First, which Magento are we talking about?
Since Adobe bought Magento, the name means two different products that share the same underlying code.
Magento Open Source.
The free, self-hosted edition. The client owns and hosts it, and it is the direct descendant of the Magento most people picture. Strong for a business that wants full control and has the technical resources to run it.
Adobe Commerce.
The paid, enterprise edition, formerly Magento Commerce: the same core plus B2B features, AI merchandising, and Adobe Experience Cloud integration, priced by quote and aimed at large, complex operations. Adobe now also offers it as a fully hosted cloud service.
Most agency clients running Magento are on Open Source or an older enterprise build. We work with either, and the first thing we will tell you is which one a client is actually on, because it changes everything about what happens next.
If your client’s store is on an old version, the clock is real
Magento has a strict, unforgiving support timeline, and a lot of live stores are on the wrong side of it.
Magento 1 is long dead.
End of life June 2020, with no security patches in six years. Any store still on it is a serious, active security exposure.
Magento 2.4.6 reaches end of life on 11 August 2026,
and it is one of the most widely run versions still in production. That deadline is not approaching, it is here.
Magento 2.4.8 is the current long-term-support version,
supported into 2028, and 2.4.9 is the latest release. That is the upgrade target within the Magento ecosystem.
If a client is on Magento 1 or 2.4.6, this stops being optional. A Magento 1 store is a rebuild rather than an upgrade, because the two generations are fundamentally different. A 2.4.6 store can usually be upgraded in place with careful extension testing, but it needs to happen now. We assess the store and tell you honestly which situation it is, for a fixed price after we have looked.
Stay on Magento, or move? The honest answer
Here is the part most Magento vendors will not say plainly: the platform is shrinking. Active Magento stores have fallen from roughly 162,000 in 2021 to about 112,000 by early 2026, as merchants leave for platforms with lower total cost and less operational overhead.
That does not make Magento wrong, but it does mean “stay or move” is a real question worth asking before you sink budget into either.
Staying makes sense when the store is complex, deeply customized, integrated into ERP or B2B systems that would be expensive to rebuild, and the client has the resources to run it. For those stores, upgrading to a supported version is the pragmatic call, and we will do it properly.
Moving makes sense when the client is paying Magento’s complexity and cost for a store that no longer needs it, and a WordPress-native store on WooCommerce or a hosted store on Shopify would do the same job with far less overhead. If that is the honest situation, we will say so, and we build those too.
Either way, it is your call and your client’s. We will give you a straight assessment, not a sales pitch for whichever earns us more.
How we can help with Magento and Adobe Commerce
Upgrades.
Moving a store to a supported version, whether 2.4.8 LTS or 2.4.9, with extension compatibility tested before anything goes live.
Migrations from Magento 1 to Magento 2.
The full rebuild an aging Magento 1 store needs, with data, catalog, customers, orders, and SEO preserved.
Migrations off Magento.
When the honest answer is a lighter platform, moving a store to WooCommerce or Shopify with data and search rankings intact.
Security and maintenance.
Patching, monitoring, and updates for a store that needs to stay on Magento.
New builds.
Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce from scratch, when a client specifically needs the platform’s depth.
Fixes, extensions, and integrations.
Bug fixes, custom extensions, and connecting Magento to the client’s other systems.
How the work runs
Whichever direction the store goes, the arrangement is simple. We build behind your brand, the work is presented as your agency’s own, and we never contact your client.
The quote is fixed after we have assessed the store, so the number you sign is the number that invoices, which matters on Magento, where scope hides in extensions and customizations.
The store and its code are the client’s, on their own hosting and accounts, handed over on delivery. And we work in your tools, whether Slack, ClickUp, Asana, or Basecamp.
FAQ
What is the difference between Magento and Adobe Commerce?
They share the same core code. Magento Open Source is the free, self-hosted edition; Adobe Commerce, formerly Magento Commerce, is the paid enterprise edition, adding B2B features, AI merchandising, and Adobe Experience Cloud integration, with a fully hosted cloud option. Most agency clients are on Open Source or an older enterprise build. We work with either.
Is my client’s Magento store still supported?
Magento 1 reached end of life in June 2020 and gets no security patches, so stores still on it are exposed. Magento 2.4.6 reaches end of life on 11 August 2026. The current long-term-support version is 2.4.8, supported into 2028, and 2.4.9 is the latest release. If a client is on Magento 1 or 2.4.6, it needs attention now.
Can you upgrade a Magento store to a supported version?
Yes. A Magento 2.4.x store can usually be upgraded in place to 2.4.8 or 2.4.9 with careful extension-compatibility testing. A Magento 1 store is different: there is no in-place path, so it is effectively a rebuild on Magento 2, with data, catalog, and SEO carried across.
Should my client stay on Magento or move to another platform?
It depends on the store. Magento suits complex, deeply customized, or B2B stores with the resources to run them. But the platform is shrinking, and many mid-market stores are paying for complexity they no longer need. For those, WooCommerce or Shopify often does the same job with less overhead. We will assess the store and give you a straight recommendation, including “move” when that is the honest answer.
Can you migrate a store from Magento to WooCommerce or Shopify?
Yes, with product data, customers, order history, and URL redirects preserved so search rankings survive the move. If a lighter platform genuinely serves the client better, we build those too.
Do you work with Adobe Commerce, not just Magento Open Source?
We can work with both. Adobe Commerce is the enterprise tier, meaning the same core with additional B2B, AI, and Adobe Experience Cloud capabilities. Tell us what the client runs and we will confirm the right approach.
Can you just maintain a Magento store we have inherited?
Yes. Security patching, updates, monitoring, and fixes for a store that needs to stay on Magento, so your team does not have to take on the platform for one client.
Stop Doing It All
Got a Magento store that needs a decision?
Send it over. We will assess where it stands, tell you honestly whether to upgrade, maintain, or move it off Magento entirely, and come back with a fixed quote.
