Shopify Migration Checklist: Move Without Losing Rankings

Moving to Shopify is mostly a data and URL project. The design is the visible part, but rankings and orders depend on what happens underneath. Use this checklist for a migration from WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart or a custom platform.

Before you start

• Export a full list of current URLs: products, categories, pages, blog posts.
• Save your top pages by traffic and your top search queries from Google Search Console.
• Record current conversion rate and revenue so you can compare after launch.
• List every integration, app and script on the current site.

Data

• Products: titles, descriptions, variants, SKUs, barcodes, weights, images in the right order.
• Collections: decide if they are manual or rule based. Rules based on tags save work later.
• Customers: accounts move, passwords do not. Plan an invitation email.
• Order history: decide how much you need in Shopify.
• Content: pages, blog posts, and the images inside them.

Shopify URLs have fixed patterns such as /products/, /collections/ and /pages/. Your old URLs will almost certainly change, so redirects are required.

Redirects and SEO

1. Map every old URL to the closest new URL.
2. Create 301 redirects in Shopify. Import them in bulk.
3. Avoid redirecting everything to the homepage.
4. Keep titles and meta descriptions on pages that already rank.
5. Check image alt text and structured data on the new theme.
6. Make sure the store password is removed at launch. A password page blocks Google.

Payments, shipping and tax

• Confirm the payment gateway early. Local gateways can need weeks of paperwork.
• Set shipping rates and test them with real addresses.
• Check tax on prices, invoices and emails.

Integrations

Connect ERP, warehouse, email and analytics on a staging store first. Read our ERP integration guide if stock or prices come from another system.

Launch day

1. Freeze changes on the old site.
2. Run a final import of products, customers and stock.
3. Connect the domain and check SSL.
4. Place a real order with a real card.
5. Test the top 20 redirects by hand.
6. Submit the sitemap at /sitemap.xml in Google Search Console.

After launch

• Watch the Pages report and fix 404 errors for the first few weeks.
• Compare rankings of your top queries with the list you saved.
• Request indexing for your most important pages.
• Expect some movement in rankings. It should settle if redirects are correct.

Planning a move? Agilitas is a Shopify Select Partner and handles migrations from planning to launch. See our Shopify services.