{"id":23430,"date":"2025-05-05T09:21:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T09:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dits.md\/how-not-to-migrate-a-website-from-one-platform-to-another-from-wordpress-to-shopify\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T13:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:12:16","slug":"perenos-sajta-s-wordpress-na-shopify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dits.md\/en\/perenos-sajta-s-wordpress-na-shopify\/","title":{"rendered":"How not to migrate a website from one platform to another (from WordPress to Shopify)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Website migration<\/b> is always a complex process that requires careful preparation, otherwise it can lead to catastrophic consequences. We’d like to share a real-life case study that clearly demonstrates the problems that can arise if the approach isn’t taken correctly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of our client, an online store selling home appliances, prior to the migration, website traffic consistently ranged from 8,000 to 14,000 visits per month, the site ranked high for key search queries, and had a high DR score. We built the online store<\/a> on the WordPress<\/b> platform using WooCommerce<\/b><\/a> and supported two language versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, for corporate reasons, the decision was made to migrate the site to Shopify<\/b> . Problems arose when the client failed to coordinate the migration with us, and the preparation for the process was insufficient. As a result, products were simply uploaded to the new site via an XLSX file and launched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result was catastrophic: a sharp drop in traffic and conversions, practically to zero<\/b> , partial loss of data in GA4 analytics<\/a> , a complete loss of configured events in GTM, and a decline in search engine rankings. Furthermore, we lost the pages we had previously created targeting local search queries by city, which had generated stable traffic for key product categories. We also experienced significant problems with advertising campaigns (they weren’t stopped during the migration) due to significant URL changes and the inability to track conversions. As a result, we are facing a protracted recovery process for an already functioning online store, which requires significant effort from our content managers and SEO specialists<\/a> . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. What mistakes were made during the website transfer:<\/a>
  2. What you need to do to ensure your website transfer goes as smoothly as possible:<\/a>
  3. Preparing to migrate your website to a new version:<\/a>
  4. What to pay attention to after migrating your website to a new version<\/a>
  5. Checking the site after migrating to a new version<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

    What mistakes were made during the website transfer:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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    1. Page URLs were not saved, and redirects were not created<\/b> \u2014old links were not redirected to new pages, which led to a drop in traffic and a loss of search ranking.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Meta tags, texts, and translations were not transferred<\/b> \u2014without correctly transferring metadata and texts for both languages, important SEO data was lost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. The blog wasn’t migrated<\/b> \u2014content blocks, articles, and useful materials remained on the old site, which also impacted SEO.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Analytics and event\/conversion tracking systems were not migrated<\/b> \u2014the analytics system used on the old site was not integrated into the new one, which resulted in data loss.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. All internal linking was lost<\/b> \u2014the connecting links between the site’s pages disappeared, which worsened navigation and search engine perception of the site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. Pages created for local queries were lost<\/b> – as a result, a significant portion of traffic for local keywords was lost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    7. Robots.txt not configured<\/b> – The robots.txt file was not configured properly, which made it difficult for the site to be indexed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      So, what needs to be done to ensure that the website transfer goes as smoothly as possible without such problems?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe fewer structural changes there are during the move, the higher the chances of maintaining the previous position.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What you need to do to ensure your website transfer goes as smoothly as possible:<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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      1. Make a backup copy of the old site
        <\/b> Before any transfer, be sure to create a full backup of your old website and save it for at least a month after the transfer. It’s a good idea to keep the old version of your website accessible from a different IP address (or the old one) so you can quickly revert to it if         SEO issues<\/a> arise. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. The unpublished new version of the site must be closed from indexing.<\/b>
        <\/b> The test domain hosting the new version of the website should be blocked from indexing by search engines. This can be done using the robots.txt file, server settings, or the website’s admin panel. It’s best to block the test site with a banner or add password protection. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Minimizing structural changes<\/b>
        <\/b> The fewer structural changes there are on the new site, the higher the chances of maintaining the same positions in search engines.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Preparing to migrate your website to a new version:<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        1. Page URLs:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n