Expect Effortless Migration and Limitless Growth with Shopify!
The eCommerce world keeps evolving; nothing is permanent. Strategies and approaches that worked till yesterday might become obsolete and don’t add value to your business. A recent study conducted by Boston Consulting Group has revealed that global eCommerce sales are anticipated to make up 41% of global retail sales by 2027, a noticeable increase from its share of just 18% a decade.
This colossal figure reflects the importance of choosing the right eCommerce platform for your online business. A few big names have become popular, including Shopify and BigCommerce. However, as you upscale your business, your store’s requirements may change, causing a wish to replatforming.
You are looking for an eCommerce platform that offers more scalability and flexibility. And what could be the better option than Shopify regarding the robustness and scalability? This blog outlines a step-by-step guide and methods for a smooth BigCommerce to Shopify migration, ensuring your online store continues to bloom in a crowded digital landscape.
Overview of BigCommerce and Shopify
BigCommerce is a powerful eCommerce platform that offers modern features and functionalities to help businesses launch and manage their online operations effectively. BigCommerce, with its scalability and user-friendliness, has set it apart from other eCommerce platforms.
Introduced by Eddie Machalaani and Mitch Harper in 2009, BigCommerce is one of the leading platforms that allow businesses to cater to the modern-day consumer’s needs.On the other hand, Shopify is the most popular eCommerce platform that allows anyone to launch an online business, offering modern functionalities to manage, build and grow online stores.
Launched in 2006, Shopify has come a long way, holding a
16.93% market share and offering a fully loaded pack of business management tools and much more so that entrepreneurs can concentrate on expanding their business in the saturated market.Now, you have a clear idea about the platform’s basic functionality and what they offer. The following sections will break down the BigCommerce to Shopify migration process. We have covered everything from importing data to setting up your Shopify store.
Methods of BigCommerce to Shopify Migration
As mentioned above, it is believed that migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify is a complex process, but moving with your whole family would involve much more work than moving into a furnished apartment alone. You still have a few methods to make this migration smooth and seamless.
1. Do It Yourself
All the steps during the BigCommerce to Shopify migration process will be performed manually with this migration method. Moreover, ensure that this method is highly tedious for the non-technical person. This approach can take longer, and you may also make various mistakes.
Crucially, BigCommerce is set up so you can only export customer and product data automatically. Other types of data will require manual copying and pasting. Similarly, the Shopify CSV import technique does not allow you to upload your product images.
2. Hire a Migration Expert
Using the Shopify Migration Service from BigCommerce and Shopify experts like WebyKing proves to be the best choice. This is the process by which a store moves from Bigcommerce to Shopify, and it is essentially the same as granting authority to a third party for data transfer. For store owners who are not tech-savvy, this is a good substitute.
Your spending on a total cost will cover assistance from developers, leveraging one’s expertise and knowledge concerning the two platforms, BigCommerce and Shopify. They will transfer data accurately, but unlike before, it will happen quickly and without issues so that you can focus on the business’s core operations.
3. Automated Migration
Using third-party migration software, you can move your store from BigCommerce to Shopify automatically. Because automated migration is more efficient and reduces the possibility of loss or errors throughout the process, it can be a good choice for stores with large amounts of data.
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Steps for BigCommerce to Shopify Migration
Regardless of the method you mentioned, there are specific steps to get better results. Here’s a step-by-step guide to migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify.
1. Back-Up and Export Data
Before even considering making any changes to your store, the first thing to do is to back up your data in BigCommerce. This includes product data, customer details such as name, contact details, past order history, etc.
How to Backup Data from BigCommerce:- To begin, you must be logged into your BigCommerce admin panel.
- Click Store Settings at the bottom of the page, then click on the Export button.
- Store your product, customers, orders and categories in CSV files Ctrl + shift + s.
- This will serve as your backup and assist you in the data transfer process in the Shopify store.
Also, make sure that you back up other forms of data like product images, videos, and any downloadable content. This way, no data is deleted in the migration process and additional backup is always helpful.
2. Create a Shopify Account
After backing up and exporting your data, creating or registering your Shopify account only takes a couple of minutes. If you don’t have yet, follow the below-mentioned steps such as:
Source: Themeisle
- Visit the official Shopify website and select “Start the free trial “.
- Enter your email address, create a password, and enter your store name.
- Follow the instructions on this page to create a new account.
- New users can use the trial version of Shopify for 14 days without payment for the full use of the platform.
This will take you to the Shopify home once your account has been created / If you’re done registering, go to your admin panel.
3. Choose a Shopify Theme
Shopify offers numerous free and paid templates which will help to change the face of your store and make it look more up-to-date. Picking a suitable theme is essential when setting up your store as it can enhance the look and help the visitors navigate better.
- In the Shopify admin panel, click on the online store and then select the tab “themes“.
- Explore the Shopify’s theme store. Moreover, themes can be sorted based on the industry, style, and cost. Choose the one that would be suitable for your business.
- After ascertaining the Theme, go to the next option and click Add Theme to apply the Theme in the store.
- Customise the Theme by clicking on Customize. You can adjust the colour scheme, fonts, and layout to match your branding.
Just be sure to make your Theme look clean; this Theme should not hinder your customer’s shopping experience significantly. Make sure it is optimized for mobile devices because more than 65% of eCommerce traffic comes from smartphones.
4. Import Data to Shopify
That means your Shopify account is set up, and you have chosen a theme – now it’s time to import your data from BigCommerce. You’ll need to migrate products, customers, orders, and other important content you backed up earlier.
How to import data:- To make this process easier, Shopify has a built-in import tool.
- Nevertheless, when you transfer a large amount of data, you may need third-party applications like Cart2Cart, LitExtension, etc.
- For products and customers, you can import them directly through Shopify’s Import Store feature under Settings > Import Data.
- If your data is in CSV format (which should be from the BigCommerce export), simply upload the files to the designated sections.
- For instance, post the product CSV to Product and, likewise, to Customer as the second CSV.
Cross-check the imported data to ensure everything is perfect, including product images, description, costing and customer details.
5. Setup 301 Redirects
Another essential point people shouldn’t skip after launching their store on Shopify is 301 redirects. Such redirecting significantly makes it possible for the user who once visited a specific old BigCommerce URL to be redirected to the new Shopify store. It helps avoid broken links and retains your URL SEO rankings.
How to Set Up 301 Redirects?- Shopify admin panel > selling option > Go to online store > Navigation.
- Choose URL redirects and click on Add URL redirect.
- In the Old URL box, input the old BigCommerce URL that you used before from your backup, and input the new Shopify URL in the New URL box.
- Save the redirect. Do the same for all significant URLs.
This will guarantee customer satisfaction and your search engine rankings remain stable as you proceed to the next process.
6. Preview and Monitor Your New Store
Still, when your website is in the Shopify store, it is wise to take some days to preview and debug all elements. This is the time to address all problems before your customers point them out.
What to preview:- Test your website’s speed. Ensure all pages take very little time to load because the customer will navigate away if a page takes too long.
- Significant amounts of small-text images – ensure that all products have respective photos, descriptions, and prices.
- Make a trial order to ensure all the checkout processes, payment options, and shipping estimations are okay.
- Test mobile responsiveness. Many people now shop with the help of mobile devices, meaning your web store should be accessible to them.
That way, any issues that could prevent a customer from having an easy time navigating through your site can be fixed.
7. Review and Support
You will also need to review and closely monitor all the operations to identify and resolve any issues that may arise. You won’t encounter any problems if you carefully perform the above steps. However, it is better to consult a migration expert to overcome the situation if you do.
Below are some of the problems you perhaps face:- Fail to import some customer’s data
- Imported products that were not published
- Incomplete product details
- Changes in product images
- Changes in content or product images
Real-World Success Stories of BigCommerce to Shopify Migrations
Migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify has become a strategic play for many businesses in search of scaling efficiently. Below are some inspiring success stories from brands that have successfully made this move and reaped considerable benefits from making the switch.
Allbirds: Seamless Transition to Shopify Plus
The sustainable footwear brand, Allbirds, has migrated to Shopify Plus to streamline its operations and enhance the user experience. This move helped the company scale up quickly, integrate with advanced marketing tools, and expand its global reach, all while maintaining a strong brand identity.
Chubbies: Boosting Performance with Shopify
Chubbies is a men’s lifestyle brand known for its shorts. It found it hard to achieve flexibility through BigCommerce, hence it decided to switch to Shopify. The migration allowed Chubbies to optimize their speed, improve customer experience, and significantly increase their online sales.
Gymshark: Revolutionizing eCommerce on Shopify
Fitness apparel brand Gymshark relocated from BigCommerce to Shopify to utilize Shopify’s vast design capabilities and scalability. This enabled Gymshark to better engage customers, expand its reach internationally, and tap into Shopify’s strong app ecosystem for growth and personalization.
Kylie Cosmetics: Online Sales Growth
The beauty brand founded by Kylie Jenner, Kylie Cosmetics, transitioned from BigCommerce to Shopify Plus to accommodate massive spikes in traffic and international growth. The move aided them in their high-volume sales while offering integrations, payment options, and a smooth shopping experience to customers.
The success stories mentioned above illustrate how Shopify’s scalability, rich features, and customization options empower brands across industries to grow and succeed in today’s increasingly competitive eCommerce landscape.
Switching to Shopify from BigCommerce with WebyKing
Migrating your online store from BigCommerce to Shopify can be challenging, but it is entirely manageable with the right approach and attitude. Following the above steps, you can easily migrate BigCommerce to Shopify and ensure zero downtime to your ongoing business.
However, find yourself facing difficulties or feeling overwhelmed at any stage of the migration process. You can reach out to us because we have expertise and experience in offering top-notch Shopify migration services that ensure the long-term success of your online store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does moving from BigCommerce to Shopify affect SEO rankings?
Yes. Proper planning and URL redirections are necessary to maintain SEO rankings. However, you can also follow certain strategies that minimize negative impacts on SEO and help you manage stores seamlessly.
How long does the migration process take?
Well, it depends on the complexity of your store. If your store consists of multiple products and you want to customize it entirely as per your brand preferences, it takes a minimum of 2-3 months.
How much does Shopify cost?
Shopify offers different pricing plans. The basic plan starts from $29/ month, offering necessary features for small businesses. You can also start with the 14-day free trial plan to test the platform.
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