What's Involved In A Magento 2 to Shopify eCommerce Migration?
If you're currently on Magento 1, Magento 2, BigCommerce, or another platform and considering moving to Shopify, you're probably wondering what the process actually involves and whether it's worth the disruption. While every migration is unique to the business, there are consistent elements across all of them. This guide demystifies the process.
We are Netalico, a Shopify Plus Premier Partner founded in 2013 and operating as a Shopify Partner from 2016 onward. Our fully in-house US team across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami, nothing offshored, has handled hundreds of Shopify builds including migrations from Magento 1, Magento 2, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The same team that executes the migration runs the post-launch retainer.
Customizations
To start, you have to look at all the out-of-the-box features you currently use and make sure your new platform covers them. Typically if you're going from an older platform to a newer one it should have comparable features, but you cannot assume that, particularly going from a self-hosted platform like Magento to a SaaS platform like Shopify.
You've also likely accumulated custom extensions or custom functionality over time. You have to assess all those customizations and determine whether your new platform has those features out of the box, whether there are marketplace apps that can replace them, or whether something custom needs to be developed.
You might also find that some customizations simply cannot be replicated on the new platform. That's why we recommend starting the migration with a customizations and integrations assessment. Getting this done first prevents you from going too far down the design and data path only to discover dealbreakers.
See our Magento to Shopify Plus migration service for the full scope of what we handle.
Integrations
Most ecommerce sites have external services connected: inventory management, shipping and fulfillment, accounting, ERP, or CRM. All of them have to be able to communicate with the new platform. Most modern integrations support both Magento and Shopify, but you need to verify each one. For critical integrations, contact the vendor directly and ask about any differences, limitations, or migration-specific considerations.
Design
The design aspect is less of a migration and more of a fresh start. Even moving from Magento 1 to Magento 2, none of the frontend code is reusable, so it's an opportunity to redesign properly. When migrating to Shopify, we recommend starting with a theme from the Shopify Theme Store and customizing it. Even for fully custom designs, starting from a theme that closely mirrors the target layout gives a more stable foundation than building from scratch.
On Magento 2, the default Luma or Blank theme is the standard starting point for new builds.
Data Migration
Data migration is one of the most complex parts of the process, but parts of it are also optional depending on what the business actually needs. The migration generally breaks down into four areas.
Orders
Orders are the most optional data set. Some merchants don't need historical order data accessible on the new platform at all. If you do want it, you can migrate it fully, export it to a spreadsheet for reference, or for older free-platform stores, move the old site to low-cost hosting and password-protect it for internal lookup. Full order migration is the most expensive option but gives customers direct access to their history on the new storefront.
Products and Categories
This is the most technically complex migration step. Magento uses Configurable products with sub-Simple Products. Shopify uses a single product type with variants. That difference requires mapping and transformation, not just a straight export and import. Categories add another layer: Magento supports hierarchical category trees, while Shopify uses flat collections. We typically take a spreadsheet export of current products, revise it for the Shopify structure, import, and do manual cleanup on anything that needs it.
Customers
Customer data is the easiest to migrate because the core fields (name, address, email) are consistent across platforms. The main limitation is passwords. Most platforms, including Magento 1, use encryption that cannot be transferred to Shopify, so customers will need to reset their passwords. Magento 2 does support Magento 1 password encryption for store-to-store moves between those two versions.
Gift Cards, Coupon Codes, and Promotions
This is the category that catches merchants off guard. Gift cards carry legal obligations in most jurisdictions, so failing to honor them after a migration can create real liability. Active coupon codes and promotional logic also need to be migrated or rebuilt before launch, otherwise your support team deals with a wave of complaints on day one.
SEO and Redirects
One area that is often treated as an afterthought but should be planned from the start is SEO preservation. When URLs change during a migration, any page that does not have a proper 301 redirect loses its accumulated search ranking. For stores with established organic traffic, this can mean a significant and unnecessary revenue dip.
A solid migration process includes a complete URL inventory, page-level 301 redirect mapping, canonical tag validation, structured data re-implementation, and post-launch crawl monitoring. We cover how this works in detail in our guide to migrating stores without SEO loss.
Every Migration Is Different
That covers the core elements of a Magento 2 to Shopify migration. Every project is shaped by the specific catalog, integration stack, and business requirements involved. Some migrations are straightforward, others involve significant custom development. The best way to understand the scope for your store is to work through the assessment process before committing to a timeline or budget.
If you'd like to talk through your specific situation, book a free strategy call with our team.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Magento 2 to Shopify migration take?
Timelines depend on catalog size, integration complexity, and custom functionality. A straightforward migration can take 8 to 12 weeks. Larger projects with ERP connections, B2B functionality, or complex custom logic typically run 16 to 24 weeks. Netalico plans migrations in phases: customization assessment, design and development, data migration, QA, and post-launch stabilization.
Will my SEO rankings be affected by the migration?
They can be, but a well-managed migration minimizes the risk. The most important steps are building a complete 301 redirect map before launch, preserving metadata and structured data across page templates, validating canonicals, and monitoring Google Search Console closely in the first 60 to 90 days after go-live.
What data can I bring from Magento to Shopify?
Products, categories, customers, orders, gift cards, coupon codes, and blog content can all be migrated. Not everything needs to be migrated, and the priority order matters. Products and categories come first because the store cannot function without them. Orders and customers are optional depending on business needs. Gift cards should always be migrated to avoid compliance issues.
Do customers need to reset their passwords after a Magento to Shopify migration?
Yes. Magento's password encryption is not compatible with Shopify, so customer passwords cannot be transferred. Customers will need to reset their passwords on the new platform. This is standard for all Magento-to-Shopify migrations and should be communicated to customers as part of the launch plan.
