
      Why reinvent the wheel, before you make your marketing plan you need to thoroughly research your competitors and their marketing activities, you need to research the tone of their text, what kind of blogs they are writing, what kind of content they are publishing on social media, now if you go to the Facebook page of your competitor you can even know all the advertisements they are running currently on Facebook. You can analyze their keywords and source of traffic with tools like SpyFu, QuickSprout, and SimilarWeb, and target the people they’re targeting.
    • Where and how you are managing the stock or you planning dropshipping?
      It is very important to have an effective plan to manage the stock or have a dropshipping model. You have to ensure your business has sufficient stock in hand to meet customer demand. If you are a newbie in the eCommerce industry and want to save money on warehouse and storage then Dropshipping is best for you as you don’t have to handle the product directly.
    • How are you going to manage shipping and returns?
      Another big part of knowing how to start an online store is deciding how you’ll be shipping your products, AKA where you’ll be doing business. You have to consider various aspects of shipping like methods & rates, packaging, shipping solutions. According to research, every year 30% of orders get returned. Renowned eCommerce stores offer return options with the required flexibility and precautions.
    • What are your marketing strategies and if you are going to have a budget to spend on marketing?
      Some of the effective marketing strategies are:

      – Email Marketing
      – Content Marketing
      – PPC
      – Social Media Marketing
      – Search Engine Optimization
      – Influencer Marketing
      – Affiliate MarketingTry and find out which strategy will give you the best impact. Determine your budget, whether it’s based on a fixed income or a percentage of revenue, This way it will be easier for you to allocate resources and measure the results of your campaigns.
    • How are your costs and your markups?
      When pricing a product for your eCommerce store consider these 4 angles:Your costs: Your costs will be a prime consideration of your pricing to have a sustainable business.
      Your competition: know your competitors’ pricing model.
      Psychology of your buyer: Understand your customer and learn what they are looking for (budget option: priced cheaper than your competitor)
      The market: Once your business met the costs, how much more do you want to have of surplus

    There are multiple points you should consider for products:

    • How many different SKU’s you will have? 

    Essential Required Features To Make Cosmetic-Beauty-Healthcare eCommerce Store Successful

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    With the emergence of technology, the healthcare sector is flooded with options for consumers. If you want your brand to stand out and more importantly, trusted by the people then certain imperative features are required in your store, which will not only create trust in your products but also will help you increase your top line.

    Ingredients
    Healthcare products are of personal use, before using the healthcare products, a customer wants to know what they are consuming as it directly affects them personally. Not only that but in most countries, it is compulsory as per the law to showcase the ingredients of the products you are selling. Before you start selling your products in different countries, please study the law about that country and abide by the law.

    You can also position your whole brand in what kind of ingredients you are using.
    https://evandefacialcare.com/ has highlighted natural ingredients in a big loud way on their top banner of the home page.

    Advantages of ingredients
    You have already listed ingredients, but the “why” is very important. If you want to build the trust of the product in the consumer mind, then you need to engage them with the product, and showcasing ingredients is the best way to do it.

    On Montesarymade.com, they have not only highlighted the advantages but also have allocated ample space on their page to showcase the images and product details.
    Link: https://www.monasterymade.com/products/intense-moisture-set

    Your Story/Philosophy
    Mostly the segment you are dealing with has 75% female consumers, and the best way to gain the trust of female consumers is by connecting them emotionally. Storytelling will give your brand depth, it will not just tell you about your product, but via storytelling, you can convey your values and philosophy. You can build a successful long term relationship with your customer with your core set of beliefs.

    Your Story should have the following things :

    • Emotional connect
    • Transparency
    • Care for society
    • How you came up with the idea.
    • How you are solving the problem.
    • How are you changing human lives.

    Directions for use
    As discussed before that, we need to engage a customer with our product to build trust. Now one more way of doing that is giving them the direction of use, mostly direction of use are pretty obvious but still if you show that to the customer and add a bit of a twist in the direction of the use and customer will start believing in your product and magic which will generate from it.

    If you read the below direction, they have articulately given direction by saying, “dot the product onto the ring finger and warm the material by rubbing it with the thumb in a circular motion.”

    Personalized profile/Skincare Quiz
    Customer is king, and if you make them feel special than they will remain loyal to your product for a lifetime. You can design personalize questionnaires, which would make them answer the health concerns they are having and which would lead the customer to buy the offered products. This questionnaire will make the customer feel that website is offering not any generalized product which is made for all, but some personalized products after listening to the concerns customer are having.

    Subscription plan
    Repeat purchase is the key to a successful business, and a subscription plan is the best way you can offer to a customer where they are purchasing your product repetitively without even coming to your website and, more importantly without spending an extra new dollar on the marketing!!.
    When you are offering a customer a service where they don’t have to remember to order the product when they are run out of it is called a replenishment subscription.

    It is paramount to understand you need to spend top marketing money to get a customer on your website and more importantly to make them buy the first product from your website. Now as a company owner if you calculate the cost of bringing customers the first time on your website is actually more than the profit you are making from the sale of that product, repeat purchase is the only way where you can make profits.

    The major reason customer signup for subscription plan is to save money and you need to make sure that if a customer is going for a subscription plan then you are offering them at-least 15-25% discount.

    Shop by different groups
    When a customer is coming to your site they don’t know what are your products, they know the problem they are having, and helping them to guide in the right direction is half the time product sold.

    Video Testimonials

    People are always sceptical about the products when they are affecting their health directly or indirectly and to win the trust or remove the skepticism video testimonial plays the biggest role.

    There are multiple reasons why Video Testimonials are a must for any products you are selling which are going to be consumed or used personally on the body.

    1) Credibility and Trust
    A written testimonial on your website might help you to convert the potential customers but to get fully trusted in your product they got to hear it from “Horse’s Mouth” and a video testimonial is the best thing for gaining trust. This adds authenticity to your product.

    2) Emotional Connect
    Reading a testimonial won’t connect the reader with the person who has given the testimonial but if they are watching the video then they will be able to see the face and emotions of the testimonial giver and that will directly connect them emotionally with the product.

    3) Humanizing your brand
    By putting video testimonial on your website you are not only creating trust but you are also humanizing your brand value, before the eCom era customer use to go in-store to buy the product but now they are buying online and if they see certain happy faces on your site that will give positive effect and will make your site more friendly and will establish a connection with your brand

    4) Social Proof
    Science describes social proof as people follow the action of others considering that others have taken a certain decision and it ought to be the right decision.
    When you are dealing with female consumers, social proof plays a major role in making the buying decision, there is no major social proof than video testimonial.

    Gift Cards

    In the gifting industry, Cosmetic Gift cards make some of the best gifts, many times consumers are confused about what to gift and gift card really solves that problem easily.

    Some of the benefits of why gift cards are useful to consumers

    • They can gift as per their budget
    • A person can buy whenever they want and whatever they want.
    • There is no hassle of asking for a shipping address or paying extra for shipping.
    • The recipient will have guilt free-spending, which normally recipient won’t spend if it has to buy with money
    • It more polite way to gift cash.
    • And most important, Gift cards are practical.

    Our Team/Consultants/Advisors

    When you are selling cosmetic and health products, consumers are always in skepticism about the quality of the product and how it won’t give them side effects. If a store try to show them who are people behind the formula of the products or with whose approval these products are made than it will help them to trust your product

    Free online consultation

    If you are into high-end skincare or health-related products than offering an online consultation service can be very helpful, customers will feel that they are getting personalized service and someone is there to listen to their exact problem and give the best solution for that, and for that customers are always ready to pay extra.

    Reward points

    You must pay for customer’s loyalty, and customers will stick with you for a lifetime. After certain purchases, you must have square-off the marketing expense to bring the customer on board, if you pay back 25% of the marketing expense required to bring the new customer back on board on the existing customer then they will feel special and will stick to your brand forever. Not only that, by giving them reward points you can keep reminding and pushing them to utilize the reward points by buying new products from your store.

    You can also use a reward points strategy for spreading the word about your product by the customers, extra reward points can be given on the following actions :

    • On Referrals
    • Sharing the purchase on Social Media
    • Giving testimonial about the product
    • Rewards on Signup

    Increasing Respect

    There is increasing awareness among the consumers about sustainable living, they are getting conscious about living life without harming the nature around us. If we show how our products are natural and not harming the environment they will not only like your products but they will start respecting your brand, and respect will generate brand loyalty.

    Blog
    In the modern world, whenever any health or body-related issue occurs first thing a person does is goes on google to search for it, this is the best and right time to capture users attention, you should not try to directly sell your product, but first of all, you need to educate the visitor about the problem and its consequences in detail and then offer the solution to it.

    Benefits of Blog writing in Healthcare and Cosmetic eCommerce store :

    • Improves your search engine ranking
    • It signals that we know about the problems better than anyone else.
    • It tells that your business is alive with new ideas and solutions
    • You can promote offers in your blog content
    • It can facilitate discussions
    • Attracts organic traffic on the website
    • All this says that if you are a healthcare or cosmetic store than blogging is a must for your store.

    All this says that if you are a healthcare or cosmetic store than blogging is a must for your store.

    Thank you page

    This is the last screen of the user journey on your website and you must be thinking that user acquired, sale made and that is the end of the journey of the user. Have you ever thought of how to use this page for influencing the user to come again to your site without spending money on the marketing.

    • We should have links to your social media pages on this page so that before leaving the website they can follow you on social media.
    • We can ask customers to let their friends and family know about your site by having a form to refer to your friends and family and can win some exciting gifts.
    • We can ask a customer to share their recent purchase on social media by giving some good message.
    • If your customer is not registered and has used the guest account for shopping then we can ask them to sign up as a user by just entering the password
    • We can ask them to review the website or giving feedback on the shopping process on the website by asking “How can we improve”
    • We can give them some discount coupon code for their future orders with some validity of dates.
    • If your website is having blogs then we can divert to the blog section where they can read the blogs.

    How Much Does A Magento Website Development Cost?

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    Magento has over 2,40,000 worldwide users. It stands best in the eCommerce industry. And its all because of its extensive customization options and rich features.

    Budget is the real concern that lies in our customer’s mind for the whole Magento project. There are some important elements which can cost you for implementing Magento

    Some Of The Other Important Elements That Can Affect The Pricing are

    • Migration to Magento Latest Version (1000$ – 5000$)
    • Server Cost (500$ – 4000$)
    • Designing and Development Cost (5000$ – 25000$)
    • Extensions Creation/upgradation (500$ – 3000$)
    • Support & Maintenance (2000$-20000$)

    You want to build your space in the digital world and sell things online?

    You need an online store developed with your specific requirements. We offer over a hundred plus custom eCommerce solution to make sure that you sell millions with our services. If you want to build a new store or upgrade the existing one; all you need is a Magento Development Company.

    1. Basic Magento Website (5000$ – 15000$)

    If who want to build a generic Magento website then Basic Magento is right for you. Small businesses opt for Basic Magento as it gives them all they need.

    The basic website will give you limited features such as:

    • Basic Magento Functionality
    • Simple Design Or Theme
    • Access To Magento Community Site
    • No Integration With Back Office Systems
    • A Smooth CMS

    2. Custom Magento Website (15000$ – 25000$)

    If you are someone who is looking to upgrade or migrate from another eCommerce platform then you should go for Magento custom website.

    Custom Magento store comes with following benefits;

    • Custom Magento Design
    • Integration With Back Office Systems
    • Custom Attributes Required To Be Created For Products
    • Customer Groups
    • Migrations To Host
    • Extensions, Etc.

    3. Magento Enterprise Website  ( 25000$+ )

    The Best part of Magento Enterprise is that you can rest assured as Magento takes complete care of your eCommerce sales right from order to shipping. It has everything you will ever need and some of the added benefits are

    • Built-In Modules
    • Mobile Friendly
    • Multiple Stores
    • Full Page Caching
    • Free Professional Customer Support
    • A Large Amount Of SKU’s
    • Hosted By Magento
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Customer Segmentation
    • Targeted Promotions & Merchandising
    • Custom Coupons
    • Integration With Shipping Providers
    • Social Media Integration
    • Training And Much More

    You can also get Magento developer on an hourly basis and the rate depends on the experience level of the developer.

    Apart from the above-mentioned features in the Custom Magento website, Magento Enterprise Edition gives you some additional features as well.

    • Mobile Commerce
    • Multiple Stores
    • Full Page Caching
    • Free Professional Customer Support
    • Built-in Modules
    • A large Amount of SKU’s
    • Private Sales, Wholesale, Gift Registries
    • Hosted By Magento
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Customer Segmentation
    • Targeted Promotions & Merchandising
    • Custom Coupons
    • Return Management Authorization

    Keeping our standard and quality checked, we give engagement models on flexible rates to our clients. To turn your ideas into reality we offer Magento developer for full time, part time or on an hourly basis who will design and develop your eCommerce store that will stand out from your competitor.

    We offer the best of services to our valuable customers in the most affordable way possible. Contact us anytime and we would love to help you in building great Magento websites.

    6 Signs You May Be Ready to Upgrade to Magento Commerce

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    Substantial growth in your business is exciting, but scaling that growth usually means you have to make some difficult decisions. One of these choices is whether to build up your current eCommerce website or upgrade to one that grows more effectively alongside you.

    Magento Open Source (formerly Community Edition) is often a starting point for smaller businesses on the Magento platform, and success with the product could mean you’re ready for a move to Magento Commerce (formerly Enterprise Edition).

    While we recommend you consult a Magento Partner before making your final decision, here are our 6 signs that your business can benefit from upgrading to the enterprise product:

    1. VISITORS ARE STRESSING YOUR CURRENT WEBSITE

    When you gain popularity, it’s normal for the increasing number of simultaneous visitors to push the limits of your website. However, it’s important to remember that a poor experience—whether it is slow performance, broken pages, or a crash caused by too much traffic—can damage your reputation in the eyes of potential customers. Because of this, you need to be sure to increase your bandwidth or upgrade your website before the visitor count becomes too high for your systems to handle properly.

    Magento Commerce’s enhanced caching and databasing capabilities can help your business operate more efficiently in serving your increasing number of customers. It also gives you exclusive options, such as cloud hosting, to deliver extra muscle during high-traffic times.

    2. CONVERSION RATES HAVE PLATEAUED

    A telling way to measure the success and effectiveness of your website is the conversion rate. A high rate is a strong sign that you’re marketing to the proper audience, have the right products, and are selling at a reasonable price. However, if you’re operating on Magento Open Source, your store still isn’t using Magento’s best conversion-driving features, which are available to Magento Commerce customers.

    Magento Commerce delivers improved performance for you to retain more visitors once they reach your site. It also offers you more opportunities to entice customer purchases and increase the order value of your transactions. Some of the enhanced features include:

    • Ability to create segmented marketing messages and storefronts
    • Gift wrapping options
    • Built-in gift card functionality
    • Tailored cross-sells and up-sells
    • Access to 100+ promotion types

    3. You’re Ready To Serve New Markets

    Reaching a point of growth at which you can introduce new products or start selling to new customers in new markets is a milestone for any business. However, it is important that your eCommerce foundation is built to support these initiatives and help get them off the ground.

    Whether your expansion is from B2B to B2C, introducing a new vertical, or jumping into a new geographic area, Magento Commerce has the capabilities to serve as the backbone for your next move. Multi-site capabilities allow you to build different webpages and stores for different subsets of customers, so you can showcase and sell the appropriate products to the right visitors as soon as you launch your new offering.

    4. ON-PAGE CONTENT ISN’T DRIVING SALES

    It makes sense for a growing Magento merchant to upgrade to Magento Commerce, but in other cases, Magento Commerce features can catalyze growth for those that are struggling. Some of the features that can help businesses better connect with and sell to customers are those related to website content and presentation.

    With Magento Commerce’s modular content, preview, staging, and scheduling tools, you can update your layouts and designs without the help of a developer. Further, Magento Commerce’s automated segmentation functionality helps you identify which customers are looking for which items and from where they’re looking. You can use this information to build pages tailored to these segments, using different imagery, content, and strategies to most effectively sell your products.

    5. Fulfillment is Becoming a Challenge

    An increase in customers and orders can lead to a number of fulfillment challenges, and you need to be prepared to conquer them all. It is important to forecast customer demand and the load placed on your store before your fulfillment chain is pushed beyond its limit in the live eCommerce environment.

    While many fulfillment challenges reside outside of Magento (such as warehousing, carriers, and staffing), you need to prepare your systems to handle the increased capacity and push orders to internal and external fulfillment modules. A few features from Magento Commerce that can help you accommodate the increased demand for more orders, customers, and products include:

    • Improved database support – Create a faster, more productive environment, both on the front and back ends with Magento’s multiple databases.
    • Streamlined admin experience – Manage orders, customers, and workflows more effectively from the upgraded Magento admin interface.
    • Customer-initiated returns – Make returns easier. By allowing customers to initiate their own returns, you free up administrative time and reduce costs.
    • Broadened Magento Marketplace – Access Marketplace extensions that are only available to merchants operating on Magento Commerce.

    6. KPIs are dropping

    One frustrating situation you can encounter is when all internal factors remain constant, but your business goes from successful to struggling in a relatively short period of time. In a rapidly changing eCommerce environment, if your business isn’t implementing new technologies, you could be surpassed as customers migrate toward competitors that offer lower prices, faster shipping, better customer service, and personalized user experiences.

    While we generally recommend a new site be built every two to three years to stay relevant with the latest consumer demands, you should constantly tweak your website and processes as the market changes. Aside from new features and improved customer experiences, Magento Commerce can help your website draw and retain more customers with personalized offers, faster load times, and improved security.

    The Magento Upgrade Guide

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    It is important to keep the Magento up to date with the latest stable releases because it allows a user to leverage all the newest E-commerce functionality by avoiding issues and vulnerabilities from the older version.

    However, upgrading your Magento install can be a complicated process especially with sites which uses many community extensions and other customizations.

    In this Magento upgrade guide, we will provide a complete checklist for an E-commerce merchant to follow before and after upgrading their install. We have also mentioned a guide for developers with the steps involved in performing a successful upgrade.

    Before you initiate :

    Make sure to note plan your Magento upgrade. There are many things which might go out of place with the actual upgrade itself, in addition to site performance following the upgrade. For that matter, you should be prepared and informed as possible going into the upgrade and willing to test extensively before going to the upgraded site live.

    The upgrade should always take place in a test environment with a test database before it is executed on the production site. Keep an hour or two of downtime when you perform that performs on your live store. We suggest doing it in the morning so that you face low traffic and the minimize any loss of sales. If the testing is done properly then it would take about 15-20 minutes of downtime.

    Enter Stock :

    Now, when you are ready for the upgrade, it’s time to take inventory of your site. Below are some answers which will help you in the upgrade process.

    Q: Which version of Magento is currently running?
    A: The version number is shown in the footer of the backend admin panel.

    Q: How many extensions are installed on the site?
    A: Have a developer take stock of what’s been installed into the app/etc/modules/ directory

    Q: Which of these extensions are being used in an integral manner (crucial to the day-to-day operations of the web store)?
    A: Any extensions which affect your store product display, promotions, checkout, shipping, payment should be noted carefully.

    Q: Have any of the extensions been customized by your developer?
    A: If so, try to determine if they modified the extension directly or (better practice) added customizations in a separate module.

    Q: Which patches, if any, have been applied to the Magento core?
    A: Have a developer compare the app/code/core directory with the base install of your version.

    Once your doubts are solved then you can begin to get a good idea of how challenging the upgrade might be…

    You may come across few issues if your Magento is very old compared to the current one. If there are a number of extensions installed on your site and they were not tested with the new version then your E-commerce site could run into trouble at the time of upgrading moreover in case of extensions which can alter the functionality of Magento processes such as checkout and promotions. Hence, it is important to know which extensions are causing issues. If you are running a recent version of Magento with limited customization and minimal extensions then you will see the upgrade will be a whole lot cleaner than the older version.

    Now the last step is to do a complete run-through of the currently installed site. Clear all the issues you are facing. Further, add products to cart and do a test purchase, test out the sales rules, category pages, go through the backend and load all the configuration pages and test other custom functionality. Always ask a developer to provide the most recent version which is compatible with the new version of Magento. Make sure you check all the freely available extensions that are installed for updates on Magento.

    When you are done with the complete inspection of your site and know all the challenges then it’s time to contact us.

    Conducting the Upgrade

    Before You Begin:

    • The upgrade should always be run on a local platform.
    • Ensure you to use Version Control in case anything goes wrong
    • Use a local copy of the store database.
    • Before running anything, run testing on the frontend and backend of the site.
    • Grab a copy of the current Magento version
    • Get a copy of the newer Magento version

    Start your migration

    1. Make sure that the Data Migration Tool has a network access to connect to databases. Open ports in your firewall.
    2. Stop running all the activities in the Magento 1.x Admin Panel except order management, such as shipping, creating the invoice, credit memos etc.
    3. Stop all Magento 1.x cron jobs.
    4. Use the migration tool to migrate settings and websites.
    5. Copy your Magento 1.x media files to Magento 2.x.
    6. Use Data Migration Tool to migrate your data from Magento 1 database to Magento 2.x database. If some of your extensions have data you want to migrate, you might need to install these extensions adapted for Magento 2.x. In case the extensions have a different structure in Magento 2.x database, use the mapping files provided with the Data Migration Tool.
    7. Use the Magento indexer: reindex command to reindex all indexers.
    8. Thoroughly test your Magento 2.x site.

    Test your site

    • Now that the upgrade is done successfully, you must test to ensure the core functionality of the Magento site is still running as expected.
    • Start with critical path testing. Go to the homepage, navigate to a category page, and subsequently to a product page.
    • Make sure you add all product types to your cart. If the store sells configurable products, simple products, groups, bundles, downloadable etc. then they must be tested to ensure the add to cart functionality is working properly.
    • Once your cart is filled, conduct a full test checkout to ensure nothing is broken in the most vital area of your site. Place a test order and fulfill it in the backend to ensure everything is running smoothly. (Ensure you are using test credentials for the payment method and shipping methods being tested)
    • Test additional functionality such as price rules and product relations. Ensure these modules are functional.
    • Now it’s time to test the extensions that are vital to the site. If these extensions are not working, you will either need to disable them or upgrade them from the developer with a version that is compatible with your upgraded version of Magento.

    Go live

    If your Magento 2.x site is updated and functioning normally.

    The following steps will guide to cut over to the new site:

    1. Put on maintenance mode your current Magento system. (DOWNTIME STARTS).
    2. Now, Press Control+C in the migration tool command window to stop incremental updates.
    3. Start your Magento 2.x cron jobs.
    4. In your Magento 2.x system, reindex the stock indexer using the command Magento indexer: reindex cataloginventory_stock.
    5. Use tool of your choice, hit pages in your Magento 2.x system to cache pages in advance of customers using your storefront.
    6. Perform a final verification of your Magento 2.x site.
    7. Lastly, change DNS, load balancers, and so on to point to new production hardware (DOWNTIME ENDS)
    8. Magento 2.x store is ready to use. You and Your customers can resume all activities.

    A few words at the end

    For those of you who are determined to move to Magento 2.x. You will run on the most flexible shopping cart framework ever made. Any feature you could possibly think of could be implemented with Magento 2.x.

    How Much Time Will It Take to Upgrade Magento?

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    Magento 2.x is a significant improvement on the Magento 1 platform.

    Migrating to Magento 2.x is not as easy as running a script or issuing a few basic commands. You need to plan everything says your strategy, budget, and target date; before you begin this complex process. If you are still running Magento on the older version then very soon you have to Migrate to Magento 2.x

    How much time will it take to upgrade Magento theme?

    A standard Magento theme development in 70-100 hours. During this time high-class programmers build a valid, smart and eye-catching theme If you need a more complicated custom theme which includes e.g. 3-rd party integration or any other particular add-ons, the development can be prolonged to several months.

    The whole process is a bit like moving house; you have to do your research, you have to carefully consider your options, you have to make decisions on what you’re keeping and what you’re taking to the tip. You have to make sure all systems are in-line and ready for the day of completion. It will be a mixed bag of emotions, but it will be worth the effort. In the end, you’ll have a bigger home in a safer area, and you’ll have somewhere to call home for the foreseeable future.

    How much time will it take to Migrate to Magento 2.x?

    The time depends on various factors like on the number of customizations, store complexity, extensions required and data. Let’s say migration for the typical store with minimal 3rd party integration will take around 175-200 hours.

    Magento has developed tools that make components of the migration easier but most of the new site will be rebuilt from the ground up.

    Below are the basic steps which are involved in Magento 2.x Migration

    Magento 2 comes with a completely different architecture and database design. A lot of people talk about “upgrading” or “migrating” to Magento 2.x but migration is essentially a rebuild.

      Clone existing Magento 1 store and use this version for migration tasks

    • Install Magento 2
    • Install extensions which are used in Magento 1 and available for Magento 2
    • Migrate Data From Magento 1 store to Magento 2
    • Implement theme
    • If any extension is not available, then write the code for such extension
    • Move Magento settings and data – products, categories, orders, store configurations & settings, etc.
    • Implement integrations with third-party modules
    • Optimize new store SEO setup and prepare 301 redirects
    • Testing
    • Go Live

    Conclusion

    Besides all the advantages that Magento 2 offers, you should keep in mind that upgrading from Magento older version to Magento 2 is not an easy task. Any extension you currently have integrated with your Magento 1 platform might not be ported into Magento 2. Thus, you will have extra cost regardless, you might repurchase your extensions and you also might put resources into integrating them a new on your Magento 2 e-commerce website.

    Yes, it means extra work and costs for your business, but, at the same time, it encourages you to make improvements wherever possible. After all, where your website is hosted is key to keeping your revenue coming in the door.

    Key Benefits of Upgrading Your Store to Magento 2.0

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    Many merchants go for Magento to grow their eCommerce store and the latest version is always advisable. An announcement was made that soon Magento 1 is coming to an end and they will be fully upgraded to Magento 2.

    Upgrading to Magento 2 is good news for some vendors while few are scared as they have more than 10,000 products. According to the recent survey, 14% of eCommerce store is growing on Magento and it is because of the updated version available in the market.

    Thinking about future development and progress in eCommerce merchant needs faster and more customized upgrade which will help them in their store display with beautiful texture and alternate payment mode.

    Below are the key benefits of migrating to Magento 2:

    Value-added Performance:
    Magento 2 will run on an average 20% faster than the Magento 1 which will help in boosting more sales and it will also increase website search engine optimization. Moreover, it comes with full page cache by default. Pages will be loaded much faster say in – 1-2 seconds compared to the 5-10 seconds for non-caching pages thus, it means it is scalable for large stores. Magento 2 vendors will be able to create an updated eCommerce store while reducing the data conflicts.

    User- Friendly:
    Magento 2 will speed up the loading of the websites handling the stores with graphics. It also has attractive designs and theme making it easier for the user and also for a multi-vendor eCommerce store. It has got an advanced search and navigation for users who only search particular product or services and also a highly customized panel with accurate tools which will help in business orders, sales content, inventory, shipping and much more. In addition to above, it has better checkout options making it more user-friendly.

    Improved Administrative:
    Magento 2 has few improvements which make administrative work simpler and more resourceful.

    Magento 2’s grid gives you the ability to customize attributes which are shown in a grid view and it does not need developer’s involvement. Each administrator can customize their data views as per their requirement making it a clean and uncluttered interface. Menus are properly organized hence finding the page and functionality which you are looking for is now much simpler. Magento 2 had added safeguards for the product data that allows various administrators to work on product data at the same time. In addition to this, the lot of time is saved as the new step by step product creation tools add more products to your store. Uploading videos from Youtube or Vimeo are now very easy enhancing more opportunity for merchants.

    Support different languages and Currency:
    With Multiple language support eCommerce website has seen progress and it has also provided solutions which will increase business revenue from all over the world with faster process of payment and tax calculation.

    Mobile Browsing:
    More than 50% of online transactions are now performed via mobile devices. It helps in improving sales as more and more customers shop using their mobile phones and tablets. By improving the search capabilities in Magneto it adds benefit to mobile surfing. Friendly checkout and enhanced performance make the conversion rate higher for your mobile shoppers.

    Conclusion

    Magento 1 will not be available after 2018 so the investment that your business makes into the old platform will eventually be short-term in nature so you need to upgrade to Magento 2 for your business growth. Magento 2 was designed to provide a better experience to customers and admin and it also maintains the flexibility Magento is famous for. Hence, it has enjoyed your business growth with Magento 2.

    Magento 2.0: An advance upgrade to enhance the shopping experience

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    Magento 2.0 is finally here! It is the most popular e-commerce platform that has upgraded offering plethora of new features, an unmatched flexibility as well as innovative opportunities. Many businesses have been drawn to this platform to provide their customers with an easier and faster shopping experience.

    Are you looking for a faster server loading speed as well as faster checkout process? Are you looking to accelerate performance as well as influence traffic and conversions with enhanced and responsive design? Magento 2.0 is the answer to everything! Magento is the future, but what makes it so ultimate?

    • Enterprise-grade scalability and performance
    • Enhanced business agility and productivity
    • Organized and streamlined folder structure upgrades
    • Testing as a part of the Framework code
    • Fully responsive and user-friendly UI/ UX
    • Secure payment and Faster checkout process
    • Full page caching, Optimized codebase and database, Better CSS
    • More native features with fewer extensions required
    • Simpler administration interface
    • Easier maintenance and upgrades
    • Better native frontend

    Should I upgrade?

    Enterprises all around the globe have been waiting for this major new version of Magento for quite a while now and the changes seem invigorating. Upgrading to Magento 2.0 will give you a faster performance and greater stability.

    The most important upgrade in which Magento has excelled is it gives 50% more loading speed as compared to its predecessor and almost 38% fast checkout process. Its imperative speed enables traffic and conversions directly. It helps developers eliminate the sluggish performance and bring the average loading time for a smooth 2 seconds.

    Along with speed it also promises secure payment procedures, improved Enterprise Edition as well as supports data optimization with an inbuilt data migration tool. All an all experience with Magento 2.0 will be completely different, but if you plan to migrate then all extensions, theming and customization will need to be rewritten which can be a massive undertaking if your website has a lot of customization.

    Magento 2.0 is the future and not so much the present. It is still at a point where it can still get upgraded further. If you are starting a new site, you should definitely go for this!

    But for the players with an existing site, migration would be a bit difficult as well as will need heavy investment. Though the process of migration will take quite an extra effort, the best way is to view it as a re-platforming project rather than an upgrade.

    So hold our horses! Stop rushing in if you already have a fully functioning and stable web store. You should definitely start planning to move to 2 as Magento will stop supporting Magento 1 in the near future. Thus, eventually, migration is about to happen! But before making any hasty decisions wait for more updates!

    At this point, there is no urgency to migrate but in long-term in around the next financial year 2018/19 your enterprise architectural plans need to include Magento 2.0 when creating the roadmap to success. If you’re looking a trusted source to migrate your Magento store to latest version, then contact Mage Monkeys.

    Magento 1.X is reaching to the end of life – June 2020

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    Magento 1.x has been very useful to many eCommerce businesses over the last decade but somehow everything comes with an expiry date. Magento will cease support for eCommerce merchants using its 1.x version after JUNE 2020. So, you need to transition your store to either Magento 2 or a different platform because stores will no longer receive the security updates which are essential for keeping your website safe.

    With the chances of only year’s notice before support ends, eCommerce businesses are thinking about various things.


    Guidelines for Merchants:
    Sometimes merchants may have to decide between the Community and Enterprise versions of Magento as part of an upgrade to Magento 2. To be noted that you need to buy a new Magento 2 extensions and install address frontend designs, migrate data and also address another setup for the complete launch. Magento doesn’t have one single “one-click” upgrade you need to go for various steps due to which many vendors are still not ready for Magento 2 and they also find it costly to opt for and upgrading procedure for the platform is not simple which could take few months to complete.
    Magento like any other has its own pros and cons and we have few suggestions that can work as an alternative such as BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Zoey, Miva, X-Cart, VTEX, PrestaShop, 3dCart, and Shopify&Shopify Plus.

    Key Questions answered which are the major concerns of Magento merchants.

    When is the correct time to Re-Platform?
    You can transition to Magento 2 now but still, the platform is fairly young and many people have reported bugs. Hence, switching now will be little risky and bug issue will impact on your business. So, wait until closer to Magento’s end of life. Mage Monkeys is a trusted Magento agency which can help you to perform Magento migration.

    Should merchants continue using Magento 1.x?
    No, it has a security updates issue which means that your store can quickly become vulnerable to security breaches, errors and other attacks. You can rely on Magento’s community for security patches but still, no assurance can be provided.

    Should merchants worry about Magento 2 issues?
    Many extensions are not yet compatible with Magento 2 and extensions are a vital component of most Magento stores so yes it’s a worry and also it has a different interface and layout which you may have to re-train your staff to use thoroughly.

    Summary
    If merchants are interested in the security of their stores and confidentiality of their client’s information then they have to upgrade to Magento 2 stores ASAP.

    How Will Make Your Magento Website Faster?

    Posted on by m@g3m@nk3y$

    Magento is owned by eBay and it is widely used eCommerce website which people use to enhance their online business. As it a heavy eCommerce CMS system so it can run a bit slow from time to time especially when you have not optimized store properly. Magento is a very robust platform which has the high level of functionality and customizability; therefore, a lot of businesses choose this platform for increasing their sales. Another feature is that it’s highly scalable so even if in future if you scale up then also you don’t need to change to any other different platform.

    Magento is facing speed issues and due to which their performance is degrading over time. For speed, you can do simple things which will boost the speed of the website.

    Latest Version:
    Make sure that you are running the latest version of Magento because new releases often include performance improvements and other features. The latest upgradation of Magento is not one click upgradation. So we suggest you hire Magento upgrade specialist to do it.

    Enable Flat Catalog:
    The bottleneck of Magento is always the database and if you have more than 1000 products then you need to enable Flat Catalog in Magento by going under System -> Configuration ->Catalog -> Frontend. Cautious is that the Standard EAV database setup gives a little more flexibility when looking for a particular data and attributes.

    Utilize Caching:
    Magento has an internal cache for its configuration, blocks, and layouts. Cache entries are stored in the file system and as the request increases from visitors then it takes time to read and write to Magento’s file system because it slows down your site. To enable caching you need to navigate to System -> Cache Management

    Image Compression:
    Images are to be blamed for slowing down the load time as 56 percent of a website’s page weight is made up of images. Make sure to compress images before uploading them by using a tool like Adobe Photoshop. If you want to go for simple compression solution then you can use Smush it which compresses batches of images.

    Optimize MySQL Configuration:
    MySQL has its own “query cache” which is used in Magento to generate dynamic pages and content along with improving performance. Magento uses a lot of indexes and joins due to which it will need adequate memory.

    Remove Third-Party/ Community extensions:
    Always keep the extensions to a minimum. Nearly 50% of all the store performance issues are caused by poorly created extensions. Compile the extensions that you actually need and disable Magento modules which you don’t need. By cleaning them, you are using resources to run your store and increasing the speed of the website. To disable modules, navigate to Stores -> Configuration -> Advanced -> Advanced -> select “Disable” from the drop-down box.

    Enable System Compilation:
    Magento can combine PHP files so that it uses less disk access. Sometimes compilation can boost up to 50% of the performance. By default, application files are searched in a particular order every time the page load which leads to a lot of file system reads thus these reads can be reduced by copying files into a single directory. To enable this feature you can navigate to System -> Tools -> compilation and then click on “Run Compilation Process”.

    Merge JS/CSS:
    Magento stores possess a large number of CSS and JavaScript files and this number goes on increasing as and when you add extensions. Magento version Tools -> compilation and then click on “Run Compilation Process”.

    Install PHP OpCode Cache:
    It is another form of caching. They help in increasing the performance of PHP scripts by caching them when they are in a compiled state. You can install APC, eAccelerator, ZendOptimizer+ or Xcache. This feature is important if you are not using hosting with SSD disks.

    Select Better Web Hosting:
    Choose a reliable and fast web host as it will improve your Magento performance. To prevent your resources from hundreds of people our suggestion is to go for VPS like Digital Ocean, Linode or Vultr. With this, you will be in complete control of your resources.

    Let’s initiate a discussion!!

    With Only Agency that provides a 24/7 emergency support.