As e-commerce evolves, businesses must constantly improve their online stores to stay competitive.
If you’re a Shopify Plus user looking to take your store to the next level, migrating to Magento 2 could be the solution you’re looking for.
Businesses of all sizes choose Magento 2 because of its powerful e-commerce platform, which offers greater customization, flexibility, and scalability.
It requires thoughtful planning and execution to migrate Shopify data to Magento 2.
Here we will discuss the benefits of migrating to Magento 2, the challenges you may encounter, and the steps for data migration you must take to ensure a successful migration.
Why Choose Magento 2 Over Shopify Plus
For small businesses, the new Shopify store is a perfect choice. But for midsized and large companies, Magento is a better option.
It may not offer as many scalability options as Shopify, but Magento can still benefit any size business.
Still, on the bright side, you will get a flexible storefront enabling better product management and an enhanced customer experience worth your price.
Here are the Top 7 reasons to choose Magento 2 as your eCommerce companion.
1. Popularity
One of the main reasons for migrating to Magento 2 is that Magento is one of the most popular and widely used eCommerce platforms on the market.
Magento 2 or Magento Store Migration is gaining popularity over Shopify Plus because of its robust features, flexible customization options, and scalability.
A large enterprise prefers it due to its better control over product management, SEO, and checkout processes.
Moreover, due to its open-source design and an extensive community of users, Magento 2 is a cost-effective option for businesses of all sizes.
2. Extremely Elastic
Compared with Shopify Plus, Magento 2 has more elasticity and flexibility. Thanks to its open-source architecture, Magento 2 lets businesses customize their online stores according to their specific needs.
Furthermore, the modular design and compatibility with third-party integrations allow bespoke solutions to be built that can grow with businesses.
A flexible platform is crucial for larger businesses to scale and adapt to their changing needs over time. On the other hand, Shopify Plus has fewer customization options, which may only suit some businesses’ needs.
3. Advanced Customization Opportunities
The advanced customization options available with Magento 2 are several steps ahead of Shopify Plus. Using Magento 2, businesses can reach a global audience and expand their customer base by setting up multiple languages and currencies.
Furthermore, Magento 2 allows companies to provide customized prices to different customer groups, allowing their customers to enjoy a more personalized shopping experience.
Also, Magento 2 makes it easier to manage multiple e-commerce stores simultaneously by enabling companies to launch and manage multiple stores from one admin panel.
While Shopify Plus also offers advanced customization options, its platform may be more limiting for businesses with more complex requirements.
4. Extended Mobile commerce Technology
Compared to Shopify Plus, Magento 2 offers an extensive range of capabilities for mobile commerce.
Magneto’s seamless integration allows customers to buy products and services with mobile devices.
Also, Magento 2 offers a mobile-friendly and responsive design. This allows businesses to deliver an optimal shopping experience to customers on all mobile devices.
Also, businesses can build cutting-edge mobile commerce solutions with Magento 2’s extensive library of mobile commerce extensions.
Even though Shopify Plus also offers advanced functionality for mobile commerce, Magento 2 has a more excellent range of features, making it a better option for companies looking to expand their mobile commerce operations.
5. Numerous Third Party Extensions
There are several third-party extensions available on Magento 2 that make it a powerful alternative to Shopify Plus.
With Magento 2, businesses can expand their online store’s capabilities and improve the customer experience with various third-party extensions.
These extensions cover various topics, including marketing, payments, shipping, and customer support. In this way, businesses can customize their own e-commerce solutions.
However, Shopify Plus only offers a limited range of third-party extensions. Because of this, businesses may have difficulty finding the functionality they need.
Due to Magento 2’s support for several third-party extensions, businesses can customize and expand their online stores more quickly.
Shopify Plus vs. Magento Commerce 2: Pricing
Shopify Plus and Magento Commerce 2 cost roughly the same amount in terms of the base price ($22,000 vs. $24,000, respectively) per year when compared to each other.
Here are the pricing models of each platform.
Magento Commerce 2 Pricing
For businesses with gross annual revenue of less than $1,000,000 and less than $22,000 annually, Magento Commerce 2’s price starts at $22,000 annually. Then, depending on how much revenue your business is bringing in and the gross market value of the merchandise you are selling, the price starts to go up from there.
Magento is a platform-as-a-service business used to create and manage online stores. Despite this, Magento Commerce 2 does not include hosting and upkeep, so companies need to purchase them separately.
Also, they may need to pay IT fees to fix any issues with their website. Aside from these costs, businesses may have to spend money on e-commerce store themes and app integrations.
Businesses of medium size can expect to pay $100 per month or more for hosting — the price of a server depends on the size of the organization — while large companies will pay significantly more for hosting their websites and ensuring that they run smoothly, even during spikes in traffic when running flash sales or Black Friday sales.
Using Magento Commerce Cloud’s cloud-based software, the cloud server costs $500 per month in addition to the software cost.
Also, consider the cost of IT, especially since you may need to update your website’s code and the Magento Commerce 2 software. Generally, a Magento Commerce 2 Store will cost at least $5,000 monthly, whether you use in-house IT or outsource the work.
Although Magento’s pricing excludes more hidden costs in general, unlike Shopify Plus, it does not charge a transaction fee for payment processing. Even so, the overall cost of ownership for a Magento shop is usually higher than Shopify Plus, but you’re getting more customization and flexibility.
Shopify Plus Pricing
Each month, Shopify Plus costs $2,000, or $24,000 yearly, with an additional fee for high-volume businesses. While Shopify Plus is a more budget-friendly option for companies looking to create an e-commerce store, there are distinct benefits to using Magento 2 that may justify its higher cost.
Shopify Plus is a SaaS platform that includes hosting and IT support for its users, which can assist businesses in saving money and time.
However, its lack of flexibility to customize its base code like Magento 2 does can limit the ability of businesses to tailor their store to their unique needs.
Magento 2, on the other hand, provides more extensive customization options and allows businesses to modify their core code to meet their specific requirements.
Moreover, Shopify Plus requires businesses to pay extra developer costs for custom app integration, which can be a significant expense, particularly for complex or unique apps. In contrast, Magento 2 provides businesses access to a more extensive pool of open-source apps and more advanced features, enabling them to create unique and innovative store features without incurring additional costs.
While Magento 2 requires businesses to pay separately for hosting and IT fees, it provides various unique benefits that may justify the higher cost.
Magento 2 is an open-source platform that allows businesses to modify their core code and tailor their functionalities to their specific needs, making it a more flexible and customizable option for companies with more complex or unique requirements.
Additionally, Magento 2 offers access to a larger pool of advanced features, enabling businesses to create innovative and unique store features to help them stand out in the competitive e-commerce market.
Shopify Plus might be a more budget-friendly option for businesses looking to get started with e-commerce, but Magento 2 offers unique advantages.
Magento 2 offers flexibility and customization options for businesses with complex needs or unique requirements. However, in the end, companies should carefully evaluate their needs and choose the best platform to meet their specific e-commerce needs, remembering that the investment in Magento offers long-term benefits and a competitive edge.
How To Migrate?
For those without much technical knowledge, the migration process may seem difficult. However, it isn’t as difficult as it is thought. It all depends on the method of migration you choose.
You should prefer manual migration if you have more than one entity in your online store. Otherwise, you’ll spend a lot of time working monotonously and could make serious mistakes.
Alternatively, you can hire Magento developers to migrate the data for you. Although this may be quite expensive, there will probably be fewer errors.
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Manual Shopify-Magento Migration
Manual migration involves exporting all data from your Shopify website to CSV files and importing them into Magento.
Deciding what data you will migrate (products, categories, customers, manufacturers, orders, etc.) is essential. Keep in mind that each CSV file can only hold 9000 rows. Your data must be processed using automated tools if it exceeds this size.
You can import or export profiles by going to the Magento admin panel => System => Import / Export profiles after you have exported the data. From here, you can import Shopify CSV files. However, you can only import
Advanced Pricing, Products, Customers and Addresses, Customers Main File, and Customer Addresses.
The only way to import unsupported data is to copy and paste it from your old website. However, when importing data to Magento, the relationship between data tables might get broken.
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Automated Migration
For automated migration, you can choose any popular extension. Even if you don’t have advanced coding skills, this Magento plugin will help you migrate the shop. Let’s now discuss how the extension can help you migrate.
Step 1: Install Adobe Commerce (aka Magento)
You will need to install Adobe Commerce (which is called Magento) to migrate from Shopify. First, ensure your system meets the requirements and download the latest version from Magento Commerce. The following infographic illustrates the entire installation process:
Step 2: Perform a Readiness Check & Add a Database
You will need to run a readiness check before the transfer to ensure that everything is ready for it:
Whenever there is a problem, you will be notified as soon as it occurs. Then, if you are successful in the check, you’ll be able to proceed to the next step:
There will be a few more steps to complete after the check, and you will need to add a database where all the data will be stored. Make sure to fill out all the required information, such as your database name, server host, username, and password, as well as the password for the database.
Step 3: Configure the future Magento store
It is now time to configure your site settings once you have finished working with your database. This step includes the following steps:
Web configuration, in which you need to enter the URL of the website domain and the admin address of the website. You can also select HTTPS options here. Likewise, add Magento or your own encryption key here.
Storefront customization, which includes the option to adjust default settings, such as language, currency, and time zone here, can also opt to add advanced configurations to your store by adding modules such as Amazon payment and Magento Admin Analytics to your store.
Admin account creation, where you specify your user name, email address, and password. From here, you can manage the backend of your site.
Step 4: Export Store Data From Shopify
After setting everything up, you can begin the manual migration from Shopify to Magento 2. Just in case something goes wrong, create a backup of your current data.
After that, you need to extract all the data you have on your old site from your Shopify admin panel. To do this, select the appropriate tabs on the right and then click the Export button at the top of the page.
When you click the Export button on the top of your page, you will receive an email containing all the necessary data.
Note: Select “CSV for Excel, Numbers, or other spreadsheet programs.”
Step 5: Import Data into Adobe Commerce
Once you have completed the Shopify to Magento import process, go to your Adobe Commerce account, select the “System” section on the left sidebar, then select “Import.” Fill in all the fields and upload the CSV file to your account.
Once you’ve filled out the form, you must run the data check. You can start the import process based on the provided data if the file is valid.
As it depends on the size of your database, this can take some time. In addition, you will also have to repeat this process for each of your entities (products, orders, and customers). If you are running short of time, consider automating the migration process.
The Time and Cost of Migrating
Switching your eCommerce site from Shopify Plus to Magento 2 can be a time-consuming and cautious process. Depending on the size and complexity of your store, how much data you need to transfer, and how customized your store is, migration can take considerable time.
Approximately three to six months are needed for the migration process. Furthermore, migration costs may vary depending on the specific requirements of your store. There is no set cost for migration, but it can range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands. A more accurate estimate can be obtained by working with experienced developers and migration specialists who can evaluate your current store and provide a customized estimate.
It’s essential to plan ahead and have a clear strategy in place for the migration process. You should also have the right resources and expertise to complete the project. Finally, you should consider the cost of the migration and weigh it against the potential benefits.
Get a Specialist To Do It Instead
You can hire a Magento specialist to handle the migration if you want to avoid dealing with it manually or using an automated app.
An eCommerce expert will be able to look at your specific requirements, provide you with a more accurate quote, and keep you informed of any issues that arise.
This may be the easiest way to go because you can keep them as a consultant to assist you in learning Magento and dealing with things you couldn’t migrate (like aesthetics).
You don’t want to complete your Magento migration only to struggle with the admin tools for months.
Keeping your marketing neat is possible with the association. However, your customers will also need some clarification when you overhaul your store.
Maintaining customer loyalty will require straightforward redirects, optimizing your homepage, and sending an email blast to your existing customer base.
Conclusion
For businesses looking to improve their online stores, migrating from Shopify Plus to Magento 2 can be challenging but rewarding. To create a more tailored and scalable e-commerce platform, carefully plan and implement the migration so that you can take advantage of Magento 2’s advanced features and customization options.
Work with experienced developers and migration experts from WEDOWEBAPPS LLC to address any potential challenges and costs to ensure a smooth transition. Migrating to Magento 2 can help your business thrive in the fast-paced, competitive e-commerce world with the right approach.
