Magento to Shopify Migration: A Practical Playbook

Magento powered a generation of mid-market commerce, but the operating cost — extensions, hosting, security patches, developer scarcity — is pushing many brands to Shopify. Done well, the migration unlocks faster releases and lower TCO. Done poorly, it tanks organic traffic for a quarter. This playbook covers: - **Catalog modeling.** Mapping Magento attribute sets and configurable products into Shopify's product + variant model without losing merchandising logic. - **URL and redirect strategy.** Preserving SEO equity with 1:1 301 redirects, canonical handling, and structured data parity. - **Custom code on Shopify.** When to use Shopify Functions, custom apps, or a headless front-end vs. theme customization. - **ERP, CRM, and ops integrations.** Patterns for keeping NetSuite, Salesforce, or a custom ERP in sync. - **Cutover and validation.** Pre-launch QA scripts, post-launch analytics watchlists, and rollback criteria. We used this exact approach to move Safari Ltd. from a legacy stack onto Shopify with ERP/CRM integration intact, then layered SEO and CRO on top.