Establish what the move needs to solve
A migration is useful when it resolves an operational constraint: a platform that is costly to maintain, a store your team struggles to manage, or a buying experience that needs more than a visual refresh. Begin with the requirements that the next platform must meet. A new theme alone will not repair unreliable stock data or an unclear product catalogue.
For an outdoor retailer, that means looking beyond the homepage. A range may include configurable equipment, bulky deliveries, trade customers and fitting-dependent accessories. We identify those requirements before treating Shopify as the answer. If your current platform meets them, an improvement on the existing store may be the smaller, more useful project.
Map the catalogue and business processes
Discovery establishes which products, variants, images, specifications, customer records, order history and content are in scope. A sample import exposes mismatched fields before the full catalogue is moved. A tent’s sleeping capacity, packed size and optional footprint need separate, consistent treatment; copying a supplier description does not produce a usable data model.
We also map the order journey: payment, stock allocation, warehouse handoff, dispatch and refunds. Each integration needs a named owner and an agreed test. Historical records, customer accounts and platform-specific features may require a different approach on the new store; those decisions belong in the proposal.
Include existing URLs in the launch plan
An established store has useful entry points outside its homepage. We inventory important collections, products and editorial pages, agree their destinations and prepare redirects where URLs change. A discontinued product needs an explicit decision about a relevant replacement or removal; sending every old address to the homepage loses context.
Redirects, internal links, canonical addresses and sitemap coverage are checked together. Search performance can move during a migration. We record a baseline and agree post-launch checks so unexpected missing pages or traffic changes can be investigated promptly.
Agree the cutover and the handover
The launch plan describes when catalogue changes stop, how new orders are reconciled, who switches the domain and what would trigger a recovery decision. Test a representative purchase journey before cutover, then repeat the agreed checks on the live store. Your team needs to know who is responsible for each step.
The final scope names the data sets, templates, integrations, redirect work, testing and handover. Data cleanup, app subscriptions, unsupported historic records and additional markets are discussed separately. We give an estimate after the dependencies are understood, rather than pricing a migration only by product count.
- Send the current store URL and platform.
- List the systems connected to orders, stock and fulfilment.
- Identify any fixed launch date and seasonal trading constraints.
- Tell us what the new store must do that the current one cannot.
Questions before we start
Can you help with Magento to Shopify?
Yes, subject to discovery. We assess Magento-specific product structures, custom functionality and integrations before agreeing which parts should be migrated, replaced or retained elsewhere.
Will all historical data move?
That depends on the source data, tools and required use. We agree the treatment of each data set and test a sample before committing to a full import.
Let’s make the next step clear.
Tell us about your products, your current store and what needs to work better. We’ll discuss a suitable scope before you commit to paid work.
Discuss a Shopify migration