Moving an online store to a new platform is part website migration, part business operation. Customers, payments, stock and search traffic all have to arrive safely on the other side.
1. Inventory what you have
| Area | What to list |
|---|---|
| Products | Variants, SKUs, images, descriptions, metafields, collections/categories |
| Customers | Accounts, addresses, marketing consent |
| Orders | History you need for service, returns and reporting |
| Content | Pages, blog posts, policies, navigation |
| URLs | Every product, category, page and blog URL with traffic or links |
| Integrations | Payments, shipping/couriers, tax, email platform, reviews, accounting, marketplaces, ERP/POS, analytics, ads pixels |
| Customisations | Theme features, apps, scripts, special checkout logic |
2. Decide what moves and how
- Products and content: platform import tools, a migration app, or a migration service. Check that variants, images and SEO fields transfer.
- Customers: passwords usually can’t be migrated securely. Plan an account invitation or reset email.
- Orders: decide how much history is needed; often imported as archived orders.
- Marketing consent: must come across accurately. See UAE PDPL and marketing consent.
- Gift cards and store credit: balances must be recreated.
3. URLs and SEO
Follow the site-move process: map every old URL to its new equivalent, set 301 redirects, update internal links, submit the new sitemap and monitor Search Console. New platforms often use fixed URL patterns (Shopify uses /products/ and /collections/), so redirects are essential. See migrating without losing SEO.
4. Rebuild the operation
- Payments: gateway, Apple Pay, COD, instalments. See choosing a payment gateway.
- Shipping: zones, rates, courier integration, COD handling
- Tax: VAT settings matching your accountant’s advice
- Email flows: welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase reconnected to the new store events
- Accounting and CRM syncs. See syncing orders to CRM and accounting.
- Marketplaces and inventory sync. See multichannel inventory sync.
- Tracking: GA4, Google Ads, Meta Pixel and Conversions API, TikTok
5. Test like a customer
- Place real orders with each payment method (and refund them)
- Test discount codes, gift cards, COD, delivery rates by emirate
- Check order emails and WhatsApp updates
- Confirm orders arrive in accounting, CRM and the courier system
- Check tracking events fire once
- Test on mobile
6. Launch week
- Launch on a quieter day; avoid sales periods
- Freeze product and content changes on the old store during the final sync
- Switch the domain, turn on redirects, submit the sitemap
- Monitor daily: orders and conversion rate vs normal, payment failures, 404s, search clicks, customer messages
- Keep the old platform accessible (read-only) for reference for a while
Frequently asked questions
How long does a replatform take?
For a small store, often four to eight weeks including testing; longer with many integrations or custom features.
Will we lose search rankings?
Some temporary fluctuation is normal. Complete redirects and kept content protect most of it.
Can customers keep their accounts?
Their records can move; passwords usually can’t. Send a friendly invitation to activate the new account.
If you’re planning a store migration and want it handled end to end, that’s part of our online store service.
Free download · Excel checklist
Replatforming checklist and data map
The full checklist from inventory to post-launch, a data map (products, customers, orders, content), an integrations list and a launch-week monitoring log.
Download itNo sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
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