Magento to Shopify Migration: Complete Step-by-Step Guide (2025—Liquid Web Developers)

Magento to Shopify Migration:- If you’re searching for the most reliable way to migrate from Magento to Shopify without losing data, SEO rankings, or store performance, you’re in the right place. At Liquid Web Developers, we’ve handled multiple examples of Magento-to-Shopify replatforming tasks all over the US, and we understand precisely what store owners battle with—data loss fears, search engine marketing drops, subject incompatibility, and operational downtime. This guide solves all those concerns upfront and shows you the smoothest, safest, and most scalable migration path in 2025.

The goal of this article is simple:

🔹 Make migration easy to understand

🔹 Ensure your business doesn’t lose customers or search traffic.

🔹 Provide a step-by-step plan you may follow yourself or hand off to a developer.

🔹 Deliver an expert-degree manual that reads obviously and is completely semantically optimized.

Let’s begin.

Why Businesses Are Moving from Magento to Shopify

Magento was the top choice for enterprise-level ecommerce; however, in the latest years, Shopify has rapidly come to be the preferred platform for each mid-sized and large shop inside the US. The primary reason is simplicity without sacrificing scalability.

Here’s why thousands of US businesses are switching:

1. Lower Maintenance & Hosting Costs

Magento requires:

✔ custom servers

✔ ongoing security patches

✔ developer maintenance

Shopify requires:

✔ nothing—hosting, security, and updates are all included.

For many brands, this alone cuts 40–70% of annual tech costs.

2. Faster Store Performance

Shopify’s cloud architecture delivers:

faster loading speeds

better uptime

smoother mobile experiences

This matters because page speed affects both conversion rate and SEO ranking.

3. Larger App Ecosystem

Shopify’s app store has 8,000+ plug-and-play applications.

Magento extensions often require custom coding and higher setup costs.

4. Easier Management for Non-Developers

Shopify’s admin panel is far more person-friendly.

Teams can upload products, alter pages, and run advertising campaigns without touching code.

5. Better Scalability for Growing US Brands

With Shopify Plus, businesses can handle:

high-volume sales

multi-store setups

global expansion

without advanced server management.

In short: Magento gives control. Shopify gives freedom.

Pre-Migration Checklist for Magento to Shopify

Before moving your save, guidance is everything. At Liquid Web Developers, we comply with a complete pre-migration tick list to guarantee a faultless transition.

🔹 1. Full Magento Store Backup

Backup:

product catalog

order history

customer accounts

theme files

media library

custom extensions

Even if Shopify imports everything perfectly, having a secure backup is non-negotiable.

🔹 2. Identify Custom Features & Extensions

List the features on your Magento store, including:

custom filters

complex product types

custom checkout elements

promotional modules

inventory sync integrations

Then map them to Shopify equivalents (apps or custom dev).

🔹 3. Review Your SEO Setup

Document:

current URL structures

metadata

sitemaps

redirects

blog content

high-ranking pages

This helps prevent SEO loss during migration.

🔹 4. Map Product Data

Magento’s data structure is not the same as Shopify’s.

Plan out your mapping for:

SKUs

variants

attribute sets

categories vs. collections

images

tags

🔹 5. Evaluate Your Theme & Branding

Magento themes cannot be transferred to Shopify.

You’ll need to:

Choose a Shopify theme.

replicate your brand identity

rebuild custom UX elements

🔹 6. Identify Plugins That Need Replacements

Magento extensions → Shopify apps

List what’s needed for:

reviews

SEO

inventory management

shipping

payments

email marketing

With this checklist done, the migration process becomes smooth and predictable.

Step-by-Step Magento to Shopify Migration Process

Here’s the exact workflow we use at Liquid Web Developers for enterprise-level migrations.

Step 1—Export Data From Magento

Start by exporting:

products

customers

orders

categories

coupons

CMS pages (if structured)

Use Magento’s native export feature or tools like

Magento Data Exporter

LitExtension

Matrixify (post-import cleanup)

The key is to ensure clean CSV files with consistent formatting.

Step 2—Create & Configure Your Shopify Store

Set up the essential elements:

store info

taxes

shipping rates

payment gateways

checkout settings

staff accounts

If you’re using Shopify Plus, also configure:

multi-location inventory

wholesale channels

automation workflows

Step 3—Import Data Into Shopify

Use Shopify’s “Import” tool or tools like LitExtension for complex stores.

Import order:

Products

Collections

Customers

Orders

Pages & blogs

Make sure to verify:

variant combinations

image assignment

SKU accuracy

metafields

product tags

Step 4—Theme & Design Migration

Since Magento themes can’t be moved directly, we rebuild your store using:

Shopify’s Online Store 2.0 themes

Fully custom themes (for Shopify Plus)

Tailored layouts matching your brand identity

We replicate:

homepage design

product page layout

category navigation

banners & marketing blocks

The idea is to maintain familiarity for returning customers.

Step 5—Install Apps & Integrations

Replace Magento extensions with Shopify apps.

Typical integrations include:

email marketing (Klaviyo)

reviews (Judge.me)

inventory sync (Stocky / Finale)

search and filtering (Boost AI Search)

shipping (ShipStation, EasyShip)

subscription billing (Recharge)

Each app must be configured and tested with live data.

Step 6—Setup URL Redirects & SEO Elements

This is the most important step for SEO preservation.

Create 301 redirects for:

product URLs

category URLs

CMS pages

blog posts

custom routes

Also configure:

metadata

alt text

sitemaps

canonical tags

This ensures Google understands your new Shopify store structure and maintains rankings.

SEO Migration: How to Prevent Traffic Loss

Many store owners fear SEO damage—and rightly so.

But with the correct strategy, you can maintain or even boost your search traffic.

Here’s the SEO blueprint we use for all US clients:

✔ Preserve URL structure wherever possible

Shopify URL formats differ from Magento’s, so use consistent naming.

✔ Create a full 301 redirect map

A missing redirect = lost ranking.

✔ Rebuild metadata

Manually recreate:

title tags

meta descriptions

headings

product descriptions

✔ Regenerate your sitemap & submit to Google

Use Google Search Console for:

indexing

error detection

performance tracking

✔ Replicate schema markup

Add structured data for:

products

reviews

breadcrumbs

FAQs

✔ Optimize for Core Web Vitals

Shopify themes already perform well, but additional tweaks never hurt.

With these steps, our clients typically see no SEO drop and often a 15–25% organic traffic increase post-migration.

Post-Migration Optimization

Once your Shopify store goes live, the real fine-tuning begins.

1. Check Store Speed

Optimize:

unused apps

large media files

theme bloat

script duplication

2. Test the Checkout Experience

Verify:

taxes

shipping methods

discounts

payment gateways

mobile checkout

3. Sync Marketing Tools

Reconnect:

Google Analytics

Google Ads

Meta Pixel

Klaviyo / Mailchimp

SMS marketing

4. Verify Inventory Sync

If you use ERP, POS, or warehouse systems, test thoroughly.

5. Run a Full Store QA

Check:

broken links

variant selection

form submissions

custom scripts

search functionality

This ensures your Shopify store is fully optimized for conversions.

Common Magento to Shopify Migration Issues & Fixes

Here are the issues US businesses encounter most—and how we fix them at Liquid Web Developers.

1. Product Variants Not Importing Correctly

Fix: Clean CSV data, remove invalid attributes, and remap metafields.

2. Broken Image Paths

Fix: Bulk upload images and reassign via CSV or Matrixify.

3. SEO Drop Due to Missing Redirects

Fix: Rebuild a complete redirect map and resubmit sitemaps.

4. Theme Doesn’t Match Original Store

Fix: Recreate UX/UI manually using Shopify Online Store 2.0.

5. Missing Order/Customer History

Fix: Use API-based migration tools to bring full order history into Shopify.

6. Apps Not Replacing Magento Extensions

Fix: Custom scripts or private apps through Shopify Developers.

Every problem has a solution—the key is experience.

Magento to Shopify Migration Cost in 2025 (USA)

Costs vary depending on store complexity.

DIY Migration:

➡ $0–$300 (basic apps)

Professional Migration (Standard Store):

➡ $1,500 – $6,000

(typical small- to mid-size retailers)

Advanced/Enterprise Stores:

➡ $7,000 – $25,000

(includes custom themes, scripts, integrations, and Shopify Plus)

At Liquid Web Developers

Our primarily US-based migration projects generally range from $3,000 to $18,000, relying on length and complexity.

Remember: the cost of a failed migration or search engine marketing drop can be a lot higher.

Final Tips & Best Practices (2025 Migration Standards)

To wrap up your Magento to Shopify migration effectively, comply with those professional tips:

✔ Never delete your Magento store until Shopify is fully stable.

You need it for backup and data verification.

✔ Test everything on a private Shopify theme before going live.

Hidden themes let you test without impacting customers.

✔ Keep your Magento URLs documented.

For SEO protection and redirect mapping.

✔ Start with a clean Shopify theme.

Avoid imported clutter and outdated configurations.

✔ Focus on conversions after migration

Improve:

product descriptions

internal linking

CRO

A/B testing

Final Thoughts—Is Shopify Really Better for 2025?

For the vast majority of US businesses, yes.

Shopify is easier, faster, more scalable, and drastically cheaper to hold.

Magento still has its place—however, no longer for most modern-day ecommerce brands that need speed, automation, and ease of control.

If you need a migration that’s

safe

SEO-friendly

data-accurate

visually consistent

future-proof

then Shopify is the clear winner—and Liquid Web Developers can help you handle the entire process end-to-end.

FAQ

1. Is my Magento store fully functional during the Shopify migration process?

Yes, your Magento store stays live and fully operational while the migration happens in the background. Only the final switch to Shopify requires a short maintenance window.

2. What happens to my custom Magento extensions when I move to Shopify?

Magento extensions don’t transfer directly. Instead, we replace them with equivalent Shopify apps or create custom-built solutions to match your existing functionality.

3. Can I migrate my Magento customer passwords to Shopify?

Not directly. Due to encryption differences, customer passwords can’t be transferred. However, customers can easily reset their passwords through Shopify’s secure login system after launch.

4. Do Magento themes transfer directly to Shopify?

No. Magento topics aren’t well suited with Shopify. A new Shopify subject should be constructed or custom designed to suit your present layout.