When migrating a store to Shopify, pitfalls and mistakes are common, especially for businesses going through such a migration for the first time. Here are some of the most common mistakes when migrating to Shopify, with tips on how to avoid them.
Many businesses start the migration without a clear plan, which can lead to unexpected complications. Thorough preparation with a detailed plan is essential to keep oversight and control. Think of:
Inventorying existing data (such as customer information, product details and order history).
Drawing up a migration timeline, including deadlines for the various phases of the migration.
Assigning tasks to the team, with a project manager overseeing progress.
Many store owners only realise late that customer accounts aren't transferred automatically. That means customers have to reactivate their accounts on Shopify. To make this run smoothly:
Send customers email notifications with a clear explanation of the process.
Consider creating a step-by-step guide so customers know how to activate their new account.
Inform customers about the benefits of the new site to motivate them to reactivate their account.
Shopify has a different data structure than many other platforms, which means certain fields are missing or have different names. Some standard fields from other systems may not be standard in Shopify, requiring adjustments:
Review all fields in your current data and decide which need to be adjusted or supplemented.
Use apps or scripts to add missing fields if Shopify doesn't support them by default.
Check data formats and field limits so you don't lose information during the migration.
During the migration process, your old store often stays active, meaning products may still be sold. As a result, the inventory in your new Shopify store doesn't match the old one. The same can apply to orders. Some ways to manage this:
Pause sales temporarily, if possible, while you finalise the migration.
Use a migration tool like Syncer to sync inventory and orders, minimising mismatches.
Do a final inventory check and adjust before the new site goes live.
Many businesses sell on other channels, like Bol.com, or have external systems for accounting, marketing and customer service. These integrations often need to be set up again on Shopify, which isn't always straightforward:
Make a list of all external integrations you need.
Check whether Shopify has standard integrations for these platforms, or whether apps are available.
Test each integration thoroughly to make sure data transfer is correct and stays up to date.
On Shopify, shipping options and rates have to be set up again, as do payment methods. This can affect costs and customer convenience:
Review all shipping options and rates and tailor them to your audience and the type of products you sell.
Compare the costs of payment methods and see if Shopify's own payment solutions are advantageous.
Test all options in the test environment to make sure shipping and payment options work correctly.
Before launching your new store, it's essential to build in a testing phase. Errors can be detected and resolved before the new store goes live:
Set up a staging environment to simulate the entire migration.
Test the checkout processes, product filters and navigation to make sure everything works flawlessly.
Try different devices and browsers so the site works well for all users.
Choosing the right theme goes beyond a default "responsive" design — these days virtually all Shopify themes support a responsive experience. It's important, however, to choose a theme with features specifically valuable for your product type, such as:
Extensive filter options for a large range.
Product recommendations and cross-sell options.
Flexible product pages that can be tailored to the kind of information you want to show.
Shopify offers reports and analytics, but it can be useful to set up Google Analytics and other tools to gain valuable insights into customer behaviour and sales performance. Some points to consider:
Set up Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager for extensive customer insights.
Configure e-commerce tracking to analyse sales data on a deeper level.
Consider tools like Syncer to sync data with external reporting tools or CRM systems.
Customer communication is often underestimated during a migration. Customers are used to the old platform and can be surprised by the changes. Keep customers in the loop by:
Providing updates and explanations about the transition.
Informing customers in advance about account migrations and new features.
Collecting feedback after launch, so you can respond quickly to any pain points.
A successful migration requires clear agreements on who's responsible for which tasks. Often a structured onboarding is missing, causing tasks to overlap or be forgotten. Make sure you have:
Clear communication between everyone involved and a clear division of tasks.
A plan with deadlines for each phase of the migration.
An onboarding guide for team members to keep the process running as smoothly as possible.
By taking these pitfalls and key points into account, you can avoid common problems and ensure a successful switch to Shopify.
