eCommerce Store Migration To Shopify: A Step By Step Guide

Introduction

eCommerce has become an integral part of the modern business world. As the market evolves and new technologies are introduced, businesses constantly look for ways to improve their online presence and reach new customers. In the world where innovations are constantly happening in the world of eCommerce, Shopify is the best platform that updates itself and also constantly evolves as per the requirement. Many eCommerce businesses that have built their website are not built on Shopify and may stay behind their competitors who already have used Shopify.

So what can be done now? Here is where eCommerce migration comes into place. One of the most effective ways to switch your eCommerce store to Shopify is through eCommerce platform migration. eCommerce site migration is a vital part of adaptability. It ensures that you remain competitive and improves the business’s performance, capabilities, and usability. In this blog, we’ll explore what eCommerce platform migration is and an eCommerce migration checklist to switch from Shopify to your existing eCommerce platform.

What is eCommerce Platform Migration?

eCommerce platform migration is transferring an online store from one platform to another. The platform migration process can involve moving the entire store, including products, customer data, and order history, or it can be a partial migration of specific components. Businesses migrate their eCommerce platforms mainly to take advantage of new features and improvements offered by the new platform.

Platform migration can greatly improve the customer experience as more customers shop on mobile devices. For example, a business may migrate from an older platform that doesn’t have mobile responsiveness to a newer one that does. Another reason a business may migrate is to take advantage of new payment gateways, shipping options, or integrations with other platforms.

Should You Migrate Your eCommerce Store?

Migrating your eCommerce store to another platform isn’t easy, like peeling off oranges or changing your profile picture. There are a lot of factors to consider while you’re migrating your eCommerce store, like whether to figure out on your own regarding the whole migration process or to Hire Shopify developer who can assist you in managing the migration process for you.

When you decide to figure out the entire migration process on your own, there are many things you need to consider. Your eCommerce store can be costly and time-consuming to migrate on your own when you do it for the first time. Changing platforms also involves risks and requires learning the new platform and working out bugs with the new site during the transition period. So should you stay on the same platform? Not staying on that same platform that isn’t working for your business can be more costly in the long run.

If you don’t want to consider getting into the hassle related to the migration process, you can opt for hiring a developer. When you hire a developer, you can get your task done easily without getting involved in the technical part. You can also ensure your data isn’t compromised when working with professionals. There are also other things that you might need to consider, which are:

Platform Limitations

As your business grows, the limitations of your current platform are holding you back. For example, if you’re using an open-source platform like Magento, it can be difficult to scale and customize as your needs change. On the other hand, if you’re using a proprietary platform, you may be locked into their services and unable to switch to another platform without losing your data.

Cost

The cost of migration can be high in terms of time and money. It will be necessary to hire a developer for the migration and invest in new tools and services. You will also need to consider the impact on your business during migration, as downtime can lead to lost sales.

Improved Features

Migrating to a new platform can provide you with improved features and functionality. For example, you can take advantage of a better shopping cart, improved analytics, or enhanced customer experience. These improvements can help you stay ahead of the competition and grow your business.

User Experience

A smooth and seamless user experience is crucial for eCommerce success. It might be time to consider migration when your current platform is not delivering the experience your customers expect.

Why Migrate Your eCommerce Store to Shopify?

Shopify is one of the leading eCommerce platforms today and has been helping businesses of all sizes to grow their online presence. Migrating your eCommerce store to Shopify can bring several benefits and improvements to your online business. Below are some key benefits of migrating your eCommerce store to Shopify.

User-Friendly Interface

Shopify has a simple, intuitive interface that allows you to manage your online store. With drag-and-drop tools and a user-friendly dashboard, you can quickly add products, process orders, and track your sales. You don’t need any technical skills or coding knowledge to use Shopify, making it accessible to many users.

Scalability

Shopify is built to grow your business. You can start small and add more features and integrations as your business grows. You can also upgrade your plan to accommodate more traffic and sales as your business grows. This allows you to focus on growing your business without worrying about the limitations of your eCommerce platform.

Secure Platform

Security is a top priority for Shopify. The platform uses SSL certificates and PCI DSS-compliant payment gateways to ensure that all transactions are secure. This helps to protect your customers’ information and your online store’s data, giving you peace of mind and helping to build trust with your customers.

Mobile Responsiveness

With more and more customers shopping online using mobile devices, your online store must be mobile-responsive. Shopify is designed to be mobile-friendly, ensuring that your online store will look great on any device, including smartphones and tablets.

Built-In SEO

Shopify has built-in SEO features that help you optimize your online store for search engines. This can help drive traffic to your store and improve your search engine rankings. The platform also offers a range of plugins and themes that are optimized for SEO, making it easier for you to get your online store noticed.

Integrations

Shopify has many integrations with other tools and services to help you run your online store more efficiently. You can integrate Shopify with accounting software, email marketing tools, shipping carriers, and more. These integrations allow you to streamline your workflow and automate many tasks in an online store.

Customer Support

Shopify provides excellent customer support that can help you with any questions or issues. They have a team of experts available 24/7 to help you via chat, phone, or email. Whether you need help with a technical issue or have a question about a feature, Shopify’s customer support is always there to help.

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What Do You Need To Consider When Migrating?

The following things should be taken into account when migrating website to Shopify:

1. Remove specific protocols from your assets
2. Set up redirects
3. Blog posts and articles

Remove Specific Protocols From Your Assets

To ensure the accessibility of your store assets, you need to remove protocols such as “http:” and “https:” from the URLs of your theme files, stylesheets, and images.

Set Up Redirects

To prevent loss of customers due to unavailable pages after WordPress to Shopify migration or from any other platform, set up URL redirects for pages that customers might have bookmarked. You can manage many redirects by importing and exporting on the URL Redirects page.

Note:
Managing many redirects becomes particularly easy if you import and export URL redirects on the URL Redirects page. Find out more about URL redirects.

Steps:

1. Log in to your current platform.
2. Find the URL redirects section in your account settings.
3. Enter the old URL in the “from” field and the new Shopify URL in the “to” field.
4. Repeat for all URLs you want to redirect.

Blog Posts & Articles

You can use Shopify’s tools to migrate blog posts and articles but must use a relative path to replace embedded images. Consider hosting media files externally or using a Shopify app to aid migration.

Process of Migrating Store to Shopify From Another Platform

Let’s have a look at the process of migrating your eCommerce platform to Shopify:

Backup & Export Your Existing Website Data

Before initiating the migration process, it’s important to back up all your existing website data before making any changes to ensure a seamless process. This way, you can rest assured that if anything goes wrong during the transfer of information, you have a recent backup to fall back on. Once you have your backup, it’s time to export your data, including products, customer information, orders, reviews, blogs, store credits, gift cards, and landing pages.

Starting with exporting your product and customer data is typically the easiest step. This process usually requires just one or two clicks and can be easily exported as CSV files, making the import to Shopify even easier. The exact steps may vary depending on the CMS platform, but most platforms, such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or eCommerce sites, will provide clear instructions.

Set Up Your New Shopify Account

To start using Shopify, you must sign up and create an account. If you want to try it out, you can opt for a 14-day free trial, but if you’re going through the full transfer process, it’s recommended to jump straight into a paid subscription. Shopify offers different packages, starting with Basic at $29 per month and Shopify at $79 per month, which are suitable for most users. However, if your store has more than five inventory locations and over six staff accounts, you’ll need to sign up for an Advanced subscription.

During the sign-up process, you’ll be guided by several prompts to help set up your account. For instance, if you indicate that you’re migrating a website to Shopify, you’ll be asked to select the platform you’re currently using from a list of options, such as WordPress, Squarespace, WooCommerce, or Etsy, among others. Additionally, it’s crucial to set up all your administrative settings, staff accounts, billing information, and basic details during this step to ensure a smooth setup process.

Import Your Data To Shopify

Once your Shopify account is set up and verified, you can import the data you exported in step one. You’ll have to import each type of content separately, and various options exist. For instance, you can copy and paste landing page content from your old site to Shopify or transfer customer information and product data using CSV files. However, it’s important to note that CSV migrations do not support customer passwords.

To import product data, head to the admin dashboard, select Products from the left sidebar, and click the Import button within the All Products menu. Data can be imported using an API connection for those with in-house developer resources. However, this option may not be suitable for DIY users. Regarding priority, starting with product data, customer information, and historical orders is recommended. This ensures full access to customer transaction history and that previous orders are linked to the correct items and customers.

Organize Your Product Catalog

It’s crucial to thoroughly check the accuracy of the website data after importing it. Sometimes, the data from the CSV export may not match perfectly with the Shopify import format. Hence, verifying details like product descriptions, variants, meta descriptions, and images is advisable. To make it easier for customers to find your products, you can categorize them into collections in your product catalog.

Collections can be either manual or automated. A manual collection requires adding each product manually, while an automated collection groups products based on specific conditions such as price, tag, color, sale items, etc. After creating a collection, you can add it to your store’s navigation menu for easy access.

Configure Your Domain On Shopify

You have two options when setting up your domain for your Shopify store. You can buy a new domain through Shopify or transfer your existing domain to the platform. In most cases, transferring an existing domain is preferred, but in some instances, a new domain may be required.

For example, a new domain would be necessary if your previous website used a subdomain in its URL. You can buy a new domain directly from Shopify or a domain registrar of your choice. If you already own a domain from another provider, you can connect it to Shopify by linking it to the platform from the third-party provider. Note that domain settings and renewal options will still be managed and maintained outside Shopify.

Enable Payments

Receiving payments from customers is a critical aspect of any eCommerce business. To do so, you have two choices. You can use Shopify Payments, a built-in payment processing solution, or a third party payment provider that is compatible with Shopify. The processing fees for ShopifyPayments vary depending on the plan you choose.

The rates are as follows:

The basic plan is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, the Shopify plan is 2.6% plus $0.30 per transaction, and the Advanced plan is 2.4% plus $0.30 per transaction. High-volume merchants might opt for a higher-tier plan to take advantage of the cost savings in payment processing.

Set Up Your Sales Taxation

Shopify makes it simple to manage sales taxes, eliminating the stress for merchants who use it. Your products’ tax laws and regulations may vary depending on your location and the shipping destination. Shopify takes care of tax rates for different shipping zones, making it convenient for you. To keep a record of your taxes, you can integrate an accounting app from the Shopify Marketplace into your site. You can choose from several popular accounting tools like Quickbooks, Xero, and Sage.

Setting Up Redirects & Getting URL Live

To make your Shopify store live, you need to connect your domain. Go to your domain registrar and modify the DNS settings accordingly. The changes may take several hours to propagate as DNS servers do not update instantly. During this time, you may see the changes on your end, but others might not yet. This is a normal occurrence in the first few hours after the update. Shopify provides a video tutorial that guides you through this process.

Power Down Your Old Site

It is important not to immediately discontinue your previous website. Wait until you are confident that the transition to your new Shopify site has been successful for at least a month. This will allow you to ensure that all necessary data and content have been properly transferred. After this period, you can consider exporting any remaining content and discontinuing your old website. The easiest way to do this is by canceling your subscription on the platform, which will automatically power everything down for you instead of manually doing it yourself.

Why Should You Choose Huptech Web For eCommerce Platform Migration?

Choosing the right partner for your eCommerce platform migration is crucial to the success of your online store. Huptech Web is a top-notch eCommerce development agency that offers comprehensive eCommerce platform migration services to businesses for migrating website to Shopify. We have a team of experts with extensive experience in eCommerce platform migrations and are well-versed in Shopify’s features and capabilities. With our assistance, you can seamlessly migrate woocommerce to Shopify or from any other eCommerce platform and ensure your online store is fully optimized for success.

Huptech Web also offers customization services to help you tailor your Shopify store to your unique needs and requirements. Huptech Web can help you get the most out of your new eCommerce platform, whether you need custom plugins, integrations, or themes. Huptech Web provides exceptional customer support and is dedicated to helping you achieve your goals for your online store. Whether you need help with the migration process, have questions about Shopify’s features, or want to customize your store, Huptech Web is always ready to help!

Final Thoughts

eCommerce platform migration is a challenging process although with the right support you can easily get through and grab the benefit of Shopify platform. It’s important for businesses to consider their options and weigh the costs and benefits of each platform before making a decision. With careful planning and execution, eCommerce platform migration can help businesses take their online presence to the next level and reach new customers.

Need Help In Migrating?

Are you someone who is not very tech-savvy and a newbie to this migration process?

If this is the case, you might need the right technical assistance to deal with this complete eCommerce migration process!

Well, with Huptech Web, you don’t need to worry, as we will always have your back!

Contact us at info@huptechweb.com for assistance with migrating your eCommerce website to Shopify or any eCommerce development requirements.