The Data Migration Checklist: What Can (And Can’t) Move From Your Old Platform to Shopify

Moving an established ecommerce store to Shopify is more than transferring products from one platform to another.

Customer accounts, order history, product information, URLs, content, integrations and other business data may all need to be assessed before the migration begins. Some information can move directly, some requires transformation, and some may need to be recreated within Shopify.

A well-planned data migration to Shopify should therefore begin with a clear understanding of what data exists, where it currently lives and how it needs to work on the new platform.

This is particularly important for Australian businesses migrating from platforms such as Magento, WooCommerce or BigCommerce, where data structures and functionality may differ from Shopify.

This guide explains what can typically be migrated, what requires additional planning, what may not transfer directly and how to approach the process without unnecessarily putting your customer data, SEO performance or day-to-day operations at risk.

Why Data Migration Requires More Than Exporting and Importing

An ecommerce platform stores much more than a product catalogue. Over time, businesses accumulate customer information, transaction history, product relationships, content, media, discounts and operational data.

The challenge is that each platform structures this information differently.

A field that exists in Magento, WooCommerce or BigCommerce may not have an identical destination in Shopify. Some information may need to be mapped to Shopify’s data structure, while other functionality may require a different implementation.

A successful migration therefore involves three stages:

1. Audit the existing data and systems.
2. Map and transform information for Shopify.
3. Validate the migrated data before and after launch.

Treating migration as a simple export-and-import exercise can result in missing information, broken relationships or unexpected changes to the customer experience.

What Data Can Move to Shopify?

A large amount of ecommerce information can be migrated, but the exact process depends on the source platform, the quality of the existing data and Shopify’s requirements.

Product Data

Product information is one of the most common migration areas.

Depending on the existing platform, this can include:

• Product titles
• Descriptions
• SKUs
• Product types
• Vendors
• Prices
• Compare-at prices
• Product images
• Variants
• Product options
• Inventory information
• Tags
• Collections or category relationships

Product data should be reviewed before migration rather than transferred without assessment. Old stores may contain duplicate products, outdated descriptions, inconsistent SKUs or attributes that need to be restructured.

For businesses with large catalogues, product mapping should be completed before the migration begins so that the Shopify catalogue is organised correctly from launch.

Customer Data

Customer records can generally be migrated, subject to the source platform, data structure and Shopify’s customer-account requirements.

Australia’s ecommerce market highlights the importance of getting this transition right. According to Australia Post’s 2026 eCommerce Report, 82% of Australian households shopped online in 2025, representing 9.8 million households.

As more Australians rely on ecommerce, preserving customer data and maintaining a seamless shopping experience during platform migration becomes increasingly important.

This may include information such as:

• Customer names
• Email addresses
• Phone numbers
• Billing information
• Shipping information
• Customer tags
• Account-related information

Customer data requires particular care because it contains personal information. Businesses should only migrate the information they actually need and should ensure that the migration process follows applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.

Customer passwords are a separate consideration. Password data from an existing ecommerce platform may not be directly transferable into Shopify, depending on how the original platform stores credentials and how the new Shopify environment handles customer authentication.

Order History

Historical orders can be important for customer service, reporting and business records.

Depending on the migration approach, businesses may be able to transfer information such as

• Order numbers
• Customer details
• Products purchased
• Quantities
• Prices
• Discounts
• Taxes
• Shipping information
• Order dates
• Order status

However, historical order migration should be planned carefully. The objective is not simply to recreate old orders but to preserve the information the business actually needs for operational and reporting purposes.

Product Images and Media

Product images can generally be moved, but image URLs, file structures and naming conventions may change during migration.

Before transferring media, review:

• Image quality
• File formats
• Naming
• Duplicate images
• Alt text
• Unused assets

Cleaning the media library before migration can reduce unnecessary content on the new store and make ongoing management easier.

Collections and Categories

Shopify uses collections rather than traditional category structures in the same way as some other ecommerce platforms.

This means category structures from the old platform may need to be mapped rather than copied exactly.

A migration plan should consider:

• Main product categories
• Subcategories
• Collection rules
• Product tagging
• Navigation
• Filters
• Internal linking

The objective should be to preserve a logical customer journey rather than reproduce an outdated structure simply because it existed on the old platform.

What Usually Requires Additional Planning?

Some data may technically be transferable but still require significant preparation before it can work correctly on Shopify.

Custom Product Attributes

Older platforms may contain extensive product attributes that do not have a direct equivalent in the new store.

These may need to be:

• Mapped to existing Shopify fields
• Added as custom data
• Restructured
• Combined
• Removed if no longer relevant

This is especially important for stores with technical products or large catalogues.

Customer-Specific Pricing

Businesses operating B2B or wholesale models may have customer-specific pricing, discounts or purchasing rules.

These requirements should be assessed separately because the solution may depend on the Shopify plan, apps, custom development and the existing pricing architecture.

Custom Functionality

A legacy ecommerce store may contain custom features that were developed specifically for the business.

Examples include:

• Custom checkout processes
• Product configurators
• Pricing calculators
• Account dashboards
• Loyalty systems
• Subscription functionality
• Custom search
• Bespoke integrations

These features do not automatically migrate with the underlying data. They may need to be rebuilt, replaced with Shopify functionality or supported through an app or integration.

What Can’t Move Directly?

Not every element of an existing ecommerce store can simply be copied into Shopify.

The following areas commonly require a separate implementation strategy.

Platform-Specific Functionality

Features built specifically for Magento, WooCommerce or another platform are usually tied to that platform’s architecture.

The underlying data may be transferable, but the functionality itself generally needs to be recreated in Shopify.

Custom Code

Custom themes, scripts and backend code from the old platform do not automatically become Shopify-compatible.

They need to be reviewed individually to determine whether the functionality is still required and, if so, how it should be implemented in the new environment.

Some Password Information

Customer authentication data may not transfer directly depending on the source platform and Shopify’s authentication requirements.

A migration plan should therefore establish how existing customers will access their accounts after launch.

Third-Party Integrations

An existing connection to an ERP, CRM, marketplace, payment provider or shipping system does not automatically transfer simply because the store moves to Shopify.

Each integration should be assessed and tested separately.

Magento to Shopify Migration Checklist

Businesses moving from Magento should treat the project as both a data migration and a platform transition.

A Magento to Shopify migration checklist should include the following areas:

Before Migration

• Audit products, customers and orders.
• Identify custom attributes and extensions.
• Document existing integrations.
• Export important data.
• Review the current URL structure.
• Identify important landing pages.
• Record metadata and SEO information.
• Identify custom functionality that needs to be rebuilt.

During Migration

• Map Magento fields to Shopify fields.
• Transform data where required.
• Import products and customer information.
• Configure collections and navigation.
• Transfer relevant media.
• Configure redirects.
• Rebuild required functionality.
• Connect and test third-party systems.

Before Launch

• Test product pages.
• Test customer accounts.
• Test checkout.
• Test payments.
• Test shipping.
• Test inventory.
• Test search.
• Test redirects.
• Check metadata.
• Validate migrated data.

The exact checklist will vary depending on the size and complexity of the Magento store.

WooCommerce to Shopify Migration

WooCommerce stores often have a different migration profile because WordPress and WooCommerce can contain extensive plugin-based functionality.

A WooCommerce to Shopify migration should therefore include a review of both the ecommerce data and the WordPress environment.

Businesses should assess:

• Products and variations
• Customer accounts
• Orders
• Categories
• Tags
• Product attributes
• Media
• Blog content
• Plugins
• Custom functionality
• SEO metadata
• URLs

Some WordPress plugins may perform functions that need to be replaced by Shopify apps or custom development.

The goal should not be to recreate every plugin. Instead, identify the business outcome each plugin supports and determine the most appropriate way to achieve that outcome on Shopify.

BigCommerce to Shopify Migration

Businesses moving from BigCommerce should also map their existing catalogue, customers, orders, content and integrations before beginning the migration.

A BigCommerce to Shopify migration can involve reviewing:

• Product structures
• Variants
• Categories
• Customer groups
• Pricing
• Orders
• Content
• URLs
• Navigation
• Third-party integrations

Particular attention should be paid to differences in how the two platforms structure catalogue data and manage customer or pricing functionality.

Protecting SEO During Migration

SEO should be treated as a core part of the migration rather than a task completed after the new store goes live.

Changing platforms can affect URLs, metadata, internal links, structured data and page structure. If important URLs change without appropriate redirects, existing search visibility can be affected.

Create a URL Mapping Plan

Before launch, create a list of important existing URLs and identify their corresponding destinations on Shopify.

This should include:

• Product pages
• Collection pages
• Category pages
• Key landing pages
• Blog content
• Other pages receiving organic traffic

Where URLs change, appropriate redirects should be implemented.

Preserve Important Metadata

Review existing:

• Page titles
• Meta descriptions
• Heading structures
• Image alt text
• Canonical information
• Structured data

Not every element needs to be copied exactly, particularly if the existing implementation is outdated. The objective is to preserve valuable SEO signals while improving the new site’s structure.

Monitor Search Performance After Launch

SEO migration work does not end when the Shopify store goes live.

Monitor:

• Organic traffic
• Rankings
• Indexed pages
• Crawl errors
• Redirect errors
• Search Console data
• Important landing pages

This allows technical problems to be identified and addressed quickly.

Can You Keep Your Old URLs?

In some cases, existing URLs can be retained, but Shopify’s URL structure and the structure of the previous platform need to be considered.

If an old URL cannot be retained, create a relevant redirect from the old address to the appropriate new page.

The important principle is not simply keeping every URL unchanged. It is ensuring that valuable pages have a clear destination and that customers and search engines are not left with broken links.

A URL mapping spreadsheet can make this process easier to manage.

Useful columns include:

How Much Does Shopify Migration Cost?

The Shopify migration cost varies considerably depending on the size and complexity of the existing store.

Factors that can influence the total project cost include:

• Number of products
• Number of customers
• Order-history requirements
• Data complexity
• Custom fields
• Integrations
• Custom functionality
• SEO requirements
• Design requirements
• Migration tooling
• Testing requirements
• Post-launch support

A small store with a relatively simple catalogue may require significantly less work than a large enterprise store with complex product structures, multiple integrations and extensive historical data.

For this reason, businesses should avoid relying on a generic migration price before completing a proper data and technical assessment.

A Practical Shopify Migration Process

A structured process can make the migration easier to control.

Step 1: Audit the Existing Store

Document the current data, integrations, URLs, functionality and dependencies.

Step 2: Define Migration Requirements

Separate essential data from information that is outdated, duplicated or no longer required.

Step 3: Map the Data

Create a field-by-field mapping between the existing platform and Shopify.

Step 4: Clean and Transform

Resolve duplicates, standardise values and transform data where the destination structure requires it.

Step 5: Run a Test Migration

Move a controlled sample of data before attempting the full migration.

Step 6: Validate the Results

Check product data, customer information, orders, images, pricing, URLs and other important records.

Step 7: Complete the Final Migration

Perform the final migration according to the launch plan and minimise changes to the old store during the transition window where practical.

Step 8: Test the New Store

Test the customer journey from product discovery through checkout, payment and fulfilment.

Step 9: Launch and Monitor

Monitor technical performance, orders, integrations, redirects, analytics and SEO after launch.

How to Choose a Shopify Migration Partner

The right implementation partner can make a significant difference, particularly for complex stores.

A Shopify data migration service should include more than simply importing a CSV file. Ask potential partners how they approach data mapping, validation, custom fields, customer information, order history, SEO and integrations.

Look for experience with:

• Your existing ecommerce platform
• Shopify or Shopify Plus development services
• Complex product catalogues
• Data transformation
• ERP and CRM integrations
• SEO migration
• Custom functionality
• Testing and validation

For larger or more complex implementations, a Shopify Plus partner in Australia may also be appropriate where the project requires enterprise-level architecture, custom development or advanced B2B capabilities.

The important consideration is whether the partner understands the business requirements behind the data rather than simply knowing how to move records between platforms.

What Does a Safe Migration Look Like?

A successful migration should not be judged solely by whether the new Shopify store launches on time.

A safe migration should also preserve the information and functionality that the business depends on.

Before launch, confirm that:

• Critical product data is present.
• Customer records have been validated.
• Required order history is available.
• Product images load correctly.
• Pricing is accurate.
• Inventory is synchronised.
• Important URLs have been mapped.
• Redirects work correctly.
• Analytics and tracking are functioning.
• Payments and shipping have been tested.
• Third-party integrations are operational.

Post-launch monitoring is equally important. Some issues only become visible when real customers begin using the new store.

Final Word

Migrating an ecommerce store to Shopify is not simply a matter of moving data from one database to another. It is an opportunity to review the quality of your product information, customer records, site structure, integrations and existing ecommerce processes before rebuilding them on a more suitable platform.

The safest approach is to determine what needs to move, what needs to be transformed and what should be rebuilt before the migration begins. A structured audit, detailed data mapping, test migration and thorough validation can help reduce avoidable errors and protect the customer experience.

If your business is considering a move to Shopify, start with a detailed assessment of your existing platform and data rather than jumping straight into the migration. Speak with a Shopify migration specialist to review your current store, identify migration requirements and create a practical roadmap for moving your data and ecommerce operations with greater confidence.