Shopify is one of the most popular platforms for online stores today. Transferring your website to Shopify is a feasible task that will provide you with many benefits.
However, migrating an existing website to a new platform takes a lot of work and requires attention to detail. This article provides a step-by-step checklist on painlessly moving your store with the help of a professional Shopify migration company.
Preparing for the migration
Preparing to migrate your store to Shopify is a crucial step that largely determines the success of the entire migration operation. In this step, you need to decide on the following:
- Make a list of data to be migrated
- Select the method of data migration
- Temporarily turn off order notifications
It is essential to avoid confusion with resending notifications on old orders. But remember to turn them back on after the migration is complete.
The preparatory phase concludes, and you can proceed to the actual data migration.
Data migration
Let’s complete the most crucial step – migrating the data to the new Shopify platform. Depending on the approach chosen earlier, there are two main scenarios:
- Using a particular application. It is enough to specify the original platform, upload the data, and run the import.
- Manual migration using CSV. If there is not much data to migrate, you can use CSV templates and fill them in manually.
The main thing is to follow the correct sequence: first products, then customers, then orders.
Checking the migrated data
Once the data migration process is complete, thoroughly verifying the content import results in Shopify is crucial. You need to ensure all information has been migrated correctly and without errors. Let’s review in order:
- Verify product information. Open the product cards individually and check that the fields are filled in. Make sure that the information is complete and correct.
- Organize products into collections. Create collections and organize imported products into them. Add filters and navigation menus between collections.
It completes the verification of the migrated data. Now, you can move on to customizing the design and functionality of the online store.
Customizing the appearance
After importing the data, you can start customizing the design of your Shopify store. The attractiveness of the website determines the conversion rate and audience loyalty.
The Shopify theme store offers a vast selection of free and paid templates. It is recommended to try out paid themes in test mode first. And after choosing the best theme, finalize it to fit your company’s brand book.
The main thing is to make the design recognizable, memorable, and effectively selling to maximize the conversion of visitors into buyers.
Domain and shipping setup
When the store design is ready, you can launch a working website to the critical technical settings. Namely:
- Domain setup. There are two options: buy a new domain for Shopify or redirect your existing one.
- Shipping setup. You need to specify the shipping address, create shipping zones, and set up shipping payment methods and logistics partners for each zone.
At this point, the technical work on the migration is over, and the only thing left to do is test the store.
Testing
Before launching the site for real customers, it is vital to ensure everything works correctly. To do this, you should perform test orders and invite existing customers to register.
Now, you can safely launch the updated project and attract customers without worrying about the technical side of the issue. After all, Shopify web development agency has established itself as one of the most reliable and stable platforms for online commerce. Good luck!
