• Masifa Bukhari
• Shopify
• 4 April, 2024

If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re probably looking for ways to optimize costs, improve efficiency, and enhance business processes. You must adapt swiftly to changing market dynamics to achieve these strategic goals. One essential factor for staying in business today is e-commerce. Many businesses, big and small, are stepping into the e-commerce race to tap a greater user base. Some popular platforms include Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and WooCommerce.

Magento is a free, open-source e-commerce platform. Shopify, on the other hand, offers businesses an all-in-one solution. Magento to Shopify migration is widely gaining traction because Shopify is easier to use and is the preferred option for the millions of entrepreneurs working on it. As of March 2024, 145,371 live stores are running on Magento. Moreover, as of January 2024, there are 4.8 million live Shopify stores worldwide.

In this blog, we will discuss all you need to know about migrating from Magento to Shopify. If you follow our guide, you’ll see that it is a relatively simple process.

Let’s begin!

Reasons for Migrating from Magento to Shopify

How To Migrate From Magento To Shopify?

Migrating from Magento to Shopify might seem like a technical process, but it is relatively simple if you properly prepare for it and execute it, as discussed below.

Step 1: Create and Set Up Your Shopify Store

You can either create a Shopify account or use the one you already have. For this, follow these steps:

1. After creating your account, fill in all the secondary details.
2. Buy the Shopify plan that best aligns with your business needs.
3. Configure your Shopify store settings.

Step 2: Inform Your Customer of the Migration

While this step isn’t essentially part of the migration itinerary, it is still a good idea to keep your loyal customers in the loop. Let them know of the migration from Magento to Shopify. They’ll know where to reach you, and you won’t lose a significant chunk of your customers to migration.

Step 3: Back Up Your Magento Store

It is essential to properly back up your data before attempting a Magento to Shopify data migration. This guarantees that if something goes wrong with the migration, you can return your store to its initial configuration and start over. Follow these steps:

1. Log into your Magento admin panel and click System. Then click Backups.
2. Select the Backup Type, enter the name of the backup, and enable maintenance.
3. System Backup – saves the source code and the database, i.e., the entire system.
4. Database and Media Backup – saves the content of the database and the media folder. Store themes aren’t saved.
5. Database Backup – saves the store’s database only.

Step 4: Export Data from Your Magento Store

Your Magento store can export the following entities:

• Products
• Customer Finances
• Customer Main File
• Customer Address
• Advanced Pricing
• Stock Sources

You can only export one entity at a time; every entity must be exported separately. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the admin panel on your Magento Store and click System. Then click Export.
2. Select the Entity Type, Export File Format, and click the Fields Enclosure option.
3. You can set the entity attributes if you want. Moreover, you can filter the export data and exclude fields if you don’t want to migrate them. Click Continue to export data.
4. Download the CSV file after the export operation is completed.

Step 5: Import Your Data from Magento to Shopify

Shopify is flexible when it comes to data import. You can import data to Shopify from a CSV file, use a third-party app, or even use an API. The choice of which method you go for completely depends on the developer’s resources and the data that needs to be imported.

Import Magento data to Shopify via a CSV file

You can only import customer and product data from CSV files. Before you dive in, ensure that the CSV file is valid for import to Shopify. The CSV file must have specific column headers that are valid for Shopify. If your CSV file has invalid or missing headers, it will return an error, and the file might not be uploaded.

Importing Customer Data

You can import customer data from Magento to Shopify by following these steps:

1. Log into your Magento store and click Customers in the admin panel.  
2. Click on Import; you’ll see it on the right side of the screen.
3. Click Add File, and select the Customer CSV file.
4. Enable additional options and add tags if need be.
5. Click on Import Customers.

Importing Products Data

Follow these steps for a Magento to Shopify product migration:

1. Log into your Magento store and click Products in the admin panel. 
2. Click on Import; you’ll see it on the right side of the screen.
3. Click Add File, and select the Products CSV file.
4. Enable additional options and add tags if need be.
5. Click on Import Products.

Import Magento Data to Shopify via a Third-Party App

Shopify also offers various migration apps to counter its limited CSV Import. These applications allow migrating gift cards, historical orders, store credits, and certificates to ensure a smoother customer experience.

It’s important to mention that migration apps vary by price, capabilities, and supported features. There are also many completely free apps in the Shopify marketplace. You can choose any app you deem fit for a smooth migration.  

Import Magento Data to Shopify via Shopify API

This method is great for migration between different e-commerce platforms. It allows consumers to import any data available through an API. This method is a little technical and requires strong developer resources and the involvement of specific third-party tools.

Step 6: Customize Your Shopify Store

Shopify provides many opportunities for you to customize your store to reflect your brand identity. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Choose the theme for your Shopify store. You can get a theme from the Shopify Theme Store, Theme Marketplaces, or other third-party developers. You can explore other stores in your niche and see their themes to understand what elements you need to incorporate in your store.
2. The next step is customizing and designing your Shopify store. You can use the theme editor to make changes to the theme you’ve chosen. We recommend duplicating your theme before customizing it. Follow these steps:
3. Customize the announcement bar and header section of your store.
4. Edit the individual sections.
5. Customize the store’s footer section.
6. Adjust the Shopify theme settings.
7. Create product collections for the Shopify store. You can create two types of product collection pages: manual or automated. Your collection pages must have Category Name, Breadcrumbs, Sort Menu, Pages, Page Name, Browse By, and Product Details. Here’s how you can add collections:
8. From your Shopify Admin Panel, go to Products and then Collections. Click on Create Collections.
9. Input a title and description for your collection. In the Collection Type section, select the type of collection you’d like to build.
10. Add products to the collection you’ve created. Navigate to the Products section and locate the products you want to add to the collections. 
11. Click on Save when you’re done adding products to a collection. 
12. Then update your URL in Shopify.

Step 7: Review & Test Your Shopify Store

Now that your store is ready, it’s time to review and test it to ensure everything works smoothly. If you’ve hired a Magento to Shopify migration service, they’ll do the testing for you and give you a completely optimized Shopify store.

Step 8: Officially Launch the Shopify Store

You can officially launch the store after the testers have cleared it for customer use.

See our latest relevant exploration The Evolution of Business Web Applications

Tips for smooth migration

Migrating from Magento to Shopify isn’t just about transmitting your data from one platform to another. It involves working on elements like content optimization, page redirects, and app compatibility. Here are some tips that we’ve shortlisted for an efficient Magento to Shopify migration:

Common Problems Face During Migration

As an entrepreneur new to Shopify, you might encounter a few problems when navigating its interface. Here we’ve outlined some common problems faced by them:

How can Coding Pixel help you migrate your store?

While Shopify has made it simple and user-friendly to migrate from Magento to Shopify, it can still be challenging for entrepreneurs who are unaware of the migration process. Moreover, businesses with large and complex e-commerce stores may need help from experts to export and import large datasets. Often, entrepreneurs aren’t able to import metadata, product descriptions, and reviews.

At Coding Pixel, our experts are here to assist you throughout the Magento to Shopify migration process. From the data importing and exporting stages to optimization of your Shopify store’s entire content, adding subscriptions, or creating hard-coded pages and personalized web design of your store to create a unique experience truly, our Shopify experts are here to help.

We can help you build a scalable and functional website for your business. See our Talk to our Shopify experts now!

Wrapping Up

Migrating from Magento to Shopify can be challenging, but with proper preparation and execution, it can be seamless and effective. Follow the complete checklist outlined in this blog article to ensure a smooth migration process, including data export/import, design customization, and post-migration activities. Extensive testing and quality assurance are critical to ensure that your new Shopify store runs smoothly and provides an amazing user experience. Shopify’s user-friendly design, scalability, and vast ecosystem of apps and connectors can help take your e-commerce business to new heights.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How long does Magento to Shopify migration usually take?

While the time duration for Magento to Shopify migration varies with the ease or complexity of the migration, it usually takes anywhere from 90 to 180 days.

Is Shopify free to use?

No, Shopify isn’t free to use. Shopify pricing plans range from $5/month for a Starter plan to upwards of $2300/month for Shopify Plus.

What are the drawbacks of using Magento?

Magento is an expensive and complex e-commerce platform that requires technical expertise. Its layered architecture can make customization time-consuming and page load slow. Magento doesn’t provide technical support and is susceptible to vulnerabilities due to its open-source nature. It is also big and complex, and may not be user-friendly like other platforms. Other drawbacks include difficulty editing complex orders, low-quality third-party modules, and difficulty transferring Magento projects.