Magento is the most recommended e-commerce platform that is used worldwide for developing e-commerce sites or online stores. There are several reasons that make this platform so popular among businesses interested in setting up an e-store. In fact, over 200,000 merchants around the world are running their sites on the Magento platform. And so, you’ll certainly want to embrace the new version of the Magento platform as well.

Today, Magento 2, has become the most talked about topic of discussion in the e-commerce industry. The new version of the Magento platform is expected to launch soon, while its beta version has already been made available to the developer community. So, while Magento 2 is on its way to launch, it makes sense to be aware of the features of this new version.

In this post, we’ll cover some of the major features that Magento 2 will offer:

1. Compatibility with Modern Technologies

   Magento 2 will support modern technologies which include modern PHP versions (5.4 or above), HTML5, CSS3, mySQL (5.6 or higher), etc. Plus, the new version of the e-commerce platform will use jQuery library by default in place of prototype.js. Furthermore, it will support modern coding standards.

2. Customization Will Become a Breeze

   The Magento 2 development team is working on simplifying the customization process. For this purpose, they have made the following changes in the new Magento release:

   • The god class of Magento 1 called as “Mage” won’t be a part of Magento 2. This change has been introduced to reduce the complexity of the code.
   • The upcoming version incorporates a modularized search interface, enabling developers to customize search functions easily.
   • Magento 2 will support XML validation, helping developers evaluate whether their XML code adheres to specific rules and structures or not.
   • Magento 2 includes multilevel theme inheritance.
   • Will come prepackaged with a responsive theme.

3. Will Serve as a Testing-friendly Platform

   Another benefit you will get due to elimination of the Mage god class is: you will be able to test the code in a relatively easy manner. What’s more? The new Magento version will let you perform the below mentioned tests on your site:

   • Unit Tests
   • JavaScript Unit Tests
   • Performance Tests
   • Legacy and Migration Tests and more

   Moreover, the new version will come loaded with a new testing framework that will help automate the functional testing.

4. Performance and Scalability Will Be Improved

   You can expect to see the following improvements in the upcoming Magento version:

   • Support for full-page cache, including Varnish and Redis will be made available out of the box.
   • New indexers will be introduced that will contains the same functionality just like the previous Magento enterprise versions. However, the indexers will be improved in terms of delivering faster query performance. Plus they’ll make the updates more efficient.
   • Developers will have the ability to create multiple admin users.

5. Front-end Development Will Become Easier

   With the introduction of less CSS preprocessor and modern HTML5-powered themes, developers will be able to modify the look and functionality of the Magento 2 enabled sites without much hassle. This will prove a big benefit to the novice developers, who constantly seek out ways to make the front-end development process a little easier.

6. Upgrade Costs and Efforts Will Reduce

   In the upcoming Magento 2.0 version, you will find making the core Magento software and extensions up-to-date a lot easier, because of the reduced upgrade costs and efforts.For instance, when upgrading to the new 2.0 version, Magento 2 will include updated information regarding versioning policies. Additionally, you’ll be provided with relevant information needed to make your upgrades compatible with the latest Magento versions. Besides this, with the help of new standalone installer, you’ll be able to install the Magento 2 software quickly.

   

7. Directories Structure

   Magento 2 directories structure will be different compared to Magento 1, and rather will be similar to the Zend framework. For instance, you’ll find that the number of folders in Magento 2 will be reduced to 5 compared to 10 folders available at the root level of previous Magento version. Plus, there won’t be any base theme in the new version and so on.

   

Let’s Wrap Up!

Magento 2 is still in the development phase, but is expected to launch soon, and so it would be better to prepare yourself for the new release. To do so, you’ll need to become familiar with the features of Magento 2 such as the ones discussed above.

Author Bio: Cluadia Jhonson is a professional web developer working with Magentax Ltd,- a renowned Magento Development Outsourcing Company. You can choose the company in order to avail magento developers for hire who’s skilled in offering high-end Magento development services and solutions. Do go through Claudia’s well-written, informative articles on Magento web design and development.