Why do businesses switch their eCommerce stores to new platforms, and should you do the same? Moving your website is a big choice that can be expensive and take a lot of time and effort. It has risks and requires your team to learn the new system and fix any problems.
However, staying with a platform that doesn’t work for your business can cost more in the long run. Prior to anything, weigh the costs and benefits to see if it's worth it. Reasons to upgrade include poor performance, outdated technology, business growth, and opportunities for increased efficiency with better automation, analytics, and content management.
Ecommerce store migration service includes smoothly migrating your store by eCommerce migration experts. In this blog, we will explain what you need to consider before migration and what steps need to be followed.
Things To Think About Before Changing Your E-commerce Platform
Your Business Goals
Think about why you want to change platforms. Are you adding new products, expanding to new areas, or fixing multiple issues? Make sure the new platform will improve your website’s design, functionality, and performance. Set clear goals and pick a platform that meets your needs now and can adapt to future changes.
Costs Involved
Moving to a new platform can be pricey, depending on how complicated the process is. Think about the costs of the new platform itself, moving everything over any time your website might be down, testing everything, launching the new website, keeping an eye on how well it’s doing, taking care of it, and teaching your team how to use it. Be careful planning your budget so you are not surprised by any costs.
Platform Features and Functions
Check out what new platforms offer compared to what you have now. Pick one that has what your business needs to run better and make your customers happier.
Integration with Existing Tools
Your current platform probably works with other tools like customer management, marketing, making sales, and taking payments. Make sure the new platform can work with these tools too. Check that they can all work together without any problems and that moving data between them is safe and happens automatically.
Your Team’s Skills
Switching platforms affects the whole company, not just the developers. Your marketing, stock management, designing, and content teams all need to be involved. Assure everyone has the skills needed to make the switch and adapt to the new system quickly.
Customer Support
Even with a great team, you will need strong customer support during the switch. Choose a platform that offers 24/7 support through email, phone, live chat, and tutorials. Good support will help solve issues quickly and keep your store running smoothly.
Best Time to Switch
The timing of your store migration can impact your sales and traffic. It’s best to do it during slow periods when your website has less traffic. This way, you can minimize downtime and fix any problems with less impact on your business.
Long-term Impact
Think about how the new platform will affect your business in the long run. Make sure it can handle future changes and growth. Choose a platform that meets your needs today and helps your business grow in the future.
So, move further toward the eCommerce site migration steps that you have to follow.
Ecommerce Store Migration: Steps That Need To Be Followed!
Here, we will explore each step in detail. Additionally, you can opt for a store migration service to avoid any issues during the migration.
List What You Need and Why
Start by making a list of what's missing in your current platform and what you want in a new one. Talk to different teams to find out what they need most. Also, think about how much everything will cost and how long it will take. Think about the good things that will happen from switching, but also think about the negative things. Make sure you think about the good and bad things so that you can make the right choice.
Talk to Everyone Involved
After you make your list, talk to each team more to find out exactly what they need. Also, talk to people who are interested to make sure everyone is getting what they want. Keep this information safe so you can use it when you pick a platform. You want to make sure everyone gets what they need, even if not everyone can get everything they want. The more you can give to your teams, the better they can do their jobs.
Make a Short List of Platforms
After you know what you need and what everyone wants, start looking for platforms. Make a short list of the platforms that could work for you, and sort them by features, costs, and more. Use a table or list to compare platforms, and pick the best ones for you. This will help you rank them based on your needs. The top platforms are Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, Wix, and so many other that are widely known for offering extensive customization and features.
Try Out Your Top Choices
After you have a short list of about 2 to 3 platforms, ask for a demo from each one. They can give you more details about their strengths and weaknesses. They will talk about how the change works, what you need to do to make it work, and how you can get ready for the change. By the end of the demo, you should have a better idea of how everything works, how easy it is to use, and how well it works.
Choose a Platform
After you have seen the demo, you will need to make a decision. Use the information you got from the demo to pick a final platform. Choose the one that gives you the most things you need and improvements for the best price. We think it is good to meet with the company you are thinking about more than once, to make sure that the customer service is good.
Save Old Store Data
Before you start to change platforms, make a copy of all your data from your store. You hope everything will work well, but it's better to be safe if something goes wrong. No matter how much you believe in the change, making a copy of your data will save you if something goes wrong.
Design Your New Store
Usually, you will finish making your store's design before you move your data. This means you can load it into the new design. You might want to keep some things from your old store's design, but now is also a good time to change your store. There are many ready-made designs that can be changed to fit your brand. You can also make your store from scratch with an eCommerce store developer.
Use a Service to Move Data
Moving your store’s data might not always be necessary. If you are able to transfer the data on your own, you can do it yourself. However, if you are using an app to switch from one platform to another, you might need to hire an eCommerce website migration service to assist with moving your store’s data. This is a good option if you are not familiar with the process. Be sure to choose a service that can move everything safely and accurately. We recommend selecting a service with experience in this type of migration.
Move Store Data
Once you have made your decision, you will need to transfer your data. You can handle this yourself, use an app for assistance, or hire a team to support you. This step involves moving information from your old store to your new one. It’s a good idea to make a backup copy of your old store’s data, such as products, customers, and orders, to avoid losing anything if there are any issues.
Optimize Checkout Speed
Before you start selling on your store, you need a platform to make orders and get paid. Choose a platform that makes it quick, safe, and easy to make orders. You should have a way to find and prevent fraud and accept more good orders.
Test Your New Store a Lot
Before you start your new store, make sure you test it a lot. To make sure everything functions properly, test it all. Test every page, button, and form to see if they work right. Test it from a business and customer view to see if it works right. Fix any mistakes you find.
Start Your New Store
When you are sure everything is working right, start your new store. Make it live and start selling things on it. After you start, keep testing to make sure everything keeps working right. Look at the numbers to see how your store is doing and make it better.
Tell Your Customers About Your New Store
After you start your new store, tell your old customers about it. Use email, social media, and more to tell them. Give them a link to make a new account and buy things in your new store. Make sure they know where to go to find you.
Keep Making Your New Store Better
After you start your new store, keep improving it. Look at the numbers and see how your store is doing. Find ways to make it easier for people to use. Keep changing and trying new things to improve your store.
Key Takeaways
Therefore, this blog explains the process of smoothly migrating your store to a better platform. While moving the site, it's crucial to keep track of multiple things to avoid getting out of the league. Also, hire an eCommerce store migration services provider agency, such as MakkPress Technologies, who can seamlessly migrate your store without encountering any errors.
MakkPress Technologies is the best agency to start with and optimize the results.
