Upgrades, backups, and maintenance
Maintaining a strong code base, features, and functionality and maintaining a strong security posture are crucial to having a competitive ecommerce store.
There are multiple ways to efficiently upgrade an ecommerce site depending on the infrastructure available, but this process varies from business to business. Depending on the business’s technical maturity, this can be a very challenging and costly exercise.
Why upgrading makes sense
Since change and adaptation to new customer behaviors is the norm, being on an older platform makes accommodating or imitating new technology and behaviors more expensive and time-consuming, or it may simply not be possible. Additionally, as more and more developers move their focus to new technology, the scheduling and cost of retrofitting projects may be prohibitive.
By upgrading, you’re future-proofing your business and giving yourself the ability to better service changing customer needs.
Planning your upgrade
Here’s a quick list of questions you should ask as you plan your upgrade:
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Site cleanup—What can I keep and what can change? What new things do I want to implement? For example, what changes do I want to make to taxonomy and product structure, or changes to content?
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Analytics check—What are my current KPIs? What does my data tell me about how my site could be improved? Are there new KPIs that I want implemented for my new site?
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Extensions—Do I still need them? Which third-party extensions cover my needs?
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Integrations—What third-party systems, such as ERP and accounting, do I need to integrate with? Do they have specific connectors or are custom integrations needed?
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Training—Does the upgrade team have the right knowledge and training? What’s
my plan to train end users on how to use the new admin before it goes live? -
Upgrade team—Who is dedicated to the upgrade project (both internal and external experts)? Do they have the necessary support from leadership and other internal teams?
Common upgrade questions
Q: How long does a typical upgrade take?
A: It depends on the platform and architecture. There are a lot of variables, and if you’re also doing a redesign, it takes longer. After the discovery process is complete, your implementation team can give you a more accurate timeframe for your project.
Q: How much does it cost to upgrade?
A: Again, it depends on your current situation and your requirements for your new site. The good news is that generally as partners and developers have become more familiar and adept with your Commerce platform, upgrade costs and projects lengths have come down. We recommend consulting with your Solution Partner for an estimate.
Q: Are Adobe Commerce 2 versions of my Adobe Commerce 1 extensions available?
A: Virtually all business-critical needs are covered. From content and customizations and shipping and fulfillment to site optimization, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number, and diversity, of extensions in the Commerce Marketplace as merchant adoption of, and partner familiarity with, Adobe Commerce has grown.
Examples of leading global technology companies who have created extensions include:
- PayPal
- dotmailer
- TaxJar
- Nosto
- Adobe
- Fastly
- Vertex
- Amasty
- Celebros
- Logicbroker
Also, quality assurance checks implemented for all extensions ensure consistently high product quality, so there is a very high probability that your extension or a high-quality alternative to your extension is already in Commerce Marketplace.
Many merchants have found that the native capabilities in Adobe Commerce have reduced their need and reliance on extensions, simplifying development and maintenance operations, and improving overall performance. If you haven’t already, we recommend that you engage in thorough upgrade planning to uncover these types of opportunities.
Q: What if my extensions and integrations are not compatible with the platform?
A: Depending on the platform flexibility and hosting solution, different customization options may be an option for most software and systems. These customizations can be developed during the upgrade process.
Q: How will my SEO be impacted?
A: With proper planning, your SEO should be improved. Our partner Corra recommends:
- Creating a succinct 301 redirect plan
- Building a strategy around URL taxonomy
- Doing an XML sitemap check
- Working with tag management (Google)
- Discussing in detail with your implementation team