Irresistible Me: Magento 1 to Shopify Plus migration

The migration service provided to Irresistible Me went beyond a simple data migration due to the company's well-established business and active customer base. Ensuring that the client would receive an equally good or better online store on a new platform required additional tasks such as development, design, migration of the online store, extensive theme customization, and development of new applications to meet the necessary functionality.

The client was initially torn between Magento 2 and Shopify Plus platforms. To assist them in making an informed decision, we provided them with all the necessary information about both platforms. After considering the high cost of development services and the complex maintenance issues involved in migrating to Magento 2, the client concluded that Shopify Plus was the more cost-effective and user-friendly choice.

For a seamless business migration, the first step is to transfer the store data, including products, collections, and reviews. Subsequently, we proceed to migrate the online store's design and functionality, ensuring a comprehensive transfer of all relevant features.

To migrate store data, our first step was to consider the specific requirements of the customer's store and the differences between Magento and Shopify database structures. While Shopify has a single data format for all stores, Magento allows users to define data formats, resulting in unique database structures for each store. This can lead to data loss when copying and pasting data during migration.

To ensure a secure migration without data loss, we decided to use data mapping. First, our team examined the structure of the client's Magento database to determine where and how the information was stored. Then, we mapped the relevant columns and values in Magento to the corresponding values in Shopify before loading the data.

In the case of Irresistible Me, we encountered a large amount of data and unique requirements. To handle this, we decided to build our own migration app instead of using a third-party service. By doing so, we ensured a safe and seamless migration without any risk of data loss.

Online stores comprise two main components: the frontend and the backend. The frontend encompasses everything that is visible to the user, while the backend comprises the underlying functionality that makes the store work. Migrating an existing store to another platform can be a complex process that involves transferring both the store's functionality and design to the new platform. For example, when Irresistible Me migrated their store data, it was just the first step, and they required additional development to ensure that both functionality and design were successfully transferred to the new store.

However, a platform migration can also provide an opportunity to enhance a store's design, as was the case with Irresistible Me. With our assistance, the client was able to select a new theme and create layouts for the new website pages. Our team worked closely with the client's design team to ensure that the user experience and functionality aligned with the layouts, while optimizing development costs for later implementation.

Since Shopify and Magento use different technologies, copying and pasting the store's code was not possible. To overcome this challenge, we developed additional custom apps to migrate the required functionality to the new Shopify store.