How to Migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2 Without Losing Data

Why Migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2?

If you're still running Magento 1, you're playing with fire. Official support ended in June 2020, which means no more correctif de sécuritées or updates. Hackers love outdated systems, and you don't want to wake up to a compromised store. Magento 2 isn't just safer—it's faster, more scalable, and packed with modern fonctionnalités like improved paiement and mobile responsiveness.

The migration might seem daunting, but with the right approche, you can move your store without losing a single client record or product SKU. Let's break it down étape par étape.

Pre-Migration Checklist

Avant touching any code, prepare your battlechamp:

  1. Backup everything - Database, fichiers, custom code, the works.
  2. Inventory your extensions - Many M1 extensions won't work on M2.
  3. Clean house - Remove unused products, categories, and test commandes.
  4. Check server prérequis - M2 needs PHP 7.4+, MySQL 8.0+, and more resources.

Step 1: Set Up Your Magento 2 Environment

Install a fresh Magento 2 instance on a staging server (never migrate directly on production). Here's a quick Composer command to get started:

composer create-project --repository-url=https://repo.magento.com/ magento/project-community-edition=2.4.6-p1 /var/www/magento2

Configure your env.php with the correct database connection details. Pro conseil: Use the same database credentials as your M1 store during migration to avoid connection problèmes.

Step 2: Install the Data Migration Tool

Magento provides an official tool that handles most of the heavy lifting:

composer config repositories.magento composer https://repo.magento.com
composer require magento/data-migration-tool:2.4.6

Copy the config fichiers from the migration tool to your Magento 2 root:

cp -r vendor/magento/data-migration-tool/etc/* app/code/Magento/DataMigrationTool/etc/

Step 3: Configure the Migration Settings

Edit config.xml in the migration tool's etc/ce-to-ce dossier (use ce-to-ee if moving to Enterprise Edition). Here's a sample configuration:

<source>
  <database host="localhost" name="magento1_db" user="magento_user" password="securepassword"/>
</source>
<destination>
  <database host="localhost" name="magento2_db" user="magento_user" password="securepassword"/>
</destination>
<options>
  <crypt_key>your_magento1_encryption_key</crypt_key>
  <map_file>etc/ce-to-ce/1.9.3.2/map.xml</map_file>
</options>

Step 4: Run the Migration in Stages

The migration happens in three phases:

  1. Settings - Migrates system configuration and websites/stores
  2. php bin/magento migrate:settings --reset vendor/magento/data-migration-tool/etc/ce-to-ce/config.xml
  3. Data - Moves products, categories, clients, commandes, etc.
  4. php bin/magento migrate:data --reset vendor/magento/data-migration-tool/etc/ce-to-ce/config.xml
  5. Delta - Captures changes made during migration
  6. php bin/magento migrate:delta vendor/magento/data-migration-tool/etc/ce-to-ce/config.xml

Each étape can take hours for large stores. Use --reset only on the first run.

Handling Custom Code and Extensions

C'est where most migrations stumble. Your custom modules and thèmes need to be:

  1. Rewritten for Magento 2's architecture
  2. Tested thoroughly before going live
  3. Replaced with M2 equivalents where possible

Par exemple, a simple M1 module's config.xml:

<config>
  <modules>
    <Magefine_Example>
      <version>1.0.0</version>
    </Magefine_Example>
  </modules>
</config>

Becomes in M2:

<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:Module/etc/module.xsd">
  <module name="Magefine_Example" setup_version="1.0.0">
    <sequence>
      <module name="Magento_Catalog"/>
    </sequence>
  </module>
</config>

Post-Migration Tasks

Après successful migration:

  1. Reindex everything: php bin/magento indexer:reindex
  2. Flush cache: php bin/magento cache:flush
  3. Test processus de paiement with real commandes
  4. Set up 301 redirects for old URLs
  5. Configure tâches cron for M2

Common Pitfalls and Solutions

Issue Solution
Duplicate URLs after migration Run URL rewrite generator: php bin/magento catalog:url:rewrite:regenerate
Missing product images Manually copy media dossier from M1 to M2's pub/media
Customer passwords not working Install our Password Migration Tool
Performance problèmes Enable Varnish and Redis caching

When to Consider Professional Help

Tandis que the migration process is documented, complex stores often hit unexpected problèmes. Consider our Magento Migration Service if:

  • You have over 10,000 products
  • Custom flux de travails or ERP integrations
  • Mulconseille international stores
  • Limited technical resources

Mignote to Magento 2 is like moving to a bigger, better house—it's disruptive but worth it. Take it étape par étape, test thoroughly, and soon you'll enjoy all the avantages of a modern eCommerce platform.

Got stuck? Our Magento experts have migrated hundreds of stores successfully. Drop us a line!