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How Shopify Migration Handles Product and Customer Data
- Kishan Mehta
- Jul 8
- 6 min read
Moving to Shopify is a smart decision for businesses looking to improve their online presence. But migrating your store involves more than just changing platforms. Transferring product and customer data accurately is critical. That’s where professional Shopify migration services come in.
A smooth migration helps protect your existing customer relationships and product listings. It also keeps your store active in search rankings and maintains operational flow. In this blog, you’ll learn how migration experts handle each data type, what tools they use, and how they reduce errors. You’ll also find out how they support store owners through pre-migration, launch, and post-launch stages.
What Happens Before the Data Migration?
Before any data transfer begins, the migration team conducts a full review of your existing store. This step helps them identify which data must move and what should stay behind.
Key activities include:
Checking your product inventory
Reviewing customer lists
Backing up current data
Setting up a temporary staging store on Shopify
Doing this upfront prevents confusion or data loss later. It also allows for testing before anything goes live.
Preparing Product Data for Transfer
Product data often forms the largest portion of your store's content. Each item must be transferred correctly to prevent broken listings or checkout errors.
A typical product record includes:
Title and description
SKU and barcode
Price and tax settings
Weight and shipping information
Images and image alt text
Product type and tags
Inventory levels and tracking
Variants (like color or size options)
During migration, each of these fields needs to be mapped correctly. If your previous platform stored data differently, adjustments will be made so Shopify can display it without issues.
For instance, some platforms use custom fields. These fields are matched with Shopify’s standard format or saved using metafields. Doing so keeps your store organized.
Product Categories and Collections
Platforms like WooCommerce or Magento use categories, while Shopify uses collections. Shopify migration experts convert these structures accordingly.
Smart collections (automated) and custom collections (manual) are created during this process. Tags help filter products within collections and give your store a better structure.
If your old store had sub-categories, these can also be turned into tags or nested menus on Shopify.
Handling Product Images
Image quality plays a big role in how your store looks. That’s why migration services focus on keeping your product images intact.
Key tasks include:
Downloading images from the original platform
Renaming files if needed for SEO
Uploading them to Shopify’s file system
Associating each image with the correct product or variant
If image links were hosted externally, they are converted to Shopify-hosted links during migration. This step avoids image breakage after launch.
What About Product Reviews?
Customer reviews build trust and boost conversion. Shopify migration services move reviews from your current platform to review apps on Shopify like Judge.me, Loox, or Ali Reviews.
The migration process includes:
Moving customer names and ratings
Keeping the date and review content
Associating the review with the correct product
Re-importing verified purchase status (if applicable)
Doing this correctly helps preserve trust built through customer feedback.
Customer Data Migration
Customer data is equally important. It includes personal details, purchase history, account status, and saved addresses.
Fields typically migrated include:
Full name and contact details
Email addresses
Phone numbers
Billing and shipping addresses
Total order count
Lifetime customer value
Account creation date
This data allows you to maintain communication and offer personalized experiences to existing customers.
Passwords and Customer Access
Passwords cannot be transferred directly because they are encrypted. Most migration experts handle this by importing accounts without passwords and prompting users to reset them.
Here's how the process works:
Customers receive an email with a password reset link
After clicking the link, they create a new password
Their account becomes active again on the new store
To make this smooth, you can customize the email to explain why the reset is needed.
Preserving Purchase History
Many business owners want to maintain order history. Shopify supports importing past orders, though this process has some limitations.
Typically, Shopify migration teams import:
Order numbers
Date and time
Order value and status
Items purchased
Shipping details
Payment method
This history helps track customer behavior and supports your accounting team.
Choosing the Right Tools for Migration
Professional services use a mix of manual processes and tools. These help reduce errors and save time.
Some widely used tools include:
Matrixify (formerly Excelify)
Cart2Cart
LitExtension
Shopify's native import/export functions
Each tool supports different platforms and file types. Manual adjustments are often required, especially for custom fields or large catalogs.
Managing SEO During Migration
Good migration doesn't stop at moving data. It also focuses on preserving search rankings.
To avoid losing traffic, Shopify migration experts:
Create 301 redirects for old product URLs
Maintain page titles and meta descriptions
Keep image alt text and schema tags
Set up the correct robots.txt and sitemap
They also review broken links, which can hurt SEO after migration if not handled correctly.
Testing the New Store Before Launch
Testing allows you to catch functional and layout issues before customers interact with your site. Every element, from checkout flow to search filters, is checked carefully. This phase helps avoid technical problems after going live. Before making the new store public, testing is critical.
Here's what’s tested:
Product display and filters
Shopping cart and checkout
Customer account creation
Order placement and confirmation emails
Mobile and desktop layouts
This phase helps catch issues that might frustrate buyers or hurt conversions.
Final Steps Before Going Live
This stage covers the final setup of your store, including domain configuration and payment settings. The team double-checks key pages, installs tracking tools, and sends announcements to customers. These steps prepare the store for a stable launch. Once everything is confirmed, the team proceeds with:
Switching your domain DNS to point to Shopify
Setting up Shopify Payments or your chosen gateway
Sending announcement emails to customers
Checking analytics and tracking codes
Connecting your apps, integrations, and marketing tools
This final checklist helps prevent disruptions during your live launch.
Handling Post-Migration Support
After launch, some small issues may appear, such as missing images or account access problems. Post-migration support helps resolve these quickly. It also covers sync for any pending data from your old platform. After going live, Shopify migration offers support to resolve any remaining issues. This includes:
Reviewing product or customer data mismatches
Updating design elements if needed
Troubleshooting customer login issues
Syncing new orders from the old platform during a short overlap
Ongoing support helps store owners feel confident and prepared.
Common Issues and How Experts Handle Them
Some problems are common in migration, such as broken links or incorrect product options. Shopify migration experts fix these using custom scripts and manual reviews. Their experience avoids long-term issues that could affect store performance.
1. Missing Product Variants: Sometimes platforms store variants differently. Migration services write custom logic to correct them.
2. Duplicate Records: Duplicate SKUs or customer entries are resolved with deduplication techniques.
3. Broken Links: Old product URLs that no longer exist are redirected or replaced.
4. Customer Logins Fail: Password reset workflows are tested before launch to avoid account recovery issues.
Bonus: Keeping Customer Trust During Migration
Customer experience should remain smooth throughout the transition. Inform users about changes and guide them through any login or navigation updates. Clear communication helps maintain trust and reduces confusion. Transparent communication is key. Informing users about the change and guiding them through login steps builds trust.
Tips include:
Clear banners on the website
Email newsletters about the new platform
FAQs on account login and order tracking
Quick links to contact support
Why Choose CartCoders for Your Shopify Store Migration?
CartCoders delivers full-service Shopify migration with attention to every detail. Our team manages product listings, customer data, SEO, and backend tasks with care.
We support migrations from WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Squarespace, and more. Our team tests everything before launch and provides support after going live.
We offer:
Clean data migration without loss
SEO-friendly redirects
App and theme setup
Mobile-ready Shopify themes
Secure customer data handling
Post-launch store health checks
Need help moving to Shopify without headaches? CartCoders can support your journey from start to finish.
Conclusion
Shopify migration plays a vital role in preserving your store’s product and customer data. These services handle the entire process from data collection to final testing. A reliable team will help you retain customer trust, product integrity, and search visibility.
If you plan to switch platforms, consider using Shopify migration services that cover all your technical needs and allow you to grow without setbacks. Contact us to make your migration smooth, fast, and error-free.
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