This guide aims to help you navigate the complex process of migrating to Shopify Plus, highlighting best practices, and helping you avert common pitfalls.
Table of Contents
What is Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is a comprehensive, premium solution designed for high-growth, high-volume businesses. As a Shopify Plus web development company, we recommend this platform to businesses that require advanced features, such as tax automation, dedicated support, advanced customization opportunities, and access to the Shopify Plus Academy.
Shopify Plus Migration: Key Considerations
1. Shopify Plus Plan Selection
Before you start migrating to Shopify Plus, decide which plan suits your business needs. Shopify offers various levels, including Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Plus.
Consider factors like:
- Number of staff accounts
- Level of reporting available
- Number of store locations
- Credit card processing rates
2. Redesign or Migration?
Determine whether your project is a simple migration (replicating your current site) or a redesign (considering new possibilities). Your decision should factor in your business’s desire, bandwidth, and budget.
3. Theme Selection
Choose a theme that matches your desired aesthetic and features. Review the documentation for each theme to understand its capabilities and limitations.
4. Timing the Switch
Plan your migration during a slow sales season and at a time of day with low traffic. This timing will help minimize potential disruptions to your business.
5. Data Backup and Migration
Ensure you have a backup of your site before migrating your data. This backup will serve as a fail-safe should anything go wrong during the migration process.
Shopify Plus Migration: The Process
The actual move to Shopify Plus requires a series of steps:
- Data Migration: Transfer all your essential data, including customer data, orders, products, etc., to the new platform.
- Sandbox Testing: Shopify allows you to test your site in a sandbox environment before going live. Use this feature to refine your design and functionality.
- Quality Assurance: Perform rigorous testing to ensure everything works perfectly before launch. Test across various device types and browsers, and check site speed.
Post-Migration Best Practices
1. 301 Redirects
Setting up 301 redirects is crucial during any migration. These permanent server-side redirects inform the browser of a new URL associated with a previous one, ensuring a smooth user experience and preserving your SEO benefits.
2. DNS Update
Edit the DNS servers for your domain to point to your Shopify servers once your migration to Shopify Plus is complete.
3. Clean-up
Post-migration is an excellent time for a clean-up. Discard unused and outdated pages, plugins, themes, and bloated data sets. This clean-up helps streamline your new store’s management and maintenance.
4. Tracking Scripts and Third-Party Software
Ensure that you have set up the correct tracking and embed codes for any third-party software used on your previous site, such as Google Analytics and HubSpot.
Additional Considerations for Shopify Plus Migration
Mobile Optimization
With mobile transactions accounting for a significant portion of all e-commerce transactions, ensure your site is mobile-friendly. Consider your content, images, and theme features when optimizing for mobile.
SEO Considerations
Migrating can disrupt your site’s rankings and organic traffic if not handled carefully. To mitigate this, set up redirects, update internal links, create an informative 404 page, update backlinks where possible, and run a crawl for broken links, broken images, and duplicate pages once the migration is complete.
Apps & Plug-Ins
Shopify offers numerous apps to enhance your storefront. However, evaluate each app for its speed and security implications. Each app adds code to your site and can impact loading times and data privacy.
Wrapping Up
Migrating to Shopify Plus may seem daunting, but with the right guidance and a solid plan, it can be a smooth and rewarding process. If you’re looking to hire Shopify Plus developers for a seamless migration, our team of experts is here to help!
