How to Migrate from Magento to Shopify (Step-by-Step Guide)

Does it take a long time to fix your Magento store rather than running your business? If yes, consider switching to an e-commerce platform that is faster and easier to use. That’s why thousands are making the move to Shopify, a platform built for simplicity and speed. Shopify also integrates with other popular apps with built-in designs out of the box.

In this blog, we will guide you through the essential steps to carry out a successful Magento to Shopify migration.

Why Migrate from Magento to Shopify?

Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform used to build online stores, which is known for its flexibility and scalability. However, due to its complexities, high cost, and performance limitations, moving to another platform like Shopify can be beneficial. 

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows businesses to create, customize, and manage online stores without technical expertise. Therefore, it lets organizations concentrate on growth. Significant advantages when we migrate from Magento to Shopify are 

• Easy to use and simplified management: Magento requires a dedicated team of developers to handle server infrastructure, security patches, updates, and maintenance. On the other hand, Shopify handles all the technical aspects, including hosting, security, PCI compliance, and automatic updates.
• Faster Setup and Launch: Magento requires technical support for a seamless setup and launch. Migrating to Shopify allows you to get your store up and running quickly. Shopify offers numerous features, including ready-to-use themes and built-in payment options.
• Scalability and flexibility: Magento can suffer from slow load times, but Shopify can scale accordingly to meet your business needs. Shopify offers various pricing plans and app integrations that align with your business needs. Shopify provides a fast and enhanced shopping experience for customers, regardless of the store’s size.
• Enhanced security and improved performance: Magneto’s performance and security depend on the quality of hosting and developers' work. But Shopify includes an SSL certificate and is PCI DSS compliant, which signifies key standards are met for online payments. Shopify provides unlimited bandwidth and 99.99% guaranteed uptime.
• Extensive App Ecosystem: Shopify provides lots of themes with its vast ecosystem. One can easily add marketing tools, inventory management systems, and sales channels without any complex setups.
• 24/7 customer support: Magneto does not provide official technical support, whereas Shopify comes with 24/7 customer support. This is the biggest advantage for business owners who need quick assistance for any platform-related issues.
• Lower development costs: Shopify’s user-friendly platform eliminates the need for extensive customization.  This will significantly reduce the development costs compared to Magento.

Things to Consider Before Migrating from Magento to Shopify

Migrating from Magento to Shopify will streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve scalability. Things to consider when transferring from Magento to Shopify are

• Assess Magento site: Analyze and check for the functions that are essential to be moved to Shopify. Magento extensions or custom-made features will not have their equivalents in Shopify. Make a plan on how you will store customer accounts, purchase history, and loyalty points for a smooth move from Magento to Shopify. 
• Data mapping and hosting: Both Shopify and Magento will have different data structures. Mapping of Magento’s structure to the new structure in Shopify is important. Magento works on self-hosting or cloud hosting, whereas Shopify works in a fully hosted (SaaS) environment.
• Shopify plan: Shopify offers various plans such as Basic Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus, with different levels of pricing and associated features. Choose a plan that aligns with your business size, needs, and budget. Basic Shopify is ideal for small businesses. Shopify is for growing businesses that need more detailed reporting, Advanced Shopify is for large-scale operations with advanced reporting needs, and Shopify Plus is specially designed for high-volume merchants with custom needs.‍
• Budget: Though Shopify reduces hosting and maintenance costs compared to Magento, migration comes with expenses. We need to pay for some of the Magento features in Shopify.  Fix the pricing details for transaction fees, payment gateway charges, and app subscriptions.‍
• Theme and design considerations: Magento themes will not be compatible with Shopify. Select a theme that aligns with your brand and desired aesthetic. If there are more customized themes in Magento, you will need to find equivalent apps in Shopify. Adjust and make sure that Shopify’s design, colors, and fonts align with your brand identity.‍
• Integrations: Magento’s extensions for inventory management, shipping and fulfillment tools, marketing automation, CRM, and ERP integrations will not have a direct equivalent in Shopify.‍
• SEO and URL redirects: Magento and Shopify will have different URL structures. Implement 301 redirects to preserve your search engine rankings and avoid broken links.

How to Migrate from Magento to Shopify (Step-by-Step)

A successful Magento to Shopify migration needs careful planning and execution. Below are the steps to transfer a Magento site to another host: 

1. Evaluate Magento site: Identify all essential data to be migrated, including products, customers, orders, reviews, blogs, and CMS pages. Find out all the Magento extensions and customizations. Aim and find out the equivalent in Shopify. Note down all the most valuable pages, top-performing keywords, and existing URL structures. 
2. Backup Magento site: Before starting the Magento to Shopify migration, create a full backup of the Magento store with all its database and media files. This can be done by Magento’s built-in backup system using the control panel or by manual methods.
3. Set up a Shopify store: Create a Shopify account with a unique store name and domain. Choose a suitable plan according to your business needs. Shopify provides us with built-in themes. Select a theme that aligns with your business needs. Configure basic settings such as currency, time zone, payment gateways, shipping rates, language, business location, and taxes. Start installing Shopify apps that will replace Magento extensions.‍
4. Data export from Magento: Data can be exported from Magento either manually or through migration tools. If you are planning to do it manually, then export the data through Magento’s built-in export functionality and export it into CSV files. Through third-party migration tools, data export can also be done. Export products, customers, content pages, orders, discount codes, blogs, pages, and other relevant information. Site content, categories, and status pages can also be exported if necessary.‍
5. Data import into Shopify: Data can be imported into Shopify either manually or through migration tools. Import your product CSV file into Shopify. If it is done manually, you need to ensure that Magento CSV file columns match Shopify’s required format. Next, import Customer data. Make sure to prompt your customers to change their passwords since passwords can’t be migrated. Import your blog posts and static pages.‍
6. Rebuild Theme and Storefront: Magento’s themes can’t be directly transferred to Shopify. So select a new Shopify theme and recreate your store layout, navigation menus, and homepage banners. Customize the fonts and colors accordingly. Transfer static pages, blog posts, and customer reviews from Magento to the  Shopify store.‍
7. Set up 301 Redirects: This is an important step in preserving SEO. Match every old Magento URL to its new equivalent Shopify URL. Using Shopify’s built-in URL Redirect Manager, set up 301 redirects. Ensure that search engines and customers are directed to the Shopify page. This will make sure that the 404 Page Not Found error is prevented. Install necessary Shopify Apps for SEO optimization, Product reviews, upselling, email marketing, and inventory management. Set up payment gateways, shipping zones, rates, and tax settings from a Shopify administrator.‍
8. Test and launch: Verify all products, customers, orders, and content transferred correctly. Make sure that customer accounts work properly. Verify that analytics tools are connected. Test all the functionality of your payment gateway, shipping settings, and installed apps. Check for mobile responsiveness and do cross-device testing. Transfer the domain from Magento to Shopify. Once satisfied with the test results, launch your new Shopify store and let the customers know about the changes in the platform.

What to Do After You Migrate from Magento to Shopify

After a successful Magento to Shopify migration, the post-migration steps are crucial to ensure that your site runs smoothly.

• Verify data: Carefully review the imported data to ensure its integrity. Confirm that every customer and order migrated properly, including their previous order histories and corresponding addresses. Ensure that static pages and blog posts have been imported correctly. Check all the site navigation, footers, and header menus in Shopify and give an enhanced user experience.
• Monitor website speed and performance: Continuously monitor your Shopify store’s performance, using Google’s PageSpeed Insights, analyze user behaviour, and sales data to identify areas that cause risks. Even though Shopify themes are generally well-optimized, their custom apps and large images slow down the performance.
• SEO rankings and traffic changes: Ensure that meta titles and descriptions were transferred correctly and optimized. Check that all product images have alt text descriptions.
• Ongoing support: Actively monitor Shopify’s store and identify any issues. Using Google Console monitor for 404 page not found errors during the migration process. Get the customer reviews and optimize the Shopify store accordingly.

Why Choose Entrans for Your Magento to Shopify Migration?

Magento to Shopify migration eliminates server management headaches, streamlines operations, and enhances customer experience. Hiring a team of migration experts like the team from Entrans takes away the risks associated with Magento to Shopify migration. 

We implement best practices to ensure smooth transitions without impacting your day-to-day operations. Entrans offers customized solutions based on business needs and ensures seamless migration with minimal downtime.

Want to know more about? Book a consultation call.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

1. Will my Magento store be down during the migration process?

No, not required. Magento to Shopify is a multi-step process. Until the last step of migration, Magento will be live, and migration can be done with minimal downtime.

2. How long does it take to migrate to Shopify?

Migration usually takes a few days to a few weeks, which depends on complexity, store size, and data volume. 

3. Can I migrate my customer and order data?

Yes, customer profiles, order history, and their relevant data can be migrated from Magento to Shopify.

4. How do I handle SEO during the migration?

SEO is generally managed by 301 redirects for your old Magento URLs to the new Shopify store. This is essential for preserving search rankings by identifying any broken links.

5. What are the common challenges during Shopify migration?

Some of the common challenges include data loss, theme compatibility, preserving SEO and URL structures, and replacing Magento extensions with Shopify apps.