Complete Guide to Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration (2025)

Magento 1 reached end-of-life in June 2020. That means no more security patches, no bug fixes, and no new features from Adobe. If your UK business is still running on Magento 1 in 2025, your store is a significant security risk and you're missing out on years of Magento 2 improvements.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know about migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2, including what's involved, common pitfalls, and how long it typically takes.

Why Migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2?

• Security: Magento 1 stores receive no security patches. Every day you remain on M1 is a security risk to your business and customers.
• Performance: Magento 2 (especially with Hyva Theme) is dramatically faster than Magento 1.
• Modern features: Magento 2 includes B2B features, Page Builder, PWA capabilities, and GraphQL APIs not available in M1.
• Developer talent: Finding Magento 1 developers is increasingly difficult and expensive.
• Extension support: Most extension vendors have stopped M1 development and only support M2.

What Gets Migrated?

A full Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration covers:

• Data: Products, categories, customers, orders, invoices, CMS pages, blocks
• Theme: Rebuilt from scratch in Magento 2 (ideally in Hyva Theme for best performance)
• Extensions: Assessed for M2 equivalents or custom-rebuilt
• Customisations: All custom M1 code reviewed and ported to M2 architecture
• URLs: Redirects configured to preserve SEO rankings
• Integrations: ERP, CRM, shipping, payment gateways reconnected

Step-by-Step Migration Process

Phase 1: Discovery & Planning (1–2 weeks)

Before writing a line of code, thorough discovery is essential:

• Audit all M1 extensions — identify M2 equivalents or alternatives
• Document all custom M1 code and business logic
• Map all URL structures for SEO redirect planning
• Assess data volumes (number of products, orders, customers)
• Document all third-party integrations
• Define the target M2 architecture (hosting, PHP version, search engine)

Phase 2: M2 Environment Setup (1 week)

• Set up Magento 2 on staging environment
• Install and configure required extensions
• Configure stores, websites, and currencies

Phase 3: Data Migration (1–3 weeks)

Using Magento's Data Migration Tool plus custom scripts for complex data:

• Migrate products, categories, and attributes
• Migrate customer accounts and addresses
• Migrate order history
• Migrate CMS content (pages, blocks, widgets)
• Verify all data integrity after migration

Phase 4: Theme Development (3–6 weeks)

The M1 theme cannot be directly ported to M2 — it must be rebuilt. We strongly recommend building on Hyva Theme for the performance benefits:

• Design review and adaptation for M2
• Hyva Theme custom development
• All page templates: product, category, cart, checkout, account
• CMS blocks and Page Builder content

Phase 5: Custom Code & Integration Migration (2–4 weeks)

• Port custom M1 modules to M2 architecture
• Reconnect all third-party integrations
• Implement URL redirects (M1 URLs → M2 URLs)

Phase 6: Testing (2 weeks)

• Functional testing of all features
• Payment gateway testing in sandbox and live modes
• Cross-browser and mobile testing
• Performance testing (Lighthouse scores, load testing)
• User acceptance testing (UAT) with client

Phase 7: Go-Live

• Final data migration (delta migration of orders placed during build)
• DNS cutover with minimal downtime
• Post-launch monitoring
• Search Console update for new sitemaps

Typical Timeline

A standard M1 to M2 migration project typically takes 8–16 weeks depending on the complexity of your M1 store. Stores with heavily customised M1 code, many extensions, or very large catalogues take longer.

How Much Does M1 to M2 Migration Cost?

Migration costs vary significantly based on project complexity. A rough guide:

• Simple store (standard extensions, straightforward design): £5,000–£10,000
• Medium complexity (custom code, 10–20 extensions): £10,000–£20,000
• Complex store (heavily customised, complex integrations): £20,000+

We provide free detailed migration assessments and quotes. Contact our team to discuss your specific project.

See our global migration portfolio at magento-services.com.