Migrating a Large Magento 1 Platform to OpenMage for PHP 8.3 Compatibility

Client: quiff.ro
Industry: Multi-store retail (B2C + B2B)
Platform: Magento 1 ➝ OpenMage
Duration: ~2 weeks
Goal: Enable long-term operation on PHP 8.3 with improved performance

Background

Quiff.ro is one of Romania’s leading haircare and beauty suppliers, running multiple Magento 1 storefronts tailored for both B2C customers and B2B partners. The system included custom pricing logic, client groups, account hierarchies, and integrations with payment and shipping providers.

While a full migration to Magento 2 was originally considered, the scope and cost of rebuilding all functionality — especially the complex B2B portal — would have required a significant budget and timeline.

The client needed a faster and more cost-effective way to:

• Ensure long-term platform viability
• Modernize the tech stack (including support for PHP 8.x)
• Improve performance and security

Our Solution: OpenMage Migration

We proposed migrating the system core to OpenMage, the community-driven Magento 1 fork, and upgrading the environment to PHP 8.3. This allowed the client to preserve all existing business logic while significantly modernizing the underlying technology.

Step-by-Step Execution

We followed the roadmap outlined in our Magento 1 survival guide:

1. Upgraded to Magento 1.9.4.5 to start from the most stable official release.
2. Migrated to OpenMage by replacing the Magento core with the latest OpenMage branch.
3. Refactored custom modules for compatibility with PHP 8.3. We used Rector and manual code review to ensure compliance with strict typing and modern language features.
4. Tested all storefronts and B2B flows, including pricing rules, customer group logic, and checkout customizations.
5. Optimized performance by enabling full-page caching and removing legacy overhead.

Results

✅ Full compatibility with PHP 8.3
✅ All storefronts fully operational with no downtime
✅ Performance improvements across all pages (reduced TTFB and faster page loads)
✅ Zero data loss, no major rewrites required
✅ Project completed in under two weeks

Client Benefit

By migrating to OpenMage instead of a full Magento 2 rebuild, Quiff.ro was able to:

• Cut costs by over 60%
• Extend the life of their current platform
• Improve speed and stability for both B2C and B2B customers

Need Similar Help?

If you’re running a Magento 1 store and want to stay online safely with modern infrastructure, we can help you:

• Migrate to OpenMage
• Refactor your store for PHP 8+
• Improve performance and security — fast

👉 Let’s talk — we’ll help you choose the right strategy based on your store’s complexity and business goals.