Disclosure: Webdigita appears at position 2. Our eCommerce migration services page covers our process and pricing. This hub covers migration strategy and platform decisions – for route-specific agency shortlists, use the platform guides linked throughout.
- Adobe Commerce and Magento store counts have declined by roughly 20% since 2022 as mid-market merchants replatform to Shopify – UK replatforming activity is at its highest level in a decade (BuiltWith, 2026)
- Poorly managed platform migrations cause an average 15-30% organic traffic drop in the 90 days post-launch when redirect mapping is incomplete (Sistrix, 2025)
- UK eCommerce migration projects range from £8,000 for simple platform transfers to £150,000+ for enterprise Adobe Commerce migrations with ERP rewiring and custom extension rebuilds
The short answer:
No – a well-executed platform migration does not lose Google rankings. Rankings drop after migrations because of incomplete 301 redirect mapping, URL structure changes that are not communicated to Google before launch, and content that is lost or restructured without canonical tags. Every URL that changes without a matching redirect is an organic traffic leak. Every page that disappears without a redirect signals a loss of content to Google. Agencies that treat redirects as an afterthought lose rankings. Agencies that run redirect mapping as a parallel workstream to the build, verify every URL before DNS cutover, and submit updated sitemaps within 48 hours of launch do not.
Quick picks by migration route
- WooCommerce to Shopify: Fourmeta, Charle Agency, Webdigita, Kubix, Swanky, Blubolt, Eastside Co – full guide →
- Magento to Shopify: Fourmeta, magic42, Webdigita, Charle, Eastside Co, Swanky, Absolute Design – full guide →
- Shopify to WooCommerce: Platform-specific guide coming
- Magento to WooCommerce: Platform-specific guide coming
- Any platform to Magento / Adobe Commerce: Spotlight guide coming
Which platform should you migrate to
The most common migration mistake is choosing a destination platform before completing a requirements analysis. The platform should follow the store’s operational and technical requirements, not the agency’s preferred stack or the merchant’s perception of which platform is most modern.
| Your store situation | Shopify / Plus | WooCommerce | Magento / Adobe Commerce |
|---|---|---|---|
| D2C, standard product catalogue, limited B2B complexity | Strong fit – hosted, managed, fast to maintain | Viable but adds WordPress maintenance overhead | Significant overkill – cost and complexity not justified |
| B2B with customer group pricing and trade accounts | Shopify Plus with B2B – viable for up to 5 tiers | B2BWoo or WholesaleX – viable for modest B2B | Strong fit – native customer groups, shared catalogues |
| Large catalogue, complex attributes, configurable products | Variant limits (100 per product) may constrain | Plugin-dependent – gets slow at large catalogue scale | Strong fit – native complex catalogue structure |
| Multi-store, multiple brands, international territories | Shopify Markets or multiple Plus stores | WordPress multisite – complex at scale | Strong fit – native multi-website from one instance |
| ERP-led operations, real-time stock and pricing sync | Via middleware – well-supported at mid-market | Via plugins and middleware – manageable | Native – deepest ERP integration model |
| Subscription / recurring billing | Recharge or Recurly on Shopify Plus – strong | WooCommerce Subscriptions – viable | Third-party extension required |
| Escaping high maintenance cost and PHP complexity | Strong fit – reduced ongoing technical maintenance | Reduces some Magento overhead but adds WordPress overhead | Not the right direction |
Migration risk scoring: what makes a project harder
Not all migrations carry the same risk. Before contacting an agency, score your own migration against the factors below. The higher your total, the more carefully you need to evaluate agency experience and the more conservative your timeline estimate should be.
| Risk factor | Low risk | Medium risk | High risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue size | Under 1,000 SKUs | 1,000-20,000 SKUs | 20,000+ SKUs or complex attributes |
| URL structure changes | Minimal – new platform uses similar structure | Some product and category URLs change | All URLs change – Magento rewrites, blog paths, tags |
| Custom extensions / plugins | Standard apps and plugins only | 2-4 custom extensions needing replacement | 5+ custom extensions or bespoke plugin logic |
| ERP integration | None or standard middleware | Existing middleware needs rewiring | Custom ERP middleware must be rebuilt from scratch |
| SEO dependency | Paid traffic dominant, organic secondary | Organic meaningful but not dominant | Organic is primary acquisition channel |
| Order and customer history volume | Under 5,000 orders | 5,000-50,000 orders | 50,000+ orders requiring migration and mapping |
| Subscription customers | None | Some – subscriber data needs mapping | Large subscriber base with complex billing logic |
| Blog and content pages | Minimal blog content | Some blog with organic traffic | Large blog archive with significant organic rankings |
A score of 5+ high-risk factors places your migration in the complex tier – expect 4 to 9 months, specialist agency involvement, and budget above £35,000. A score of 2 or fewer high-risk factors suggests a 8 to 16 week timeline and mid-market agency scope.
The SEO and data checklist every migration needs
Most migration projects that lose rankings fail on one of four things. Run through this before any agency is contracted.
URL mapping: Crawl every URL on the current platform – product pages, category pages, blog posts, tag pages, author archives, filtered URLs, pagination pages – and map each to its destination URL on the new platform. Every URL that changes needs a 301 redirect. No exceptions. The redirect file should be reviewed by the agency’s SEO resource before launch, not after. Agencies that produce the redirect file in the final week of a project are treating it as housekeeping rather than risk management.
Content preservation: Blog posts, CMS pages, landing pages and product descriptions must migrate with all metadata – title tags, meta descriptions, canonical tags, structured data and internal link structure. Losing meta data during migration is equivalent to launching a new site with no SEO work done. If the source platform uses Yoast SEO (WooCommerce) or Magento’s native meta fields, confirm with the agency how that data is exported and mapped to the destination platform’s meta fields before migration begins.
Data integrity: Product data (SKUs, variants, attributes, images), customer records, order history and review data all need export, transformation and validation before import. The most common data migration failures are missing customer passwords (cannot migrate between platforms – plan a reset email sequence), missing product attributes (especially Magento configurable product attributes which have no direct Shopify equivalent), and order data that fails the destination platform’s validation rules. Confirm with the agency exactly which data entities are in scope, how they are validated post-import, and what the remediation process is when validation finds errors.
Pre-launch verification: Before DNS cutover, the staging environment should pass a full technical SEO audit – crawlability, canonical tags, structured data, page speed, Core Web Vitals, mobile rendering, checkout completion on a test transaction. The SEO audit should be run by someone independent of the build team. Launch day is too late to find structural problems – fixing them post-launch while the domain is live means Google crawls a broken state before the fix is in place.
When migration is the wrong decision
Not every eCommerce store should migrate. There are scenarios where the cost and risk of replatforming outweigh the operational benefits you are trying to achieve.
If your Magento store’s primary problem is hosting performance, switching to better-managed hosting or a Hyva frontend is often faster and cheaper than migrating to Shopify. If your WooCommerce store’s problems are primarily plugin conflicts and slow load times, a codebase audit and performance optimisation is a lower-risk intervention than a full platform migration. If the organic traffic risk of a URL structure change is high and your business cannot absorb a 90-day ranking dip, the timing may be wrong even if the platform decision is right.
The scenario where migration is clearly the right decision: you are on Magento 1 (end of life since June 2020, no further security patches), your Magento 2 upgrade cost exceeds the cost of a Shopify migration, your WooCommerce hosting and plugin maintenance is consuming more internal resource than the platform is worth, or your current platform cannot support the commercial requirements of where the business is going in the next three years.
What a well-run migration process looks like
Migrations fail at discovery, not at launch. The agencies that consistently deliver clean migrations run a structured pre-build process that most merchants underestimate the value of until they see a competitor’s migration go wrong.
Phase 1 – Discovery (2-4 weeks): System audit of the current platform, URL crawl, data entity mapping, extension or plugin gap analysis, ERP integration scope, SEO baseline. This phase should produce a written specification before any build work begins. A proposal that skips straight from initial conversation to timeline and cost is a proposal built on assumptions.
Phase 2 – Build and migration (8 weeks to 6 months depending on complexity): Theme development or customisation on the destination platform, data migration scripts, extension replacement or rebuild, ERP middleware rewiring, redirect file production. SEO is a parallel workstream throughout this phase, not a task at the end.
Phase 3 – Staging verification (2-4 weeks): Full data validation on staging, redirect verification on every URL, technical SEO audit, checkout test transactions, performance benchmarking. No project should proceed to DNS cutover without a documented pre-launch sign-off that covers all of the above.
Phase 4 – Launch and monitoring (2 weeks post-launch): DNS cutover, sitemap submission to Google Search Console, crawl monitoring, ranking monitoring, conversion monitoring. The 14 days post-launch are the highest-risk window for any migration – the agency should have a named person monitoring for issues, not just a ticket system.
Six agencies covering multiple migration routes
For route-specific agency shortlists with full profiles, see the platform guides linked in the Quick Picks section above. The six agencies below cover multiple migration routes and appear consistently across the route-specific guides.
1. Fourmeta
London Shopify Plus agency whose entire practice is built around migration rather than new builds. Their three published principles – zero data loss, zero SEO loss, zero revenue loss – are backed by fixed-scope engagements where cost, timeline and deliverables are agreed before a line of code is written. eCommerce Awards Best New Website Launch winner in both 2024 and 2026, which validates launch quality on live trading stores rather than just the agency’s process claims.
Routes covered: WooCommerce to Shopify Plus, Magento to Shopify Plus, BigCommerce to Shopify Plus, Wix to Shopify Plus · fourmeta.co.uk
2. Webdigita
Cross-platform migration capability across WooCommerce, Shopify and Magento – which means Webdigita can handle both Shopify-destination and Magento-destination migrations from the same agency. Projects start from £11,000, approximately 40% below the UK market average of £18,500 for mid-complexity migrations. The governance-led approach runs redirect mapping and extension or plugin gap analysis as a pre-build deliverable before scope and cost are confirmed – preventing the budget overruns that occur when plugin complexity is discovered mid-project. London, Reading and Birmingham offices.
Routes covered: WooCommerce to Shopify, Magento to Shopify, WooCommerce to Magento, Magento to WooCommerce · webdigita.co.uk/ecommerce-migration
Webdigita produced this guide and appears at position 2.
3. magic42
Birmingham agency with an unusual combination: Magento certified developers who also build and maintain Shopify Plus. This cross-platform knowledge means they understand the Magento data architecture from the inside when making migration mapping decisions, rather than learning it from documentation during your project. Confirmed multisite Magento to Shopify Plus case studies with ERP integration – Bed Factory Direct (complex product configurator), British Gymnastics (multi-site with ERP), SD Products (ERP integration) – all documented on their website. Born from a £12M electronics retailer, which means commercial eCommerce risk is something they understand from operating, not just building.
Routes covered: Magento to Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus, B2B multi-site migrations with ERP · magic42.co.uk
4. Charle Agency
London Shopify Plus agency with a dedicated migrations team that operates separately from their new-build developers – which matters because migration requires a different engineering mindset to a new build. Their WooCommerce migration page specifically names configurable products, customer groups, blog posts, content pages and reviews as migration scope items, which signals Magento and WooCommerce platform knowledge rather than generic migration copy. In-house SEO is involved during the migration build as a parallel workstream, not as a post-launch audit. 150+ Shopify launches with a post-launch maintenance retainer (HelpDesk product) available from the same team.
Routes covered: WooCommerce to Shopify Plus, Magento to Shopify Plus, BigCommerce to Shopify Plus · charle.co.uk
5. Eastside Co
One of the first three Shopify Plus Partners in the UK since 2012, with 500+ Shopify stores and 80+ in-house developers – no outsourcing. The agency that published the most specific Magento migration SEO outcome on this list: a documented case study showing 63% organic growth following a Magento to Shopify migration, with the URL mapping strategy, content freeze decisions and post-launch monitoring methodology described. They build custom Shopify apps for functionality that has no Shopify-native equivalent – relevant for Magento merchants whose custom extensions cannot be replaced by off-the-shelf apps. Enterprise scale, Platinum Partner credentials, Volkswagen and Chelsea FC as named clients.
Routes covered: Magento to Shopify Plus, WooCommerce to Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify Plus, enterprise custom migrations · eastsideco.com
6. Blubolt
400+ eCommerce projects, the majority involving helping established brands migrate to Shopify Plus and simplify their existing tech stack rather than replicate it. Their positioning around tech stack simplification is directly relevant to Magento merchants who have accumulated extension debt over years – Blubolt actively identify what can be decommissioned during migration rather than defaulting to rebuilding every existing function on the new platform. The same team handles migration and the post-launch maintenance retainer, eliminating the knowledge transfer gap where most post-migration incidents occur when the build team moves to the next project. Fashion, lifestyle and retail sector focus – Never Fully Dressed, WYSE London and Bella Freud as named clients.
Routes covered: Magento to Shopify Plus, WooCommerce to Shopify Plus, bespoke platform to Shopify Plus · blubolt.com
Common migration mistakes and how to avoid them
- Treating redirects as a post-launch task. Every URL that changes without a 301 redirect is organic traffic that does not follow you to the new platform. Redirects need to be ready before the domain switches over, not deployed as a hotfix two weeks after launch when ranking drops are visible in Search Console
- Not specifying data scope before the project starts. “We will migrate your data” means different things to different agencies. Get written confirmation of every data entity: products, variants, images, customer records, order history, reviews, blog content, metadata, URL structure. Anything not on the signed-off list becomes a change request during the project
- Signing with the cheapest Shopify agency for a Magento migration. Magento data architecture – configurable products, customer groups, URL rewrites, multi-store structure – differs significantly from Shopify. Agencies that have built many Shopify stores but limited Magento migration experience make expensive data mapping assumptions during discovery
- No staging sign-off process. The staging environment should be treated as a pre-production audit, not a preview for the client. Full SEO audit, checkout completion, data validation and redirect verification should all pass before DNS is touched
- Moving to Shopify Plus when standard Shopify covers the requirements. Shopify Plus is approximately three times the monthly cost of standard Shopify. If your requirements do not involve custom checkout, B2B company accounts, Shopify Functions or Shopify Markets, Plus is not necessary
What to ask any migration agency before signing
Five questions that reveal whether an agency has done this before or is pricing on assumptions:
- Show me your redirect mapping process and a sample redirect file from a previous migration on the same source platform. If they cannot produce one, or describe redirects as something they do after launch, that is a risk signal
- What is in scope for data migration – give me a complete list. Products, variants, customers, orders, reviews, blog posts, metadata, URL structure. Every entity not on the confirmed list is a future change request
- How do you handle an extension or plugin that has no destination platform equivalent? The answer should describe a decision process: decommission, replace with app, or rebuild as custom functionality. Not “we’ll handle it during the project”
- What does your pre-launch SEO sign-off look like – what passes and what fails? Ask for the specific checklist and the tools they use. An agency that cannot describe their pre-launch SEO verification process does not have one
- Who monitors the integration in the first 14 days post-launch and what are they watching for? The two weeks after DNS cutover are the highest-risk window. There should be a named person, a monitoring plan, and a rollback process documented before launch
Migration project cost guide
| Migration type | Typical complexity | UK cost range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard WooCommerce to Shopify (under 2,000 SKUs, no subscriptions) | Low to medium | £8,000-£18,500 | 8-16 weeks |
| Mid-market WooCommerce to Shopify (custom plugins, ERP, blog content) | Medium | £11,000-£25,000 | 12-20 weeks |
| Standard Magento 2 to Shopify (no custom extensions) | Medium | £15,000-£30,000 | 12-20 weeks |
| Magento with custom extensions and ERP to Shopify Plus | High | £30,000-£60,000 | 4-6 months |
| Adobe Commerce enterprise, multi-store, B2B to Shopify Plus | Very high | £60,000-£150,000+ | 6-12 months |
| WooCommerce to Magento / Adobe Commerce | High | £40,000-£100,000 | 4-8 months |
For migration discovery support, our eCommerce migration services page covers how we scope projects across Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento routes. For detailed agency shortlists by route, use the dedicated guides: WooCommerce to Shopify and Magento to Shopify.
Final recommendation
Platform migration is not a technology project. It is a data, SEO and business continuity project that happens to involve technology. The merchants who lose rankings, lose customers and spend months recovering from a migration did not fail because they chose the wrong agency for the build work. They failed because redirect mapping was incomplete, data scope was underspecified, or the agency treated SEO as a post-launch consideration.
Before you contact any agency, complete the risk scoring table above and document your data scope. An agency that does not ask for both of these during the first conversation is pricing on assumptions. One that asks detailed questions about your URL structure, custom extension list, blog content volume and ERP integration requirements before providing a cost estimate is treating your migration as the system design problem it actually is.
Frequently asked questions
1. Will I lose my Google rankings if I migrate eCommerce platforms?
No, not if the migration is managed correctly. Rankings drop after platform migrations for three reasons: incomplete 301 redirect mapping where URLs change without matching redirects, content or metadata that is lost or restructured during migration, and poor timing of sitemap resubmission after DNS cutover. An agency that maps every URL before launch, validates all redirects on staging, migrates metadata alongside content, and submits updated sitemaps within 48 hours of DNS cutover will not cause permanent ranking loss. A temporary dip of 2-6 weeks is normal as Google recrawls the new structure. Permanent loss is the result of process failures, not migration itself.
2. How much does eCommerce platform migration cost in the UK?
UK eCommerce migration costs range from £8,000 for a simple WooCommerce or Shopify transfer with a small product catalogue to £150,000 or more for enterprise Adobe Commerce migrations with custom extension rebuilds, ERP rewiring and multi-store architecture. The UK market average for a mid-complexity migration - a WooCommerce or Magento store generating £500k to £2M annually with some custom plugins and an ERP connection - is approximately £18,500. Webdigita's migration projects start from £11,000, approximately 40% below this market average.
3. How long does an eCommerce migration take?
A standard WooCommerce to Shopify migration with a small catalogue and no custom plugins takes 8 to 16 weeks. A mid-market Magento migration with configurable products, an ERP integration and blog content takes 4 to 6 months. An enterprise Adobe Commerce build with custom extensions, multi-store architecture and B2B workflows takes 6 to 12 months. Timeline is driven primarily by extension or plugin complexity, ERP integration scope, and catalogue complexity - not catalogue size alone.
4. Should I migrate to Shopify or stay on Magento?
The decision depends on your operational requirements rather than which platform is more modern. Shopify is the right choice if your store is primarily D2C, your product catalogue has standard structures, your ERP integration can be rebuilt via Shopify's API, and you want to reduce ongoing platform maintenance overhead. Magento and Adobe Commerce is the right choice if you need complex B2B pricing with customer groups, multi-store architecture, PunchOut integration, native approval workflows, or a catalogue structure that exceeds Shopify's 100-variant-per-product limit. If your Magento store's problems are primarily hosting performance rather than platform limitations, a hosting upgrade or Hyva frontend migration may be faster and cheaper than a full platform migration.
