Magento 1, the original version released in 2008, is now considered dated. In contrast, Magento 2, introduced in 2015, offers several improvements despite its higher cost. Upgrading from Magento 1 to Magento 2, especially for the Community edition, can be done for free but may require professional assistance.
Key Improvements in Magento 2:
- Architectural Enhancements: Magento 2 addresses performance issues with a modernized stack that includes Apache, Composer, Symfony, and Nginx 1.7, resulting in smoother store operations.
- Faster Speed: Improved full page caching in Magento 2 leads to faster page load times, enhancing user experience and SEO performance.
- SEO Benefits: Magento 2 includes rich snippets for product pages, making SEO optimization easier and more effective.
- Enhanced Security: Magento 2 is more secure than Magento 1, addressing concerns about online shopping safety.
- Updates: While Magento 1 will remain operational for some time, it won’t receive new updates or support for evolving technologies and plugins.
Magento 2 offers significant enhancements over Magento 1, making it a preferred choice despite the higher initial investment.