SHOPIFY
Shopify migration service and custom store build, scoped in writing
Our Shopify migration service moves your store from another platform, or from an older Shopify setup, with every page, app, data set and redirect listed in a written scope before work starts. Products, customers and order history move in the order Shopify recommends, old URLs are redirected before the domain switches, and the store goes live only after a test checklist passes. Custom Shopify builds start at $4,999; Shopify Plus builds and migrations start at $14,999.
Custom Shopify from $4,999 · Shopify Plus or migration from $14,999 · Fixed written scope · Staged payments
Quick answer
A Shopify migration moves your products, customers, historical orders, content and URLs from another platform into Shopify without losing search traffic or customer history. Shopify lists five ways to do it, from copy and paste to a custom API build. Ecom Relays scopes the move in writing, migrates in Shopify's recommended order, maps every old URL to a redirect and tests before launch.
What our Shopify migration service includes
Store Build is our fixed-scope service for operating companies that need a custom design, Shopify Plus or a move from another platform. Each stage has a clear finish line.
| Stage | What we do | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Pages, features, apps, data and price, written down | You sign it before work starts |
| Design | Key templates for desktop and mobile, to your brand | You approve them |
| Build and migration | Theme, apps and integrations; products, customers and orders moved; redirects mapped and imported | The pre-launch test checklist passes |
| Launch | Go-live and a handover pack | The live store is in your Shopify account, in your name |
You provide brand files, content and product data, access to your current platform for the export and a decision maker for design approvals. Ongoing development outside the scope, photography and copywriting beyond the scope, and app and Shopify subscription costs are not included. Changes are quoted in writing before work starts.
How do you migrate a store to Shopify?
Shopify's Help Center lists five methods, from least to most technical (checked Oct 20, 2026):
- Copy and paste content from your existing store.
- Export CSV files and import them. Shopify notes that "some data can't be migrated this way."
- Use a migration app. Shopify's own app is now Shopify Store Migration, which is free, moves product and customer data and supports Square, WooCommerce, Etsy, Wix, Amazon, eBay, Clover and Lightspeed R/X (Vend). The older Store Importer listing says it "is not currently available on the Shopify App Store."
- Hire a Shopify Partner to manage the migration.
- Build a custom solution with the Shopify API.
Most real migrations mix them. A small catalog with simple variants moves cleanly by CSV. A store with years of order history, gift card balances and complex variants usually needs an app or the API for some data and careful CSV work for the rest. We choose the method per data type in the scope, so you know before work starts what will move and how.
What moves, in what order
Shopify's advice is direct: "Import your products first, then your customers, and then any historical orders." The full map we work from:
| Data | How it moves | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| Products and variants | Product CSV or migration app | Every variant option present (Shopify flags "Product variants failed to import" when one is missing), images, weights, SKUs and barcodes |
| Customers | Customer CSV, migration app or Customer API | Email marketing consent carried over correctly; tags and notes |
| Historical orders | Migration app, Order API or Transaction API | Staff order notifications turned off first, because imported orders trigger new-order emails |
| Gift cards and store credit | Migration app or GiftCard API (no CSV route) | Balances reconciled against the old platform's report |
| Blog posts and pages | Migration app, Blog and Page APIs, or copy and paste | Internal links updated to Shopify's URL patterns |
| URL redirects | Redirect CSV import | Every indexed old URL mapped to its new address |
Sources: Shopify Help Center, migrating to Shopify, transferring data and Store Migration app pages, checked Oct 20, 2026.
What about customer passwords? You do not need them. With Shopify's current customer accounts, customers sign in with a one-time 6-digit code sent to their email, and "if your customer has a customer profile in your Shopify admin, then they already have an account" (Shopify Help Center, checked Oct 20, 2026). Imported customers sign in with their email the first time, with no reset email campaign needed.
Protecting search traffic: redirects done properly
Search rankings are what most owners worry about in a migration, and redirects are most of the answer. Shopify's URL structure is likely different from your old platform's, so every old product, collection, page and blog URL needs a redirect to its new address.
Three Shopify rules shape how we do it (Shopify Help Center, URL redirects, checked Oct 20, 2026):
- Redirects only work from broken URLs.
"If the URL still loads a valid webpage, then the URL redirect won't work." So the redirect map has to match the final URL structure exactly.
- There are limits.
Standard stores can hold up to 100,000 redirects; Plus stores up to 20,000,000. Large catalogs with years of old URLs can reach the standard limit, which is one reason some brands move to Plus.
- Some paths cannot be redirected,
including paths that start with /apps, /cart, /orders and /shop, and the fixed /products and /collections paths themselves.
Our process: crawl the old site and export its indexed URLs, map each one to its Shopify address, import the map by CSV, then test a sample of old URLs after launch and fix any that land on an error page. We map and redirect URLs before launch to protect rankings, but no one can promise rankings, and we will not.
Keep selling until launch day
Your old store keeps taking orders while we build. The new Shopify store is built and tested on its own address, then the switch happens on a day you choose, ideally a quiet one, never the week of a big promotion.
Launch week follows a fixed order:
- 01Freeze.
Agree a cut-off time for catalog changes on the old platform.
- 02Final import.
Move the orders and customers created since the first import, so nothing from the last few weeks is left behind.
- 03Redirects and domain.
Import the final redirect map, then point the domain at Shopify.
- 04Test orders.
Place and refund real test orders through each payment method and shipping rule.
- 05Watch.
Check the most-visited old URLs, order notifications, stock counts and any connection to Amazon, Walmart or your 3PL for the first days after the switch.
Keep the old platform's subscription running, with its storefront closed, until you are satisfied that every record moved. Cancel it only after that.
Do you need Shopify Plus?
Only for specific needs. We say so in the scope if a standard plan will do. What Plus changes, according to Shopify's pricing page (checked Oct 20, 2026):
| Advanced | Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $399 a month billed monthly ($299 billed yearly) | From $2,300 a month, on a 1- or 3-year term |
| Staff accounts | Up to 15 | Unlimited |
| Inventory locations | 10 | 200 |
| B2B catalogs | Up to 3 | Unlimited |
| Checkout customization | Limited | Full |
| Online card rate (standard cards) | From 2.5% + 30¢ | From 2.25% + 30¢ |
| URL redirects | Up to 100,000 | Up to 20,000,000 |
The card rate difference rarely pays for Plus on its own. Plus is worth it when you need full checkout customization, many locations, unlimited B2B catalogs, many staff or a very large redirect map.
If you are already on Plus, check your checkout customizations. "As of June 30, 2026, Shopify Scripts has been deprecated," and Shopify directs merchants to Shopify Functions instead (Shopify Help Center, checked Oct 20, 2026). Any discount, shipping or payment logic that lived in Scripts has to be rebuilt as Functions or replaced by an app. We list each one in the scope. Our Shopify automation work covers Flow and Functions in more depth.
What a Shopify migration costs
Every Store Build is quoted in writing against a fixed scope, from the published starting prices below.
| Option | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Store Launch | A first store on a premium theme: up to 25 products, payments, shipping, taxes and core apps, 30 days of support. Not a migration | $999 |
| Store Build, custom Shopify | Custom design and build to your brand, apps and integrations | From $4,999 |
| Store Build, Shopify Plus or migration | Plus setup or a move from another platform, with data migration and redirects | From $14,999 |
| Store Care or Ops Desk after launch | Daily running of the new store | Store Care from $399 a month; Ops Desk from $1,499 a month |
| Dedicated Shopify developer | A named, full-time developer who works only on your store | Salary passed through at cost, plus $399 a month management fee |
Payments are staged against the written quote. Shopify subscriptions, apps and theme licenses are paid by you directly. Prices exclude sales tax where it applies. Founding prices for Store Build are from $3,999 for a custom Shopify build and from $11,999 for Plus or a migration, for the first 25 clients or until Jan 31, 2027, whichever comes first. All prices and terms are on our pricing page.
Who this is for, and who it is not for
Built for
operating companies that need a custom design, Shopify Plus or a move from another platform, especially brands with years of order history, many SKUs or wholesale customers.
Not for
first stores on a tight budget: Shopify store launch at $999 fits better. Not for anyone buying a ready-made store, and not for brands that need ongoing development with no fixed scope. For that, a dedicated Shopify developer on a monthly arrangement is the honest fit.
After launch: who runs the store?
A new store has a messy first month: redirects to check, apps to tune, stock counts to reconcile with Amazon or Walmart if you sell there too. Store Build ends with a handover pack, and you can run the store yourself from there. You can also move straight to Store Care or Ops Desk, so the people who built the store run it day to day, including keeping one stock count across channels. Our guide to multichannel inventory sync explains why that matters, and our Shopify store management page covers the monthly plans.
Every account, app and login stays in your name. We work through Shopify collaborator access, never your password, and access is removed within 24 hours when the work ends. The full standard is on our security and access page.
Get a written scope before you move anything
Book a free 30-minute session with an ops lead. Bring your current platform, rough catalog size and what the new store must do, and you will leave knowing whether you need a migration, a rebuild or neither. No pitch deck. Brands at $1M+ a year can also start with a free Profit Leak Scan of their current operations.
A real person replies within one business hour, 9am to 6pm US Central, Monday to Friday. +1 (469) 331-3129 · contact@ecomrelays.com
How much does a Shopify migration service cost?
Our Store Build migrations start at $14,999, including Shopify Plus setups, and custom Shopify builds without a migration start at $4,999. Each is quoted in writing against a fixed scope, with staged payments. Founding prices start at $11,999 and $3,999. Shopify subscriptions, apps and theme licenses are paid by you directly.
Will I lose my search rankings when I move to Shopify?
You can protect most of them with a complete redirect map, imported before the domain switches, so every old URL lands on its new address. Shopify redirects only work from URLs that no longer load a page, so the map must match the final structure. We map and test every indexed URL. No one can promise rankings, and we do not.
What data can be migrated to Shopify?
Products, customers, historical orders, gift cards and store credit, blog posts and pages, and URL redirects. Shopify recommends products first, then customers, then historical orders. Gift cards need a migration app or the GiftCard API because there is no CSV route. We list each data type and its method in the scope.
Do customers need to reset their passwords after a migration?
No. Shopify's current customer accounts use a one-time 6-digit code sent by email instead of a password. Shopify says a customer with a profile in your admin already has an account, so imported customers sign in with their email. We still recommend a short notice to customers about the new store.
Is Store Importer still the way to migrate?
Shopify's Store Importer listing says it is not currently available on the Shopify App Store. Shopify's own free app is now Shopify Store Migration, which supports Square, WooCommerce, Etsy, Wix, Amazon, eBay, Clover and Lightspeed R/X (Vend). For other platforms, or for data the app does not cover, CSV files and the API do the rest.
Do I need Shopify Plus?
Only for specific needs: full checkout customization, more than 10 inventory locations, unlimited B2B catalogs, more than 15 staff accounts or more than 100,000 redirects. Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a 1- or 3-year term. If a standard plan will do, we say so in the scope.
How long does a migration take?
It depends on the catalog, the data and the integrations, so the timeline is set in the written scope rather than promised in advance. The stages are always the same: scope, design approval, build and migration, a test checklist and then launch. The fastest migrations are the ones where the product data is clean before we start.
Can you migrate a WooCommerce store to Shopify?
Yes. WooCommerce is one of the platforms Shopify's free Store Migration app supports for product and customer data. Shopify's listing warns that some platforms do not export everything, so we compare record counts before and after. Order history, custom fields and plugin data are scoped one by one, and every old WooCommerce URL needs a redirect because the URL patterns differ.
Can we keep selling on our old store while you build?
Yes. The new store is built and tested on its own Shopify address while your current site keeps taking orders. On launch day we import the orders and customers created since the first import, load the final redirects and switch the domain. You choose the date, and we steer away from promotion weeks and peak season.
Can you migrate from Magento, BigCommerce or a custom platform?
Yes, if the data can be exported. Shopify's own app does not cover Magento (Adobe Commerce) or BigCommerce, so those moves use CSV files, the Shopify API or a third-party migration app, chosen per data type in the scope. Custom fields, extensions and integrations are listed one by one, with the Shopify app or build that replaces each.
Sources9 sources
- 01help.shopify.comShopify Help Center, migrating to Shopify: five methods from copy and paste to a custom API build; import products, then customers, then historical orders; set up redirects before moving the domain; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 02help.shopify.comShopify Help Center, transferring data: methods by data type, gift cards by migration app or GiftCard API; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 03help.shopify.comShopify Help Center, Store Migration app; imported orders trigger staff notifications unless turned off; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 04apps.shopify.comShopify App Store, Shopify Store Migration: free; product and customer data; Square, WooCommerce, Etsy, Wix, Amazon, eBay, Clover and Lightspeed R/X (Vend); listing notes some platforms do not export all data; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 05apps.shopify.comShopify App Store: Store Importer "is not currently available on the Shopify App Store"; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 06help.shopify.comShopify Help Center, URL redirects: only from broken URLs; 100,000 limit on standard stores, 20,000,000 on Plus; CSV import; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 07help.shopify.comShopify Help Center, customer accounts: sign-in with a one-time 6-digit code; a customer with a profile already has an account; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 08shopify.comShopify pricing: Plus from $2,300 a month; 1- or 3-year Plus terms; staff, locations, B2B catalogs, checkout customization, card rates; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 09help.shopify.comShopify Help Center: "As of June 30, 2026, Shopify Scripts has been deprecated"; move to Shopify Functions; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
Next step
Ask a real expert. Free.
A real person replies within one business hour, 9am to 6pm US Central, Monday to Friday.