You must be in the business of Ecommerce long enough to have used Magento as the platform for your online shop. Considered as one of the most established online selling programs out there, it is no surprise that many are using it—or had used it—to conduct business to a larger scale via the internet.

But being one of the longest-running Ecommerce platforms does not mean that Magento is the best in what it does. While this notion may be easily disputed several years back, nowadays more and more people are convinced that there is another better platform among the contenders—Shopify. That is, considering user-friendliness, functionality, and overall relative convenience.

On this article, I'll detail out how to migrate from Magento to Shopify, why you need to do the migration from Magento to Shopify, what are the steps, what are the ways to automate it, and how to do it on your own (if you are brave enough!).

Why do you want to migrate from Magento to Shopify?

At its core, Magento is a platform for people with a technical knowhow who can take advantage of its advantages while paying regards to its disadvantages. But to the general entrepreneurs who is not equipped with the right set of skills to utilize this level of functionality, Magento is a platform that is not easily played with, let alone learned.

One of the major qualms with Magento, especially in 2019, however, is its relatively outdated mechanics which, for the most part, leave its organization and maintenance a task indeed fit for the experts. Even expert coders argue that tapping on the potentials of Magento takes time to learn among themselves. 

That is a major downside considering that not all those who engage in Ecommerce are mentally equipped to handle or keep up with the technological features which Magento inhabits or adds over time.

Therefore, if you are not a technical guru nor are you at least aware of the goings-on within Magento, having a shop in this platform would mean you requiring the service of a real expert. Intuitively, following this step would connote to a substantial increase in your expense’s bottom line. 

Overall, not really a very good premise about running a personal business, especially from a solopreneur perspective. 

Quick checklist when migrating from Magento to Shopify

Granted you have an existing shop at Magento and was convinced to make a leap to Shopify, it is worth noting that there are things you should consider when choosing to migrate. The most common elements in any Ecommerce shop would include all the pertinent information of your products, customers, order history, and status. 

Furthermore, you would also want to bring along other valuable components of your Magento shop to Shopify which includes the blogs you have published and other marketing materials.  

For very old existing Magento users, you may want to limit the data you are going to transfer to just the updated and relatively important ones. This will significantly trim off the unnecessary fats thereby making the shift to be as much efficient as possible. 

However, as much as we would like to sugarcoat the experience of migrating your Magento store to Shopify, the process is not without its faults. This is particularly true for those who are dabbling with large amount of data, originating from Magento. 

As the process itself puts additional load on the server, the method can actually be cumbersome—a lot more, in fact, in vast chunks. Worse, not all migration process is always 100% smooth or without error. In some cases, data losses occur whether by faulty data transfer, via a misinterpretation, or sheer discrepancy between the two unique platforms. 

What are the different options for migrating from Magento to Shopify?

Currently, there is only one of two ways you could jump from Shopify if you are having a shop in Magento—either by availing Cart2Cart’s professional service or by doing it yourself (DIY).

While, from the outset, one (going DIY) is significantly more affordable than another—opting to do it via DIY is free, actually—the other (Cart2Cart) offers a more positive result because of the more thorough approach applied to the method, but is not without cost. 

Comparing both procedures, there is substantially more benefit in the idea of shelving a little bit of cash and letting Cart2Cart do the migration for you instead of risking it yourself. 

However, there is no denying that DIY is a tempting option as well, if you are particularly tight in cash. 

How much will it cost to migrate from Magento to Shopify?

Is money, therefore, not an issue that you are keen in opting for Cart2Cart’s service to make the jump to Shopify from Magento?

Right off the bat, allow us to reveal that the cost you pay for Cart2Cart’s service is completely commensurate to the level of information you are asking to transfer. Considering the array of information which can be moved between platforms, the total amount you pay is directly proportional to the tasks that you are requiring. 

Meaning, the overall expense of making the transfer can either be “cheap” or incredibly expensive, depending on how big or small the amount of data that requires moving. 

For instance, if you are asking Cart2Cart to transfer at least 1000 products and two lists containing 500 customers as well as 500 orders, you can expect to pay $69 for the process and with the allowance of 2 hours to complete everything. 

However, things can become significantly costlier—not to mention, slower—when you ask to include other pieces of valuable data like the images you have used in all parts of your Magento shop (+$49), the categories and SEO URLs applied for every product (+$59), etc. 

What is the step-by-step procedure to migrate from Magento to Shopify?

Whether you choose to do the migration process yourself (DIY) or prefer a more careful approach as to make a reputable process (via Cart2Cart service) do it for you, both these routes require steps that you personally must take to become fruition.

Migrating Magento data to Shopify Via Cart2Cart

Without a doubt, the label Cart2Cart is a “household name” within the Ecommerce sphere, thanks to its extensive capability of making transition possible between platforms. Magento, being, a no exception.

Without further ado, let us get on with the steps:

1. Register for a Cart2Cart personal account

Before you could avail of Cart2Cart’s migration service, it is important that you must have a personal account registered from Cart2Cart’s website itself. If you have not done so already, you can register here. 

Registration is free and can be expedited if you are already logged into your Google or Facebook account on the same web browser. You would just have to pick which account you would like to use to sign up.

2. Choose the type of migration

Once registered, the next step in the process involves choosing the kind of migration you would like to take. It can be one of two options—you can do it on your own or with the help of professionals from Cart2Cart. Opting for the latter, however, does not mean that it’s free. 

3. Set up the Source Cart

From the source cart type, choose “Magento” as an option within the drop-down list. Subsequently, put in your Magento shop’s URL at the source cart URL. 

Before proceeding to the next step, do not forget to download the “Connection Bridge” whose step-by-step procedure is guided within Cart2Cart’s site itself. 

4. Set up the Target Cart

From the target cart type, choose “Shopify” among the list of options. This is for the obvious reason that you are migrating from Magento to Shopify to begin with. Consequently, put in your existing Shopify URL at the target cart URL.

There will still be two boxed left that is empty that need filling of information. Specifically, the API Key and API Password. In order to get this two information, log into your Shopify admin panel, navigate to the “Apps” menu, and click on the button labeled “private API key”. Both the API key and password will be presented to you automatically and are something you would just have to copy and paste in the migration wizard. 

5. Select the “Entities” you would like to transfer

Reaching this point of the migration process, you will be asked which entities from your Magento shop you would like to be migrated which is divided mainly into two categories—your products and customers. 

Under the “products” section, there are also two options, namely Product Categories and Manufacturers.  

You can simply choose whichever or all, depending on your preference. 

6. Set the Multi-store Configuration

If you own multiple Shopify stores—most likely differentiated by countries— and would like to migrate the contents of your Magento shop to all of them, this is a critical step towards that choice. 

7. Configure the Currencies Mapping

If you are not based in the United States and therefore uses a different currency in your business, the Currencies Mapping section of the migration process will help you set your store’s default currency setting. Simply choose whichever currency applies to you. 

8. Kickstart a Demo Migration

As its name implies, this part of the migration process is simply a demonstration and not yet the full implementation of its methodology. While this might seem like a tease and a waste of time, there is actually a good reason why this step is in place—it gives a test run of the process which gives a slight assurance that things will go well in the next and last phase.

Alternatively, you can skip this step altogether and proceed with the full migration if you are so inclined. 

9. Confirm for Full Migration

Whether you chose to skip the demo migration or not, this is the final step of the overall migration process. By choosing to proceed with this step, you allow the “magic” of the migration process to happen solely at your web browser, the method of which may be time-consuming. So, just set back and leave everything to the system to do its job, even if your web browser is closed. As soon as the procedure is done, you will receive an email to notify you about it. 

Voila! You now have successfully migrated your Magento shop to Shopify.

DIY Method of Migrating from Magento to Shopify

Do you feel brave enough to do the migration process on your own, regardless of the possible issues that might ensue? 

Then follow this DIY method:

1. Create your Shopify store (if you have not already)

It is imperative that you already have an existing Shopify store to begin your transition from Magento to Shopify. If you have not yet opened a Shopify shop, register from here.

2. Export your Magento data

Log into your account and from the Magento admin panel, choose to export your shop’s data—products and customers—from the System menu. This process should produce you an individual file for either your products or customers in CSV format which contains all the data and structure extracted from your Magento shop.

3. Import the CSV File in Shopify

Going back into your Shopify account, navigate to the “Products” section and choose the option to make an import. Under the “Choose File” option, locate the CSV file you’ve extracted from Magento and upload it. 

Proceed to do the same thing when importing information for your Customer base. 

4. Optimize your new Shopify store

There might be differences between Magento and Shopify which makes the transition from one to another less optimal. Another important step to take after transferring your Magento shop’s information is to ensure that everything is in alignment with their new platform which, highlighting the discrepancy between the two platforms, might not be the case. 

Simply just make needed adjustment in such a way that your Shopify’s integration is fully accounted for. 

Final thoughts on migrating from Magento to Shopify

Making a transition from Magento to Shopify may not be an easy thing. But comparing the cost of doing the migration and the long-term benefits that come with using Shopify as a seller platform, the time or money it takes towards that goal is, in the end, all worth it. 

Are you in the process of migrating from Magento to Shopify? Let's help each other out - comment down below what your experience is and I'll definitely reach out!