2024-02-20
E‑commerce Platform Migration: What to Get Right
By Yuki Tanaka
Migrating to a new e‑commerce platform can unlock growth—or create months of pain. The difference is usually planning, data, and cutover discipline.
Why migrate?
Common drivers: scaling limits, costly customisation, poor UX, or better omnichannel/international support. Be clear on business outcomes first. "We need a new platform" is not enough; "we need to support 5 new markets and reduce cart abandonment" is.
Choose the right platform
Fit your business model (D2C, B2B, marketplace), roadmap, and team. Consider total cost of ownership, not just license fees. Evaluate integration ecosystem, API maturity, and roadmap alignment.
Data and content
Inventory everything: products, customers, orders, content, SEO. Clean and map before migration. Plan redirects and vanity URLs to protect SEO. Test imports repeatedly; data bugs often surface late.
Cutover and rollback
Have a detailed cutover plan: DNS, checkout, payments, feeds, analytics. Define go/no-go criteria and rollback steps. Run parallel or shadow operations where possible. Communicate clearly to customers and internal teams.
Post-launch
Monitor performance, conversion, and errors. Iterate on UX and ops. Migrations are not "done" at go-live—budget for stabilisation and optimisation.
We support brands through platform selection, migration planning, and implementation. Get in touch to learn more.