Switching an online store platform can look scary — but with a plan it’s mostly organising, cleaning, and testing. This long-form guide walks you through the entire migration: planning, data & SEO preservation, theme and apps, QA, go-live and post-launch checks. I’ll point out the common pitfalls, give realistic timelines, and name the tools people actually use.
---
## Why move from Magento to Shopify?
Short version: Shopify is hosted and managed (fewer infra headaches), has a huge app ecosystem, simpler admin for merchants, and faster time-to-market. Magento is powerful for complex custom platforms, but Shopify wins for speed of operations and maintenance for many stores.
---
## Which migration approach should you pick?
Three common approaches:
1. **DIY / CSVs** — Export CSVs from Magento, clean & map fields, then import into Shopify. Good for small catalogs or when you want full control.
2. **Automated migration apps / services** — Use tools like LitExtension or Cart2Cart to automatically move products, customers, orders, reviews, and SEO URLs.
3. **Agency / Shopify Expert** — Hire a specialist for complex setups (custom integrations, large catalogs, B2B setups).
---
## Quick facts you should know first
- Shopify product CSV limit: 15 MB per file.
- Shopify customer CSV limit: 15 MB per file.
- Shopify default limit: 3 product options and 100 variants.
---
## Phase 0 — Pre-migration audit
- Export full data snapshot from Magento (products, customers, orders, reviews, CMS pages, redirects).
- Inventory cleanup: remove duplicates, fix SKUs.
- Catalog mapping: match Magento attributes to Shopify fields.
- Variant audit: plan for products over 100 variants or 3 options.
- SEO audit: capture URLs, metadata, and top landing pages.
- Integration inventory: list ERP, CRM, shipping, payment integrations.
---
## Phase 1 — Setup Shopify store
- Create Shopify account, choose plan.
- Configure store settings: address, taxes, shipping zones, payment gateways.
- Set up temporary domain until go-live.
- Install and customize theme, enable password protection.
---
## Phase 2 — Data migration
### Option A — Automated migration services (Recommended)
- Connect Magento and Shopify.
- Choose entities to migrate (products, customers, orders, reviews).
- Map fields and run a demo migration.
- Run full migration.
### Option B — Manual CSV import
- Export Magento product CSV and reformat to Shopify template.
- Map handles, images, and attributes.
- Split large files due to size limits.
**Notes:**
- Customer passwords cannot be migrated.
- Products exceeding variant limits require splitting or apps.
- Use metafields for extra attributes.
---
## Phase 3 — Theme & frontend
- Customize Shopify theme to match brand.
- Rebuild product, collection, blog, and CMS pages.
- Replace Magento-specific features with apps or custom code.
---
## Phase 4 — Preserve SEO
- Export all existing URLs.
- Set up 301 redirects from old Magento URLs to Shopify.
- Migrate meta titles, descriptions, and structured data.
- Update and submit sitemap to Google Search Console.
---
## Phase 5 — QA & testing
- Verify product data, images, and inventory.
- Test checkout flow, payment methods, shipping rates.
- Test customer account creation and order history.
- Verify integrations, analytics, and SEO settings.
- Back up CSVs and migration mapping.
---
## Go-live
- Choose low-traffic launch window.
- Final sync for new orders/customers.
- Point domain DNS to Shopify.
- Enable SSL and 301 redirects.
- Disable password protection.
---
## Post-launch
- Monitor orders, inventory, and site performance.
- Check Search Console for errors.
- Track traffic and sales trends.
- Fix 404 errors promptly.
---
## Tools & services
- **Migration**: LitExtension, Cart2Cart.
- **Order import**: EZ Importer.
- **SEO redirects**: Shopify native redirects or SEO apps.
---
## Timeline & cost
- Small stores (≤200 products): 1–2 weeks, $0–$200.
- Medium stores (200–5,000 SKUs): 2–6 weeks, $200–$2,000.
- Large/custom stores: 1–3 months, $5,000+.
---
## Pitfalls to avoid
- Skipping redirects → loss of SEO traffic.
- Poor SKU mapping → inventory mismatches.
- Expecting 1:1 feature parity.
- Not informing customers about password resets.
---
## Final migration checklist
- [ ] Data export from Magento.
- [ ] Clean catalog and SKUs.
- [ ] Choose migration method.
- [ ] Shopify store setup.
- [ ] Data migration (products, customers, orders).
- [ ] SEO redirects and metadata migration.
- [ ] Full QA testing.
- [ ] Domain switch and SSL.
- [ ] Monitor site after launch.
---
For professional assistance with your Magento to Shopify migration, visit: https://amoni.io