Entrepreneurs who sell products or services on the Internet are looking for the best possible solutions that will allow them to grow their business, gain new customers and at the same time serve them smoothly. An online store must be convenient and functional not only from the point of view of the seller, but also from the point of view of the people shopping there. It is thanks to practical solutions, among other things, that the Shopify platform is gaining more and more recognition among entrepreneurs who are eager to migrate to it from other sites. How to safely go through this process? What mistakes to watch out for during migration?
Why should you move your store to Shopify?
Migrating from one e-commerce platform to another can seem like something very difficult, even overwhelming, as a great many important issues must be taken care of. Undoubtedly, some people are concerned, if only that they will not be able to cope with the technical operation of an unfamiliar engine. Fortunately, with Shopify, such problems are virtually non-existent, and you can read about how the migration to Shopify goes in one of our articles.
What to watch out for when migrating to Shopify?
Entrepreneurs who decide to migrate from one e-commerce platform to another must prepare accordingly. Even with a tool as smooth as Shopify, there is a possibility of mistakes. Which ones happen most often? We will try to briefly describe them.
Poorly timed migration
The first question to answer is: when is the best time to migrate to a new e-commerce platform? First and foremost, you need to consider the length of the migration process, system testing, and in-house training on the use of the system for employees. Very often, companies that begin the process of changing their sales platform plan their work in such a way as to launch the new version of the store before the peak season – Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the holiday season. If you plan your service launch a few days before these events, this is definitely a bad idea. If you want to minimize the risk, you should choose a relatively quiet season, i.e. a month in which the volume of sales is stable. If your industry is seasonal, the dead season is an ideal time.
Failure to draw on past experience and knowledge
One of the problems we often see is forgetting that since our e-commerce is successful, has an ever-growing customer base and is profitable, we are doing something right after all 😉 Before embarking on a migration, especially the redesign phase of an e-commerce site, it’s a good idea to realize or study what things are working well and what our site is appreciated for by customers. How to go about it? This will be helped by a properly conducted discovery phase, internal workshops, user interviews, tools for monitoring user behavior on the site, etc.
Lack of project manager and management commitment
This point is especially true for brands with a large number of employees, who are increasingly choosing to open an online store on Shopify Plus plans. The appointment of a person responsible for overseeing the entire migration process, as well as a strong commitment on the part of the management and co-owners, has a huge impact on the success of the venture. In the case of e-commerce migration, we need to take care of many different aspects of the venture (people responsible for different areas of e-commerce operations, different integrations, etc.). – It is important for one person to ensure the smooth flow of information, removing bottlenecks in the process and increasing decision-making.
Lack of internal employee training
When planning a migration, allow time for the e-commerce support team to familiarize themselves with the platform’s operation. Although Shopify is a very intuitive and easy-to-use platform, some things may be organized differently than in the system your company currently uses. All employees should be able to perform all the activities they have done before. With training, not only will they not make mistakes themselves, but they will also be able to provide answers to customers’ questions. Migration is also a good time to think about what activities can be automated so as to save the team time – Shopify Flow (a tool available for Shopify Advanced and Shopify Plus plans) can come to the rescue here.
Bad redirection configuration
One critical aspect of the migration is to take care of the earned visibility in google search results. The necessity is to map the old URL structure to the new structure. This can be achieved with the use of 301 redirects that inform search engine robots of the new address where the customer will find our product, service, blog article, etc.
At this point, it should be mentioned that it will also be necessary to update the product feed for Google Merchant Center, or to introduce new addresses in paid advertising campaigns, or to map products with marketplaces to which our site is connected.
Customer accounts
When planning data portability, be sure to take the right approach to migrating customer accounts. In the case of account migration, we are unable to transfer passwords, so accounts will be inactive. After importing the customer list, inform customers to activate their account on the new platform.
Are you planning to migrate to Shopify?
Changing your e-commerce platform may seem stressful, but by properly planning the entire process, you can avoid many significant mistakes. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any important step, you can download our free ebook with website migration checklist and additional tips on migrating to Shopify.
Need support in switching platforms? Contact us via the form below – we’ll be happy to help you make the switch to Shopify stress-free.
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