Magento has just released version 1.9 of the Community Edition. In this post we will show you what’s new in CE 1.9, and we also take a look in the all new Magento Enterprise 1.14.

1. Responsive Design

Magento Community Edition 1.9 features a new full responsive theme to provide a better experience for users of mobile devices in particular. Responsive sites scale automatically according to the size they are viewed on, which is a huge point in user experience. Furthermore, A responsive site also offers potential search engine optimization (SEO) benefits because it uses Google’s preferred approach to mobile-optimizing sites.

2. PHP Update

Magento Community Edition is now supported by PHP 5.4, which is a huge deal for Developers. Php 5.4 has a few awesome features, so its great they are now compatible with Magento.

3. Changes to Checkout Process

The complete Checkout process has been revamped in Magento CE 1.9. You can disable the order review page, and its no longer needed to update an order if you change the quantity for example, before you place the order. Magento has also integrated the Bill Me Later service, which increases sales up to 18%.

4. Zend Framework Update

The Zend framework where Magento is build upon has been updated to version 1.12.3. It features some small changes which are interesting to developers. You can view them here.

Those are the most noteworthy new features integrated in CE 1.9. There are also a lof of new Security Enhancements and bug fixes for the Shopping cart, Tax Calculation, Promotional Price rules, Credit & Invoices & the import system. You can view the full Magento Community Edition 1.9 Changelog here.

We urge everyone to update their shop as soon as possible. Before you update, we recommend that you make a good backup copy of your website. You can download the latest version of Magento here.