Platform migrations fail when critical steps get skipped. A missed redirect breaks your SEO. Forgotten customer data frustrates your buyers. Unconfigured tax settings cause legal compliance issues.
Most migration guides focus on the technical how-to. This shopify migration checklist focuses on the what and the when. It covers every task, in order, that stands between your current platform and a successful Shopify launch.
Use this as your master checklist regardless of which platform you are leaving. Whether you are coming from WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Etsy, or PrestaShop, these 20 steps apply.
Before You Start: Understand the Migration Timeline
A realistic ecommerce migration guide sets proper expectations for timing.
| Store Size | Typical Migration Timeline |
|---|---|
| Under 500 products | 2 to 4 weeks |
| 500 to 5,000 products | 4 to 8 weeks |
| 5,000 to 20,000 products | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Over 20,000 products | 12+ weeks |
Complex stores with custom integrations, B2B functionality, or multi-channel setups add time. Do not rush. Your current platform keeps running throughout.
Step 1: Document Your Current Store Baseline
Before changing anything, record your store’s current state.
What to document:
- Total products, categories, and SKUs
- Active customer accounts and order history
- Monthly revenue, conversion rate, and average order value
- Current organic traffic levels from Google Analytics
- Top 50 keyword rankings from a rank tracking tool
- All indexed URLs from Google Search Console
- Backlink profile from Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz
This baseline lets you measure whether your migration succeeded. You cannot fix a ranking drop if you never recorded what you ranked for before migration.
Step 2: Export All Indexed URLs for Your Redirect Map
This is the single most important migration task for protecting your SEO.
Go to Google Search Console > Performance > Pages. Export every URL that received at least one impression in the past 90 days.
Create a spreadsheet with columns for:
- Old platform URL
- New Shopify URL
- Current ranking (if available)
- Monthly sessions
- Number of backlinks
This spreadsheet becomes your redirect map. Every URL on it needs a 301 redirect before you switch your domain to Shopify.
Our detailed guide on how to preserve SEO when migrating to Shopify covers the complete URL mapping and redirect process.
Step 3: Choose Your Shopify Plan
Select the plan that matches your current business size and feature needs. You can always upgrade later.
Our guide on Shopify plans and pricing breaks down every tier and which features unlock at each level, so you choose correctly from day one.
Step 4: Sign Up and Set Up Your Shopify Account
Create your Shopify account using a company email address, not a personal Gmail. Set up two-factor authentication immediately for security.
Shopify assigns you a default yourstore.myshopify.com subdomain. Use this throughout your build and testing phase before connecting your custom domain.
Step 5: Export Your Data from Your Current Platform
Every platform handles data export differently. Common export methods:
- WooCommerce: WooCommerce > Tools > Export or use WP All Export plugin
- Magento: System > Import/Export > Export or database query
- BigCommerce: Products > Export or use API
- Wix: Settings > Download Data
- Squarespace: Settings > Advanced > Import/Export
- Etsy: Shop Manager > Settings > Download Data
- PrestaShop: Advanced Parameters > CSV Export or database access
Download your product data, customer data, and order history in CSV format where possible. Keep these files organized and backed up.
For platform-specific export guidance, see our detailed migration guides for WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, Etsy, and PrestaShop.
Step 6: Import Your Products to Shopify
Reformat your product CSV to match Shopify’s expected column structure, then import via Shopify Admin > Products > Import.
Key columns Shopify expects:
- Handle (URL slug)
- Title
- Body (HTML description)
- Vendor
- Type
- Tags
- Variant Price
- Variant SKU
- Variant Inventory Qty
- Image Src (image URL)
After import, review a random sample of 30 to 50 products to confirm titles, prices, images, and variants transferred correctly.
Step 7: Import Your Customer Data
Export customer names and email addresses from your old platform. Import this CSV via Shopify Admin > Customers > Import.
Important: Customer passwords never transfer between platforms due to encryption differences. Plan to send password reset emails to all customers on launch day.
Step 8: Choose and Configure Your Shopify Theme
Your old theme does not work on Shopify. Select a new Shopify theme and configure it from scratch.
Our guide on how to choose the right Shopify theme covers performance, features, and fit factors to evaluate before committing.
Step 9: Build Your 301 Redirect Map
Map every old URL from Step 2 to its equivalent Shopify URL. Format this as a CSV with two columns: Redirect from and Redirect to.
Upload this file to Shopify Admin > Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects > Import.
Do this before switching your domain. Not after.
Step 10: Re-Enter All SEO Metadata Manually
Meta titles and descriptions do not transfer automatically. Edit every product, collection, and page in Shopify and add optimised SEO titles and descriptions.
This is tedious but non-negotiable. Missing metadata means lower click-through rates from search results, which eventually harms rankings.
Our guide on Shopify built-in SEO features covers every SEO field available and how to configure each one.
Step 11: Configure Your Tax Settings
Rebuild your tax configuration for every market you sell in. Your old platform’s tax settings do not carry over.
Our Shopify tax setup guide covers US sales tax nexus, UK VAT, EU VAT, and international market tax configuration in full.
Step 12: Set Up Your Shipping Zones and Rates
Create your shipping zones, rates, and carrier integrations from scratch in Shopify.
Our Shopify shipping setup guide walks through flat rates, weight-based rates, and real-time carrier-calculated shipping.
Step 13: Enable Payment Providers
Activate Shopify Payments (where available), Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and any buy-now-pay-later options relevant to your market.
If your old platform used a payment provider that Shopify does not support natively, choose the closest alternative and inform your customers of the change.
Step 14: Install Essential Apps
Find Shopify apps that replace any critical functionality from your old platform. Common needs include email marketing, product reviews, loyalty programs, and wishlist tools.
Do not install apps randomly. Define the problem first, then find the app that solves it. Our guide on must-have Shopify apps for new store owners prioritises which apps matter most at launch.
Step 15: Migrate Your Blog Content
If your old platform has a blog, export the posts and import them to Shopify manually or via a migration tool.
Each blog post also needs a 301 redirect from its old URL to its new Shopify blog URL. Add these to your redirect map from Step 9.
Step 16: Test Your Store Thoroughly Before Launch
Never point your domain to Shopify without completing a full test cycle on your password-protected development store.
Pre-launch testing checklist:
| Test | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Products | Random sample of 50+ products for correct data |
| Navigation | Every menu link loads the correct page |
| Checkout | Complete a full test purchase using test gateway |
| Tax calculation | Place test orders from different countries |
| Shipping rates | Verify correct rates for all zones |
| Mobile | Full purchase journey on real iOS and Android devices |
| Redirects | Test 30+ old URLs and confirm correct 301 redirects |
| Emails | Trigger order confirmation and shipping notifications |
| Page speed | Run PageSpeed Insights on key pages |
Complete every item before touching your DNS settings.
Step 17: Connect Your Custom Domain
Update your DNS records to point your domain to Shopify. Our step-by-step guide on Shopify domain setup covers every DNS configuration method.
DNS propagation takes 24 to 48 hours globally. Keep your old platform active during this window.
Step 18: Submit Your Shopify Sitemap to Google
After launch, submit your new Shopify sitemap to Google Search Console immediately:
yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
This tells Google where to find your new URLs and begins the re-indexing process.
Step 19: Monitor Performance for 30 Days
The first month after migration is your critical monitoring window.
Daily for the first two weeks:
- Google Search Console for crawl errors
- Organic traffic compared to pre-migration baseline
- Conversion rate versus your old platform benchmark
- Customer support tickets about broken links or missing content
Weekly for the first month:
- Keyword rankings for your top 50 terms
- Core Web Vitals scores
- Bounce rate on key pages
Use Shopify analytics to track sessions, revenue, and conversion rate in parallel with Google Analytics 4.
Step 20: Optimise Post-Migration
Once your store is stable, address any performance issues and conversion bottlenecks that emerged after launch.
Apply our speed optimisation checklist for Shopify stores to establish your performance baseline and fix any issues before they affect rankings.
Use our comprehensive Shopify store setup checklist to confirm every setting is configured correctly after migration.
Common Migration Mistakes That Break Stores
| Mistake | Impact | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| No redirect map before launch | Permanent SEO ranking losses | Build and upload redirects before switching domain |
| Not re-entering metadata | Lower search click-through rates | Manually add SEO titles and descriptions to every page |
| Skipping mobile testing | Mobile UX issues go live | Test full purchase flow on real devices |
| Deleting old platform too soon | Lost reference data, downtime risk | Keep old platform active for 30 days post-launch |
| Not sending password reset emails | Customers cannot log in | Batch email password resets on launch day |
| Installing too many apps at once | Slow store, debugging difficulty | Start with essential apps only, add gradually |
Platform-Specific Migration Resources
Each platform has unique export formats and migration challenges. For detailed step-by-step guides tailored to your specific platform, see our dedicated migration resources.
These guides dive deeper into platform-specific URL patterns, data export methods, and common gotchas for each source platform.
Get Professional Migration Support
A shopify platform migration handled correctly protects your data, preserves your SEO, and gives you a store that is faster and more reliable than what you left behind. Handled incorrectly, it creates ranking losses and customer friction that take months to fix.
Our team at KolachiTech has executed migrations from every major ecommerce platform. Visit our migration services hub to learn how we manage each phase from audit to post-launch monitoring.
For complete store configuration after migration, our Shopify store setup service covers every setting from payments to shipping to apps. For ongoing SEO management post-migration, our Shopify SEO agency service handles the full recovery and growth strategy.
Printable Shopify Migration Checklist
Pre-Migration (Weeks 1-2)
- Document current store baseline (revenue, traffic, rankings)
- Export all indexed URLs from Google Search Console
- Choose Shopify plan
- Sign up for Shopify account
- Export product data from current platform
- Export customer data from current platform
- Export order history for reference
Migration Setup (Weeks 2-4)
- Import products to Shopify
- Import customer data to Shopify
- Choose and configure Shopify theme
- Build complete 301 redirect map
- Upload redirects to Shopify
- Re-enter SEO metadata on all products and pages
Store Configuration (Weeks 4-6)
- Configure tax settings for all markets
- Set up shipping zones and rates
- Enable payment providers
- Install essential apps
- Migrate blog content if applicable
- Update internal links in content
Testing (Week 6)
- Test product data accuracy
- Test navigation and menus
- Complete full test purchases
- Test on mobile devices
- Verify 301 redirects
- Test email notifications
Launch (Week 7)
- Connect custom domain
- Submit Shopify sitemap to Google Search Console
- Send password reset emails to customers
- Monitor Google Search Console daily
Post-Launch (Weeks 7-10)
- Monitor organic traffic daily
- Check keyword rankings weekly
- Review conversion rates
- Apply speed optimisations
- Address any issues identified in monitoring
Conclusion
A successful migration to Shopify requires systematic execution across 20 distinct tasks. Miss one and you risk broken links, lost rankings, or frustrated customers.
Use this switching to shopify checklist as your master guide. Print it. Check off each step as you complete it. Do not skip ahead.
Your old platform keeps running throughout. Take the time you need to get every detail right before switching your domain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How long should I keep my old platform active after migrating to Shopify? A: Keep it active for at least 30 days after your domain fully propagates to Shopify. This gives you a reference if issues arise and ensures no visitors experience downtime during DNS propagation.
Q: Can I migrate to Shopify without any downtime? A: Yes. Build and test your Shopify store while your old platform continues to run. Only switch your domain once testing is complete. DNS propagation may cause some visitors to see the old site temporarily, but proper planning eliminates actual downtime.
Q: What data cannot be migrated to Shopify? A: Customer passwords never transfer due to encryption differences. Custom code, platform-specific plugins, and complex discount rules typically need to be rebuilt on Shopify. Order history transfers but is read-only in Shopify.
Q: Do I need to hire a developer for a Shopify migration? A: Small stores with simple catalogs can often migrate themselves using migration apps and CSV imports. Stores with large catalogs, custom functionality, or complex integrations benefit from professional migration support to avoid costly errors.
Q: How do I know if my migration was successful? A: Monitor your organic traffic, conversion rate, and keyword rankings for 30 days. A successful migration shows stable or improved traffic within 4 to 8 weeks, no increase in 404 errors, and maintained or improved conversion rates.
Q: What is the most common migration mistake? A: Skipping the redirect mapping phase. Launching without 301 redirects from every old URL to its new Shopify equivalent causes immediate SEO ranking losses that can take months to recover.
Q: Should I migrate during my busy season? A: No. Migrate during your slowest sales period to minimize risk. If issues arise during testing or launch, you want the lowest possible impact on revenue. Avoid holiday periods, major sales events, and peak seasons.
