Migrating to Shopify from BigCommerce

Our baseline migration includes products and variants (titles, descriptions, images, SKUs), categories and collections, product options and option sets, customer records, selected historical orders, site pages and content, navigation, and available SEO metadata. We also migrate prioritized blog content and any available social image metadata. Exact fields and volumes are confirmed during Discovery and documented in the SOW.

Time depends on catalog size, number of integrations, required custom features, and whether multiple storefronts are involved. Typical engagements for standard storefronts run several months. More complex migrations that include bespoke apps, heavy integrations or multiple storefronts may require additional time.

Costs vary with scope, integrations and design requirements. Project pricing ranges from mid-five figures for straightforward replatforms to larger budgets for enterprise programs that require custom apps, complex integrations or multi-store efforts. Discovery produces a firm scope and commercial proposal.

BigCommerce supports product options, option sets and modifier logic that often differs from Shopify variants. We model complex product types using Shopify variants, metafields/metaobjects and theme logic or, where necessary, lightweight custom apps so that option selection, inventory handling and cart representation match the business rules accepted by backend systems.

We create a URL mapping plan and implement 301 redirects for high-value product, category and content URLs. We migrate available SEO metadata and run pre-launch and post-launch crawls to remediate 404s. The Discovery phase determines the canonical structures to preserve organic visibility.

Customer records are migrated. Password hashes are typically non-portable between BigCommerce and Shopify. Standard practice is to migrate customer accounts without passwords and trigger a secure password reset or login invitation flow so customers can set new credentials. We document the customer experience and communicate timing to the client.

We migrate customer and order data according to the window agreed during Discovery. Clients commonly choose a rolling window such as the last 12–24 months, but other ranges are available. Order numbers can be preserved in many scenarios, but logistics and accounting reconciliation are planned in Discovery to avoid downstream issues.

Apps and server-side customizations on BigCommerce are not directly portable. We evaluate each capability and follow a native-first approach: use Shopify native features or vetted Plus apps when possible, and build custom apps when required to match business logic. Any major third-party or bespoke system that cannot be replaced is integrated via middleware or a custom connector.

Tokenized payment data and vaults rarely transfer between payment providers. Payment methods need to be reconfigured on Shopify. Customer payment tokens are generally not migratable and customers will need to re-enter or re-tokenize payment details when they next checkout or via secure re-tokenization flows.

Subscription platforms are vendor-specific. Subscription records, tokens and billing schedules require a provider-specific approach. We assess feasibility during Discovery and coordinate migrations with the subscription vendor or propose migration to a supported subscription platform on Shopify Plus.

BigCommerce Price Lists, Customer Groups and custom pricing patterns are mapped to Shopify Plus B2B primitives, Apps or custom app logic. We document required wholesale behavior in Discovery and implement mapped solutions that support catalog segmentation, net terms, approval workflows and contract pricing.

Enterprise multi-storefront patterns are evaluated in Discovery. Shopify Plus supports multi-market and multi-store strategies. Depending on the requirement, we may recommend a single Plus instance with Markets and localization, a headless approach, or multiple Shopify stores. We document tradeoffs for content duplication, global inventory and shared integrations.

Integrations are planned and scoped during Discovery. We commonly use middleware, ETL tools or custom connectors to synchronize inventory, pricing and orders with ERPs and PIMs, and to manage channel reconciliation for marketplaces. Responsibilities for reconciliation, error handling and rate limiting are defined in the SOW.

Shopify checkout is a SaaS-managed environment with platform constraints. Theme-level styling and supported checkout settings are included. Deep, server-side checkout customizations require separate scoping and may be addressed with Shopify Plus checkout extensibility, checkout apps or alternate UX patterns. Third-party checkout scripts that run in the storefront are evaluated for migration or replacement.

We deliver in phases: Discovery, Design and Development, QA and UAT, Launch, and hypercare. Hypercare and handoff training are part of the standard approach so operational teams can manage the storefront. We define launch readiness criteria, cutover plans and rollback contingencies in the SOW.

Typical exclusions include provider-specific BigCommerce server code, unsupported checkout engine modifications, fully custom theme builds without separate agreement, and large-scale BI or data warehousing replacements unless explicitly scoped. Any out-of-scope items are recorded in the SOW and handled via Change Order if requested later.