For enterprise brands, switching from one platform to the other is a complex process. It’s a lengthy process that involves time, multiple teams, and planning.
Brands that migrate successfully, do it with a strategic plan. In this blog, we look at a detailed enterprise eCommerce migration checklist with 25 critical things for a successful migration.
Enterprise eCommerce migration checklist: 25 things to do
Refer to this ecommerce platform migration guide before, during, and after migrating from one platform to another.
1. Define clear business objectives for migration
Before you decide to migrate from your existing platform to a new one, you must answer why you are migrating. Do you want to improve your site speed? Or is it because you want to reduce the platform fee? Is the goal to expand to new markets? Define three to five business goals that the migration will help achieve.
2. Identify all revenue-critical customer journeys
Migration can cause disruption to important pages that generate revenue for your business. And you don’t want your revenue flow to get disturbed. To avoid this, identify all the pages that generate revenue, such as product pages, cart and checkout sequences, account login, etc. Prioritize these pages, ensure they are replicated as they are, and test them before launch.
3. Conduct a full platform and tech stack audit
To avoid any surprises in the end or during the process, start by conducting an audit of your platform and tech stack. For instance, list every component of your existing website’s infrastructure, such as front-end framework, middleware, APIs, customizations, integrations, etc. From this list, you can identify components that you want to migrate as-is and eliminate in the new platform.
4. Map the existing integrations
Enterprise website platforms usually have many integrations, required for various functions. For instance, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Order Management System (OMS), Product Information Management (PIM), marketing tools, payment tools, etc. An important point in your enterprise eCommerce migration checklist
Is to map the existing integrations, how they sync, their data directions, etc. so that when you migrate, you can replicate the integrations.
5. Audit and clean product data before migration
Your ecommerce platform migration guide must include auditing and cleaning of existing data. Migrating with incorrect product details, or duplicate product pages can cause a lot of confusion for customers. Before exporting all your product pages, audit and clean each page. Look for missing information, broken links, image quality, inconsistent taxonomy, duplicate SKUs, etc. This helps prevent errors on the new platform.
6. Plan SKU, variant, and catalog structure mapping
Different platforms handle product variants differently. It is important to document your existing SKUs and variants before migrating to the new platform, especially if yours is an enterprise business with large catalogs and complex configurations.
7. Create a complete URL and redirect strategy
One of the most common issues of enterprise platform switch planning is failing to replicate URL structure. Any changes in URL structure during migration can lead to traffic loss. Therefore, it is critical to export the complete URL inventory, identify pages with meaningful organic traffic or backlinks, and build a redirect strategy, and test each URL before launching.
8. Preserve SEO metadata and structured data
Don’t forget SEO and metadata in your enterprise eCommerce migration checklist. First, verify that your new platform can support the same markup patterns and identify any gaps before starting the development process. Migrate title tags, meta descriptions, schema markups, etc. properly.
9. Evaluate international market requirements
The requirements for local and international markets are different. If you operate in multiple regions or wish to, in the future, ensure that your new platform has the capability to handle aspects such as, multi-currency, multi-language, VAT, tax, and payment methods.
10. Review multi-store or multi-brand architecture
If you have multiple storefronts and brands under one umbrella, first you should decide whether you want separate platforms or bring all of them under a single platform. Decide your architecture model before you decide on your platform, so that you can plan the development scope, and operational overhead.
11. Define checkout logic and payment gateway requirements
Another key element in your enterprise eCommerce migration checklist is to document the checkout variations that you use on your existing platform. For example, guest checkout, account signup, B2B order flows, split payments, installment options, payment methods, etc. Ensure your new platform is compatible with these.
12. Document shipping, tax, and order fulfillment workflows
Shipping and order fulfillment in enterprise eCommerce stores can be complex and involve vast amounts of data. When planning your enterprise platform switch, catalog every integration, rate calculation method, zone configuration, and third-party fulfillment connection. Ensure tax rules are validated before you launch on the new platform.
13. Plan subscription and recurring billing migration
If you have a subscription program running in your enterprise store, prioritize migrating its data as it can be technically and legally sensitive. Plan the transition of active billing schedules, communicate to customers about the change or disruption, as any problems with migrating subscription data can lead to churn.
14. Identify custom code and extension dependencies
Custom code can usually cause problems and delays because, well, it is customized and requires unique interventions. When migrating, list all custom modules, theme override, and third-party extensions you’re using on your existing platform. Find out if an equivalent exists on the new platform or if it needs to be rebuilt.
15. Develop a data backup and recovery plan
Another important point in your enterprise eCommerce migration checklist is a data backup and recovery plan. Before starting the actual migration process, make sure you create backups of data and details from your current platform. Backup databases, file assets, and configurations. Also put together a rollback process in case your launch fails.
16. Create a migration timeline with milestones
Enterprise migrations can be complicated and can run much longer than planned. Create a migration calendar and timeline. For example, it should have detailed timelines for discovery, development, data migration, QA staging, and for going live. Define milestones and owners for each phase.
17. Choose between big bang or phased migration
Depending on your existing system, your budgets, resources, and migration team’s expertise, choose if you want to migrate everything in one go or phase it out. Phased migration is safer but requires more time and can be operationally challenging. Assess all pros and cons of migrating in both ways and make a decision.
18. Define performance benchmarks pre-migration
Another important ecommerce migration step is to define benchmarks. The idea behind migrating is to improve your website performance or meet other goals. And so, before migrating, measure your current site performance. Track and measure server response times, page load times, uptime metrics, among other metrics. Once you migrate, you can measure these same metrics on the new platform to assess if it’s better or you need to optimize.
19. Set up analytics and tracking continually
To avoid breaking your analytics setup during migration, it is critical to plan it in detail. Audit every tracking implementation, conversion pixels, tag manager configurations, etc. Rebuild and validate all tracking in the staging phase before the final launch.
20. Test all integrations in a staging environment
Here’s another critical point in your enterprise eCommerce migration checklist - testing. Every integration in your new platform needs to be tested in a staging environment before the launch. Test all integrations for various scenarios. If you notice integration failures at this stage, you still have time to fix them before they go live.
21. Conduct cross-functional QA
By conducting cross-functional QA you can catch logic failures. Conduct checks for all functions, such as marketing, operations, customer support, and finance to ensure their workflows perform efficiently.
22. Prepare customer communication strategy
Another detail in your enterprise eCommerce migration checklist should be for customer communication. Creating a detailed communication strategy specifically for migration helps avoid problems, confusion, downtime, and anxiety for customers.
23. Plan go-live rollout strategy
One of the main eCommerce migration steps is the actual rollout stage. Choose a low-traffic period for the launch. Have all the teams on standby. Track and monitor all processes to see if things are moving smoothly. Ask your eCommerce migration team to have a dedicated team on the day of the launch.
24. Monitor revenue and conversion metrics post-launch
Once the migration is done and the site is launched on the new platform, it’s time to monitor and measure revenue and conversion metrics. For example, conversion rate, cart abandonment, average order value, etc. If you detect any issues, optimize.
25. Define a 90-day post-migration optimization plan
While it is important to track and monitor the new platform from day one, give the new site 90 days to track performance, monitor every aspect, such as SEO, a/B testing, conversions, page load speed, etc. Once you review results after 90 days, optimize the pages that are not performing the way you want them to.
Ready to migrate to another eCommerce platform?
If you’re ready to migrate, this enterprise eCommerce migration guide will help you before, during, and post-migration. If you’re looking for an expert eCommerce migration agency, XgenTech can help.
XgenTech is an expert Shopify agency with deep expertise and experience in migration from other platforms, such as WooCommerce, Magento, and others.
Contact XgenTech to guide you through migration.
