Shopify platform migrations

November 17 2020
by Michelle Brouwers
4 min reading time

A successful migration to Shopify, we know how!

Migrating to Shopify with Someone you know

The past 6 months have been all about platform migrations. Thanks to my monthly blog posts and of course our qualitative experiences with Lightspeed and Mijnwebwinkel, entrepreneurs suddenly listen to us. Not without reason, of course, because Shopify has only really been in the spotlight in the Netherlands since this year. And real online entrepreneurs have been watching the system for some time, but are waiting for the right time to switch. That seemed to be the case this year.

As we learned in Canada during Shopify Unite, Shopify is working hard and we can overcome many of the challenges we are currently facing at the end of this year when all the new features become visible.

But that's not what it's about now. We completed three huge migrations in just a few months. (In addition to another twenty major projects in Lightspeed, such as the migration of this and 4 more web shops of Most Wanted DJs from Magento)
During the recent migration we came across many new things. Asking questions and mapping everything from start to finish is the key to a successful migration.

Something that seems like a 'simple' migration for a customer can turn into a fiasco when you discover too late that there are still dozens of parties involved and, for example, the entire online marketing part, including useful external links and integrations, has not been calculated. Depending on the export options within the current platform, we migrate to Shopify in 1 language as standard.

Furthermore, it is the customer's responsibility to ensure a clean basic store. So old articles are removed, or a time is chosen when the collection is as up-to-date as possible so that no 'unwanted content' is included with the export/import.
Exact time for export/import can only be inventoried after the possibilities are examined in the current system (e.g. by means of test export)

What do we include in a 'standard' migration?

General pages/content

Legal (terms and conditions, disclaimer, shipping info, returns, privacy policy)
Other content pages based on current store
Blog in consultation

Products we migrate

Item description
Meta title + description
Product photos + alt tags (standard 1 photo)
Variants
EAN / barcodes

Collections

Collections / Categories (in consultation, agreed in advance)
Tagging (used in Shopify for filters)
Please note that this will be discussed thoroughly in advance and if a structure needs to be adjusted, this will be discussed. Shopify works with slim collections and manual collections. A choice must also be made in advance

Menu structure

Based on current store (unless otherwise discussed)

stock

Will be migrated along
Must be updated before going live. There are different methods for this, these can be discussed

Orders / customers

Are not included as standard, but can be viewed separately. This must be inventoried separately for each party.

Take into account:

Discount codes (will not be replaced)
Related articles (Will not be replaced)
Product ratings depend on the rating party. (Make sure this is discussed in advance)

Migration Additional Languages in Shop (2 options so far)
(The migration of an additional language is not included as standard in a package)
– Weglot (an app that ensures that the content on the front end is automatically translated. You can clearly still make changes yourself
to the translations, but it works very simply). Disadvantage: the notifications to the customer are in 1 language. This actually only works if, for example, you use English as your main language and the rest serves purely as an extra.
– Langify (also an app in which you can translate the entire store: all pages, articles, collections, sections, theme settings and ultimately notifications, and work with a subdomain if desired.)
Disadvantage: you can only start this once the migration has been completed, or you always have to update it. It is a lot of work and there remain limitations, especially in the URL structure.
Multiple languages must therefore be examined very extensively. Think of ALL aspects related to this:

domains
diversions
translation notifications
translations of packing slips
SEO translations
Information loaded via apps
translations within the shopping cart

The API options will open at the end of this year and, among other things, an additional translation option will become visible within Shopify.
APP and migration links
Change per store and system. Very important to visualize in advance. Also think about possible new conditional functionalities or links.
Payment methods

Please provide us with information so that we can view everything possible within Shopify
Afterpay not possible - will be Klarna - currently
Shopify Pay