Migrating to Magento: what you need to know before you make the move

You may have noticed it for a while. Certain features you need are behind a pay wall. Customisation requires a diversion every time. Your webshop is growing, but the platform is not growing with it. And somewhere you know you don't want to let this go on for another year.
 
More and more companies in Belgium and the Benelux are making the switch to Magento or Adobe Commerce. Not because it is the easiest way, but because it is the right way. Having a Magento webshop built or carrying out a full e-commerce migration requires preparation, the right partner and a clear plan. In this blog, we list what you definitely need to know before you take the plunge.

The most common reason to migrate is not that a platform is necessarily bad, but that it simply no longer suits where you want to go. Many platforms are excellent for those just starting out or working on a smaller scale. But as soon as you need more complex processes, want to manage multiple stores or require deep integrations with your ERP or PIM, you inevitably run into limits.

Companies that continue to grow sooner or later run into the same walls: limited scalability, rising licensing or transaction costs, and dependence on third-party apps for things that should really be standard. At that point, it is no longer a question of 'if' you migrate, but of 'when' and 'how'.

Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce are the preferred choice for medium-to-large webshops worldwide for good reason. They offer enormous flexibility, a strong ecosystem and the ability to shape your platform completely to your processes, not the other way around.

A frequently asked question is the difference between the two. Magento Open Source is the free, community-driven version and an excellent base for businesses that want a lot of technical freedom. Adobe Commerce is the commercial, extended version of the same platform, with additional enterprise features such as advanced customer segmentation, AI-driven product recommendations and extensive B2B capabilities out of the box. Both platforms share the same core, but Adobe Commerce goes a step further for those working on a larger scale or with more complex needs.

With Magento, you build a webshop that grows with you. Managing multiple shops and languages from one environment, automating complex B2B processes, deeply integrating with your internal systems: it is all possible without running into platform limitations.

What both platforms have in common is that they require the right expertise. And that is exactly where many migration projects go wrong.

Your data is gold, treat it like it is

A migration is the perfect time to thoroughly structure your product data, customer data and order history. But it is also the time when you can lose the most if you underestimate it. Poor data migration is one of the main causes of delays and additional costs after going live. Map everything out before you start and test extensively.

SEO does not disappear on its own

Your existing domain authority, URL structure and metadata do not automatically move to your new platform. Without a well-thought-out SEO migration strategy, you risk a steep dip in organic traffic after you go live. That recovery costs time and money that you would rather invest elsewhere. So plan for this from the start, not as an afterthought.

Integrations take more time than expected

Link your new Magento webshop to your ERP, your PIM, your payment provider and your logistics systems. Sounds logical, but the reality is that integrations dare to require customisation. Plan enough time and budget for this, also for testing. Something that seems simple on paper may turn out to be more complex than expected in practice.

The checkout determines your conversion

A slow or unclear checkout is one of the biggest conversion killers in e-commerce. On average, more than 70% of shoppers abandon their cart before they checkout. When migrating, this is the time to revisit and optimise your checkout.

Many companies also opt for a more modern frontend when migrating to Magento. Hyvä is the most common solution in this: a frontend framework built specifically for Magento 2 that provides faster load times, a better user experience and an optimised checkout. PHPro is an official Hyvä Gold Partner and implements this framework for a variety of customers with strong results.

Choose your partner as carefully as your platform

Having a Magento webshop built or migrating is not a do-it-yourself project. The complexity requires a partner who is not only technically strong, but also understands how your business works. Look for experience with similar projects, transparency about planning and budget, and an approach that actively involves your team. The best projects are not deliveries, they are collaborations.
 

A successful go live is a milestone, not an end point. After migration, you want to use your platform in the best possible way: monitoring, adjusting, rolling out new functionalities and continuing to optimise based on data. Companies that take this seriously will see a faster return on their investment.

A good partner also thinks with you after the go-live, ensures stability and strategically grows along with your organisation. That is exactly how PHPro works: not as a supplier who delivers and leaves, but as a long-term partner who invests in your success.

An e-commerce platform migration is an important decision. Don't let them depend on a gut feeling or a nice sales pitch, but on the right knowledge, the right partner and an approach that suits your goals and capabilities.

At PHPro, we guide you from A to Z: from the initial orientation to a successful go live and everything after that. With more than 15 years of Magento expertise and a strong in-house team, we know exactly what it takes to do a migration right, for a webshop in Belgium and the wider Benelux.