In a recent Adobe webinar, presented by Wagento’s Brent Peterson, first-time eCommerce sellers and seasoned retailers alike were both able to learn the best steps for efficiently moving their sites to Magento Commerce with minimal hassle. This fast-track option for rapid deployment is doable, regardless of what your current eCommerce situation looks like. According to experts from Magento and Adobe, here are the main dos and don’ts of migrating your Magento Commerce store, as well as how you can get started as soon as possible:
What to Do
Before you start making changes to your site, Peterson recommends keeping the 4 following points in mind:
- Set clear priorities. Be sure to create an actionable, measurable plan in order to make sure your team is on the same page.
- Think waterfall, not agile. Even if your agency is using an agile method, try to minimize the total amount of changes you make at once by sticking to a strict product management methodology.
- Build a “minimally viable store.” Doing this gives you an accurate milestone to ensure that your launch was successful, and it gives you the ability to test other aspects in a live environment. You may even consider doing a soft launch or beta launch to allow yourself to get comfortable with the new look and feel of your site without disrupting the customers’ experience.
- Utilize templates and extensions. “There are tens of thousands of great Magento extensions,” stresses Peterson. You can retain the ability to modify your code while still taking advantage of all the unique tools and features available to merchants on the Magento Marketplace.
Things to Avoid
It can be easy to go overboard when revamping your site or migrating to a new platform, so Peterson warns against these common pitfalls that retailers often face:
- Building too much. “There’s only so much a frontend developer can do,” says Peterson. Focus on keeping it simple while maintaining the overall integrity of your store.
- Coding everything from scratch. There are passionate Magento developers and community members who are constantly building new features every day. If there’s something you want for your store, chances are that a plug-in or extension already exists!
- Waiting to prioritize. Choose the products and features you want to focus on ahead of time to avoid last-minute panic.
- Involving too many stakeholders. When there are too many people contributing their opinions and input, delays and complications are more likely to occur. By limiting the number of people invested in the upgrade, you can be sure to keep things moving efficiently.
How to Get Started
If you want to give your eCommerce store a quick boost, Wagento is offering a special, limited-time program designed specifically to get you on the Magento Cloud in the span of just 4 weeks! Choose from one of the 3 available Magento Cloud Rapid Deployment packages (Starter, Express, or Accelerator) based on your store’s size, budget, and current needs, and you’ll also receive a customized theme for your site, a free web performance review, and feature-packed modules for an effortless admin experience. Simply click here to learn more and get started with a Wagento developer today!