Moving an e-shop to a new platform without losing orders or search traffic
A practical plan for migrating an online shop: what to export, how to keep your addresses working, what to test before switching and what to do on launch day.
Moving an e-shop to a new platform is less risky when it is planned as a sequence of small steps. The two things owners worry about most are losing orders and losing the visitors who already find the shop in Google. Both can be protected.
1. List what you have
- Products, variants, categories and photos.
- Customers and past orders, if you want to keep the history.
- Shipping and payment methods, discount codes and tax settings.
- Connections to other systems: accounting, warehouse, carriers, newsletter.
- Page addresses (URLs) of the shop.
2. Export and clean the data
Most platforms can export products and customers to a spreadsheet. Use this chance to remove old items and fix names and prices before they move. How to prepare product data is described in how to prepare your products for an e-shop import.
3. Keep your addresses working
If product and category addresses change, set up a permanent redirect (301) from each old address to its new one. Without it, visitors and search engines land on error pages, and the rankings you built can drop. Make a list of the old addresses before you start.
4. Build and test on a separate copy
Work on a test version, not on the live shop. Place test orders through every payment and delivery method, check the e-mails customers receive, and open the shop on a phone.
5. Choose a quiet time to switch
Pick a day and hour with fewer orders. Tell customers if the shop will be unavailable for a short time, and check that orders, payments and redirects work right after the switch.
6. Watch the first weeks
After launch, look for error pages in Google Search Console and fix missing redirects. Compare orders with the previous weeks to catch problems early.
If you would like help with a move, see e-shop development or describe your shop to me. If you are deciding between platforms first, read WooCommerce or a custom e-shop.