The Shopify migration checklist: before, during and after the move

Most migration problems are not caused by Shopify. They come from steps that were skipped because the launch date was close: a redirect nobody mapped, an integration nobody tested, an order placed during the switch that never arrived. This checklist is the order we work in. Use it to plan your own move, or to check what an agency’s proposal actually covers.

Before you change anything

The goal of this stage is a complete picture of the store you have, so nothing is discovered after launch.

• Export a full backup of products, variants, customers, orders, discount codes, gift cards, blog posts and pages from your current platform.
• List every URL that matters. Combine your sitemap, a crawl of the site, your top landing pages in analytics, and the pages with clicks and links in Google Search Console.
• Record your baseline. Note your conversion rate, average order value, organic traffic and top-ranking pages for the last few months, so you can compare after launch.
• List every integration: ERP, accounting, inventory, shipping, email, reviews, subscriptions and anything that reads or writes orders.
• Agree a content freeze for the final stretch, so products and pages are not edited in two places at once.

Build behind a password

Shopify lets you build the new store on a password-protected storefront while the old one keeps selling. Use that time well.

1. Set up the theme, navigation, collections and product templates.
2. Import data in the order Shopify recommends: products first, then customers, then orders, so each order links to the right customer and product.
3. Check the counts against your old store: products, variants, customers and orders should match.
4. Connect each integration and test it with real test orders, not just a green “connected” status.

Map and set every redirect

Shopify uses fixed paths such as /products/, /collections/, /pages/ and /blogs/, so most of your old URLs will change. Each one needs a permanent (301) redirect to its closest new page. A Shopify store can hold up to 100,000 URL redirects, and a Shopify Plus store up to 20 million, so even large catalogs fit.

Do not send every old URL to the homepage. Google tends to treat mass redirects to an unrelated page like missing pages, and your visitors land somewhere that does not match what they clicked.

We cover this step in depth in how to keep your Google rankings when you move to Shopify.

Test before launch

• Place test orders with each payment method, then refund one.
• Check tax and shipping rates for your main regions.
• Read every customer email: order confirmation, shipping, refund and account emails.
• Click through your 50 most-visited old URLs and confirm each redirect lands on the right page.

Launch day

1. Launch in your quietest traffic window.
2. Connect your domain to Shopify and confirm the SSL certificate is active.
3. Re-test the top redirects on the live domain.
4. Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.
5. Sync any orders placed on the old store during the switch.

The first 30 days

The move is not finished at launch. Watch Search Console for crawl errors and pages that drop out of the index, fix any 404s with new redirects, and compare conversion rate and organic traffic against the baseline you recorded. Small issues found in week one are cheap; the same issues found in month three have already cost you sales.

If you would like a second pair of eyes on your plan, ask for a free migration review. You get a straight answer on whether moving makes sense, and a fixed quote in writing if it does.