- Objectives
- Adobe Commerce major upgrade from 2.3.7-p4 to 2.4.5-p1
- PHP upgrade from 7.3 to 8.1
- Migration from Adobe Commerce Cloud Starter Plan to Pro
- Security and performance
- Results
- 120+ module upgrades and removals
- Site speed performance improvement
- On-site search performance enhancement
- Resolution of 5000+ issues, errors, and warnings
- On-budget and on-time project delivery
Project Highlights
Brain & Code is proud to be Imprint Plus' chosen partner for their Adobe Commerce Cloud ecommerce platform upgrade. The upgrade provides a more stable and secure ecommerce environment for Imprint Plus to better serve their customers in the name badges and signage industry.
Imprint Plus, a leading online supplier of name badges and signage products, undertook a significant upgrade project to enhance their ecommerce website. The project involved upgrading Adobe Commerce 2.3.7-p4 (Magento) to Adobe Commerce 2.4.5-p1, along with other platform updates.
The upgraded website can be accessed at www.imprintplus.com
Why Upgrade the Adobe Commerce version?
Imprint Plus wanted to ensure their online store continues to stay secure, work efficiently and is PCI-compliant so upgrading their Adobe Commerce version provided the following key benefits:
- Staying compatible: It allows Imprint Plus to stay agile in the fast-paced ecommerce industry and ensured compatibility with the latest Adobe Commerce features.
- Improved performance: Upgrading improves performance and site speed, which impacts conversion rates and user satisfaction.
- Enhanced security: It reduced the risk of security incidents, as “83% of such incidents occur on outdated software”*. Upgrading keeps the store more secure, PCI-compliant, and protect against data breaches, saving potential costs.
*Source: Adobe
Adobe Commerce Major Upgrade from 2.3.7-p4 to 2.4.5-p1
Imprint Plus website was successfully upgraded to Adobe Commerce 2.4.5-p1. This version upgrade ensures that Imprint Plus could leverage over 400 bug fixes & improvements offered by Adobe Commerce including:
- Critical hotfixes including Braintree payment method and add to cart patch
- 20 Security fixes to address platform vulnerabilities
- Enhancements to comply with the latest security best practices
- Platform improvements for search and developer tools
- Optimized price indexer to reduce indexing time and improve performance
- Updates for screen readers users and other accessibility improvements
- New feature to allow customers to e-sign custom agreements using Adobe Sign
- Integration with Adobe Identity Management Service (IMS) authentication
- Multiple bug fixes for B2B functions
- Hundreds of issues fixed in the Adobe Commerce core covering key areas such as search, shipping, tax, promotions, pricing, payment methods, reCAPTCHA & more…
Upgrade from PHP 7.3 to 8.1 for Adobe Commerce Cloud
To enhance performance and leverage the latest advancements in PHP, Imprint Plus migrated from PHP 7.3 to PHP 8.1. This PHP upgrade provided improved speed, efficiency, and compatibility for their ecommerce website.
Migration from Adobe Commerce Cloud Starter Plan to Pro
As part of the upgrade project, the Adobe Commerce Cloud plan was changed from Starter to Pro, ensuring enhanced scalability and faster response times. This transition provided a solid foundation for a reliable and efficient ecommerce infrastructure including:
- Better automatic daily backups
- Master environment for disaster recovery
- Improved native Adobe Commerce B2B module
- New Relic Infrastructure on Production environments & APM (Performance Monitoring) on Staging and Production
- 24×7 monitoring and email support
- Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) — a dedicated virtual infrastructure for Production and Staging environments
Module Updates and Removals Performed for Adobe Commerce Upgrade
Over 120 modules were assessed, including custom modules and extensions, and upgrades or removals were performed to align them with the upgraded platform. This process eliminated deprecated functionalities, enhanced performance, and improved the overall stability of the website.
Enhanced Site Speed Performance through Adobe Commerce Upgrade
Imprint Plus experienced a significant improvement in site speed performance. Although specific site speed optimization techniques were not implemented, the upgrade to Adobe Commerce 2.4.5-p1 contributed to the improved speed. The newer version of Adobe Commerce and its underlying technologies introduced performance optimizations and refinements, resulting in faster page load times and improved overall user experience.
Improved On-Site Search Performance with Adobe Commerce Upgrade
There is a noticeable improvement in on-site search performance as a result of the upgrade. The change to version 2.4.5-p1 introduced enhancements and refinements to the search functionality, resulting in more accurate and efficient search results for customers. This improvement was achieved without the need for additional customizations or modifications.
Resolution of 5000+ Issues, Errors, and Warnings
Over 5000 issues, errors, and warnings that were identified during the analysis phase. By addressing these issues in the Adobe Commerce upgrade, it significantly improved the reliability, performance, and overall functionality of their online store.
Support for Upgrading Adobe Commerce
Upgrade support services was provided throughout the entire upgrade process, ensuring a smooth transition to Adobe Commerce version 2.4.5-p1. Brain & Code’s experienced team of architects, engineers, business analysts, UX experts, and project managers worked closely with Imprint Plus to address the specific requirements and challenges of the upgrade project.
By defining project milestones, allocating resources, and managing the development and testing phases, Brain & Code ensured a streamlined and efficient upgrade process, minimizing any potential disruptions to Imprint Plus’ business operations.
Best Practices for Adobe Commerce Upgrades
With Brain & Code team’s guidance, best practices were applied from planning to post-upgrade stages including:
Project backup: A backup of the site was completed before upgrade to preserve the original version and to serve as reference for testing and validation post-upgrade.
Compatibility checks: A thorough assessment of the site’s compatibility was conducted to evaluate themes, third-party and custom extensions, service versions, databases, and search functionality. This step was done to identify extensions that require upgrading and any integrations that need modifications to ensure compatibility with the version upgrade.
Database connectivity and storage checks: To ensure smooth database connectivity and sufficient storage, review of the database connection and available storage were verified to ensure adequate disk space before deployment.
Multiple development environments: The upgrade was first tested in development environments before being deployed to a staging environment for testing by Imprint Plus. After testing and resolving any issues, the upgraded site was then moved to a production environment for deployment.
Site-wide analysis: The Brain & Code technical team collaborated with Adobe Commerce to address items identified in the Site-wide Analysis Tool Report (SWAT) to prepare for the upgrade deployment. This included reviewing indexers, caching, database settings, reCAPTCHA integration, and resolving exception errors.
Post upgrade: Thorough quality assurance tests and checks were conducted to ensure adherence to Adobe Commerce post-launch processes and meet client User Acceptance testing (UAT) requirements. Any issues arising from third-party and custom extension upgrades were promptly addressed and resolved.
Preparing for Future Adobe Commerce Upgrade Releases
Adobe Commerce releases minor upgrades every other month and critical upgrades approximately every quarter (see Adobe Commerce release schedule).
Following the completion of the 2.4.5-p1 upgrade, Brain and Code looks forward to supporting Imprint Plus in monitoring and applying new Adobe Commerce upgrades and patches to ensure the site remains current and up-to-date.
Conclusion
With Brain & Code serving as their trusted eCommerce development partner, Imprint Plus successfully completed a major upgrade to their Adobe Commerce Cloud ecommerce platform.
The migration from Adobe Commerce 2.3.7-p4 to 2.4.5-p1 now provides improved site performance, enhanced search functionality, and a stable and secure ecommerce environment for Imprint Plus.
