Switching from Magento to Shopify makes managing your online store simpler and more efficient. Shopify supports over 4.9 million websites globally and offers 24/7 support, a marketplace with 8,000+ apps, and faster store performance. Here’s what you need to know:
- Why Shopify?
- 29% lower total cost of ownership.
- 40% faster implementation times.
- Better checkout conversion rates (+5%) and store performance.
- Steps to Migrate:
- Plan: Set goals, assess your current store, and select the right Shopify plan.
- Backup Data: Secure your Magento data (system, database, media).
- Export & Import Data: Transfer products, customers, and orders while preserving SEO (e.g., URL redirects).
- Fine-tune Your Store: Test functionality, mobile responsiveness, and integrate tools like Klaviyo or Xero.
- Costs: Shopify Plus starts at $2,500 USD/month (approx. AUD 3,800).
Migrating requires careful planning but offers a scalable, user-friendly platform to grow your business. With Shopify, you can streamline operations and enhance your customers’ shopping experience.
Plan Your Migration
Proper planning ensures a smooth transition to Shopify, minimising disruptions and optimising your store’s setup.
Set Clear Migration Goals
- Assess Your Current Store
Review key metrics from your Magento store, such as monthly revenue, order volume, peak traffic periods, top-performing categories, and primary acquisition channels. - Identify Growth Areas
Consider adding features like multi-currency support, B2B options, better mobile functionality, and a streamlined checkout process. - Define Technical Needs
List essential integrations, including payment gateways, shipping solutions, inventory management systems, and marketing automation tools.
Back Up Your Magento Data
Creating backups is critical to safeguard your store’s data during the migration process.
| Backup Type | What It Includes | Where to Store It |
|---|---|---|
| System | Store configuration settings | Cloud storage |
| Database | Customer and order history | Local drive |
| Media | Product images and content | Multiple secure locations |
Use your Magento Admin Panel (System > Tools > Backup) to create these backups. Store copies in several secure locations to avoid any loss of critical data.
Select Your Shopify Plan
Choose a Shopify plan that matches your business requirements. Shopify Plus is a strong option for growing businesses, offering:
- Tools for B2B and multi-store operations
- Customisable checkout experiences
- Advanced analytics
- Features for cross-border sales with localisation options
Shopify Plus pricing starts at $2,500 USD/month (around AUD 3,800) for a 1-year term or $2,300 USD/month (around AUD 3,500) for a 3-year term. Additional stores cost $250 USD/month (around AUD 380), with flexible platform fees for complex setups.
“Understand the client’s requirements, implement great solutions using best practices and be available for the ongoing support!” – Alinga
Shopify Plus is designed for scalability, making it ideal for businesses managing multiple sales channels – including online, retail, and B2B – all from a centralised dashboard.
With your goals in place, data backed up, and the right Shopify plan selected, you’re ready to start migrating your store.
Move Your Store Data
Transferring your store data requires precision to ensure all products, customers, and orders are accurately moved to your new Shopify store.
Export Data from Magento
Start by exporting your Magento data. Go to your Magento Admin Panel and navigate to System > Data Transfer > Export.
| Data Type | Export Format | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| Products | CSV | Include variants, descriptions, images |
| Customers | CSV | Separate main file and addresses |
| Orders | CSV | Include transaction history and status |
| URLs | CSV | Export current product and category URLs |
The export process runs in the background, allowing you to continue working in your admin panel. Use filters to target specific data, such as active products or recent orders, based on your requirements.
Import Data into Shopify
To keep data relationships intact, import your data in a specific order:
1. Start with Products
Format your CSV files to match Shopify’s requirements. After importing, double-check:
- Product descriptions and images
- Pricing (ensure it’s in AUD)
- Inventory levels
- Variants and options
- Meta descriptions for SEO
2. Move to Customer Data
Bring over customer details while ensuring compliance with privacy standards. Verify that:
- Customer groups are accurately transferred
- Address formats meet Australian standards
- Account settings remain intact
- Newsletter preferences are preserved
3. Finish with Historical Orders
Import historical orders and confirm details like order statuses, dates, payment info, shipping details, and customer links.
Once the data transfer is complete, focus on mapping your URLs to maintain SEO rankings.
Set Up URL Redirects
After uploading your data, maintaining SEO is essential. Shopify supports up to 100,000 URL redirects for standard plans and 20,000,000 for Shopify Plus stores.
Develop a clear redirect strategy:
- Use crawling tools to identify all existing Magento URLs
- Map old URLs to their new Shopify counterparts in a spreadsheet
- Set up 301 redirects in Shopify’s admin panel and thoroughly test them before launch
“Redirects are the most important part of the migration process.” – Eastside Co
Keep monitoring redirects post-migration to ensure they function correctly. This prevents customer frustration and preserves SEO rankings when users access bookmarked pages.
For larger migrations, Shopify’s bulk redirect import feature via CSV can save time and minimise manual errors.
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Fine-tune Your New Store
With your data successfully migrated, it’s time to focus on improving your store’s performance and enhancing the user experience.
Keep Your Search Rankings
To maintain your search rankings, ensure that essential SEO elements like meta titles, descriptions, product details, image alt texts, and internal links are preserved.
“If managed correctly, your migration will not result in any traffic loss. That involves informing search bots of the new URL of every page and making as few changes as possible to both the content and the structure of your site”, explains Carla Wright, Merchant Engagement Lead at Shopify.
It’s normal to see a temporary dip in rankings as search engines adjust. A drop of up to 20% lasting less than six weeks usually signals a smooth migration.
Check Store Functions
Before launching your store, run tests to ensure everything works as expected. Focus on these key areas:
| Function Area | Test Points | Verification Steps |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | Payment gateways, refunds | Process test transactions for all payment methods |
| Product Display | Images, variants, pricing | Check product pages on various devices |
| Customer Accounts | Login, registration, orders | Test account creation and access to order history |
| Checkout Process | Cart, shipping rates, taxes | Perform test purchases covering different scenarios |
Don’t forget to test mobile responsiveness. With so many Australian shoppers using mobile devices, your store needs to perform well across all browsers and screen sizes.
Once you’ve confirmed everything is functioning correctly, you can move on to adding extra features to improve your store.
Add Shopify Features
Enhance your store by integrating tools like Klaviyo for email campaigns and Xero for accounting. These tools can make a big difference:
- Klaviyo: Automate your email marketing campaigns.
- Xero: Link your accounting system to simplify financial management.
- Google Analytics: Set up advanced ecommerce tracking.
- Mobile optimisation tools: Ensure a seamless shopping experience on all devices.
Test each integration thoroughly before making it live. For example, BackJoy, an orthotics company, achieved a 101% increase in sales from organic traffic within a month of their optimised relaunch. They also saw a 22% boost in conversions over six months.
Rather than adding everything at once, make gradual changes. This helps you pinpoint which updates have the biggest impact on your store’s performance.
Wrapping Up
Switching from Magento to Shopify provides a dependable and easy-to-use platform that enhances store performance and improves the shopping experience for your customers.
This process requires careful planning, transferring data, and fine-tuning to maintain your store’s functionality and search engine rankings.
As we’ve seen firsthand:
“Our transition from offering Magento services to Shopify has provided us with more opportunities to help with our client’s growth and believe Shopify to be the most reliable, user‐friendly and scalable eCommerce platform on the market”.
With Shopify’s high uptime and 24/7 support, you can focus on growing your business without worrying about technical hiccups. Shopify’s built-in tools and reliable performance create a strong foundation for your store’s future.
A successful migration goes beyond just moving data – it’s about preparing your business for what’s ahead. Clear communication, thorough testing, and gradually rolling out features are key to making the transition smooth and taking full advantage of Shopify’s capabilities.
Are you thinking about transitioning to Shopify? Alinga makes transferring effortless, safe, and easy. We manage every aspect, from data and product transfers to design copy and SEO maintenance, so your store operates seamlessly. Don’t allow your fear of technology to restrict you. You can have confidence in Alinga to offer an effortless transition to Shopify and to prepare your business for significant growth. To start the transformation, contact us right away!
