The best way to migrate from Shopify to Magento

Migration from one eCommerce platform is usually associated with the growth of a store and the situations when the current platform does not have the necessary features. Even though Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms, it does not have as many features and customization possibilities as the open-source Magento. In this article, we will discuss the methods of migrating from Shopify to Magento and what are the most effective options.

How to migrate from Shopify to Magento

There are three main options on how to transfer all the data from the Shopify store to Magento. In particular, one may choose from the following:

• Manual migration. This process involves the knowledge of technical aspects and requires preparation because you need to follow the specific steps and make sure that you include all the data.
• Migration app. With the application, migration is much more reliable and easy. Although it is a much more convenient solution, these applications have fees for their services, and you need to allocate the financial resources for that. It is important to note that you can only migrate the default data like order, products, and customer information.
• Hire a professional. With the help of a professional, you do not need to worry even about the selection of software for the migration. You just need to pay a specialist to make all the necessary work to transfer the data. Additionally, this method is crucial when you need to migrate the functionality of your previous store because the developers will have to make it from scratch on Magento. 

After all, choosing the right method depends on your proficiency, willingness to devote time to the manual migration, and financial resources.

Migration peculiarities

Basically, for the manual migration, you need to export the data files from Shopify and import it to Magento. Namely, you can export the CSV files with products, orders, and customer data.

In the admin panel of Shopify, select what data you want to export (“Products” in the example):

After that, the CVS files will be sent to the email address of your Shopify account. 

Nevertheless, importing the data to the Magento site is where the process becomes complicated because there are multiple options that you need to select to transfer everything correctly. Meanwhile, the rate of successful migration with the manual method is not as high as with the special applications. With an application like Cart2Cart, you just need to connect your Shopify store to Magento, choose the data that you want to transfer, and that is it. You can now use your Magento site. The option with the applications provides the same convenient experience with migration as hiring a professional who will help you through all the process. Moreover, you can also contact the technical consultants when using the application to clarify the steps or receive help if you have encountered any issues. But only with the help of professionals can you migrate all the store features because they should develop the new solution on Magento. 

Conclusions and the recommendations

Lastly, one may agree that the migration of an eCommerce store from Shopify to Magento is not so challenging due to the variety of options. If you did not manage to get into the technical aspects of how to transfer data manually, you could use the application that will perform full migration for you. Also, if you do not even want to get into the details of finding a proper application, you can hire a specialist that will take care of everything. However, hiring a professional requires more financial resources, and it is actually needed when you want to migrate the specific functionality of a store. That is why, using a migration application is the most suitable solution for most of the cases. Firstly, it is easy because you just need to select what data you need to transfer, and the application will do the rest. Secondly, it is not as expensive as hiring professionals, and yet, you have the opportunity to ask for help from the technical support team if the selected application provides one.