If you're running a Magento store in 2026, you've probably thought about moving to Shopify. Maybe Magento's maintenance costs are climbing. Maybe you're tired of managing hosting, security patches, and server infrastructure. Maybe Adobe's pricing changes have you reconsidering.
You're not alone. We've migrated enterprise stores from Magento to Shopify — including Madara Cosmetics, a 300+ employee cosmetics brand — and in this guide we'll share everything we learned about what works, what doesn't, and how to do it without losing your data, your SEO rankings, or your mind.
Why Businesses Are Leaving Magento
Magento (now Adobe Commerce) is powerful. Nobody disputes that. But for a growing number of businesses, the cost of that power has stopped making sense:
Hosting & Infrastructure Costs
Magento requires dedicated hosting — servers you manage, scale, and secure yourself. With Shopify, hosting is included. No server management, no midnight alerts when traffic spikes.
Development & Maintenance
Every Magento update is a project. Security patches, version upgrades, extension compatibility — it all requires developer time. Shopify handles platform updates automatically.
Total Cost of Ownership
When you add up hosting, security, SSL certificates, developer hours for maintenance, and the opportunity cost of your team managing infrastructure instead of growing the business — Magento often costs 2-5x more than Shopify for comparable functionality.
Adobe Commerce Pricing
Adobe's licensing model keeps getting more expensive, especially for mid-market businesses. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month with everything included.
The Developer Shortage
Finding good Magento developers is getting harder and more expensive. The Shopify ecosystem is larger, more active, and easier to hire for.
What You Need to Plan Before Migrating
A migration isn't just moving data from A to B. Here's what you need to think through before you start:
1. Data Inventory
What needs to move?
- •Products — SKUs, descriptions, images, variants, prices, inventory levels
- •Customers — accounts, addresses, order history (note: passwords cannot be migrated)
- •Orders — historical order data for reporting and customer service
- •Content — CMS pages, blog posts, media files
- •URL structure — every URL that currently gets traffic
2. Feature Gap Analysis
Make a list of every Magento feature you actually use. Then check if Shopify handles it natively, via an app, or needs custom development. Common gaps:
- •Advanced product types — configurable, bundled, grouped products work differently in Shopify
- •Multi-store setups — Magento's multi-store is more flexible; Shopify uses Shopify Markets or separate stores
- •Custom checkout — Magento allows full checkout customization; Shopify restricts this (Shopify Plus opens it up)
- •B2B features — wholesale pricing, customer-specific catalogs need apps or Shopify Plus
3. SEO Preservation Plan
This is where most migrations go wrong. If you don't handle URLs and redirects properly, you'll lose organic traffic overnight.
- •Map every indexed Magento URL to its new Shopify URL
- •Set up 301 redirects for every URL that changes
- •Keep your meta titles and descriptions
- •Preserve your sitemap structure as much as possible
- •Monitor Search Console closely after launch
4. Timeline & Downtime Strategy
Plan the migration for your quietest period. Most migrations can be done with zero downtime if planned correctly — you build the new store in parallel and switch DNS when ready.
The Migration Process: Step by Step
Step 1: Set Up Your Shopify Store
Create your Shopify store and configure the basics — payments, shipping, taxes, email notifications. Don't worry about design yet.
Step 2: Design & Build Your Theme
Either customize a Shopify theme or build a custom one. This runs in parallel with data migration. Don't try to replicate your Magento design pixel-for-pixel — take the opportunity to improve.
Step 3: Migrate Product Data
Export products from Magento and import into Shopify. Tools like Matrixify (formerly Excelify) handle bulk imports well. For complex product types, you'll likely need custom mapping scripts.
What transfers:
- •Product titles, descriptions, images
- •SKUs, prices, inventory
- •Categories → Shopify collections
- •Product variants
What needs manual work:
- •Configurable product logic
- •Bundle products (need apps or alternative approaches)
- •Custom product attributes
Step 4: Migrate Customer Data
Export customer records and import into Shopify. Important: Magento password hashes are not compatible with Shopify. Customers will need to reset their passwords on first login. Plan a communication for this.
Step 5: Migrate Historical Orders
Import order history so your customer service team has full context. Shopify accepts order imports via CSV or API — tools like Matrixify handle this.
Step 6: Set Up URL Redirects
This is critical. Map every Magento URL to its Shopify equivalent:
- •`/catalog/product/view/id/123` → `/products/product-name`
- •`/catalog/category/view/id/45` → `/collections/category-name`
- •`/cms/page/view/page_id/6` → `/pages/page-name`
Use Shopify's URL redirect feature or a bulk redirect app. Test every redirect.
Step 7: Configure Apps & Integrations
Replace Magento extensions with Shopify apps:
- •Email marketing → Klaviyo, Mailchimp
- •Reviews → Judge.me, Yotpo
- •SEO → smart SEO app or native Shopify SEO
- •Accounting → Xero, QuickBooks integration
- •Shipping → Shopify Shipping or third-party
Step 8: QA & Testing
Test everything:
- •Place test orders (every payment method)
- •Check all product pages, collections, search
- •Verify redirects (sample 50-100 old URLs)
- •Test mobile experience
- •Check page speed (aim for 90+ Lighthouse)
- •Verify analytics and tracking
Step 9: DNS Switch & Go Live
Point your domain to Shopify. Monitor closely for the first 48 hours. Check Search Console for crawl errors. Watch your analytics for traffic anomalies.
Step 10: Post-Launch Monitoring
- •Submit new sitemap to Google Search Console
- •Monitor indexing daily for the first week
- •Check for 404 errors and fix missed redirects
- •Watch conversion rates — any drop needs immediate investigation
How Long Does a Magento to Shopify Migration Take?
Honest answer: 6-12 weeks for a typical migration. Here's the breakdown:
- •Planning & data audit: 1-2 weeks
- •Theme design & build: 2-4 weeks (parallel)
- •Data migration & testing: 2-3 weeks
- •QA, redirects, final prep: 1-2 weeks
- •Go live & monitoring: 1 week
Factors that extend the timeline:
- •Complex product catalogs (10,000+ SKUs)
- •Multiple Magento stores → multiple Shopify stores
- •Heavy custom functionality that needs rebuilding
- •ERP/CRM integrations that need reconnecting
- •Multi-language/multi-currency setups
How Much Does It Cost?
Ranges based on our experience and industry benchmarks:
- •Simple store (< 500 products, basic theme): €3,000 – €8,000
- •Mid-size store (500-5,000 products, custom theme): €8,000 – €20,000
- •Enterprise/complex (5,000+ products, custom apps, integrations): €20,000 – €50,000+
These include: Data migration, theme build, redirect setup, QA, and launch support.
These don't include: Shopify subscription fees ($39-$2,300/month), app costs, or ongoing maintenance.
Our approach: Fixed pricing. We scope your specific migration and give you a number before we start. No hourly billing surprises.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Ignoring SEO redirects — The #1 migration killer. If you don't redirect old URLs, you'll lose organic traffic overnight and it can take months to recover.
Trying to replicate Magento exactly — Shopify is a different platform with different strengths. Trying to force Magento patterns into Shopify leads to hacky solutions. Embrace Shopify's way of doing things.
Migrating during peak season — Don't launch your new store during Black Friday. Pick your quietest period.
Skipping customer communication — Your customers will need to reset passwords. Tell them in advance. Make it easy.
Going live without thorough QA — Every broken link, missing product, or payment error after launch is a lost sale and damaged trust.
Lessons from Our Madara Cosmetics Migration
When we migrated Madara Cosmetics — a 300+ employee cosmetics brand — from Magento to Shopify, we learned a few things the hard way:
Plan the data mapping obsessively. Madara had complex product relationships, multi-market pricing, and years of customer data. The mapping document was more important than the code.
Run both platforms in parallel. We built the full Shopify store while Magento was still live. The DNS switch was the only moment of risk — and it took minutes.
Communicate with every stakeholder. Marketing needs to know about URL changes. Customer service needs to know about password resets. Finance needs to know about payment gateway switches. Migrate the people, not just the data.
Test with real orders. Not test products, not dummy data — real SKUs, real pricing, real checkout flows. That's how you catch the issues that matter.
[Read the full Madara Cosmetics case study →](/work/madara-cosmetics)
Is Shopify Right for Your Business?
Shopify isn't the right choice for every business leaving Magento. Consider Shopify if:
- •You want **lower total cost of ownership**
- •You want to **stop managing hosting and servers**
- •Your team wants to **manage content without developer help**
- •You value a **large app ecosystem** for extending functionality
- •You need **reliable, scalable infrastructure** without the ops burden
Consider alternatives if:
- •You need **extremely complex product logic** that Shopify apps can't handle
- •You need **full checkout customization** and can't use Shopify Plus
- •You run a **highly custom B2B operation** with unique requirements
- •You need **multi-store** setups with shared inventory (improving on Shopify, but Magento is still stronger here)
Ready to Migrate?
We've done this before — from small stores to enterprise brands. If you're thinking about leaving Magento for Shopify, let's talk. We'll give you an honest assessment of what it'll take.
[Book a Free Migration Consultation →](/contact)
[Shopify Development Services →](/services/shopify-development)
[Madara Cosmetics Case Study →](/work/madara-cosmetics)
[About Mandet →](/about)