Magento Open Source, Adobe Commerce, and Magento 1 vs 2
Magento Open Source is free, self-hosted, PHP-based ecommerce software; Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Commerce) is the paid tier with additional B2B, content staging and cloud-hosting features, run on Adobe-managed infrastructure. Magento 1 reached end of life years ago, and stores still running it are usually migrating for that reason alone, independent of any platform-comparison decision.
Because of that range, a "Magento migration" project can mean moving a small Magento 1 store onto a completely different platform, moving Magento 1 to Magento 2 (still Magento, but a major-version rebuild), or moving off Adobe Commerce Cloud to something with a different cost structure. We scope which of these applies before estimating anything.
The EAV data model and multi-store setup
Magento stores product data using an EAV (entity-attribute-value) structure, which is powerful for highly configurable, attribute-heavy catalogs but structurally different from the simpler flat product tables most other platforms use. Configurable products (Magento's version of variants), custom attribute sets, and attribute-driven layered navigation all need explicit mapping when moving to a platform that doesn't have an EAV equivalent.
Magento's multi-store/multi-website architecture, running several storefronts, currencies or locales off one installation, is another thing to map carefully, since most platforms handle multi-store differently: separate stores, a single store with market-specific settings, or no native equivalent at all.
Extensions, custom modules and Magento developers
Magento stores commonly rely on marketplace extensions and custom-built modules for anything beyond core functionality, such as payment methods, B2B pricing rules, or catalog logic specific to the business. Because Magento is a developer-heavy platform, a meaningful share of what a store "does" often lives in custom PHP code rather than admin settings, and that logic has to be identified and either rebuilt or replaced, not just exported.
Themes follow the same pattern: Magento themes are built on its own layout XML/blocks system, which has no direct equivalent elsewhere, so a move off Magento typically means a fresh storefront build on the new platform.
SEO, URLs and how we handle a Magento migration
Magento manages URL rewrites internally and supports fairly flexible URL structures, but the specifics (category paths, product URL suffixes, store-view-specific URLs) vary a lot from store to store depending on configuration. That variability is exactly why we start with an audit of your actual live URL patterns rather than assuming a Magento default.
For a Magento migration, we build the URL/redirect map against what your store is really doing today, handle multi-store URL variants where relevant, and validate that metadata and canonical tags carry over correctly. Our SEO & Redirect Migration service covers this in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
I'm still on Magento 1. Can you migrate that?
Yes, migrating off Magento 1 is one of the more common projects we see, usually driven by its end-of-life status rather than a platform preference. We treat it as a full replatform, since Magento 1 and 2 have different underlying architectures.
What happens to my custom Magento modules?
We identify what each custom module actually does, such as a payment integration, a pricing rule, or a catalog feature, and work out whether the target platform has a built-in or extension equivalent, or whether it needs custom development.
Can Adobe Commerce B2B features migrate to a non-enterprise platform?
It depends which features. Company accounts, quote workflows and tiered B2B pricing don't have a direct equivalent on every platform, so we assess this case by case during scoping rather than assuming a one-to-one match.
How does the EAV attribute structure affect migration timing?
Catalogs with many custom attributes and attribute sets generally take more mapping time than simple flat catalogs, since each attribute needs an explicit decision about where it lives on the target platform.