Planning checklist
Thinking of switching platform? Check these first
Moving to a new platform can make your store faster, cheaper to run and easier to manage, but a badly planned move can cost you search traffic and sales. Work through these before you decide.
Why are you moving?
- Write down the three biggest problems with your current platform, and check the new one actually fixes them.
- Add up what your current setup really costs each year: hosting, apps, developer time and fixes.
- List the features you rely on every day, and confirm the new platform has them, built in or through an app.
What you need to bring with you
- Products, variants, images and stock levels.
- Customers and order history, and how customers will log in after the move.
- Gift cards, store credit and any loyalty points.
- Subscriptions, if you sell them, and how they’ll carry on billing.
- Reviews, blog posts and any other content you want to keep.
Protect your search traffic
- Get a full list of your current page addresses and how much traffic each one gets.
- Plan a redirect for every page that’s changing address, especially products and collections that sell.
- Keep your page titles and descriptions for your best pages, at least at first.
- Save a Search Console baseline before you move, so you can spot any drop quickly afterwards.
Your systems and apps
- List everything connected to your store: stock, accounts, warehouse, email, reviews and ads.
- Check each one works with the new platform, and who will set it up.
- Make sure your tracking and ad pixels are set up and tested before launch.
Planning the move
- Avoid launching in your busiest weeks. Black Friday to Christmas is the worst time for most brands.
- Agree who signs off each part, and how you’ll test the new store before it goes live.
- Plan launch day: who’s watching orders, payments and traffic, and what you’ll do if something goes wrong.
- Check traffic, sales and search rankings at one week, one month and three months after launch.
Create8, who run The Ecom Wire, help UK brands plan and run platform moves and Shopify upgrades.
Talk to Create8General guidance to help you plan, not professional advice. Last checked 13 November 2026.