Over the past decade, eCommerce has evolved beyond recognition. Many established retailers now find themselves running legacy platforms that have served them well but are starting to show their age. Whether you’re maintaining a mature Magento store, managing an increasingly complex Adobe Commerce installation, or working within the constraints of BigCommerce, the question of when to migrate inevitably arises.
According to BuiltWith, Shopify now powers over 6 million live websites worldwide. Many of them representing established brands that have made the move from other platforms. This trend isn’t happening by accident, it is reflecting a growing shift towards systems that balance cost efficiencies, functionality, ease of use and long-term sustainability.
At Williams Commerce, we’ve guided numerous retailers through successful platform migrations, and we understand that moving from a mature eCommerce set-up isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. The process involves careful consideration of technical requirements, business continuity and long-term strategic goals.
From a developer and project manager perspective, we know these projects aren’t just technical exercises, they’re strategic transformations.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the key factors that established eCommerce retailers must consider when evaluating a migration to Shopify, helping you make an informed decision about your platform’s future.
Why Established Retailers Are Migrating
Migration rarely stems from one single issue. More often, it’s a collection of small inefficiencies that, over time, begin to slow things down and limit growth. For many of the established retailers we work with, these challenges tend to fall into four clear areas.
Rising Technical Debt and Maintenance Burden.
Many established eCommerce sites, particularly those built on Magento 1 or early versions of Magento 2, have accumulated significant technical debt over the years. Custom modules, patches, and workarounds that seemed necessary at the time can create a maintenance burden that consumes an increasing portion of your development budget. Adobe Commerce, whilst powerful, often requires dedicated technical resources that many businesses struggle to maintain in-house.
Performance and User Experience Concerns
Modern consumers expect lightning-fast page loads and seamless mobile experiences. Older platform installations, especially those with extensive customisations, can struggle to meet current performance standards. Google's Core Web Vitals have made site speed a crucial ranking factor, resulting in platform performance being not just a user experience issue, but a competitive necessity.
Cost of Ownership Evolution
The total cost of ownership for complex eCommerce platforms extends far beyond licensing fees. When you factor in hosting requirements, security maintenance, plugin licensing, development resources, and ongoing updates, many retailers find their platform costs have grown substantially since their initial implementation.
Scalability and Growth Constraints
As businesses evolve, they often discover that their current platform constrains rather than enables growth. Whether it's limitations in handling product catalogues, difficulties with multi-channel selling, or challenges in implementing new features, platform constraints can become significant barriers to business development.
Understanding Shopify's Appeal for Established Retailers
Shopify’s growth among established retailers isn’t simply about following trends – it reflects genuine advantages that address many of the pain points experienced with traditional eCommerce platforms.
Managed Infrastructure and Reliability
One of Shopify’s most significant advantages is its fully managed infrastructure. The platform handles security updates, performance optimisation, and server management, allowing your team to focus on business growth rather than technical maintenance. For many established retailers, this shift from managing infrastructure to leveraging it represents a fundamental operational improvement.
Streamlined Operations
Shopify’s admin interface is designed for efficiency, offering a more intuitive experience than many traditional platforms. This usability extends beyond the admin panel to encompass everything from inventory management to order processing, potentially reducing training requirements and improving team productivity.
Built-in Mobile Commerce Excellence
With mobile commerce representing over 60% of online transactions in many sectors, Shopify’s mobile-first approach provides immediate advantages. The platform’s responsive themes and mobile-optimised checkout process often deliver superior mobile performance compared to older platform installations.
App Ecosystem and Extensibility
Shopify’s app store offers over 8,000 applications, providing functionality that often requires custom development on other platforms. This ecosystem approach can significantly reduce development costs whilst providing access to best-in-class solutions for specific business requirements.
Omnichannel Capabilities
For retailers operating both online and offline, Shopify’s point-of-sale integration and omnichannel features provide unified inventory management and customer data synchronisation that many established platforms struggle to deliver effectively.
Critical Migration Considerations
Successfully migrating an established eCommerce operation requires careful planning and consideration of multiple factors that could impact your business continuity and long-term success.
Take a look at how we help eCommerce businesses arrive at a platform selection.
Table: Key Considerations for a Shopify Migration
Category | Focus Area | Key Considerations & Insights |
Data Migration & Integrity | Customer Data & Order History | Preserving customer relationships is essential. Beyond basic account info, order histories, preferences, and loyalty data must be migrated accurately. Shopify’s import tools handle standard data well, but complex segmentation or custom fields may need bespoke development. |
| Product Catalogue Complexity | Established retailers often manage extensive catalogues with multiple variants and custom attributes. Shopify performs strongly with standard data, but highly customised structures may need adaptation or custom migration tooling. |
| Content & SEO Assets | Blog content, landing pages, and other assets require careful planning. Shopify’s CMS is robust but may need restructuring for complex hierarchies |
SEO & URL Structure Management | URL Structure Preservation | Protecting existing search rankings is critical. A detailed redirect strategy ensures URLs retain equity and domain authority throughout migration. |
| Technical SEO Considerations | Shopify’s SEO tools are strong but less granular than some enterprise platforms. Early identification of potential constraints allows time to implement effective workarounds. |
Integration Requirements | ERP & Business System Connectivity | Assess Shopify’s compatibility with existing ERP, accounting, and BI systems. Strong integration planning prevents data silos and ensures smooth operational continuity. |
| Third-Party Service Continuity | Payment gateways, shipping partners, marketing tools, and analytics integrations should all be reviewed. While Shopify supports most providers, bespoke services may need custom integration work. |
Performance & Functionality Assessment | Custom Functionality Evaluation | Many retailers rely on unique features built for their previous platforms. These should be reviewed to determine whether to rebuild, replace with an app, or remove entirely. |
| Performance Benchmarking | Setting clear pre-migration benchmarks allows success to be measured accurately. Track performance metrics such as load speed, conversion rate, and checkout completion to validate improvements. |
Planning & Timeline | Migration Phasing | Effective migrations rely on realistic timelines that consider seasonality and available resources. Typically: 8–12 weeks for planning and build, 2–4 weeks for execution, and 4–8 weeks for post-launch optimisation. |
| Planning & Build Phase (8-12 weeks)
| This phase involves detailed requirements analysis, platform configuration, theme development or customisation, and thorough testing. Established retailers should expect this phase to take longer than new implementations due to the complexity of replicating existing functionality. |
| Migration Execution (2-4 weeks)
| The actual data migration and cutover process requires careful orchestration to minimise business disruption. Planning this phase around your quieter trading periods can reduce the impact of any unforeseen issues. |
| Post-Migration Optimisation (4-8 weeks)
| After going live, established retailers typically require several weeks of optimisation to fine-tune performance, address user feedback, and implement improvements based on real-world usage patterns. |
Investment Considerations and ROI
Some of the best free Shopify apps include REZ Notify Me for back-in-stock alerts, Search & Discovery for product filtering, and Flow for workflow automation. These tools improve customer experience and efficiency without adding extra costs.
Migration Costs
Beyond the obvious development costs, migration projects typically include data migration services, theme development or customisation, third-party app subscriptions, and often some custom development work to replicate specific functionality.
Ongoing Operational Savings
Many established retailers find that Shopify’s managed approach significantly reduces their ongoing technical maintenance costs. However, this needs to be balanced against Shopify’s transaction fees and the potential monthly costs of required apps.
A quick summary of Shopify’s transaction fees
Shopify’s transaction fees depend on your plan and the payment method you choose. If you use Shopify Payments, you’ll only pay their standard card processing fees, typically between 1.5% and 2% + £0.25 per transaction, depending on your plan. Choosing an external gateway such as Adyen or Stripe adds an extra 0.6% to 2.0% Shopify transaction fee to your existing payment provider fee. Take a look at Shopify’s full pricing breakdown > Shopify’s Pricing
Performance Improvements and Revenue Impact
Improved site performance, better mobile experience, and enhanced conversion optimisation often deliver measurable revenue improvements that offset migration costs within the first year of operation.
Common Migration Challenges and Solutions
Learning from the experiences of other established retailers can help you avoid common pitfalls and plan more effectively.
Functionality Gaps and Workarounds
Not every custom feature from your existing platform will have a direct equivalent on Shopify. However, many retailers discover that some complex custom functionality can be simplified or replaced with more efficient standard approaches.
Team Training and Adaptation
Moving from complex platforms like Magento to Shopify’s streamlined interface often requires less training than expected, but planning for team adaptation and providing adequate training resources ensures smooth operational transition.
Customer Experience Continuity
Maintaining a consistent customer experience during migration requires careful attention to checkout processes, account access, and mobile experience. Planning customer communication about changes helps manage expectations and reduces support queries.
Making the Strategic Decision
Platform migration represents a significant strategic decision that extends far beyond technical considerations. The choice should align with your long-term business objectives, growth plans, and operational capabilities.
For many established retailers, Shopify offers a compelling combination of reduced technical overhead, improved performance, and enhanced scalability. However, businesses with highly specialised requirements or significant investment in custom platform functionality may find that other approaches better serve their needs.
The key is conducting thorough due diligence, understanding the full scope of migration requirements, and partnering with experienced specialists who can guide you through the complexities of platform transition.
Expert Support for Your Migration Journey
Over the last 15 years, the team here at Williams Commerce know that no two retailers are the same. Every migration tells a different story; different operational pressures, business ambitions, and technical landscapes. Our role is to help you navigate the complexity and turn it into progress.
We’ve delivered dozens of high-stakes eCommerce migrations, and our team brings both the technical know-how and the commercial perspective needed to make your move to Shopify a success. Whether you’re exploring your options, planning the finer details, or ready to take the first step, we’ll guide you through every stage with clarity and confidence.
Replatforming isn’t just about technology; it’s about setting your business up for the next chapter of growth. With the right planning and the right partner, migrations are hard work and take effort, but the rewards are fantastic and lasting. A well executed migration will help you achieve that next leap in growth, whilst simplifying operations, saving costs in the long-run and boosting performance.
Read our case-study on Fine Food Specialists evolution from Magento to Shopify.
If you’re thinking about Shopify, talk to us, we’ll help you evaluate your options and move forward with the right plan for your eCommerce business.
Contact the Williams Commerce Shopify Specialists Today, for a Free Non-Obligation Chat.
