Before the move
- Export every URL of the old store: products, categories, pages and blog posts. This list is the basis for your redirects later.
- List your apps and plugins and check whether Shopify has a replacement for each.
- Note the pages that bring the most visitors from Google. You check those first later on.
- Pick a launch date that doesn’t fall into a sale or the holiday season.
Moving the data
- Products with variants, images and copy.
- Customers and past orders. Shopify cannot import passwords. Plan an email that lets customers reactivate their account.
- Open vouchers and gift cards.
Redirects
This is the most important point for Google. Every old URL needs a redirect to the matching new page, not a blanket redirect to the home page. For ZinCuTec that was 215. Shopify can import redirects in bulk from a file.
Check before launch
- Test checkout with a real payment and refund it afterwards.
- Trigger every store email once, from order to shipping.
- Look at every important page on a phone.
- Spot-check the redirects, especially for the pages with the most visitors.
- Tracking and email connection: analytics, Meta pixel and Klaviyo.
After launch
- Keep an eye on Google Search Console and redirect new error pages right away.
- Resubmit the sitemap.
- Keep the old store for a few weeks as a backup.
Want to move without checking all this off yourself? Szymon does it every day.