General
- Sometimes we asked a very simple question which actually is very hard to answer, even with years of experience.
How can we tell that you are trustworthy prior to ordering? How can we trust you?
- Some people who tried our services send us positive feedback in comments (thank you very much for your warm words!), you can see it on main page or in comments section under corresponding service, i.e. patch install or upgrades, or links on the web.
However, the problem is that we can tell 10 reasons to trust us, but still there will be a reason not to.
Trust is earned, not demanded. And only you can decide whether you wish to give us opportunity to earn your trust or not.
What is your refund policy?
- It is simple, we refund your transaction if you are not satisfied with results, backed by PayPal.
Do you work with Magento 2?
- As a short answer, No. Magento 2 is completely different platform and there is no direct upgrade path available. It will require migration of all data (customers, orders, products) into newly build M2 store from old Magento 1.9.3+ installation, just like migration to any other platform i.e. Shopflare, Shopify or Bigcommerce.
M2 looks great for developers and designers, enterprise sector with Continuous Integration/Deployment cycles, but may be not the best option for middle-size stores and most of our clients unless they have in-house dev team to maintain M2 after migration.
We use OpenMage LTS (drop-in replacement for M1) for all deployments since June 20, 2020. For detailed information please refer to this page.
I’m not sure which support service I would need to purchase for my websites as I have several problems that hard to pin-point
- Please describe all details in our support form and we come back with a suggestion.
Do you offer volume discounts for multiple sites? I have 5 sites that I need patched.
- No, there are no any volume discounts available. We mostly work with agencies and design studios, so our processes are optimized for the best price and turn-around time with focus on professional results, efficiency and high quality.
Do you have phone support? Who can I call to discuss something?
- No, we do not have phone support available and can not provide tech support or pre-sales via phone line. Please check your nearest Magento Solution partner for such service. You also may be interested in the next question.
How do you keep such low prices?
- The reason is optimized processes for our services. For the past years we have processed very high number of patch installations and upgrades and every task added something to our checklists. We have also minimized time needed to handle tasks and excluded custom requests and phone line support to focus on the main process. That is why our service is often used by agencies and design studios to outsource maintenance tasks.
How to grant access?
- To grant us access you can send username / password / IP-address of the server in request form or in reply to initial ticket message.
Alternatively, you can install our public SSH key via cPanel > SSH access > Manage keys and provide cPanel or siteWorx (or any other hosting panel) username in reply to to the initial ticket message message. For detailed instructions please refer to this article.
If you need to encrypt your message to us, please use our SSL certificate or GPG key signed any email from our side.
Alternatively, you can grant temporarily access to your Bitbucket, Github or Atlassian repository to our account or upload your code to our server.
Our public SSH key is as follows:
.
What if I am not willing to grant you access?
- No problem, we can grant you access to our server for you to upload your codebase. We will provide you exact list of code files and folders to be modified or reviewed depending on service and your version, you will upload it to our server, we will work there and will push it back to you for deployment. We can easily work with your VCS be it GitHub, plain git, SVN or dated CVS.
Patch installation
Will my website experience downtime during the installation? If so, for how long?
- There are no any downtime expected during installation, the process is usually completed within 4-8 hours depending on your Magento version. The website is running as usual during this time. The most of time is spent on preparations (read-only checks of all files to be updated, preparing updates for your custom changes and local overrides) and actual file update is done in the last 1-2 hours. However is possible to catch certain moments during this interval when certain blocks are not shown or some buttons or forms can not be submitted, especially when access is provided via FTP only and we can not apply all changes immediately as with SSH access. Therefor we recommend to confirm the most preferred timeframe for the installation, so we can perform this task when store is mostly idle.
What if it breaks some of our extensions? Do you fix them?
- Usually all known issues with third-party extensions are fixed during patch install. If you notice that some extension is broken after patch installation please let me know so I can adjust the extension or patch to make it work.
Does your patch application service do enough testing to ensure there are no problems due to the updates ?
- We use checklist for our patch installation service which include tests for all known issues that we are aware of and manually verify index page, CMS page, catalog pages (category and product), checkout page and new account registration form.
What if my store is compromised or infected with malware?
- If your store was compromised or infected with malware, please mention this in additional details field and prepare to restore it from the latest backup prior to patch installation. We will confirm the schedule with you and will install patches right after backup restoration.
What if you fail to apply patches?
- It is unlikely. In the event of unsatisfactory results (there were two such cases to the moment), we revert patched files from backup and roll back the payment transaction (full refund issued to your account).
How much would it cost to install failed patches for 10266 & 8788?
- In short, cost is same for all patches or any single patch, you can see it on our patch installation page.
In details,
- Online testing tools like Magereport or our testing tool use just a few externally visible attributes to check for installed patches and can not guarantee consistency. It is possible (and, unfortunately, we very often have to deal with it) when some patches are applied only partially, just to “make all checks green”, some files are patched, other files are still unpatched and, obviously, it makes no sense and complicates any further patch installation as new patches rely on old one and every file should be patched correctly.
- If Magereport says 8788 is missing, but 9767 is installed, we know that installation is likely broken as it is not possible to install 9767 cleanly without 8788, so we have to correct it and at least, rollback partially applied 9767 to install 8788 and after that apply 8788, 9767 and finally 10266. Often, it is broken even earlier, at 6788 or 7405.
- We know how to “make it all green” without any actual patching
- We do not rely on any external tools to check consistency of currently installed patches and check every file from all patches that needs to be patched for exact version, including local overrides (not included in patches)
- We use standard checklist for any installation to check every patch and bring in consistency and only after that we apply missing patches. It takes up to 4 hours to verify and correct partially applied or broken patches, fix known issues page, verify all tests from checklist and only one minute to correctly apply all patches to consistent installation.
We’ve tried to install latest patches and got some errors.
We would like to discuss if you’re able to fix them and have the patches installed.
- We correct any errors or inconsistency that prevents patch installation, so we can install all patches in any case. To proceed with patch installation please order it via https://magentary.com/magento-patch-installation-service/. If you have a log file of failed installation, it would be helpful as well.
I have installed a lot of patches, but the most recent ones, I can´t do it. I thing it´s because I had change some original files when I made the store. Can you patch my site without breaking it?
- Yes, sure, that is exactly what our patch service is designed for. We correct any errors or inconsistency that prevents patch installation, so we can install all patches in any case. Log file of previous unsuccessful patch installation can be helpful.
Will any of the patches modify theme or look and feel as some modifications were made for this store?
- Yes, some patches can affect theme look and feel and we apply special corrections when needed.
I have a custom theme, will be there no issue with patches in example form key
- During our patch installation process we patch custom themes as well in addition to base themes, so there are no any special issues expected. In example, we add all formkey fields to templates in custom themes, change layout of resetpassword link (otherwise password reset function is broken after SUPEE-6788) and whitelist all custom CMS block in permission tables after SUPEE-6788. You can check known issues page for more examples.
What is the difference between Magento patch installation and Magento upgrade? My store is Magento 1.9.2.4 version.
- For Magento 1.9.2.x I would suggest upgrade to the latest OpenMage version.
In addition to all security patches upgrade to the latest OpenMage version include PHP7.2, PHP7.3 and PHP7.4 compatibility and a few functional changes.
For upgrade process, we perform upgrade first on our staging server, so you can verify all changes, third-party extensions and check every function you use (i.e. login to admin backend to check product image upload, perform a checkout or any other routine task) before pushing it to live store.
Patch installation process is performed on live server and we can instantly rollback any specific patch or patch subset in case of any incompatibility found.
Can you install PHP 5.4 or PHP 5.6 compatibility patch as well?
- Yes, sure, please just mention it in additional details field in the installation request form. No any additional charges needed for that.
Can you install PHP7.3 compatibility patch?
- Yes, sure, also we have created separate service to provide PHP 7.3 compatibility.
Upgrades
Will my website experience downtime during the upgrade? If so, for how long?
- Upgrade path first is developed on staging server and your live store works as usual during main upgrade process. When upgrade path is developed and verified by you on our staging store, we schedule and prepare live store upgrade. During this step we deploy upgraded data, switch live store into maintenance mode and run database upgrade scripts. Usually it takes less than 30 minutes to complete. For old Magento versions (i.e. 1.4.1.0 it can take up to 2 hours). We confirm expected maintenance timeframe with you when upgrade path is developed.
We have many edits to the core files which are in the local
folders. What will happen to all the changes we have done?
- All local changes are upgraded accordingly, including edits in core files. We merge all changes into the new code base.
Can you upgrade to Magento 2?
- No, Magento 2 have completely different codebase and is based on a different framework, so there are no direct upgrade possible from M1. All data should be migrated into new Magento 2 installation via migration tool, just like with migration any other eCommerce platform, i.e. Shopify or Bigcommerce. As of now, it will significant time and resources to complete it, most likely even up to M2.3 EOL (expected in 2022).
Instead of M2 migration, we offer to upgrade your M1 store to OpenMage LTS for all deployments past June 20, 2020.
What is better, upgrade to Magento 1.9.4.5 or migrate to Magento 2?
- If you ask this question as of now, the best option would be to upgrade to OpenMage LTS.
Magento 2 is completely different platform and there is no direct upgrade path available. It will require migration of all data (customers, orders, products) into newly build M2 store from old Magento 1.9.3+ installation, just like migration to any other platform i.e. Shopflare, Shopify or Bigcommerce.
M2 looks great for developers and designers, enterprise sector with Continuous Integration/Deployment cycles, but may be not the best option for middle-size stores and most of our clients unless they have in-house dev team to maintain M2 after migration.
We offer to migrate to OpenMage LTS for all M1 deployments past June 20, 2020.
Will you install latest security patches during Magento upgrade procedure?
- Yes, sure. For the latest Magento 1.9.4.5 there are several security patches needed additionally to the date: SUPEE-11346, Patch for CVE-2020-15244 and Patch for CVE-2020-9690 (APSB20-47). The latest OpenMage LTS v19.4.15 have all security patches included already. We additionally install PHP compatibility patches depending your PHP and server version. Sometimes there are newer security patches which were not yet included into the most recent release, in a such case we will install all such patches during upgrade process.
My store is at Magento 1.7.0.2 version. What is better, patch Magento or upgrade it? What is the difference between patching and upgrade?
- Both options will provide the same level of security. All known security issues are fixed in patches and all patches are included in upgrade to the latest version.
In addition to security patches upgrade to the latest version include PHP7.x compatibility and a lot of functional changes. You can see the full list of functional changes in release notes documents for 1.8 and 1.9 versions:
Also, 1.9.x version is a bit faster as it includes fixes for several performance related issues such as flooding URL-rewrite table on every re-index for example.
In terms of hosting, it is all related to PHP compatibility. Magento 1.7.0.2 require PHP 5.3 and the most of hosts dropping PHP 5.3, PHP 5.4 support in favor of newer PHP 5.6 and PHP7.2. Switching to PHP7.2 have significant performance effect, it is much faster. We can apply PHP5.4 and PHP5.6 compatibility patches to Magento 1.7.0.2, however for PHP7.2 support it will be required to upgrade to 1.9.2.x versions and newer.
If you are satisfied with current feature set it is perfectly safe to stay with 1.7.0.2 version assuming all patches are applied. You can request patch installation for any missing patches (including PHP5.4 or PHP5.6 compatibility patches) here.
Patch installation is a simple and safe procedure, we can complete it within a few hours and immediately revert it if needed.
For upgrade process, it will require more time. We perform upgrade first on our staging server, so you can verify all changes, third-party extensions and check every function you use (i.e. login to admin backend to check product image upload, perform a checkout or any other routine task) before pushing it to live store.
If you wish to proceed with upgrade to v19.4.15 version (which also includes all security patches and provide PHP7.2 compatibility), please order Magento upgrade procedure via https://magentary.com/magento-upgrade-service/
Also, it is recommended to check with your host, if PHP7.x is supported in your hosting environment prior to upgrade. Magento 1.9.4.5 can run on PHP5.6, but it will run much faster on PHP 7.x.
In case we found in your staging site major errors with our extensions (like bank gateways etc.) what will your actions/suggestions will be?
- We try to fix any errors detected during upgrade if possible, including all extensions. In some cases (i.e. full extension rewrite required to bring PHP7.4 compatibility or there is already updated extension version with the issue fixed), we suggest to ask your extension vendor for support, i.e. patch or updated version to fix certain issue.
If i upgrade to OpenMage will i be able to migrate to Magento 2 afterwards?
- We upgrade to the OpenMage v19.4.x which has full ABI compatibility with Magento 1.9.4, including database schema. To migrate to Magento 2 they use special Data Migration Tool, a specially designed tool with independent codebase. This tool is set to connect to existing Magento 1 database, map data to new schema and import it into Magento 2 database. The tool has no dependency on Magento store version other than database should be from Magento 1.9.3.x-1.9.4.x. Currently there is a very little difference in database schema between Magento 1.9.4.5 and OpenMage v19.4.3 and these changes are reversible.
With upgrade to Magento 1.9.4.5 with all patches, what is preferable? Apply all patches or upgrade to version? or is it the same? What is the difference at the end of the day?
- Security patches are the minimal changes in code required to keep system secure. Applying all patches over 1.9.3.5 will provide the same level of security as upgrade to the latest version. However, it will not provide new features and functional changes, i.e. support of newer PHP and MySQL/MariaDB versions, so the system version still will 1.9.3.5, just with security patches added.
Please note, that some important bug fixes that were solved in recent Magento versions are not included in security patches. To name just a few of such important bug fixes:
- Bug in Catalog URL Rewrite re-index code causing
core_url_rewrite table to double-size on every re-index
- Frontend router reached max 100 iterations bug, where an exception was served to random page once every other hour on expire of config cache
For detailed list of changes you can compare changelog between OpenMage v19.4.3 (it corresponds to Magento 1.9.4.5) and OpenMage v19.4.13.
Switching to PHP7.x version
On PHP version upgrade, do you solve incompatibility issues, including extensions and modules?
- Yes, there is such logic with staging environment running PHP7.3 on our server. Frontend and Backend is checked for possible errors (catalog pages, cms pages, checkout process, login/register/account pages).
Simple incompatibility issues in third-party extensions can be fixed right away, however there are certain cases (i.e. dependency on Crypt_Rijndael class) when code rewrite is required in the extension and we would suggest to obtain PHP7.3 compatibility update from the extension developers in such cases.
Will upgrading to OpenMage provide us with 7.4 compatibility?
- Yes, upgrading to OpenMage will provide PHP7.4 compatibility for all core code. Extensions will be checked in staging environment and updated accordingly if needed.
Are there any limitations in terms of extensions?
Can i install M1.9 latest market extensions or I will need to follow a
particular protocol?
- There are no any limitations or special protocols in terms of extensions. In general, all extensions from Magento 1 market should work as is with OpenMage v19.4.x branch (which is designed to provide backward compatibility with Magento 1) just like with Magento 1.9.4.5. Of course, there are possible issues with some extensions (i.e. issue with changed frontent cookie which can affect FPC extensions) and we’ll check it during staging step.