Keeping your eCommerce store fast, secure, and easy to navigate begins with ongoing site maintenance. If you don’t regularly install updates, apply security patches, or upgrade to new versions of a platform, you’re putting your business and your customers at risk. This is why it’s crucial to upgrade Magento 1 stores as soon as possible, since there are risks and responsibilities you’re taking on. In most cases, you may find that it’s more beneficial and cost-effective to upgrade instead of using unsupported software.
What Happens When Software Support Ends
When software support ended for Magento 1 in June of 2020, four key things happened:
- Magento/Adobe stopped creating any changes to the product. This included all functional changes, quality checks, and PCI compliance updates.
- Magento stopped accepting community pull requests for that version of the software.
- Compatible extensions and integrations compatible with unsupported software were removed from theMagento Marketplace.
- Documentation for unsupported software was removed from Magento’s Dev Docs.
Risks of Using Unsupported Software
When software support ends, this doesn’t mean that your eCommerce store will immediately stop working. You can continue using the unsupported software until you’re able to upgrade to a newer version, but be sure not to wait too long. Merchants have to take on a lot more responsibility when they have to manage their stores all on their own, and they will likely experience negative consequences. Some of the main risks include:
- Falling out of PCI DSS compliance. PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance is an essential aspect of running an online business. When support ends for software, it becomes the merchant’s responsibility to re-certify compliance. If your store is found to fall short of these standards, you might have to pay hefty fines or have your credit card processing capabilities revoked.
- Security concerns. The longer you use unsupported software, the more vulnerable your store becomes. Since your store will no longer receive security patches or updates, hackers will be able to breach your site’s outdated security features with greater ease.
- Erosion of customer trust. If your shoppers are impacted by a security breach after shopping on your site, your brand reputation may never recover. Once your site is viewed as insecure or risky, even loyal customers might choose to take their business elsewhere instead of risking their personal information being exposed.
- Greater costs. Remaining on outdated software can start to impact your bottom line sooner rather than later. Merchants will have to use more resources to monitor their sites for security threats, maintain PCI compliance, and find qualified developers who are familiar with an unsupported version of software.
Benefits of Upgrading Your Magento Store
Upgrading from Magento 1 to the latest version of Magento/Adobe Commerce can seem daunting, but staying on unsupported software might be more damaging to your business in the long run. Upgrading means that you’ll have access to 24/7 professional support, the latest eCommerce features and capabilities, greater customizability, and dozens of tools designed to help your business grow.
If you want to take full advantage of all the capabilities and benefits of Adobe Commerce, connect with Wagento to start planning your migration today!
