Migration

BigCommerce to Shopify Migration

BigCommerce and Shopify are close enough that the data moves more cleanly than any other migration we run. That similarity is exactly why these projects get rushed — the theme has to be rebuilt from scratch, the option-set model does not match, and the URLs are different enough to cost you traffic if nobody maps them.

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BigCommerce to Shopify migration — option sets mapped to variants, Stencil theme rebuilt in Liquid

Why it matters

Two similar platforms is not the same thing as an easy migration.

Because both platforms are hosted SaaS with comparable data models, the export and import steps genuinely are simpler here than from WooCommerce or Magento. Products, customers and orders map with fewer surprises, and there is no hosting or plugin stack to unwind. The failure mode is different: teams read that similarity as licence to move quickly, skip the redirect mapping, and rebuild the theme in a hurry. The data arrives intact and the organic traffic quietly does not. On BigCommerce projects, the work worth paying for is the front end and the URL map, not the export.

Sound familiar?

You are moving for the ecosystem, not because BigCommerce broke.

These are the reasons merchants actually give us. The fourth one is the assumption that turns an easy migration into a traffic loss.

  • The apps, themes and agencies you want to work with all build for Shopify first.
  • Your team finds the BigCommerce admin harder to work in than they expected day to day.
  • You want Shop Pay and Shopify's checkout conversion rather than maintaining your own funnel.
  • You have been told this one is easy because both platforms are SaaS, so redirects can wait.
  • Your Stencil theme is unmaintained and every design change needs a developer with Handlebars experience.
  • You are consolidating several stores and want them all on one platform and one app stack.

What's included

What a BigCommerce migration covers

The data is the straightforward part. These are the parts that decide whether the move is invisible to your customers or not.

Product, customer and order transfer

Both platforms model products, categories, customers and orders in comparable ways, so this maps more cleanly than any other migration we run. We still reconcile every record against the live store rather than trusting a row count, because close data models still differ on tax, inventory and metafield handling.

Option sets and modifiers to variants

BigCommerce separates options that create variants from modifiers that do not, and lets option sets be shared across products. Shopify has one variant model with three options. Modifiers that adjust price without creating a SKU need line item properties, Shopify Functions or an app — we identify every affected product before build.

Stencil to Liquid rebuild

There is no theme conversion tool, and there never will be. Stencil is Handlebars with its own object model; Shopify is Liquid with sections, blocks and the theme editor. We rebuild the storefront properly on Online Store 2.0, matching your design intent rather than reproducing markup your merchandising team could not then edit.

URL mapping and 301 redirects

BigCommerce category paths are often nested and product URLs sit at the root by default, while Shopify uses /products/ and /collections/. We crawl the live store, cross-reference Search Console, and map every indexed URL individually. This is the step that gets cut when a migration is treated as trivial.

B2B and price list differences

BigCommerce B2B Edition handles customer groups, price lists and quotes differently from Shopify B2B on Plus, which is built around company profiles, locations and per-company price lists. Group-based pricing rarely maps one to one, so we rebuild it and test against real accounts before cutover.

App and integration parity

Reviews, search, subscriptions, ERP connectors and marketing tools all need Shopify equivalents with a migration path for their data. Review content in particular is worth moving deliberately — it is customer-generated, it supports conversion, and it is the thing most often left behind in a fast migration.

How it runs

How a BigCommerce migration actually runs.

Three to six weeks for most stores, and this is the migration most likely to sit at the lower end. Large catalogues, complex option sets or B2B pricing push it towards eight to twelve.

  1. 01

    Crawl and map URLs

    Before anything else. We crawl the live store, pull Search Console data, and build the redirect map from real indexed URLs — including custom category paths and any legacy URLs already redirecting internally.

  2. 02

    Audit options and apps

    Option sets, modifiers, shared option templates, customer groups and every installed app are inventoried. Anything that needs line item properties, Functions or a replacement app is flagged and priced into the build.

  3. 03

    Rebuild the storefront

    Stencil cannot be ported, so we rebuild in Liquid on Online Store 2.0 with proper sections and blocks. Data is imported to a development store in parallel so you test with real products and real customers.

  4. 04

    Cut over and monitor

    Redirects go live with the domain switch, then thirty days of daily checks on crawl stats, 404 logs and rankings. Any URL we missed shows up in the logs and gets mapped the same day.

SaaS

To SaaS

Cleanest data mapping

0

Stencil themes portable

Liquid rebuild required

301

Redirect coverage

Every indexed URL mapped

30 days

Post-launch monitoring

Crawl, 404s and rankings

Straight answer

The honest case for and against leaving BigCommerce.

A good fit if…

  • You want the Shopify app ecosystem and a larger pool of developers who can work on your store.
  • Your storefront needs a rebuild anyway, so the theme cost is not additional to the migration.
  • Shop Pay and Shopify Payments are meaningful to your conversion rate and your market mix.
  • You are consolidating multiple storefronts onto one platform, one theme and one app stack.

Probably not, if…

  • BigCommerce is working, your theme is current, and you cannot name a concrete blocker.
  • You depend on BigCommerce features with no Shopify equivalent, such as its native faceted search.
  • Your pricing model relies on modifier logic that Shopify variants would make clumsy to sell.
  • You want the move done in two weeks, which is how redirect mapping gets skipped.

Keep exploring

Migrating from somewhere else?

BigCommerce to Shopify is one part of the platforms we migrate stores from. Here's the rest of the picture.

The full service

Shopify Migration

The complete service — audit, data, redirects and cutover, from any platform.

View the serviceClosely related

Wix to Shopify

Outgrown the site builder — move to a platform built for selling, not pages.

Read the guideClosely related

Squarespace to Shopify

Beautiful site, limited commerce. Keep the design language, gain the engine.

Read the guide

All guides in this series

Beyond this service

Other things we do

Most stores need two or three of these working together. Book a call and we'll tell you which ones actually move your numbers.

View all services

Frequently asked questions

  • No. Stencil is built on Handlebars with BigCommerce's own object model and front-matter data requests; Shopify uses Liquid with sections, blocks and the theme editor. No converter exists, and any tool claiming otherwise produces markup your team cannot edit afterwards. The storefront has to be rebuilt. In practice that is the largest line in a BigCommerce migration, and merchants who budget only for data movement are the ones who end up launching on a stock theme they did not want.

Planning a move off BigCommerce?

Book a 30-minute technical call. We'll review your option sets, theme and URL structure, and tell you where the real work sits.

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