Moving an ecommerce business from BigCommerce to Shopify is a significant project. While the basic concept may sound simple, a professional BigCommerce to Shopify migration service involves much more than transferring products BigCommerce Shopify migration services.
A complete migration may require product and customer data migration, order history transfer, theme development, URL redirects, SEO preservation, payment configuration, third-party integrations, testing, and post-launch support.
For businesses with a large catalog or complex ecommerce infrastructure, working with experienced migration specialists can reduce technical risks and make the transition more manageable.
What Are BigCommerce to Shopify Migration Services?
BigCommerce to Shopify migration services help businesses move their ecommerce operations from BigCommerce to Shopify or Shopify Plus.
A migration service may cover:
- Migration planning
- Store audits
- Product migration
- Customer migration
- Order migration
- Category migration
- Image migration
- Theme development
- SEO migration
- URL redirects
- App replacement
- ERP integration
- CRM integration
- PIM integration
- Payment configuration
- Shipping integration
- Testing
- Launch support
The exact scope depends on the complexity of the existing store.
Why Businesses Migrate from BigCommerce to Shopify
Businesses have different reasons for changing ecommerce platforms.
Store Management
Some businesses may prefer Shopify's administration experience and ecosystem.
App Ecosystem
Shopify provides access to a large ecosystem of applications and integrations covering marketing, analytics, subscriptions, loyalty, customer service, and more.
Customization
Shopify can be customized through themes, APIs, apps, and custom development.
Growth
Businesses can move to Shopify Plus when they require more advanced enterprise functionality.
Redesign Opportunity
A platform migration creates an opportunity to redesign the storefront and improve the customer experience rather than simply reproducing the existing website.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
A professional migration should begin with discovery and planning.
1. Ecommerce Store Audit
The first step is reviewing the existing BigCommerce store.
The audit can cover:
- Products
- Variants
- Categories
- Customers
- Orders
- Images
- Reviews
- Pages
- Blog content
- URLs
- SEO metadata
- Apps
- Payment systems
- Shipping
- Analytics
- Third-party integrations
This creates a complete picture of the existing ecommerce environment.
2. Migration Strategy
The migration team can then create a roadmap covering:
- Data to migrate
- Data to clean
- Shopify architecture
- Theme requirements
- Apps
- Integrations
- SEO requirements
- Testing
- Launch
This helps prevent unexpected issues later in the project.
Product and Catalog Migration
Product data is one of the most important parts of the migration.
Depending on the store, information may include:
- Product names
- Descriptions
- SKUs
- Prices
- Images
- Variants
- Categories
- Inventory
- Product attributes
A migration service should also review data quality.
For example, old products that are no longer sold may not need to be transferred to the new store.
Cleaning the catalog before migration can make the Shopify store easier to manage.
Customer Data Migration
Customer data may include:
- Names
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Addresses
- Customer groups
- Purchase history
Customer information must be handled carefully during migration.
Authentication also needs special consideration because customer passwords cannot simply be copied into Shopify like ordinary data fields.
The migration strategy should ensure customers have an appropriate method for accessing their accounts after launch.
Order Migration
Historical orders can be important for:
- Customer service
- Returns
- Reporting
- Accounting
- Business records
Depending on the requirements, migration may include:
- Order numbers
- Products
- Quantities
- Prices
- Customer information
- Shipping details
- Order dates
- Order status
Not every business needs every historical order moved into the new platform, so this should be determined during planning.
Theme Migration and Design
A BigCommerce theme cannot simply be installed on Shopify.
The storefront typically needs to be rebuilt or redesigned.
A professional migration service can recreate the existing brand identity while improving:
- Navigation
- Product pages
- Collection pages
- Search
- Mobile UX
- Cart
- Conversion elements
The migration can therefore become an opportunity for a complete ecommerce experience improvement.
App and Functionality Migration
BigCommerce applications don't automatically transfer to Shopify.
Every existing application should be reviewed.
The migration team should determine whether the functionality should be:
- Replaced with a Shopify app
- Replaced with native Shopify functionality
- Custom-developed
- Removed
This prevents businesses from unnecessarily duplicating outdated functionality.
Integration Migration
Larger ecommerce businesses often depend on several external systems.
Common integrations include:
- ERP
- CRM
- PIM
- Inventory
- Shipping
- Accounting
- Email marketing
- Customer support
- Reviews
- Loyalty
Some systems have Shopify integrations, while others may require custom APIs.
A professional migration should map these connections before the BigCommerce store is switched off.
Codilar's Shopify services include integrations with ERP, CRM, PIM, marketing platforms, and other business systems.
SEO Migration
SEO preservation should be one of the highest priorities.
Changing ecommerce platforms can change URL structures and page architecture.
A professional migration should create a URL mapping:
Old BigCommerce URL → New Shopify URL
Appropriate 301 redirects should then be implemented.
SEO work can also include:
- Page titles
- Meta descriptions
- Canonical URLs
- Heading structures
- Image alt text
- Internal links
- Structured data
- XML sitemap
- Robots directives
The objective is to minimize organic traffic disruption.
Data Validation
After migration, the new Shopify store should be compared with the original BigCommerce store.
Important checks include:
- Product counts
- Customer counts
- Order records
- Images
- Variants
- Prices
- Inventory
- Categories
For large catalogs, automated comparison tools can help identify missing or inconsistent records.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
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Professional migration services should include extensive testing.
Product Testing
Check:
- Product pages
- Variants
- Pricing
- Images
- Inventory
Customer Testing
Check:
- Registration
- Login
- Customer accounts
- Addresses
- Order history
Checkout Testing
Check:
- Cart
- Discounts
- Payments
- Taxes
- Shipping
- Order confirmation
Integration Testing
Check:
- ERP
- CRM
- Inventory
- Shipping
- Marketing
SEO Testing
Check:
- Redirects
- Canonicals
- Metadata
- Internal links
- Sitemap
- Indexability
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
1
The final launch requires careful coordination.
Before switching to Shopify, complete:
- Final data synchronization
- Domain configuration
- DNS changes
- Redirect activation
- Payment testing
- Analytics verification
- Tracking verification
- Inventory synchronization
The original BigCommerce environment should remain available during the transition in case historical information needs to be referenced.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
2
Migration shouldn't end when Shopify becomes live.
The first few weeks are particularly important.
Monitor:
- Organic traffic
- Rankings
- 404 errors
- Redirects
- Conversion rates
- Revenue
- Checkout issues
- Inventory
- Page performance
- Customer behavior
Google Search Console and analytics platforms should be checked regularly for unexpected changes.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
3
Reduced Technical Risk
Experienced teams understand common migration issues involving data, integrations, URLs, and ecommerce functionality.
Better Planning
A structured migration plan reduces the chance of missing important components.
SEO Protection
Professional URL mapping and redirect implementation can help protect existing organic visibility.
Faster Implementation
Specialized migration teams can often work through complex technical requirements more efficiently.
Custom Functionality
Businesses can rebuild functionality that doesn't have a direct Shopify equivalent.
Post-Launch Assistance
Support after launch can help identify and resolve unexpected technical or SEO problems.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
4
Professional help becomes particularly valuable when a store has:
- Thousands of products
- Large customer databases
- Significant order history
- Custom functionality
- Multiple integrations
- International markets
- Complex SEO architecture
- Multiple storefronts
- ERP or PIM systems
A small store with a simple catalog may be able to complete much of the migration internally.
A large enterprise store can benefit significantly from specialist migration support.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
5
There is no fixed price.
The cost depends on:
- Product volume
- Customer volume
- Order history
- Theme complexity
- Custom functionality
- Number of apps
- Integrations
- SEO requirements
- International stores
- Testing requirements
- Shopify plan
A basic migration can be relatively straightforward, while an enterprise migration may involve extensive development and integration work.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
6
Before hiring a migration partner, evaluate:
App Ecosystem
0
Look for experience with BigCommerce and Shopify migrations.
App Ecosystem
1
The team should understand APIs, data structures, integrations, themes, and Shopify development.
App Ecosystem
2
Migration isn't only a development project. SEO expertise is important for protecting organic visibility.
App Ecosystem
3
Ask whether the team has experience with ERP, CRM, PIM, inventory, and shipping systems.
App Ecosystem
4
A professional partner should have a clear testing and validation process.
App Ecosystem
5
Ask what support is available after the store goes live.
What Does a Professional Migration Include?
7
A successful BigCommerce to Shopify migration service should cover the entire ecommerce ecosystem rather than focusing only on product imports.
Product data, customer information, order history, themes, apps, integrations, SEO, payments, shipping, analytics, and inventory all need to be considered.
Professional migration services can be particularly valuable for businesses with large catalogs, complex integrations, custom functionality, or significant organic traffic.
The migration should also be viewed as an opportunity to improve the store.
Businesses can use the move to clean product data, simplify navigation, improve mobile UX, optimize performance, introduce better personalization, and remove unnecessary technology.
The ultimate goal is a Shopify store that preserves the value of the existing BigCommerce business while providing a stronger foundation for future ecommerce growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
App Ecosystem
6
They are professional services that help businesses transfer their ecommerce store from BigCommerce to Shopify, including data, design, SEO, integrations, testing, and launch support.
App Ecosystem
7
Depending on the migration requirements, products, variants, customers, orders, images, categories, and other relevant ecommerce data can be transferred.
App Ecosystem
8
No. BigCommerce and Shopify use different theme architectures. The storefront generally needs to be rebuilt or redesigned for Shopify.
App Ecosystem
9
BigCommerce apps don't automatically transfer. Their functionality must be replaced with Shopify-native functionality, a Shopify app, or custom development.
Customization
0
Yes. Proper URL mapping, 301 redirects, metadata preservation, internal linking, canonical configuration, and post-launch monitoring can help minimize SEO disruption.
Customization
1
The timeline depends on catalog size, customer and order data, theme complexity, integrations, custom functionality, SEO requirements, and testing.
Customization
2
Pricing varies according to the size and complexity of the store, amount of data, custom functionality, integrations, SEO requirements, and migration scope.
Customization
3
Smaller and mid-sized businesses may find standard Shopify sufficient, while larger businesses with advanced customization, multiple markets, complex operations, or enterprise requirements may benefit from Shopify Plus.