6 good reasons to migrate to Shopify

When creating an e-commerce site, it's not always easy to know which CMS platform to choose, as there are so many possibilities. Very often, the site owner does some research, but if they are not familiar with the field, they make a random decision. Once the business progresses and develops (higher turnover, an increasingly large product catalog, etc.), the selected platform may no longer meet the needs of the company's activity. Some CMS, in fact, are not scalable. Therefore, it may be beneficial to migrate the website to a platform more suited to the store. In what cases should a store be migrated to Shopify? Here are some answers.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a SaaS CMS that allows e-merchants to create a complete and functional online store very simply. Currently, more than a million merchants use Shopify as their main point of sale. It must be said that the CMS has some notable advantages and attracts new customers every year. These customers fall into two distinct categories:

• those who have never had an online store and are creating their point of sale for the first time with Shopify;
• those who already had an online store through another CMS (Prestashop, WordPress, Wix, WooCommerce, etc.) and are migrating to Shopify.

In either case, the platform is considered a solution that is both economical and easy to use. Users benefit from a sophisticated back-office and numerous features that allow them to evolve their e-shop.

When should you migrate an online store to Shopify?

A merchant who launched their online store with a CMS other than Shopify might at some point want to perform a migration. And for good reason! Shopify combines SaaS and open source to offer a flexible, fast, and scalable solution to its users. Here are the situations in which it is useful to migrate a store to Shopify. Learn more about our Shopify agency's services.

Better meet the needs of the business and customers

Very often, a company's needs evolve over the years. An e-merchant starting out often has few customers. However, by doing effective work, they can see their results increase significantly. Naturally, the needs they had with a single client are no longer the same as when they have thousands.

It can therefore happen that the CMS functionalities are no longer adequate and that the business owner expects more from their software. If the company's strategy, activity, and resources evolve, finding a platform that can address these issues is an interesting option to consider.

Migrating one's online store to Shopify, which is one of the merchants' favorite e-commerce CMS, can be the perfect opportunity to benefit from the latest technologies implemented by the platform and to respond more effectively to customer needs nationally or internationally.

Benefit from attractive prices

The e-merchant may also want to migrate their store to Shopify to take advantage of more attractive prices. By comparing the total cost of e-commerce ownership (total cost of ownership - TCO) of their current platform with that of Shopify, the owner of the web platform may notice significant differences. Performing a migration can then allow them to save money while benefiting from advanced features.

Furthermore, Shopify offers subscriptions that can suit all budgets:

• Shopify Basic costs €27 per month;
• Shopify Standard costs €79 per month;
• Shopify Advanced costs €289 per month;
• Shopify Plus costs a minimum of $2,500 per month.

Create a functional custom website

Customization options, as well as the functionalities offered, are not always the same across different e-commerce platforms. Some of them sometimes offer very limited options. When the online store owner wishes to benefit from a more modern interface or add other modules, but this is not possible, they can choose to migrate to Shopify.

Indeed, Shopify offers a wide choice of customization through thousands of themes. It is therefore possible to create a custom website, 100% in the company's image. In the same way, the functionalities that can be integrated are very numerous. Shopify's interface is also very intuitive and the CMS provides multiple resources allowing merchants to easily manage their e-commerce.

Automate processes as much as possible

Migrating a store to Shopify is also the ideal solution for e-merchants who are unable to automate processes through their current CMS. Indeed, Shopify offers various automation possibilities that allow for significant time savings and increased productivity. Furthermore, it is possible to connect the store to ERP software, management, and accounting systems, making processes much smoother.

Moreover, with Shopify, plug-in updates are simpler and take less time. Again, it is possible to opt for automatic module updates and focus on one's core business.

Avoid technical problems and attacks

Many e-merchants sometimes complain about technical problems and bugs they encounter on their e-commerce platform. However, if these inconveniences are not resolved quickly, they can lead to significant loss of revenue.

On Shopify, technical problems are not non-existent. However, they are less frequent and generally do not impact the entire site. Furthermore, by using the API, it is possible to limit the consequences of problems that may occur. Finally, Shopify's source code is quite closed, making external attacks more difficult.

Many site owners thus migrate to Shopify when bugs are too frequent on their digital platform or when they want to benefit from more security.

Benefit from a comprehensive CMS and improve your SEO

Finally, in general, e-merchants choose to migrate their store to Shopify when they need a comprehensive CMS. Shopify, in fact, integrates all the essential technical aspects for an e-commerce store (hosting, backup, data security, etc.). The proposed back-office is also very comprehensive and boasts an intuitive interface. It is even possible to manage your business from your smartphone. Many features are integrated, and there are over 7,000 applications in the Shopify App Store that allow e-merchants to benefit from all the modules they need. Finally, the site is often well-designed enough for the owner to improve their natural referencing on search engines (SEO) and reach more customers.

Successfully migrating your store to Shopify

Migrating a store to Shopify is not a trivial act and requires specific knowledge. To successfully migrate, you need to proceed step by step and:

• configure basic administrative settings;
• export and then import data from the old platform to Shopify (pages, blog, products, etc.) by creating a CSV file, using copy-paste or a dedicated application;
• organize products once the migration is complete;
• work on the appearance of the online store;
• configure various features (domain name, shipping, taxes, etc.);
• place test orders;
• configure redirect URLs.

Once all these steps are completed, the e-merchant will be able to grow their business on Shopify and take advantage of all the features offered to develop their company.