BigCommerce to Shopify Migration

We move BigCommerce stores to Shopify by testing the hard parts first: option-heavy products, customer-specific pricing or access, and the apps your team uses every day. The plan then decides how to transfer records and what to rebuild.

Shopify's own Store Migration app does not list BigCommerce among its sources. That means the transfer route is chosen for your store, rather than assumed.

A blue shop front with a yellow arrow carrying a parcel towards a green shopping bag

01Choose

Choose what you want to change

Select one part, several parts or the whole move. The plan you see is a starting point for the call, not a quote.

Where this startsWe run on BigCommerce and want Shopify, but some of our products and customer-specific rules are complicated and I need to know what carries over.

Choose one part, several parts or the whole project

Plan the complete BigCommerce to Shopify moveCover products, customers, connections, addresses and launch in one plan.

Audit of exports, features and connected tools
Product restructuring and hardest-product rehearsal
Customer and order record plan
Collections, redirects and launch checks
Handover and first-order monitoring

Check first: Which BigCommerce features have no obvious Shopify equivalent.

Next: Send your store address and the features your team uses every day.

Complex products and optionsRestructure option-heavy products so every valid choice works in Shopify.
- Find products with more than three options
- Rework large option sets within Shopify's variant limit
- Prepare product files under the size limit
- Rehearse the hardest product before the full import
Check first: Which products have the most option combinations.
Related: Shopify Development, Ecommerce Migration Services
Next: Send your three most complicated products and their option lists.
Customer groups and accountsCarry customer records across and recreate group-specific buying rules.
- Prepare the customer file with the required Email column and assess customers without an email
- Describe each group and what it sees or pays
- Choose the Shopify approach for that business rule
- Test first sign-in in the chosen Shopify account mode
Check first: Which groups see different prices, products or terms.
Related: Shopify Development, Shopify Store Management
Next: List your customer groups and what makes each one different.
Apps, orders and connectionsReplace connected tools and decide how old orders stay available.
- List every connected app, feed and shipping tool
- Choose reconnection, replacement or custom work
- Pick an archive, app, Order API or partner for past orders
- Test what your team sees on a new order
Check first: Which connected systems stop you trading if they fail.
Related: Shopify Development, Ecommerce Management
Next: Send your list of apps and tell us how far back orders must go.
Category pages and old addressesKeep category and product addresses useful when the platform changes.
- Rebuild categories as Shopify collections
- Map valuable BigCommerce addresses to new pages
- Import and test a redirect file
- Watch search performance after launch
Check first: Which category and product pages bring visitors today.
Related: Ecommerce SEO, Ecommerce Migration Services
Next: Share your busiest category and product addresses.

In plain terms

Variant: One buyable combination of options, such as a size in a colour.
Collection: A Shopify group of products, similar to a category.
Redirect: An instruction that sends visitors from an old address to the new one.
Order API: A way for software to create orders in Shopify directly.
Customer account mode: Shopify's setting for how customers sign in. Current accounts use a one-time code sent by email instead of a password.

02Decide

Which BigCommerce features need a Shopify answer?

Features that change what a buyer can see or order deserve a decision before any import. We do not assume every BigCommerce feature has an equal in Shopify.

If your store has
Products with more than three options
Then we establish
How to restructure them, as Shopify allows three options per product
If your store has
Products with very many combinations
Then we establish
Whether they fit within 2,048 variants or need splitting
If your store has
Different prices or access by customer group
Then we establish
The Shopify approach that matches the business rule
If your store has
Connected systems for stock, shipping or accounts
Then we establish
Reconnection, replacement or custom work
If your store has
Category pages that bring in visitors
Then we establish
The matching Shopify collection and its address

03Transfer

What transfers and what is rebuilt

Because there is no listed importer, we start with what BigCommerce lets you export on your plan, then add Shopify's product file, customer file and bulk tools around it. Each product file must stay under 15 MB, which means we load a bigger catalogue in batches. The customer file must have an Email column, though its value can be blank, so we assess customers without an email separately. Passwords cannot be migrated: sign-in depends on the Shopify account mode we choose together, and we test it.

Past orders have no native CSV import in Shopify; they need a migration app, the Order API (a way for software to create orders in Shopify directly) or a partner. We ask what your staff actually do with old orders before choosing, since a read-only archive may serve better than a full import.
Importing a customer or product does not recreate the workflow around it. We keep records and functions as separate lists in the plan.

04Test

Test your hardest product and a group-priced order

Your most awkward products make the best tests. We run the rehearsal as five checks, from the product to the order and the category page.

Import the product with the most option combinations and check each valid choice.
Sign in as a customer from each group that sees something different and compare prices and visible products.
Place an order with a discount code, a split payment or other unusual rule you use today.
Check what your team sees when the order arrives and how it reaches shipping or accounts.
Review a category page against its old version, including filters and sort order.

05Launch

Move addresses and traffic with care

Shopify builds addresses from fixed paths for products and collections, so BigCommerce addresses cannot be reused as they stand. We map each valuable old address to a destination and import the redirect file in bulk, then test it. Redirects work only from addresses that would otherwise show a not-found page. Rankings may change after a platform move, so we monitor search performance, with Ecommerce SEO available for continued work.

Before the switch we agree how changes made since the rehearsal reach Shopify, who watches the first orders and how issues are reported. Shopify Development covers the storefront and any custom features.

Questions about BigCommerce to Shopify

Does Shopify's importer support BigCommerce?

Not as a listed source. We choose a file, app or API route after checking what your store exports.

Can every BigCommerce feature be matched?

Not automatically. Each feature is assessed, and some are configured, some built and some changed.

Will my customers need new passwords?

Not necessarily. Shopify states passwords cannot be migrated, but current Shopify accounts sign in with a one-time code sent by email rather than a password. What customers do first depends on the account mode we set with you, and we test it.

Will rankings stay the same?

We cannot promise that. Redirects and checks reduce risk, but rankings can change and need monitoring.

Bring the features you cannot lose

Share your BigCommerce address and the features staff and customers use daily. We will assess Shopify against a working brief.

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