What Actually Goes Wrong In An E‑commerce Migration

Most businesses that move platform do it for good reasons. Most of the problems we see afterwards come from the same handful of areas being under-planned, not from the new platform itself being wrong. Here's where migrations most commonly go wrong — and what protects against it.

Losing Search Rankings

URLs change structure between platforms almost by default. Without a proper redirect map, years of search visibility can disappear within days of going live. This is one of the most damaging — and most avoidable — mistakes in any migration.

Orphaned Customer Accounts

Customer accounts and order history don't always transfer cleanly between platforms, especially when password hashing methods differ. Customers who can't log in or can't see past orders lose trust fast, right when you need them to trust the new site.

Broken Conversion Tracking

Analytics and ad platform tracking is easy to overlook until the data goes quiet after launch. Rebuilding GA4 events, enhanced conversions and Merchant Center feeds needs to happen before launch, not after — otherwise you're flying blind on performance for weeks.

Disconnected Integrations

Fulfilment, stock, payment and email marketing integrations that worked quietly in the background on the old platform all need rebuilding on the new one. Missing one of these is usually what causes the most disruptive post-launch problems — orders that don't reach the warehouse, or stock levels that don't sync.

Incomplete Product Data

Variations, custom attributes and category structures rarely map one-to-one between platforms. A rushed export/import can leave products missing options, wrongly categorised, or without the SEO content that took years to build up.

Planning Around These Risks

• Map every URL and set up redirects before launch
• Test customer account migration and login before go-live
• Rebuild and verify tracking ahead of launch, not after
• Audit every existing integration and rebuild each one deliberately
• Migrate product data with proper mapping, not a raw export/import

None of this is a reason to avoid migrating — it's a reason to plan it properly. If you're considering a move between Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce, get in touch and we'll talk through what it would actually involve for your store.