It’s no secret that budget is a major factor when it comes to purchasing services. We’ve all had to weigh up our costs and decide what’s worth spending money on.
At some point, most of us will have to ask how much a service costs, or have our own services questioned. There’s one particular service – migrating from Magento to Shopify – which has experienced a steep rise in demand since the emergence of Shopify. Most of the curiosity around this service comes down to one thing – people are curious about Shopify setup and pricing.
So, let’s investigate the cost of migrating from Magento to Shopify, setting up a Shopify store, the Shopify plans and associated costs, and the cost of additional Shopify themes or integrations.
We have the groundwork laid, let’s get into Magento to Shopify migration cost!
Why do people prefer Shopify instead of Magento?
Before we delve into the Magento to Shopify transfer cost, let’s take a look at what could be potential motivation for users to move on to the latter platform. In comparison to Magento, Shopify is considerably easier to use and setup. For starters, if you’re seeking to build a store on Magento, you would have to become adept in coding or hire a web developer to do the job. As opposed to this, all you would need to do on Shopify is simply open an account and pick a theme.
Besides, Shopify offers more features than Magento, although the latter ranks higher in customization options. Shopify boasts remarkable sales tools such as cart recovery, support for both digital and physical products, aid in selling on multiple channels, and collaborations with delivery services such as Canada Post, USPS, DHL Express and numerous others.
It’s not just sales tools that the Shopify platform outshines Magento with; it also has incredible marketing tools in its corner. This includes third-party integrations to thousands of applications, allowing sellers to specifically advertise via social media, which can be accessed in multiple different languages.
Along with this, Magento also lacks a mobile app plus first-party POS systems, free subdomains, blogs, unlimited bandwidth, PCI-DSS compliance, free SSL certification and detailed sales reports, all of which are offered by Shopify. Above all, it’s tricky to secure a hosting provider for Magento, this being an additional pro for the Shopify platform.
Thus, it evidently becomes a no-brainer for users to migrate to the Shopify platform.
Migration stages
Stage 1: Create a data backup
Before anything else, we should guarantee that our invaluable data is stored, protected and backed up to protect us from any possible issues down the line. You might be asking yourself: how can I create a data backup on Magento? Well, it’s very likely your hosting service provider routinely makes backups. Nevertheless, for your own peace of mind, here’s what you ought to do:
- From within Magento, go to Admin > System > Tools > Backup.
- Pick among “Data set and Media Reinforcement,” “Frameworks Reinforcement,” or “Reinforcement of Data set.”
- Click the “OK” button and give your file a name.
Stage 2: Create a Shopify store
If you haven’t already, now is the time to create a Shopify store. Shopify offers four plans:
- Basic
- Advanced
- Shopify
- Shopify Plus
Once you’ve weighed up your options from the variety of plans available, you’ll need to fill out a brief questionnaire about your goals for the website and your future ideas for your business.
If you’d prefer to investigate which plan is the most suitable for you before making your decision, you can always make use of the totally free trial version.
Stage 3: Decide if you want to migrate manually or use the store app
Making the decision to move your data to Shopify is a vital part of the process. You can opt for either manual migration or use one of the store’s apps for automatic transfer. If you take the automated approach, then you can consider downloading applications like Import Store, Multichannel Importer, or Excelify.
Alternatively, if you choose to transfer data manually, the task will be slightly sped up by utilizing CSV files or staying reliable with the good old copy-paste method.
Once you’ve chosen the most suitable method of migration, you’ll need to go on to Magento and select Admin > System > Data Transfer > Export. On the next page, you’ll need to decide between the categorization of “products,” “customer main file,” or “customer address.” Afterwards, you’ll be notified to choose the file format, so click on XML if the automated option is more suitable or click CSV if it’s more of a manual migration.
Stage 4: Transfer your data and review everything
Well done for taking those big steps towards completing the data migration! If you choose to do it manually, make sure that the transition is complete and all of your data and files are intact. Otherwise, you can also go ahead and take advantage of the automated process provided by Shopify. All you gotta do is open the App store, pick Import Store then Magento, Upload Files,Add Files, Continue Import and then Import.
Once you are done, have one last check to make sure that nothing is amiss and the data is successfully in the right places. You’ve earned yourself a pat on the back. Good job!
Stage 5: Set up the store
Now is the time to start branding my business. Setting up a shop on Shopify is quite straightforward, since all the themes are already set up and ready to go, plus they are all optimized for use on mobile devices. There are a total of ten free themes available in the store and then there is a range of paid themes which may cost up to $180.
So beyond just setting up the themes, I also need to establish other vital parts of the business, like taking care of payments, shipping and transferring my domain address.
Stage 6: Test it out
To guarantee that everything is immaculate and organized, we suggest that you test out your site to check its usability for your customers. Take a look around your site to make sure its user experience is up to par, products have adequate descriptions, and to ensure everything can easily be navigated. Furthermore, you should also try making orders, canceling them, paying and canceling payments – just to get acquainted with the platform.
For more information on transferring from Magento to Shopify, click here to visit our blog and view the detailed migration process.
Magento to Shopify Migration Cost
Shopify platform fee
Shopify has a variety of plans to choose from on its website, from the economical Basic plan ($29/month) to the more comprehensive Shopify plan ($79/month) or the robust Advanced plan ($299/month). If you opt for a yearly membership, you’ll get a 10% discount on any of these plans. Or if you need something a bit more advanced, there is always the Shopify Plus plan starting at $2000/month. Regardless of the plan you select, all of the options come with the same level of excellent customer service and amazing features.
Themes and apps
Using Shopify, customers have access to a great selection of both free and premium themes. Generally, premium themes will cost anywhere in the range of $180 – $350 while the free themes come with no additional charge. Aside from theming options, Shopify also offers customers the convenience of thousands of apps to choose from on their platform, with most of them ranging from free to premium costs (averaging around $20 a month).
Migrating and setting up your site
The expense involved in making the switch from Magento to Shopify can vary greatly – from as little as five hundred dollars up to and beyond forty-two thousand dollars per project. Similarly, the cost of setting up a Shopify store could range from one hundred dollars to a lofty twenty-seven thousand dollars. For those who prefer to pay per hour, some professionals charge between fifty and eighty dollars and more for their services. In the end, the exact cost largely depends on the nature of the business, the kind of site you want, the length of the transition, size of the site, and proficiency of the people involved in the process.
Conclusion
Shopify is a powerful e-commerce platform that offers businesses of all sizes the resources to get their products or services out into the world. From individual sellers just getting started to large brands that have expanded into multiple outlets, Shopify is a versatile platform that can meet the needs of any business. For enterprise sellers – those with higher revenue and a need for more support – than Shopify Plus is the perfect option. Shopify Plus is more costly than a traditional Shopify plan, so if you aren’t making millions of dollars in annual revenue, it would be wise to stick with a regular Shopify plan. This is generally the most cost-effective option, allowing you to keep growing with your store. When the time is right and your business is ready, you can then make the switch to Shopify Plus, confident that it is the perfect solution to fit your needs.