Let’s be real—if you’ve ever touched Magento 1, you probably have some scars. Emotional, maybe even digital. But as someone who’s been neck-deep in Adobe Commerce builds for years now, I can say with complete confidence (and a little PTSD) that surviving Magento 1 is like surviving a tech jungle: you come out wiser, faster, and far more skeptical of free extensions.
As a tech reporter embedded in Charlotte’s bustling developer scene, I recently had the pleasure of shadowing the crew at Above Bits, a development company in the trenches since before Magento had a logo that made sense. With nearly 20 years under their belt, they’ve been through it all—from the early days of XML layout chaos to modern PWA headless builds. And as luck would have it, I joined them for one of their most significant projects of 2024: migrating an ancient Magento 1 behemoth to sleek, modern Adobe Commerce.
Let’s unpack what we learned. Spoiler: it was equal parts exhilarating and exhausting.
Magento 1: A Beautiful Mess
I walked into the project expecting a simple rebuild. Instead, I got an archeological dig through ten years of duct-taped code, duplicated extensions, and one checkout page that somehow loaded three versions of jQuery. The store had survived years of patchwork updates, long-forgotten developer experiments, and several high-stakes Black Friday rushes. And honestly, it still worked—kind of.
Globally, according to BuiltWith, Magento 1 stores made up nearly 40% of Magento sites two years after support officially ended in June 2020. Why? Because people are busy, migrations are scary, and let’s face it—Magento 1 was a workhorse. You could bend it to your will. You just needed to know how many rubber bands and zip ties you were comfortable with.
Now, imagine migrating that Frankenstein store to Adobe Commerce (Magento 2), which uses modern PHP practices, supports headless frameworks, and is optimized for speed and scalability. The difference is night and day, but so is the process.
Above Bits, long one of the go-to teams for Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte, guided me through the project step by step.
First Hurdle: Extensions That Time Forgot
The biggest shock was the number of extensions still active in Magento 1. Some were older than TikTok, and others had not been updated since the Obama administration. One extension had been abandoned by the original developer, who now apparently runs a goat farm in rural Sweden (I checked).
Watching the Above Bits team reverse engineer each plugin’s function, I realized how fragile some eCommerce operations are. These extensions were responsible for core business processes, such as handling shipping logic, promotions, and loyalty programs. However, there was no documentation, no support, just hope and a prayer.
This is where the Adobe Commerce ecosystem in 2024 shines. Magento 2 (now Adobe Commerce) encourages clean, modular architecture. You don’t need to install 60+ extensions anymore—many features are built-in, and others come from vetted, enterprise-grade sources.
And if you’re working with Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte at Above Bits, you can even have custom-built modules that don’t implode when someone updates PHP.
The Unexpected Drama of Migrating Data
Let’s talk about data. Everyone says,, “Just export and import,” like it’s some casual CSV moment. It’s not. This Magento 1 store had over 200,000 SKUs; worse, it had been through several ERP integrations. That meant corrupted attributes, product descriptions in weird encodings, and categories that hadn’t made sense since 2015.
Above Bits had to map the entire data schema and rewrite large parts of the migration tool to handle custom logic. At one point, they found a category that looped back into itself, creating an infinite breadcrumb nightmare. Untangling that one took a week.
The good news is that Adobe Commerce (especially the cloud edition) offers a more rigid data structure, making it harder to make mistakes in the future. The bad news is that fitting your old mess into that structure isn’t easy.
Once again, local talent made all the difference. The Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte I worked with had seen this kind of chaos before. They weren’t phased. One even joked, “At least it’s not Zen Cart.” (Which, fair.)
Internationalization: Why Adobe Commerce Wins (Mostly)
One of the reasons this client finally committed to the rebuild was international expansion. They needed multilingual support, multiple currencies, and different tax logic based on shipping zones.
Magento 1 technically supported these features—but not without blood, sweat, or creative PHP. In contrast, Adobe Commerce handles internationalization with relative grace. You get store views for each region, layered tax configurations, and even translation packs maintained by Adobe’s global community.
But even this isn’t always perfect. The admin UX for managing multiple stores still has its quirks. There are occasional bugs when you switch languages and try to preview product pages. And let’s not talk about how complex the deployment process becomes when dealing with dozens of regional themes and configurations.
Yet, when you stack Adobe Commerce next to other platforms—like Shopify Plus, which limits certain global features unless you use external apps—it’s easy to see why Adobe is still considered the most flexible option for international sellers.
That’s why clients who want long-term scalability often look to Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte and end up working with firms like Above Bits.
Performance Optimization: Not All Hosting Is Created Equal
This rebuild came with another unexpected truth bomb: bad hosting is still ruining good sites.
The client was using a “premium” host (not naming names, but it rhymes with “SlowSaddy”), and the original site was running on PHP 5.6 with no opcode caching. Page loads were around 5-7 seconds. In eCommerce terms, that’s a bounce factory.
Above Bits moved everything to a finely tuned LEMP stack running on AlmaLinux 9 with Redis, Varnish, and Cloudflare in front. The difference? 500ms page loads even under load testing. This wasn’t just backend wizardry—it was deep, painful optimization. They had to rework the theme, eliminate unnecessary queries, and configure full-page caching properly.
It’s worth noting that Adobe Commerce gives you the tools for blazing-fast performance, but you have to use them right. Many store owners install Magento and expect miracles, only to be disappointed when the site drags due to poor hosting choices.
Once again, the Charlotte-based developers saved the day—and showed why experience is still more valuable than glossy sales pitches.
Adobe Commerce Cloud: The Double-Edged Sword
Now, here’s where things got real. The client briefly considered using Adobe Commerce Cloud, the hosted version of the platform. At first glance, it seemed like a no-brainer: scalable infrastructure, security baked in, and fewer DevOps to manage.
However, after some testing, the team found that Adobe Commerce Cloud introduced new complexities. Deployment pipelines were rigid. Logs were more challenging to access. Performance tuning was limited. And worst of all, the cost spiraled quickly once traffic scaled up.
For large enterprises, Adobe Commerce Cloud can be the right fit. However, for mid-sized businesses that want full control, self-hosting or working with a savvy agency remains the better bet.
This is where I have to hand it to the Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte at Above Bits—they offered honest advice. No upselling, just clarity. That kind of transparency isn’t just refreshing; it’s rare.
A Survival Story Still in Progress
We’re about halfway through the tale of this monster rebuild—and let me tell you, it’s already been an education. Every step, from extension archaeology to performance rehab, has revealed something new about how Adobe Commerce works in the real world, not just on Adobe’s flashy landing pages.
What’s becoming clear is this: migration isn’t just about moving code and data. It’s about unlearning old patterns, cleaning out cobwebs, and embracing new architecture that actually scales.
In Part Two, we’ll dive into custom module development, PWA (progressive web apps), real SEO results post-migration, and whether Adobe Commerce is really the long-term platform you want to bet your store on.
Code Rewrites, Front-End Headaches, and the Future of Adobe Commerce
By the time we crossed the migration finish line, it wasn’t just the database and product catalogs that were transformed—it was the entire development philosophy behind the store. Magento 1 taught developers to be scrappy, to hack and patch. Adobe Commerce asks for more. It demands structure, discipline, and (sometimes) a little yoga breathing when the deployment breaks because someone didn’t clear the cache.
Still, the future of eCommerce is being written in platforms like Adobe Commerce, and the lessons we learned in rebuilding this monster store prove why.
Custom Modules: When the Out-of-the-Box Box Isn’t Enough
Let’s talk about the features the client actually needed—ones that didn’t exist in Adobe’s out-of-the-box setup, such as dynamic vendor-based order splitting, personalized upselling logic using buying history, and region-specific checkout experiences. None of those were plug-and-play.
That’s where Adobe Commerce shows its true muscle. Unlike locked-down SaaS platforms, you can build exactly what you need. Of course, it helps when you’ve got nearly two decades of hands-on experience, like the developers at Above Bits. Their senior architect had literally worked on Magento 1’s early architecture and once jokingly referred to a custom XML layout override as “digital black magic.”
They rewrote the order splitting module from scratch using dependency injection, service contracts, and proper logging for future debugging. The entire logic was headless-ready, something critical for the client’s plan to implement PWA in the future.
Having access to Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte who can architect these solutions correctly is the difference between long-term stability and a system that slowly turns into spaghetti again. Trust me, we’ve seen the spaghetti.
Front-End Friction: PWA, Luma, and That One CSS File That Ruined Everything
If there’s one part of Adobe Commerce that still causes groans in dev rooms globally, it’s the front end. Luma, the default theme, is functional but bloated. It includes massive CSS and JS bundles, much of which your store might not even use.
WSwitchingto Hyvä themes—an increasingly popular lightweight front-end alternative that sremovesjunk.—significantly improved load times According to a 2023 Hyvä community survey, stores using it saw average speed gains of 40–60%.
But PWA Studio is where Adobe Commerce wants you to go. And yes, it’s fast, it’s modern, and it looks sexy on a CV. However, it also introduces complexity that only seasoned teams can navigate. If your dev team isn’t comfortable with GraphQL, service workers, and decoupled architecture, you’re in for a rough ride.
That’s why the client opted to hold off on PWA—for now. The focus was on a clean, lean rebuild. When the time comes, they’ll revisit the shift. Thankfully, with Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte leading the charge, they’ll do it on their own terms, not because a sales rep told them to.
SEO, Finally Done Right
Now, let’s get to something even more important than load times: Google. Adobe Commerce isn’t a magic SEO machine, but when configured correctly, it can outperform a lot of SaaS platforms.
Within three months of migration, we saw huge SEO gains. Product pages were re-indexed cleanly, canonical tags were fixed, and structured data was added properly. Above Bits even implemented Cloudflare’s APO and adjusted header caching for better crawlability.
One of the store’s top categories jumped from page 5 to page 1 in just 9 weeks.
That said, Adobe Commerce is not without its quirks. The admin interface can be overwhelming. Layered navigation can create duplicate URLs if not configured right. And the dreaded “indexing queue”—if mismanaged—can spike your server load at the worst possible time.
But all of this is fixable. With experience, not luck.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t say Adobe Commerce developers in Charlotte at Above Bits live and breathe these fixes. Watching them tune the store like a Formula 1 car was honestly impressive. They offer full-service development for Adobe Commerce sites, ensuring every aspect of your online store runs seamlessly.
So… Is Adobe Commerce Worth It?
Here’s the honest take: Adobe Commerce isn’t for everyone. It’s powerful, yes. It’s scalable, absolutely scalable. But it also comes with complexity. For small stores, platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce might be enough. However, Adobe Commerce is still the champion for businesses that want full control of data, layout, and customer logic.
Adobe Commerce quietly dominates large-scale B2B builds in Germany, luxury retail in Dubai, and high-growth startups in Singapore. Adobe’s own earnings call in Q1 2024 showed eCommerce platform revenue rising 12% year-over-year, with Adobe Commerce leading the pack.
Even Amazon launched a Magento extension to integrate Amazon Pay with Adobe Commerce, showing that even the biggest players respect its flexibility.
The downside? It’s not simple. You need experienced architects, a team that understands both the platform and your business model, and people who have been there before.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, that means Above Bits.
The End of a Rebuild and the Start of a Scalable Future
The rebuild was finally done after four months, 200,000 SKUs, 67 rewritten modules, and more late-night bug fixes than I can count. The client’s site is now fast, scalable, and flexible. Customers don’t get checkout errors anymore. International shipping works. And the admin panel no longer looks like a time machine to 2009.
Most importantly? The team has peace of mind.
It’s easy to get caught up in flashy features and shiny dashboards. However, eCommerce success is still about fundamentals: performance, structure, customization, and reliability.
Adobe Commerce isn’t perfect. But in the hands of the right team, it becomes a powerhouse.
So, if you’re sitting on a legacy Magento 1 store or struggling with the limits of your current platform, know this: rebuilding isn’t just a migration. It’s a rebirth. It’s messy. It’s technical. It’s exhausting. But with the right help, it’s also 100% worth it.
And if that help comes from a team with nearly two decades of experience, based in Charlotte—like Above Bits—well, maybe that’s not a coincidence at all.
Let the rebuild begin.
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