What will you learn from the article?
- Why are online store owners migrating from Shopera to Shopify?
- What are the key differences between Shoper and Shopify?
- What steps should you take to efficiently transfer your store from Shopera to Shopify?
- What features does Shopify offer that attract Polish e-entrepreneurs?
- What should you pay attention to when migrating SEO, products, customers and orders?
- What are the costs associated with Shopify compared to Shoper?
The migration from Shoper to Shopify is becoming increasingly common among Polish e-commerce owners. Shoper is one of the most popular e-commerce engines on the Polish market. As can be seen on the official website, this SaaS platform hosts over 20,000 online stores. Published financial results for 2022 indicate that the company's revenue increased by 54% year-over-year ( source ), indicating the brand's dynamic development. Shoper enjoys a good reputation and constant interest from Polish entrepreneurs, but some online store owners expect more from an e-commerce engine. In such a situation, they are looking for a different solution, turning to the Canadian giant, Shopify.
In this article, we write about the migration from Shopera to Shopify, its reasons, process and elements to remember during this process.
Reasons for migrating from Shopera to Shopify
Shoper is a great solution for clients looking to grow their e-business in the Polish market. Below are six scenarios where migration from Shoper to Shopify is most common:
Example I The client wants to develop sales outside Poland
Shopify is a great solution for clients who don't want to operate solely in the Polish market. One of the advantages of this SaaS is that it allows for the efficient creation of multi-language versions. In this regard, clients can:
- make a copy of the main version of the store yourself for a specific language/country or
- use one of the helpful apps from Shopify App Store or
- commission a copy to be made by one of the Shopify Expert or
- delegate the task to an eCommerce agency
It's worth mentioning here the language options on Shopify for businesses registered in Poland. Shopify Payments, which allow for multi-currency implementation, are currently unavailable in Poland (as of March 2023). In practice, this means that for Polish store owners, one Shopify license equals one currency. Therefore, if you want to have multiple currencies on Shopify, additional instances will be required. The situation is different if, for example, you only want to simulate how much a customer will pay in EUR during the checkout process, and the final checkout process is to take place in the primary currency, e.g., PLN. In such a situation, you can use one of the apps from the Shopify App Store.
Example II The customer cares about the extensive functionalities of the store
Shopify was created with the vision of an engine to which store owners would be able to add their own elements, applications, and modules. Shopify's core functionalities already offer a wide range of management and customization options. This is one of the factors influencing the decision to migrate from Shoper to Shopify.
Example III The client wants to scale his business
As a global engine, Shopify was created to give customers the ability to scale, open up to new markets, and go beyond established e-commerce models. If e-businesses want a store that will grow with their business, this SaaS is one of the best choices.
Shopify allows for multi-currency sales (when using Shopify Payments), integration with the most popular marketplaces (including eBay and Amazon), and connection with the most popular social media channels (including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest).
Example IV: The client is looking for ready-made UX solutions.
Shopify has a database of over 140 themes (as of July 2023), including 12 free ones. In the Shopify Theme Store, you can search for a template by selecting specific industries, product size, or filtering for specific features that are important to you. A key consideration for the creators and developers of this engine was to provide their clients with a wide range of graphic templates to choose from, allowing for extensive customization to create a wide variety of layouts.
Source: https://themes.shopify.com/themes
It is also worth noting that each of the templates is responsive and in many of them you can manage versions separately (desktop vs. mobile).
Another key fact is that Shopify also allows you to test templates and test changes made on a copy of the theme – this gives you the ability to verify all elements and display them properly before publishing them to production.
UX/UI specialists employed at Shopify to create themes that we can then see in the Shopify Theme Store focus on clarity and minimalism while maintaining the most important key elements in eCommerce.
Example V The client is looking for a more global solution at a similar price
Many e-businesses have the misconception that just because Shopify is a non-European solution, it certainly isn't cost-effective. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many Shoper store owners realize that Canadians offer their customers preferential pricing for their solution.
Customers have two options:
- pay for the subscription every month
- pay for the subscription in advance for the entire year
In the case of the first option, the monthly maintenance cost is $32 in the Basic plan, $92 in Shopify and $399 in Advanced.
By choosing to pay upfront, the customer receives 25%, resulting in a one-time payment of $288 on the Basic plan, $828 on Shopify, and $3,588 on Advanced.
Of course, the subscription price also includes the costs associated with applications from the Shopify App Store – here the value depends on the number of integrations and the additional solutions ultimately selected.
Example VI The client expects more and full support
One of Shopify's greatest strengths is its help center and support. When we launched this engine over five years ago, it was impossible to find articles and a knowledge base in Polish – this is no longer the case. The help center database has a Polish version, which you can explore. here .
In Shopify, a store owner can contact you in several ways:
- via chat available 24/7
- via email
- via telephone call
It is also worth noting that there is a Shopify Community where you can find answers to many questions, and the whole thing is divided into four main parts:
Source: https://community.shopify.com/
The chat I mentioned above is important because the specialists who respond to customer requests are not just consultants, but are actually able to help and point you in the right direction to solve a given problem.
What is important when migrating to Shopify?
When migrating from Shopera to Shopify, there are a few key elements to keep in mind.
Pre-implementation analysis
When preparing to migrate from one engine to another, it's important to remember that analyzing needs and goals is crucial. A prepared action plan identifies the most important elements during the migration process, which are then implemented step by step. Based on the pre-implementation analysis report, all project components required for implementation and ensuring a smooth migration are gathered in one place.
Appropriate product migration + creation of a category tree
You should take care to transfer not only the products themselves, their descriptions and photos, but also the tags, metadata and alt attributes (descriptive alternative texts) assigned to them.
When migrating from Shoper to Shopify, the category tree structure is also important in terms of products. It's important to remember that there's a three-step "rooting" process:
Main category
→ subcategory I
→ subcategory II
In the context of migrating a larger product database from Shoper to Shopify, it is worth using a PIM system, the importance of which we wrote about in this article. article .
Content transfer (all information pages + blog entries)
In the context of blog post migration, it is worth mentioning that in Shopify the client has no storage space limitations, so if, for example, blog posts contain dozens of graphics/banners/photos/additional PDFs, everything can be stored without any problems in the 'Files' section in Shopify.
You can add tags and categorize articles to migrated blog entries, as well as incorporate, for example, design carousels with products relevant to the content.
When it comes to information pages, there are no limits – you can create any number of them and then place them, for example, in the footer of your store in specific, separate menus.
Migrating the customer base and categorizing it (if it is divided into specific customer groups, e.g. VIP, gold, silver)
Many store owners migrating from Shoper to Shopify also want to migrate their entire customer base. Of course, this is possible. Customers can be simultaneously assigned to specific, pre-created groups, such as VIP. Such a group can have its own rules, such as an automatic 15% purchase discount.
Important: Due to security concerns, it is not possible to transfer registered customers' passwords during the migration. However, there is an option to send them an email requesting a password change after the system migration.
Order migration
Order database migration is available in Shopify Plus. However, there are apps that allow partial order migration in basic plans – the price of the process depends on the number of orders to be migrated.
Restoring integration connections (e.g. with external ERP systems)
This is one of the most crucial components of the migration process. Currently, many store owners have added systems to their e-commerce platforms that, for example, support order processing or systematize product information.
At the migration planning stage, it is necessary to verify these systems and the possibility of their integration with Shopify – some of them may have a ready-made connector, some will require the use of middleware, while others will only be possible to integrate using a dedicated solution, written for the client's needs, connecting Shopify with a given system.
It is crucial to test all connections before the final publication of the store.
SEO Migration
Brand recognition and its presence in Google search results take years of work. The migration process from Shoper to Shopify is only complete and comprehensive if we also take care of SEO migration. This is to ensure you don't lose your established position.
The process is divided into three main stages:
- developing a redirection map based on the current store and the new one
- introducing 301 redirects (in Shopify this is possible using one of the free applications)
- phrase monitoring
During SEO migration, access to Google Analytics and Google Search Console is required.
Domain and DNS transfer
One of the final steps in the migration is transferring your domain and DNS records. It's worth noting that Shopify provides its customers with a free SSL certificate, so we don't need to factor in purchasing/transferring one during the entire project.
It is important that after redirecting the domain to the new Shopify DNS (useful information on this topic can be found here), the entire process of record propagation is monitored.
Redirecting records to mail handling
The last element to remember is the redirection of email records, without which the correct operation of the email box will not be possible - to put it simply, emails directed from the company mailbox assigned to the store will not reach customers and vice versa - messages sent by customers will not reach the store's staff.
How to migrate your store from Shopera to Shopify?
Migrating from Shoper to Shopify should include all the elements described above. It's crucial to plan the entire process during a pre-implementation workshop, where all project-related information is systematized. A few hours spent at such workshops can help avoid many potential problems that can generate dozens of additional hours not previously included in the estimates.
Is migrating from Shopera to Shopify something you're considering? The most important thing is a plan that outlines the next steps.
It's a good idea to start by migrating your news pages and blog posts (if any). The optimal next step is product migration – depending on the scale, you can migrate products manually or use a customized CSV file using the import/export features in both systems.
Migrating the customer database and orders is the next step. During the Shopify store setup phase, you'll also connect to existing external systems. At the same time, you can begin creating a redirection map. The final step is migrating the domain and email records, including completing the migration checklist developed during the pre-implementation workshop.
Migrating from Shopera to Shopify is a process that requires preparation and consideration. A well-planned project helps avoid surprises and the stress associated with transitioning to a new system.
E-commerce migration is, in a sense, similar to moving from one apartment to another – if we think it through and create a plan of action, the whole thing goes more smoothly and without the fear of missing something.
Summary of the most important information
- Shopify supports development on international markets, unlike Shoper, which functions better on the Polish market.
- Shopify offers advanced features, extensive customization options, and a rich database of applications.
- The migration must take into account products, categories, SEO, customers and orders, while maintaining data continuity and search engine rankings.
- Shopify offers 24/7 support, which is more extensive than in the case of Shoper.
If you are interested in migrating from Shopera to Shopify, please contact us – we will be happy to discuss how to plan your migration.
