Checklist for a successful migration from Adobe Commerce (aka Magento) to Shopify Plus

Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus Migration Guide

Make the leap from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus effortlessly. Use our comprehensive migration checklist to embark on a smooth transition and maximize your new store’s success!

Character.com saw a jaw-dropping 40% boost in conversion rates after migrating from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus. If your business is planning on embarking on an Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus migration, with an eye on improved conversions, you’ve got a ton of benefits in store: No-code onboarding and site management, integrations with over 100 payment gateways, among countless other seamless integrations, zero-party data and actionable insights, efficient inventory management, improved customer and market segmentation, and ultimately conversion optimization.

For context, the top-performing brands on Shopify have revenues of over $10 billion. But before your business can soak up all these glorious benefits, there’s some groundwork to cover, namely the migration process. 

Navigating the e-commerce re-platforming process smoothly requires careful planning and execution. 

From safeguarding crucial data integrity to ensuring a seamless customer experience, you cannot afford to leave a stone unturned. This migration checklist is just what you need—keep reading for a migration process overview, ideal tools and services, and best practices. 

Pre-migration steps for minimizing revenue loss during migration

1. Create a roadmap 

• Strategic Planning: Failing to plan is one of the biggest migration mistakes you can make. Apply a project management approach to your migration. An ideal team structure will typically have 3 components: 

1. A coordination and project leadership team that assembles the project management team, defines a structure and KPIs and manages sprints, task allocations, costs, and timelines. At least a few members of this team should come with prior migration experience—the alternative is to hire expert services.

2. Various departmental heads will impact or be impacted by the migration. For instance, who will oversee data relevance audits prior to data migration? Who will coordinate training and post-migration testing? Who will define regulatory compliance criteria for the migration journey? 

3. Teams under to handle tasks defined by departmental heads, with the relevant skills and experience chosen by departmental heads or nominated. For example, the infosec team or CISO would choose or nominate someone from their team who has the requisite compliance knowledge to ensure regulatory adherence amidst customer data transfer during migration. The CFO might nominate someone to ensure that the right payment gateways are included. The CTO might nominate a team member to identify, flag up, and troubleshoot any new-site glitches. Your head of inventory management might nominate a representative who will ensure that all products and available inventory (if that’s something that’s displayed) are showing up as they should. 

• Data Mapping: Matching the data components from your original store with their relevant categories in your soon-to-launch Shopify Plus store is necessarily a tedious and time-consuming step. It ensures the precision and uniformity of data in the next step. Consider using a data mapping tool to drive speed, accuracy, and efficiency to the process.

Pro tip: Back up your data. Better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to your data. 

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Data backup is easy with third-party apps from Shopify like GoDataFeed 

• Comprehensive App Migration: As you assess the functionality of your current Magento apps and extensions, highlight critical apps and prioritize their migration. This is a critical pre-migration step. 

Wishlists, Product Categories and your Blog Page are some examples of features that do not typically migrate automatically from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus. However, losing such features could impact user experience. The loss of some functionalities, like back-in-stock alerts, not only impact the user experience but also result in revenue loss. Remember: Your customers don’t know that you’re undergoing a migration to a new e-commerce platform, and to be fair, it’s not their problem. 

As a result, these apps need to be installed and integrated after e-commerce replatforming . Fortunately, Shopify offers a wide selection of apps that you can ensure that your customers aren’t impacted. 

Swym’s Wishlist app, for example, is one such option that helps you minimize inconvenience and maximize customer retention during this critical period.  Moreover, when you’re trying to get things up and running post-migration, the app’s out-of-the-box functionality is especially useful.

Similarly, if you are looking to build out your blog or product categories on your new Shopify Plus store, there is a wide choice of blog-building apps and a selection of product categorization tools on the Shopify App Store. 

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While product categories might not be automatically migratable, several tools on the Shopify app store make the process easy

2) Choose your mode of migration from Magento to Shopify Plus 

Migrate your business, your way! You can choose to rely on data migration services using apps, or experts, or even choose to migrate data independently if you have the bandwidth and expertise to fly solo.  Let’s look at migration tools, services, and options 

• Use an app

Choose from a variety of free and paid app-based data migration services available through the Shopify App Store. Options like LitExtension Store Migration, for example, can help automatically and accurately migrate data from other eCommerce platforms to your Shopify Plus store. LitExtension allows to migration of data from over 140 platforms (like Adobe Commerce) to Shopify Plus without technical expertise and store disruption.

• Move your data manually

It’s not necessary to use migration tools and services. Check out the Migration section in You can use the Shopify Help Center for helpto migratinge your data using a CSV import if you have a fairly uncomplicated site. 

Manual migrations often have a reputation for being tedious and human-error-prone, and while these are real issues, you can follow this Shopify Plus manual migration guide to minimize errors, maximize efficiency, and get your new store off the ground in no time. 

• Opt for expert data migration services 

Work with an expert from the Shopify Experts Marketplace to import data, transfer website pages, and set up SEO data migration. These agencies typically have proven expertise in building profitable stores across a variety of e-commerce platforms and as such they’ll understand the nuances of your Magento to Shopify Plus migration. 

3) Identify directly migratable vs. non-migratable components

This step helps you plan and prepare for non-migratable components 

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Apps like gift registries, for instance, may not be directly migratable 

You can move the following data entities to your new store on Shopify:

• Products/ Product Descriptions

All elements that characterize your products—including names, SKUs, descriptions, images, prices, and even the most intricate specifications – can be transferred. You can smoothly transition your products from Magento to Shopify without altering your offerings in any way.

• Order Data

Order histories can be transferred. This allows you to move order dates, statuses, detailed product information, shipping addresses, and customer data to Shopify, ensuring the retention of valuable interactions with each customer.

• Reviews

You can incorporate customer feedback into the Shopify data migration process. By transferring reviews, ratings, and usernames, you can instill trust in your online store and enhance its credibility.

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Roll out brand review functionality in minutes with tools from the Shopify App Store

• SEO Metadata

Ensure your search engine optimization efforts are not wasted. You can migrate essential SEO metadata such as titles and descriptions during migration which can uphold your website’s ranking.

Although Magento to Shopify data migration offers extensive coverage, some elements would require additional effort to migrate. 

Here are aspects that cannot be directly transferred:

• Customer Passwords

Due to security protocols, customer passwords cannot be transferred as part of e-commerce replatforming. However, you can resolve this easily by asking your customers to reset their passwords after your migration is complete.

• Transactional Emails

Platform-specific transactional emails, such as order confirmations and shipping notifications, cannot be transferred directly. However, they can be recreated on the Shopify platform.

• Third-Party Integrations

While these integrations cannot be directly transferred, they are easily plugged in after migration: Simply visit the Shopify App Store, select your app, and hit install. You will be redirected to a payment page where you select your plan, and that’s it! You’re good to go. 

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Choose from a variety of blog building tools post migration 

• Design and Themes

Move your brand colors, designs, and functionality with you from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus. Easily replicate your Magento store or use migration as an opportunity to also refresh the look and feel of your website. A plus point of refreshing your site during migration—customers will likely notice the change and chalk up any glitches they face (including having to change their password) to you upgrading your website. 

• Language and Localization

Language preferences and localization settings do not automatically transfer. However, you can change your admin language and region settings, manage storefront languages, and alter checkout language with ease once on the Shopify Plus platform. You can also quickly and conveniently set up language redirection and update your account region once you have transitioned to Shopify Plus.  

4) Don’t forget about team training 

Training your team on how to effectively utilize the new platform means ensuring complete proficiency with new workflows and functionalities before your store’s official launch. It is critical for each team member to know exactly how their role evolves as the new store is unrolled.  Shopify Plus has several resources that can assist you with team training. You can reference and share Shopify’s learning resources, or enroll your team in Shopify Compass, a free learning platform, or even hire a Shopify Expert for personalized training.

5) Consider communicating with customers

Depending on your brand persona, you might want to keep customers in the loop about the migration process and any downtime (or store changes) that may affect their shopping experience. Don’t forget to promise them an improved experience post-migration! 

Migration Checklist: Steps for a successful transition 

After you have your migration plan in place, this checklist will help you keep track of essential steps to ensure a smooth transition from Magento to Shopify Plus.

1. Back-up your data

Your data is a crucial element of your store. Before transitioning from Magento to Shopify, it’s advisable to create a backup of your current store. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to accomplish this:

• Access your Magento admin panel.
• Navigate to the “System” tab, then select “Tools,” followed by “Backups.”
• From the available options, choose the appropriate backup type: System Backup, Database, Media Backup, or Database Backup.
• Provide a name for your backup to facilitate easy identification.

2. Shopify store setup

To set up your Shopify store, follow these steps after preserving all critical information from your Magento store:

• Visit the Shopify website and click on the “Start free trial” button.
• Register using your email, password, and other relevant details.

Additionally, since Shopify’s free trial lasts for only three days, it’s essential to select a suitable pricing plan from the available options:

• Shopify Basic: $32 per month for individuals and small businesses.
• Shopify: $92 per month for small businesses.
• Shopify Advanced: $399 per month for medium and large businesses.
• Shopify Plus: Starting at $2,000 per month for enterprises.

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It’s easy to set up on Shopify. Here’s a look at one of the top 50 Shopify stores. 

3. Data Migration

Then comes the crucial task of transferring your store’s data from Magento to Shopify Plus by exporting it and then importing it into Shopify. 

Despite how you choose to do it—manually, with an app, or an expert, this is what you can expect:

• Migrate content

This step offers you the opportunity to assess which content is essential to move. Evaluate the size and relevance of your blog, and identify content pieces that won’t be transferred to your store.

If you have Google Analytics set up on Magento, it’s straightforward to determine the top-performing content, allowing you to streamline your migration process by excluding unnecessary elements.

By doing this, you can reduce migration time and costs while enhancing your site’s performance. Besides, not transferring every last piece of content allows you to recreate these. Google’s bots love fresh content! 

• Migrate products

When it comes to migrating products, ensure to incorporate all essential product details into a product CSV file. 

This includes weight, color, price, manufacturer, descriptions, images, and shipping information. Pro tip: Thoroughly verify these details manually after importing them into Shopify.

• Migrate customer information

You can seamlessly transfer first names, last names, emails, newsletter preferences, and more, ensuring smooth continuity. This ensures you can maintain connections with your customers and serve them effectively.

Additionally, with the help of third-party apps like Swym’s Wishlist Plus, you can easily migrate your customer data, such as their wishlists, preferences, and past interactions, ensuring a hassle-free transition to Shopify. 

• Migrate order data

When migrating order data, be sure to prioritize transferring product and customer information first. This way, orders can be accurately associated with their respective accounts. 

By handling product and customer data beforehand, you streamline the process and avoid complications with order linkage.

4. Technical considerations 

It’s important to thoroughly test every aspect of your data migration process. A mishandled transfer could result in lost order history, misplaced customer accounts, or incomplete product listings.

• DNS Changes

You’ll need to make adjustments to redirect your domain name to your new Shopify Plus store.

• Tracking Scripts

Analytics and advertising scripts for Google and Meta used on your previous platform may require reconfiguration to function correctly with Shopify Plus.

5. Apps and Integrations Setup

Shopify Plus provides effortless integration with vital apps and extensions to boost the functionality of your store. Some app providers, like Swym, offer both plug-and-play and REST API capabilities, empowering you to customize and extend the user experience with its full-featured JavaScript APIs.

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Add apps effortlessly from the Shopify App store, like Swym which enables wishlists

Post-migration tasks checklist

1. Place test orders

After setting up your payment settings, it’s a good idea to try out a few transactions to ensure everything works smoothly. Testing orders gives you a feel for what your customers experience when purchasing from your store. You can find all the orders customers place on the Orders page in your Shopify admin.

You can run test orders for different types of transactions, such as:

• Completing successful and failed transactions.
• Refunding or cancelling orders.
• Fulfilling or partially fulfilling orders.
• Archiving successful orders.

2. Run quality checks

Before you launch your store, make sure to do thorough quality assurance testing to catch any issues. Here’s what to check:

• Data consistency: Make sure all data is error-free, with no broken links.
• Store functionality: Test everything to ensure it matches your website’s specs.
• Compatibility: Check your store’s appearance on different devices and browsers for a consistent user experience.

3. Implement SEO tracking and other key analytics 

One of the most important post-migration steps is keeping tabs on your Shopify store’s performance. 

Consider using Google Search Console to track and enable SEO goals:

• Keep an eye on any errors that might affect how your website is indexed.
• Get suggestions on improving your Shopify website.
• Monitor sitemap indexation levels.
• Identify any issues with structured data markup.

Other critical metrics to track include: 

Page load time, which can be tracked using Google Analytics or Google PageSpeed Insights and also other tools such as Sematest, Pingdom Speed Test and WebPage Test. It is critical for your website to load in 0-2, or a maximum of 3 seconds to avoid drop-offs (that’s a euphemism for customers getting frustrated and taking their business elsewhere). Need to accelerate load time? Shopify Plus comes with tips and integrations that can help you optimize page speed. 

Monthly and Weekly Site Traffic, that can be tracked using tools like Semrush aside from Google Analytics. 

Conversion Rate, that you can track using Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics among other tools. Don’t forget to look at not only your macro-level conversion rate, but also delve into conversion rates for various products and initiatives. 

Customization of messaging, and SEO efforts, among other initiatives, can help improve your web traffic and conversion rate. 

Total Cost of Operation that you can calculate and compare easily using this free Shopify tool. Shopify typically shows a 33% lower cost of ownership; 23% lower platform costs and 19% lower operation and maintenance costs over other platforms. However, you need to test this metric for your online store after migration. 

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Shopify has a better cost of ownership compared to other platforms on average. 

Exit Rate, which you can also calculate easily using Google Analytics. You definitely want to know which pages have a high drop-off rate as it could indicate glitches with those pages. 

You’re all set to transition seamlessly from Magento to Shopify Plus

Armed with our migration checklist, you’re well-prepared to navigate the complexities and challenges that come with transitioning your e-commerce store. 

Shopify Plus has some great perks over Magento—think scalability, flexibility, ease of use, security, pricing, and support. Set yourself up for a smooth transition by taking time to plan your migration and test thoroughly, and avoid common slip-ups.

People also ask

Why should I migrate from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus?

Shopify is a powerful e-commerce platform with all the e-commerce functionalities needed by online businesses. If your business is growing, and you need a platform that can scale with your business, Shopify is exactly the platform you need with excellent features and functionality, ease of use, and robust security.  It is user-friendly and offers superb security.

How long does the migration process from Adobe Commerce a.k.a. Magento to Shopify take?

Depending on your business requirements, the store’s complexity, and your data transfer volumes, the process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

Can I keep my existing domain name after migrating from Magento to Shopify Plus?

Yes, you can retain your existing domain name. Shopify provides a guide on how to transfer your existing domain to your new Shopify store.

What are some migration best practices to follow when I transition from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus?

• Communicate the migration plan and timeline to customers in advance.
• Provide support channels for any questions or concerns during the transition.
• Implement redirects for old URLs to maintain SEO rankings and ensure a seamless browsing experience.

How can I monitor the success of my Magento to Shopify Plus migration post-launch?

• Track key performance metrics such as traffic, conversions, and revenue.
• Gather feedback from customers and internal stakeholders to identify areas for improvement.
• Continuously optimize and iterate on your Shopify store to maximize its potential.

Read more about migration best practices here. 

What are some key migration mistakes to avoid in my Magento to Shopify Plus Migration?

• Underinvesting resources (especially time) in migration planning
• Not preparing for non-migratable components 
• Overlooking team training and customer outreach 
• Failing to test your store post-migration 
• Undertaking an exact design migration instead of using the opportunity for a refresh 

You can avoid these migration mistakes with our migration checklist and guide above this Q&A section.