Magento 2.3.1 Updates & Features

On March 26, 2019, Magento 2.3.1 was released.

According to Magento, “This release includes over 200 functional fixes to the core product, over 500 pull requests contributed by the community, and over 30 security enhancements.”

That’s a lot to pack into one release.

There are improvements for you as a merchant, for your developers, and for your shoppers.

To help you unpack and understand what Magento 2.3.1 means to you (and why you should care), we’ve created some CliffsNotes:

Magento 2.3.1 Updates for Merchants

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Page Builder is now available exclusively for Magento Commerce.

Although Page Builder was announced at last year’s Magento Imagine, we’ve had to wait twelve long months to get our hands on it.

But my friends, it was worth the wait:

• Easily add and edit page content with no code required with an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface.
• Quickly made edits and keep content new and interesting.
• Preview, schedule and push new content live without involving developers or IT.
• Powerful, out-of-the-box features and functionality.
• See changes before saving with “true” storefront preview.
• In-line text editing.
• Compatible with Staging & Preview and Dynamic Blocks.
• Create engaging websites with rich content that can easily be edited to keep the experience fresh and interesting for shoppers.

Other updates for merchants:

• PDP Images: Merchants can upload PDP images larger than 1920 x 1200 and Magento will no longer compress or downsize those images.
  Magento 2.3.1 Updates for Shoppers
• Customer information now remains even if the shopper updates the shopping cart.
• Shoppers can now choose options for a configurable product even after adding it to their shopping cart.
• Additional customer addresses stored in their address book now appears as a grid for easy selection during checking out.

Magento 2.3.1 Updates for Developers:

• Automatic Updates: A new composer plugin to automatically upgrade all the dependencies.
• PWA: An improved PWA studio experience to help developers build, deploy, and maintain PWA storefront on top of Magento 2.x
• GraphQL: Several features such as cart creation, shipping address setup, and customer account creation have been added to GraphQL with Magento 2.3.1.
• Improvements to the Progressive Web Apps (PWA) Studio and the Venia/B2B themes

Performance Updates in Magento 2.3.1

• The latest version of PayPal Express Checkout which introduces a modernized checkout flow, faster checkout performance, and new payment options – including Venmo and PayPal Credit – in a single integration that does not have to be updated as new payment methods become available.
• Updates to existing bundled extensions from Amazon Pay, DotDigital, Klarna, and Vertex which come natively with Magento.
• Zip codes validated for new addresses when “My billing and shipping address are the same” option is unchecked.
• Expired gift cards are no longer applied to a customer’s account.
• Custom customer address attributes can now be updated when you edit an order’s billing address in the Admin.
• Magento 2.3.1 supports Elastic search to ensure all site searches return correct products and quantities.

Bundled Extensions Enhancements in Magento 2.3.1:

• Amazon Pay: Added multi-currency support for EU and U.K. merchants.
• Several improvements to the shipment workflow user experience.
• Added support for B2C VAT & configurable logging.

Shipping Updates in Magento 2.3.1

• Improvements to Magento Shipping to better support international orders including the use of DHL Express, FedEx and UPS global services.
• Updates to the latest payment and shipping APIs (including DHL, FedEx, and UPS to ensure a bulletproof operation and major improvements to the GraphQL API that increase coverage, improve the developer experience, and enhance security.
• Inventory Management: Along with enhancements to mass inventory transfers, options such as distance priority source selection algorithm (SSA) and in-store pickup fulfillment have also been added to make inventory management easier than ever before.
• Support for the Amazon Sales Channel through the Magento Sales & Advertising Channels system
• Security updates for Magento 2.3.1

Security Updates in Magento 2.3.1

Over 30 security enhancements are included in 2.3.1 to help safeguard your customer’s crucial data, including:

• Cross-site scripting
• Arbitrary code execution
• Sensitive data disclosure vulnerabilities
• CAPTCHA now appears in the login pop-up window.

B2B Updates in Magento 2.3.1

• Magento’s B2B suite can now handle up to 3,000 addresses per B2B customer (30 times more than previous version).
• GraphQL API support of B2B data

Six More Reasons to Upgrade to Magento 2.3.1

Above we’ve presented over two dozen reasons above to upgrade to Magento 2.3.1.

But let’s say you’re still not convinced.

You want to get down to brass taxes.

No problem. We can do that.

At the end of the day, here’s what you get with Magento 2.3.1:

1. Higher conversions: Deliver high-performing stores, rich mobile experiences, and omnichannel fulfillment options to increase engagement and boost conversions
2. Flexibility: Rapidly change and schedule content without development resources.
3. Improved operations: Manage inventory and automate fulfillment across multiple locations.
4. Lower TCO: Modern development tools and reduced resource needs save time and money.
5. Modern technologies: Maintain PCI compliance, support the latest technologies, and enjoy quality enhancements for reliable, high performing stores.
6. Heightened security: Ensure shopper trust and protect your stores with new security tools, fixes, and enhancements.

If You’re on Magento 1…

Like it or not, after June 2020 your Magento 1.x website will no longer receive quality or security patches developed by Magento. You’ll be on the hook to maintain the security and stability of your site. That’s not a place where you want to be.

Here are the end of software dates for Magento versions:

View and download the entire Magento Software Lifecycle Policy

Keep With the Joneses

Magento 2.3.1 has a lot to offer. And if you don’t take advantage of all the updates, you’re losing out on a boatload of powerful features and functionality.

This is one time when you want to “keep up with Joneses.”

To help you, please contact us or check out our Magento 2 migration page.

For a complete list of all the updates for Magento Commerce 2.3.1 and Magento Open Source 2.3.1, please reference these two Magento documents:

Magento Commerce 2.3.1 Release Notes

Magento Open Source 2.3.1 Release Notes