Magento Issues Caused by Extension Conflicts, and How to Survive Them

Implementing a new module to a working Magento environment is quite a challenge. Why so? A Magento web store with all its server and database configurations, custom code, and third-party extensions is like an orchestra that will sound terrible if an amateur musician comes in.

To keep the Magento web store performing well after introducing new features, merchants should know how to pick the right players, introduce them to the orchestra, and resolve conflicts between musicians if they appear. Whether you are going to prevent Magento issues and achieve system stability using the in-house resources or with the help of an ecommerce development company, this guide definitely has some practical ideas for you.

However good extensions and vendors you pick, several risk factors can trigger compatibility problems. Let’s look closer at them.

Magento extensions are released for particular Magento versions and system configurations, so an attempt to install a module on an earlier or later version than the vendor recommends can cause an error. The roots of the problem are in the enhancements that the Magento team introduces to their platform with every new release. Changes in technology support (for example, PHP 7.0 support was completely dropped in December 2018) can affect the performance of custom modules and extensions.

This can happen if a merchant doesn’t know all the features that the platform has by default (for example, Enterprise Edition includes many features that the Community Edition doesn’t have). Alternatively, a web store owner can want to access specific features included in a module that are to some extent similar to the OOTB tools.

In most cases, web store owners turn to a professional team or hire in-house developers to tweak the platform to meet their needs and showcase brand values. However, custom code can affect the performance of third-party modules. Another source of conflicts appears when merchants pick products from different vendors.

Conflicts appear when extensions run the same requests to the database, use the same methods and classes, and run conflicting commands to the platform. For example, quite often modules damage the performance of each other when they override the same class with their own. The latest extension can’t find the needed class and fails to run.

In addition, some cheaper options cost less not only for the reason that they provide limited functionality but also for the poor code quality that can lead to bugs and Magento 2 performance issues. So, again, double-check the vendor’s reputation before buying an extension.

If the extension should run in PHP 7.2, it can fail to integrate on a server with previous PHP and MySQL configurations. The same is true in the reverse case. A regular update of the Magento platform sometimes requires switching to a more advanced PHP version or updating the database technology. Such system and server upgrades can lead to issues with pre-installed extensions.

Unfortunately, most often we start thinking about prevention only after we get a problem to tackle. A merchant has four options to deal with Magento issues caused by poor compatibility.

Though this is definitely not recommended for non-professionals, you can try resolving Magento extensions conflicts yourself. For this, first you need to identify the problematic modules. Most extensions that have the code <rewrite> in the config.html file are potential triggers of issues. This means such extensions replace the default classes of the Magento platform. If two such extensions have the same classes they will conflict with each other. To spot such extensions without opening every file, you can perform a 3-step check:

• Step 1. Copy the error message. You need it to test the results.
• Step 2. Turn off your last installed module with the help of the command php bin/magento module:disable Module_Name. If the problem disappears, it regards compatibility indeed. Now you can proceed to Step 3.
• Step 3. Turn on the last installed module and start disabling other extensions one by one beginning with those that deliver the functionality related to the last installed module.

Steps 2 and 3 will help you identify the conflicting Magento extensions. This method won’t work for modules incompatible with custom themes. Such challenges should be left for experienced Magento developers.

After you find out the two extensions that rewrite one class, you have at least two options:

• Merge the conflicting code. For this, create your own class that includes the changes of both conflicting extensions. Also, make sure that you change the sequence of loading your Magento modules accordingly. To achieve this, open xml and name the extension that you want to be the key one in the very end.
• Make one of the extensions depend on another. Go to the module file for Module_1 in app/etc/modules and add the tag <depends Module_2 />. This way, Magento will first address Module 1 and then Module 2.

The Magento market offers several conflict detecting extensions that make it easier to find and resolve platform conflicts.

• What can conflict checkers do?

Drawing on the most common cases, conflict checkers scan the whole Magento web store environment, including third-party extensions; spot different conflicts; and provide instructions to solve detected troubles. For example, such checkers can analyze whether PHP runs correctly and cron tasks are performed as they should. They also provide user-friendly interfaces for enabling/disabling modules, inspecting error logs, and tracking specific events.

• What are their cons?

The price for good conflict checkers starts from $50. And however helpful they are, conflict detecting modules can still fail to resolve your particular case, especially if the web store was highly customized. If you decide to try this option, make sure you choose a conflict checker with a back-up function. This feature lets you save the info about conflicts before resolution and cancel the changes should anything go wrong.

Whether you choose the option #1 or #2, you can contact the vendor if you see that the conflicting modules are issued by one Magento partner. This is a rare and lucky case as trusted vendors normally resolve such Magento issues themselves to maintain a good reputation.

Magento provides so much guidance on how to tweak their platform. Magento extension vendors normally even have a short period of free support. At first sight, Magento consulting may seem an unnecessary expense.

Let’s take another look.

• Magento developer documentation is helpful when you need to understand how the platform works. However, mastering the ins and outs of the platform takes a lot of time.
• The support guaranteed by Magento extension vendors covers only general assistance in case of failures to meet the module descriptions and bugs. The Magento issues regarding conflicts with third-party extensions or custom features are beyond support teams’ responsibilities.

Diving deep into the customized environment of a working Magento web store and fishing out the ways to seamlessly integrate new functionality is another story. This is where ecommerce development companies can jump in. Magento consultants can improve the overall performance of the web store and prevent or fix (if needed) issues regardless of their complexity. The key advantage of a professional team is their power to make changes without affecting customer experience, which is definitely the goal of all medium-to-large merchants.