Migrating to Shopify is a big step for your eCommerce business, opening you up to a new world of Shopify integrations, fast shipping tags, and increased mobile conversions. But first, there’s a little work to complete in preparing your existing website and Shopify store for a successful migration. Let’s begin.
Before migrating to Shopify, you must sign up for Shopify. If you haven’t already, head to the Shopify signup page and fill in the required details, such as your email address, password, and store name.
Next, you need to create a Shopify store to migrate your products and data to. Depending on your technical expertise and budget, there are many free and paid Shopify themes for you or your designer to work with.
Once your Shopify store is ready, it’s time to identify the information that you want to migrate. This could include products, images, customers, order histories, reviews, policies, and blogs. The more data you migrate, the less work you’ll need to complete later on.
Depending on the data being migrated, there are four main methods to choose from.
1- Copying and pasting
2- CSV files
3- Third-party Shopify apps
4- Admin API
Whatever migration method you choose, it’s good practice to prepare your data and services for migration before the big move.
If you’re using the Shopify Import store app to migrate your product, order, and customer data, you’ll need to export this information from your current platform first.
To upload this product, customer, and order information to Shopify using the Import store app, download the app from the App Store and then from your Shopify admin menu, click Apps > Import store. Select the appropriate platform and then follow the on-screen instructions to import your data.
It’s advisable that you set aside time to review all migrated data to ensure that it has been copied over without error. For some methods of migration, you may need to manually enter information such as product dimensions, variations, or tags.
It’s also good practice to set up redirects from your old platform to your new Shopify store. This ensures that anyone accidentally using old links or bookmarks can still find their way to your store and products.
Finally, you’re ready to complete your Shopify set up and fly. This includes organizing products into categories, running test orders, scheduling your launch marketing, and then setting your site to live.