Migrating to a new store can be difficult for numerous reasons, such as poor performance, ineffective hosting provider, features, etc. Prior to migration, you have to do multiple things, such as choosing the right platform to migrate, setting up a new domain, creating a product catalog, and so on.
Shopify migration experts are helpful for seamless migration. Additionally, this blog will explore the reasons for migrating to Shopify and how to finish the migration without any issues.
Why Migrate To Shopify?
These are the reasons for choosing Shopify over others to switch your eCommerce platform.
User-Friendly Experience
Shopify is designed to be easy for everyone, even if you are not a technical expert. Its clean interface and drag-and-drop features make setting up and managing an online store straightforward. Focusing on business growth instead of getting bogged down in technical issues is possible.
Scalable Solutions
As your business grows, Shopify grows with you. It offers various pricing plans and features made for businesses of all sizes. Whether you are a small startup or a large enterprise, you can easily adjust your plan based on your evolving needs. This way, you only pay for what you actually require.
Mobile Optimization
Having a website that looks great on smartphones and tablets is essential. Shopify optimizes your store automatically for mobile devices.. So whether customers are browsing or making a purchase on the go, they will have a seamless experience. To create a mobile optimized website, hire professional Shopify developer from MakkPress Technologies as developers can help better with it.
Security
Shopify takes care of security and hosting. Your store is always online and protected from cyber threats. Regular software updates and adherence to PCI compliance standards give you peace of mind. Thus, Shopify is best for security.
Customizable Designs
Shopify offers a wide range of beautiful themes that you can customize. Craft a distinctive and polished online storefront mirroring your brand's essence. You can even modify the code to tailor the design exactly to your preferences, providing a cohesive and engaging shopping experience.
Marketing and SEO Tools
Shopify has tools to help you market your products and improve your website's visibility. These tools include features for email marketing and social media integration. They make it easier for you to reach your target audience and boost sales.
Cart Abandonment Solutions
If customers leave items in their shopping carts without buying, Shopify can automatically send them emails to remind them to complete their purchase. This helps reduce the number of abandoned carts and increases your sales.
App Integrations
Shopify's app store and integrations with other services let you add extra features to your store. You can connect with tools like accounting software and shipping services to improve your store's functionality and meet your business needs. Shopify virtual assistant knows which app is necessary for business as per their brand requirements.
Support
Shopify offers customer support through phone, email, and live chat. This means you can get help whenever you need it, whether you are new to online selling or facing technical challenges. Having continuous support can be crucial for running your store smoothly.
Thus, these are the advantages of switching to Shopify from your current platform. Now, move further toward the process of migration.
How To Migrate To Shopify?
Here, we will explain every step you need to follow for Shopify, eCommerce store migration.
Safeguard Data Backup
Before migrating your website, make a backup of everything. This ensures your existing site stays up during the process, so you don't lose sales or disappoint customers. Once backed up, export all your data, like products, customers, and orders. This will make the migration to Shopify smoother.
Enroll with Shopify
Follow these steps to successfully set up your Shopify new account.
Sign Up: Go to the Shopify website and sign up for a free trial. You will need an email address, a password, and a unique store name.
Choose Your Plan: Decide if you are fully committed or just exploring. Jump into a paid subscription or start with a three-day free trial. Most people find the Basic or Shopify package suitable. The Basic plan costs $39/month, while Shopify is $105/month. If you have a larger store, go for the Advanced subscription.
Follow the Prompts: As you sign up, you will get prompts. For example, if you are already selling online, it might ask if you are moving an existing site to Shopify. The questions adapt based on your answers.
Set Up Details: Configure your administrative settings, staff accounts, billing information, and other basics.
Transfer Data to Shopify
After setting up your account, you can bring in your old data. You need to import each type of content separately. There are different options for each. For some things, like landing pages, you might just copy and paste the content. Or you can move data using CSV files, but just for customer info and products. CSV files don't include passwords. Go to your dashboard and pick Products from the sidebar. Then click Import under All Products. If you have developers, you can use an API to import data. But for most, that's too hard. Start with products, customers, and orders first. This way you have full customer history.
Organize Product Listings
Don't assume everything moved over perfectly after importing data. You still need to check everything is right. Sometimes the CSV doesn't match Shopify's import rules. Double check things like product descriptions, variants, meta descriptions, and images. From here, you can create collections to group similar products into categories. There are two types: manual or automated. Manual means adding each product one-by-one. Automated lets you group products based on conditions like price, tags, color, sales. After making collections, you can add them to your store's menu. This helps customers find different product groups easily.
Establish Domain Integration
To set up your Shopify domain, you can either buy a new one or transfer your existing domain. Buying from Shopify is easiest, but you can also connect a domain you already own. This lets you eliminate any subdomains and have a clean, professional URL for your online store.
Enable Payment
To start receiving payments on Shopify, you can use Shopify Payments or a third-party provider. Shopify Payments is built-in and easy to set up, while third-party options are also available. The processing rates vary depending on your plan, with higher-tier plans offering lower transaction fees. Choosing the right payment method is crucial for your ecommerce business's success. Shopify migration experts can help you with it.
Setup Sales Tax
Setting up sales tax on Shopify is straightforward and crucial for compliance. Different locations have varying tax laws, and Shopify can automatically apply tax rates based on shipping zones. This ensures you meet tax obligations, especially if shipping to multiple states. Integrating an accounting app from the Shopify Marketplace can help you manage taxes efficiently throughout the year.
Launch your Site
Now, you can make your website live. Point your domain to your Shopify store by editing DNS settings with your domain registrar. Shopify has a video explaining this. The changes take a few hours as DNS servers don't update right away. So you and others may see different things at first, this is normal. Do it when traffic is lowest, like 2-5 AM if you are US-based.
Deactivate Outdated Website
Don't rush to shut down your old website. Wait at least a month to ensure the transition to Shopify is smooth. You may want to keep some old content, like blog posts, for a while. Once you are confident the new site is working well, you can cancel the old subscription, and the platform will power it down for you.
Concluson
Therefore, in this blog, we have explained the reasons for migrating to Shopify and how you can completely migrate all your data to Shopify without having any issues. Additionally, hire Shopify migration experts from MakkPress Technologies, a well-known eCommerce marketing and migration company. MakkPress is widely known for switching stores from their current platform to Shopify. Additionally, MakkPress and Shopify are partnered to build multiple tools to make the branding process more efficient and smooth.
