Replatforming from Magento to Shopify Plus: A Step-by-Step Guide

As your eCommerce brand grows and evolves, its needs become more complex. Migrating from Magento to Shopify Plus is a strategic move many eCommerce brands are making to obtain the key benefits like extensive customisation options, operational efficiency and brand representation. In this article, we’ll walk you through the Magento to Shopify migration process, highlighting its advantages and explain how WIRO has successfully helped many brands to perform a seamless migration.

Why Migrate from Magento to Shopify Plus?

Magento and Shopify Plus are both very powerful platforms designed to cater to medium to large-sized brands. However, we are seeing now many global enterprises choosing to migrate from Magento to Shopify Plus. When comparing Magento vs Shopify, Shopify Plus emerges as a clear leader in terms of ease of use, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Magento may provide flexibility, but it requires extensive developer support , resulting in significant ongoing costs. Major global brands such as Gymshark, Budweiser and Kylie Cosmetics successfully leveraged Shopify Plus for their Global eCommerce Success.

Feature Comparison: Magento vs Shopify Plus

Shopify Comparison Table

Features	Magento	Shopify Plus
Ease of Use	Requires extensive technical knowledge	Intuitive and user-friendly
Scalability	Often requires manual server management	Automatically scales with business
Maintenance Costs	Recurring costs for updates and security	Minimal maintenance with cloud-based solution
Integration	May require custom development	Comes with pre-built apps and integrations

Challenges and Benefits of Replatforming from Magento to Shopify Plus

Replatforming an eCommerce store is not without its challenges, but the benefits of switching to Shopify Plus far outweigh the temporary hurdles. For any brand looking to migrate, it’s important you give some thought to the following challenges and benefits.

Challenges

Data Migration: Shopify has a core data structure that can be extended via tags or metafields. Transferring existing product data can be complex, time consuming and requires careful planning to avoid data loss. This is where WIRO’s expertise comes in. As Charlie Haywood from Peggs & Son mentioned, “WIRO migrated us smoothly from Magento to Shopify Plus... Their professionalism and data migration experience were very helpful.”
SEO Considerations: Ensuring that SEO rankings are maintained during the transition can be challenging and requires careful strategising. Shopify has a strict URL structure and with international stores, each Shopify instance will normally use its own domain/subdomain. But in Magento, you may currently be using subfolders for these. Therefore, we need to carefully map out and redirect your new Shopify URL architecture.

Benefits

Reduced Costs: Shopify Plus significantly lower the Total Cost of Ownership by eliminating many of the recurring development costs associated with Magento.
Enhanced User Experience: Shopify Plus provides extensive customisation options for allowing brands to create a unique online shopping experience. Improved page speed, Integrated Checkout Process, AI-driven search, mobile responsiveness and custom product pages lead to higher conversion rates. In the case of Peggs & Son, the migration improved their Add-to-Cart rate by 41.8% and boosted conversion rates, generating an additional £38,768 in revenue within 2 months.

Client Success Story: Peggs & Son's Migration from Magento to Shopify Plus

One of the great example of a successful Magento to Shopify migration is our work with Peggs & Son. Peggs & Son, is an independent menswear store in Brighton specialising in quality craftsmanship and modern aesthetics. Their existing Magento platform was causing hefty recurring development costs, hindering user journey and administrative efficiency. Here’s how we helped them transition to Shopify Plus with outstanding results.

Objective

Migrate to Shopify Plus to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership, migrate historic data and enhance the overall user experience of the store.

Our Approach

Conducted workshops and CX audits to understand their needs and design a seamless migration plan.
Transferred historical data, including product catalogue, customer information, and orders.
Improved product page design and ensured standardised sizing options, significantly enhancing the user experience.

Results

Increased Add-to-Cart Rate: Improved PDP design and sizing availability led to a notable increase in the add-to-cart rate by over 41.8%, enhancing the overall conversion funnel.
Enhanced Overall Conversion Rates: The combination of standardised sizing, AI-driven search, and a user-centric PDP contributed to a substantial improvement in the overall conversion rates.
Improved Loading Speed: Faster loading speeds, a key focus during the project, resulted in improved user satisfaction and a subsequent boost in conversion rates.

Custom Quote Block

"WIRO migrated us smoothly from Magento to Shopify Plus, down to a well-organised process. Onboarding was simple and our PM did a great job of explaining the steps throughout. Their professionalism and data migration experience was very helpful, as managing that part ourselves would have been difficult. We were able to give feedback throughout, which was always handled very well!" - Charlie Haywood - Peggs & Son

Step-by-Step Guide to Migrating from Magento to Shopify Plus

1. Preparation and Planning

Start by conducting a audit of your current Magento store. Identify which features, data, and integrations you need to carry over. At WIRO, we begin each migration with a detailed workshop to understand your unique requirements, as we did with Peggs & Son.

2. Data Migration

Data migration is a crucial component of moving to Shopify Plus. This involves transferring essential data such as product catalogs, customer information, and order history. WIRO’s technical expertise ensures a smooth data migration.

3. Customisation and UX Design

The migration offers an opportunity to evaluate and potentially enhance your website's design and UX. You can either choose a pre-built theme or opt a custom Shopify theme for a fresh look. Ensuring the design is mobile-responsive is crucial, since it directly impacts the conversion rate.

4. SEO Optimisation

Neglecting SEO during a website migration can lead to your website disappear from SERP. Therefore, maintain the SEO rankings during and after migrating to Shopify Plus is essential. Shopify Plus offers robust SEO tools to manage redirects, meta tags, and URL structures, ensuring that your site remains visible throughout the process.

5. Testing the New Setup

Before officially launching your new Shopify store, rigorous testing is essential. This includes testing user experience, payment gateways, integrations, and overall site functionality. We ensures that all aspects of the migration are seamless for a smooth transition before the final launch.

6. Launch and Post-Migration

Successfully launching your new Shopify Plus store is a significant milestone. However, it doesn't end there. Post-migration, closely monitor site performance, user behaviour, address any issues and optimise accordingly for better results. Post launch, we always continues to support clients with any necessary adjustments and ensures that the transition to Shopify Plus drives long-term growth.

Conclusion

Migrating from Magento to Shopify Plus is more than just a platform change, it's a strategic move towards lots of benefits, from reduced operational costs to improved user experience and scalability. At WIRO, we’re proud to be a Shopify partner and we’ve a team of Shopify Plus experts who have helped numerous businesses perform a smooth Shopify Plus migration.If you’re considering an eCommerce replatforming project, talk to us about how we can help you successfully migrate from Magento to Shopify Plus.