OpenMage Online Stores Reliable, Fast and Flexible

With OpenMage, you are choosing tried and proven Magento Open Source software. Originally known as Magento 1, OpenMage now takes on a life of its own thanks to the help of the online community and companies like us who support the platform.

The continuation of Magento 1

OpenMage

OpenMage logo

In November 2015, Magento 2 was launched. When Magento 1 was declared end-of-life, the online community was very sorry about this and decided to start OpenMage together as a fork or branch of Magento 1. Given the open source license, this is not a problem and anyone who wants to can participate. Meanwhile, OpenMage was modernized and made more performant, without breaking anything for those making the switch. It is the long-term supported version of Magento 1.x.

Why OpenMage?

  • Preservation of your installation

  • Future proof

  • Security patches

  • Strong community

  • Shorter Time to Market (development speed)

  • Performance optimizations

Preservation of your installation

Upgrade to Magento 2 only if there is a concrete added value. If you have a Magento 1 or OpenMage installation that is well set up and meets your needs and wishes, then upgrading is not necessary.

When you choose to keep your installation, you also save the cost of setting up a Magento 2 installation, the data migration, and customizing the theme to match your branding.

Future proof

Many shopkeepers have the fear that at some point their OpenMage installation will no longer be able to keep up with the latest developments in E-Commerce and that upgrading is inevitable.

A legitimate concern, right? Actually, no and we're going to tell you why not. OpenMage is a new and stand-alone product. It is constantly being developed and maintained by the community. In other words, it is completely up-to-date and compatible with the latest technologies. For example, OpenMage is compatible with the latest version of PHP and SQL. So you don't have to stay behind at all. End-of-life? Rather very-much-alive!

Security patches

So what about the security of the installation? Cybercriminals are very inventive and are always looking for new ways to hack systems. OpenMage should not be left behind in this area either and it most certainly doesn't. The community provides regular updates or security patches to close any security holes and thus ensure the safety of your installation.

Community driven

Given OpenMage is maintained by the community, anyone who wants to can contribute to make the product better. We ourselves also contribute to the development of OpenMage by sharing bug fixes with the community. At OpenMage, pull requests (requests to include your fixes) are also handled very smoothly.

Time to Market

OpenMage has a simpler structure than Magento 2. For us as developers, it is therefore easier to develop in OpenMage than in Magento 2. So we can do more in less time and since you pay working hours, this is directly to your advantage.

Performance

Thanks to its lighter structure, OpenMage can achieve higher speeds. The community is also always trying to optimize the performance of OpenMage.

The performance of a website is incredibly important. First of all, we want the best user experience, after all, who likes a slow website where you have to wait up to half a minute? In addition to ease of use, the performance of a website is also an increasingly important SEO ranking factor. Google has raised the bar for "good performance" again. Specifically, with good performance, you score points with search engines. Better performance = better SEO ranking.

OSU Gifts

The design of OSU Gifts is fully responsive.

OSU Gifts is the specialist in personalized (business) gifts! We have been working together for over 9 years and are now at website number 3.

The website was developed in OpenMage. For the frontend we worked with the latest techniques for a fresh look and optimal performance.

Before, it was unthinkable to score high in terms of Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices en SEO. But fortunately that is all in the past!

Curious about the score of this website? Check out these top scores from Lighthouse, a tool that puts your website under the microscope:

Lighthouse website score. Performance: 100%. Accessibility: 98%. Best Practices: 92%. SEO: 100%.

Frequently asked questions

Not finding the answer you're looking for? Get in touch with us.

It depends from project to project. Do you already have an existing installation that is well set up? Then it may be more beneficial to continue building on that. However, is it a new installation? Then you can still go either way. We are happy to help you weigh up the options and find the perfect solution.

There are several versions of Magento. Adobe Commerce (formerly known as Magento Commerce and even earlier as Magento Enterprise Edition) is the paid version (subscription form). You pay a (fairly high) license fee per server and a percentage of your sales each year. As an independent developer, we usually don't find this option interesting enough to justify the high cost. The Magento Community Edition is the free and open source version of Magento 2 and for about 95% the same as Adobe Commerce. If you really need certain features from Adobe Commerce, we can also just add them to the Community Edition. You then pay for the development once and not every year. Note that Adobe Commerce is a license fee only. You don't get a service in return. Setup, development and maintenance should still be done by a professional Magento developer.

Upgrade only if it adds something. If you have a Magento 1 installation that is well set up and meets your needs and wishes, then upgrading is not necessary.

Sometimes there are good reasons to switch from Magento 1 to Magento 2 and vice versa. Do you want to switch installations? Then you are in good hands. We are experienced in migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 and vice versa.

OpenMage and Magento 2 have roughly the same features for you as a merchant. There are minor differences, but nothing that can't be solved. The biggest difference is in how the product was conceived. Magento 2 was created with a focus on larger development teams and larger companies. The package has become more complex, without really offering more features for the starter, small and medium-sized merchant. In addition, development in OpenMage is also smoother. We can build more in less time and updating is easier which reduces the overall "cost of ownership".
Absolutely not. The community provides regular updates and security patches. It is completely up-to-date!
Not at all. In fact, due to its lighter structure, OpenMage is able to achieve a higher speed, both for the customer's shopping experience, and during development.

To summarize

With a Magento store developed by Storefront, you...

  • Decide to take E-Commerce seriously.

  • Choose a wel-designed store concept, tailor-made to fit your business. You want to make the difference online.

  • Call upon Magento-talent, which greatly improves the outcome.

  • Realize that you can always keep building without running into (technical) limitations.

  • Work with a company that is fanatical about quality and good service, and enjoys working with you to succeed.