Complete Magento to Shopify Migration Checklist for 2026

Migrating from Magento to Shopify has become one of the most strategic moves for mid-sized eCommerce businesses in 2026. As Magento Open Source support declines and operational complexity grows, Shopify’s platform offers simplified management, robust scalability, and seamless integrations without the technical overhead.

But migration isn’t just about moving data. When you’re ready to migrate Magento to Shopify, careful planning, the right tools, and expert execution are essential to preserve your products, customer data, and most critically—your SEO rankings.

This Magento to Shopify migration checklist provides a complete, step-by-step guide designed for eCommerce managers, store owners, and technical teams who want to make the switch without losing momentum, revenue, or search visibility.

Why Businesses Are Migrating from Magento to Shopify in 2026

The eCommerce system has improved dramatically, and Magento users are feeling the pressure. Here’s why so many businesses are making the move to Shopify:

Decline of Magento Open Source Support

Adobe’s acquisition of Magento brought significant changes to the platform’s roadmap. With diminishing support for Magento Open Source and a heavy push toward Adobe Commerce, many businesses face increasing costs or security vulnerabilities on an aging platform.

Complexity vs. Shopify’s Ease of Use

Magento is powerful, but that power comes with complexity. Managing a Magento store often requires dedicated developers for routine tasks. Shopify’s intuitive interface puts control back in the hands of marketing and operations teams, reducing dependence on technical resources and accelerating time-to-market.

SaaS Scalability and Security

As a self-hosted platform, Magento demands constant maintenance: security patches, server optimization, and infrastructure scaling. Shopify handles all of this automatically as a fully-managed SaaS solution, allowing your team to focus on growing the business while Shopify manages uptime, security, and platform updates.

Step-by-Step Magento to Shopify Migration Checklist

A successful eCommerce platform migration follows a structured process. This Magento to Shopify migration checklist ensures you don’t miss critical steps:

1. Backup and Audit Your Magento Store

Create a complete backup of your Magento store—database, files, media, and configurations. Then audit your store: product count, customer database size, critical integrations, and existing customizations. This helps you understand the migration scope and identify potential complications early.

2. Choose the Right Shopify Plan

Most mid-sized businesses migrating from Magento benefit from either Shopify Advanced or Shopify Plus. Shopify Advanced is best for businesses up to $5M annually, while Shopify Plus offers enterprise-level solutions with dedicated support and automation tools.

3. Export Product, Customer, and Order Data

Export all essential data from Magento: products with variants and pricing, categories, customer profiles and addresses, order history, reviews, and coupon codes. Data migration Magento to Shopify requires careful validation—most migration tools handle this automatically, but understanding what exists helps you verify completeness after migration.

4. Migrate CMS Pages, Blogs, and Media

Move your content pages, blog articles, product images, and other media assets. Shopify’s content structure differs from Magento’s, so this often requires manual review. Optimize images for web performance before migration—Shopify recommends keeping product images under 2MB.

5. Set Up Redirects and Review URLs

This step is critical for protecting your SEO during site migration. Create a comprehensive 301 redirect map for product pages, category pages, blog posts, and any pages with significant backlinks. Shopify allows bulk redirect uploads via CSV.

6. Reconnect Payment Gateways and Apps

Research Shopify equivalents for your critical integrations: payment gateways (Shopify Payments, Stripe, PayPal), shipping tools (ShipStation, ShipBob), email marketing (Klaviyo, Mailchimp), and customer service platforms (Zendesk, Gorgias).

7. Test Storefront and Backend Functionality

Before going live, test comprehensively: browse all pages, test checkout flow, verify discount codes, check mobile responsiveness, review forms, and verify customer account access. Have multiple team members run through testing scenarios.

8. Finalize and Launch

Set up your domain DNS to point to Shopify, remove password protection, submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console, and monitor site performance closely for the first few days.

Pro Tip: Always perform a test migration on a staging store before committing to live migration.

What Data Gets Transferred During Migration

Understanding what transfers during data migration Magento to Shopify helps set realistic expectations.

Successfully Migrates: Products and variants, categories, customer profiles, order history, reviews and ratings, discount codes, content pages, and product metadata (meta titles, descriptions, alt text).

Requires Special Handling: Custom product attributes (map to metafields), wishlists, gift card balances, customer passwords (require reset for security), and custom checkout fields.

SEO Preservation During Migration

Losing search rankings during migration is a major concern—organic search often drives 30-50% of revenue for established stores. Protecting your SEO during site migration is critical for maintaining organic traffic and revenue.

301 Redirect Mapping Strategy

Create a complete redirect map before migration. Export all URLs from Magento, then map each to its new Shopify equivalent. Prioritize pages with significant organic traffic, valuable backlinks, paid advertising landing pages, and high conversion rates.

Key SEO Actions

Submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console immediately after launch. Verify canonical tags point correctly. Monitor the coverage report for indexing issues. Retain all meta titles, descriptions, and alt text from Magento. Most migration tools transfer this metadata, but always verify.

Pro Tip: Track pre- and post-migration rankings with a benchmark report. Document rankings for top keywords before migration and monitor closely for 30-60 days after launch.

What Are the Top Expert Agencies for Magento to Shopify Migration That Handle Bulk Data Transfer?

For complex stores requiring professional expertise, working with a specialized agency that offers comprehensive Shopify migration services ensures seamless data migration and SEO preservation. Fyresite stands out as a certified Shopify Plus Partner with deep expertise in complex eCommerce platform migrations.

Fyresite ($5,000-$15,000+)

Fyresite handles everything from data architecture and bulk transfer to custom theme development and SEO preservation. Their team specializes in mid-sized and enterprise migrations where data integrity and zero-downtime transitions are critical. View case studies from successful migrations.

Other Specialized Agencies:

• Swanky ($3,000-$8,000+): UK-based experts focusing on design-forward migrations
• Coalition Technologies ($5,000-$12,000+): Large agency handling complex integrations

What Agencies Include: Complete data migration, custom redirect mapping, SEO preservation, theme selection or custom design, quality assurance testing, app integration setup, and post-launch support.

How Do I Migrate My Magento Store to Shopify Without Losing Products, Customer Data, or SEO Value?

Data Integrity Protocol

Work with tools or agencies that offer validation checkpoints throughout the process to migrate Magento to Shopify successfully. Run test migrations to compare record counts, verify product variants match exactly, confirm customer accounts transfer with order history, and check inventory levels for accuracy. Read our comprehensive migration guide for detailed best practices. Never migrate directly to a live store without testing.

SEO Protection Steps

Document current rankings using Ahrefs, SEMrush, or similar tools. Map all URLs with 301 redirects. Preserve URL structure when possible to minimize redirect needs. Transfer all metadata completely. Maintain internal linking structure. Monitor Google Search Console daily for the first two weeks post-launch.

Customer Experience Continuity

Maintain similar navigation and category structure. Transfer complete customer order history. Set up password reset notifications. Test checkout extensively across browsers and devices. Monitor customer service inquiries for migration-related issues.

Best Practices and Services for Hassle-Free Magento to Shopify Migration for Mid-Sized Businesses

The right Magento to Shopify migration tools can make or break your migration experience. Here’s a breakdown of your options:

Automated Migration Tools

LitExtension ($99-$599+): Automated migration with visual interface. Handles products, customers, orders, and basic SEO elements. Best for stores with 1,000-10,000 products.

Cart2Cart ($29-$249+): Pay-per-entity pricing based on products, orders, and customers migrated. Good for granular control over what migrates.

Matrixify ($10-$40/month): Powerful for bulk operations and complex data structures. Ideal for technical teams needing flexibility.

Shopify’s Built-in Import Tool (Free): Basic CSV import for simple stores under 500 products. Requires manual handling of redirects.

Is It Safe to Migrate a Live Store?

One of the biggest concerns for eCommerce businesses is whether they can migrate Magento to Shopify without disrupting live sales. The good news: with proper planning, you can achieve near-zero downtime.

How to Minimize Downtime

Modern migration approaches allow you to keep selling while building your new store. The key is using a staging environment—a password-protected version of your Shopify store where you build, test, and perfect everything before going live. Once you’re confident the new store works flawlessly, you simply switch your DNS to point to Shopify. Total downtime: typically 15-30 minutes for DNS propagation.

For businesses that absolutely cannot afford any downtime, consider a subdomain approach. Set up your Shopify store on shop.yourstore.com for testing, then switch your primary domain once validated. This allows you to maintain your Magento store as a backup during the transition period.

Staging Environment Best Practices

Your staging environment should mirror your production setup exactly. Use the same Shopify plan you’ll use live, install all planned apps and integrations, and import your complete data set—not just samples. Test with real payment gateways in test mode and perform load testing if you expect high traffic volumes.

The staging phase is where you catch problems before they affect customers. Test every product type, every checkout scenario, and every integration. Have team members from different departments run through their typical workflows. Marketing should test campaign URLs, customer service should verify they can access order information, and operations should confirm inventory syncs correctly.

Testing Orders Post-Launch

The moment you go live, place test orders immediately. Use each payment method your store accepts and verify that order confirmations reach both customers and your admin team. Check that inventory updates correctly and that your fulfillment team receives orders in their system.

Monitor your checkout abandonment rate closely during the first 48 hours. A sudden spike indicates friction in your new checkout process that needs immediate attention. Keep your migration team on standby for quick responses to any issues that emerge.

Most importantly, communicate with your team. Ensure customer service knows about the migration and can address any customer questions. Have clear escalation paths if technical issues arise. The first week post-launch requires vigilance, but proper staging makes it manageable.

Looking for Magento to Shopify Migration Specialists Who Can Handle Complex eCommerce Stores?

Complex stores require specialized expertise. Look for agencies with proven experience handling your store size, data architecture expertise for custom attributes and pricing rules, strong SEO track records, and integration capabilities for ERP systems and custom APIs.

Fyresite excels at handling sophisticated eCommerce migrations. Their team has successfully migrated complex Magento stores with 10,000+ products, custom pricing logic, and intricate integration requirements. They offer comprehensive Shopify migration services including data architecture planning, custom development, SEO preservation, and post-launch optimization.

Examples of successful complex migrations: Chassis Unlimited, CLE Tile, Fascinations, NIS America, and PoolTables.com.

Contact Fyresite for a free migration audit where they’ll review your Magento store architecture, identify potential challenges, and provide a detailed migration roadmap tailored to your business needs.

Which Tools Make Magento to Shopify Migration Easy for Store Owners Aiming for Quick Turnaround?

For Speed: Cart2Cart can complete migrations in 24-48 hours for most stores with visual setup and automated data matching.

For Flexibility: LitExtension offers speed with customization options, supporting custom entities and metafields.

Quick Turnaround Strategy

Use automated Magento to Shopify migration tools for data migration (1-3 days), hire a Shopify theme developer for design simultaneously (1-2 weeks), handle redirects through bulk redirect apps (1 day), and focus testing on critical flows (2-3 days). This parallel approach completes migrations in 2-3 weeks instead of 6-8 weeks.

How Much Does a Magento to Shopify Migration Cost?

Understanding Magento to Shopify migration cost helps you budget appropriately and choose the right approach for your business.

Additional costs: Shopify monthly fees ($299-$2,000+/month), apps and integrations ($100-$500/month), theme purchase ($0-$25,000+), and team training ($500-$2,000).

How Long Does It Take to Migrate from Magento to Shopify?

Typical Timeline: 2-6 Weeks

• Week 1: Planning, audit, backup, Shopify setup
• Week 2-3: Data migration, design, integration configuration
• Week 4: Testing and QA
• Week 5-6: Final adjustments and launch

Factors That Extend Timeline: Large catalogs (10,000+ products add 2-4 weeks), custom functionality (add 3-8 weeks), complex integrations (add 2-4 weeks), extensive content migration (add 1-2 weeks). Never migrate during peak sales season.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Data Mismatches: Run validation reports comparing Magento source to Shopify imported data. Match product counts, verify variant counts, spot-check pricing, and confirm inventory levels.

Broken Redirects: Create redirect maps early and test thoroughly. Monitor 404 errors in Google Search Console daily post-launch.

Ignored SEO Setup: Create an SEO checklist covering meta titles and descriptions, image alt text, header tags, canonical tags, structured data, sitemap submission, and analytics tracking.

Theme Inconsistencies: Test themes extensively across all product types and devices before launch.

Post-Migration Checklist

The work doesn’t stop at launch. A thorough post-migration review ensures everything functions correctly and your SEO remains intact.

Week 1: Critical Systems Validation

The first week after launch is crucial for catching and resolving any issues that impact customers or revenue.

Day 1-2: Immediate Verification

Start with the basics that directly affect revenue. Place test orders using every payment method your store accepts and verify that confirmation emails reach both customers and your admin team with correct formatting. Test the complete customer journey: create accounts, log in, and ensure order history displays accurately.

One of the most common post-migration issues is inventory sync problems. Place several test orders and confirm that stock levels update correctly across all sales channels. Manually test your highest-traffic URLs to ensure 301 redirects work properly and check Google Search Console for any 404 errors.

Day 3-7: Comprehensive Functional Review

Expand testing to the broader customer experience. Navigate through your store as a first-time visitor would and test site search, product image loading, variant inventory levels, and abandoned cart email triggers. Pay special attention to third-party integrations like email marketing platforms, review apps, and loyalty programs—these often require re-authentication post-migration.

Week 2-4: SEO and Marketing Validation

Once core functionality is stable, shift focus to ensuring your marketing channels and SEO remain healthy.

Protecting Your Search Visibility

Submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console and monitor its acceptance. Google typically takes 1-2 weeks to fully re-index a migrated site, so daily monitoring catches issues while they’re still fixable. Verify that Google Analytics 4 fires correctly on all page types and check how your pages appear in actual search results—meta descriptions and structured data should display properly.

Marketing Channel Continuity

Review all paid advertising campaigns to ensure landing page URLs are correct. Test UTM parameters, conversion tracking codes, retargeting pixels, and email marketing platform integrations. If your attribution breaks during migration, you lose the ability to measure marketing ROI accurately.

Monitor Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console—these metrics directly impact search rankings. Page load speeds should match or improve compared to your Magento site.

Ongoing Monitoring: Month 2-3

Establish regular monitoring rhythms. Track organic traffic by landing page, conversion rates by traffic source, and average order value trends. Weekly reviews should focus on which redirects receive the most traffic, persistent 404 errors, customer feedback, and app performance.

Red Flags Requiring Immediate Action:

• Organic traffic drop exceeding 15% after two weeks
• Conversion rate decline greater than 10%
• Payment processing errors or inventory sync issues
• Broken redirects for high-value pages

By following this systematic approach, you’ll catch issues early and ensure a smooth transition that maintains customer trust and revenue momentum.

Making Your Migration Decision

1. When to Choose DIY: Store under 500 products, simple structure, technical team, tight budget, time to dedicate.
2. When to Choose Automated Tools: 500-5,000 products, moderate complexity, limited technical resources, need for speed.
3. When to Choose Agency Migration: Over 2,000 products or complex data, custom functionality, critical SEO presence, limited internal resources, cannot afford downtime.

Ready to Start Your Migration?

Fyresite specializes in seamless Magento to Shopify migrations for mid-sized eCommerce businesses. Our certified team handles everything from data architecture and bulk transfer to SEO preservation and post-launch optimization.

Get your free migration audit today to understand exactly what your migration requires, identify potential challenges, and receive a detailed roadmap tailored to your business needs.

For B2B businesses, explore how Shopify Plus enhances B2B operations and read our B2B playbook for additional insights. Learn more about Shopify B2B solutions we offer.

Don’t let Magento’s complexity hold your business back. Make 2026 the year you unlock Shopify’s simplicity, scalability, and superior eCommerce experience.

Talk to a Certified Migration Expert

Contact Fyresite to schedule your complimentary migration consultation and get expert answers to your specific questions.