Good B2B web design is about creating a website that looks nice.

Great B2B web design is about creating a website that looks nice and generates quality leads for your business.

Otherwise, it’s like designing a beautiful shop window display but always keeping your door locked.

In some cases, the website design gets so out of hand that it’s like making your customers go through a maze before they can even get to the front door.

But, you don’t want to go so far in the other direction that your website looks unprofessional, which can damage audience trust.

When you get that balance right, the impact can be massive.

In this guide, we’ll explore the foundations every website needs and cover some current B2B website design trends that could help bring your website to the next level.

Not every trend is a good fit for every business, so we’ve explored the pros and cons of each.

The Impact of Great Web Design for B2B Brands

In today’s digital age, web design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about functionality and results.

While many of the latest web design trends focus heavily on style, this approach often overlooks a critical aspect for B2B brands: lead generation.

Winning design awards is great, but the true measure of a website’s success lies in its ability to generate leads, drive sales, and enhance the buyer journey.

This is why all of Thinkplus’s website designs are built on thorough SEO and conversion rate optimisation (CRO) research.

User Experience (UX) Driven B2B Website Design

User experience can be the difference between someone getting confused and leaving your site, or converting right away.

If you’ve gone heavy on a design that looks “cool” but doesn’t help your visitor get the information they need to convert, then you’ll need to make some changes.

Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)

The main goal of any B2B website should be to convert visitors into leads and, ultimately, into customers.

We consider a well-designed website to be one that uses conversion rate optimisation (CRO)

This includes relevant calls-to-action (CTAs), intuitive navigation, and clear value propositions that will encourage visitors to take the next step.

This could mean filling out a contact form, subscribing to a newsletter, or requesting a demo.

Without taking CRO into account, even the most visually stunning website will struggle to deliver tangible business results.

Design for the Buyer Journey

A smooth and intuitive buyer journey is key to keeping visitors on your site and guiding them through the sales funnel.

Effective B2B website design considers the entire user experience, ensuring that each interaction is seamless and purposeful — everything is useful to the visitor rather than only being there to look good.

From the moment a potential customer lands on your homepage to the point they make a purchase decision, every click and scroll should be designed to improve their journey and make it easy for them to convert.

The B2B buyer journey is already complex before they even reach your website — you don’t want your website’s design to make it even more complicated.

Image Source

Highlight Your Offer

Your website, especially your homepage design, should be focused on promoting what you offer.

That might seem obvious, but time and time again, we see brands with websites that are promoting the fancy things their web design agency can do rather than their business.

The above the fold section (that’s anything a user can see before they scroll) should make it obvious what you are selling through the imagery, headings, text and CTAs.

If your website looks good but your offer is unclear, you’ll need to make some changes.

Don’t know how clear your offer is? Check with people outside the business to see if they know what your business sells from the website alone. If they don’t, you need to rethink your design.

Everything on Calendly’s homepage is there to help communicate its offer.

The heading of “easy scheduling ahead” immediately lets you know that Calendly offers a scheduling product that makes things easy.

The copy says “easily book meetings”, reinforcing the ease of use and telling you what the product does (meeting booking).

The imagery on the right-hand side reinforces the offer again, saying, “reduce no-shows and stay on track”. It also shares some examples of how the software can do this through text and email reminders.

They could have used an image of some people having a meeting, but that wouldn’t have done as much to explain what Calendly is offering and the problems it solves.

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Easy to Scan

Another element of website UX is having a site that is easy to scan-read.

Attention spans are shorter than ever, and people want to know if the web page they’ve landed on is selling what they need or sharing the information they’re after as fast as possible.

Let’s say they land on a product page.

They expect the product imagery to be on the left, with information about the product, like its name, price, specs and reviews to be on the right.

You can change this formula up to make it more exciting or to stand out from competitors. But, remember people are used to viewing product pages with the left to right format. If your page goes too far from this, they won’t be able to find the information they need easily.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun with your product pages, though.

This product page from Unmind is vibrant and keeps things simple, meaning that even though it doesn’t look like a typical product page, it’s still easy for the viewer to find what they need.

It highlights the benefits and features of the software in a simple way, and gives the viewer the option to click on each point to read more.

The main thing this page is missing is a clear CTA, but other than that, it’s a great example of how you can create beautiful product pages that don’t overwhelm your audience with information, instead focusing on the main benefits of the product.

B2B Website Design Trends in 2024

Now we’ve laid out the foundations of a good website, we can explore the trends.

Just because something is trendy doesn’t mean you need to implement it on your website. Keep in mind that your site needs to be updated every 3-5 years; otherwise, it’ll start looking outdated.

As much as we tell people not to judge books by their covers, they do, and they’ll judge your website if it looks outdated and unloved.

Illustration

Illustration and character design can be used in B2B website design just as much as in B2C.

We use illustrations on the Thinkplus website to communicate that we’re a fun digital marketing agency — but we don’t let the illustrations take centre stage.

Instead, they’re there to complement our great results and knowledge, rather than to undermine what we’re trying to say.

Often, in B2B, especially B2B SaaS, you’re selling something that’s hard to photograph.

Illustrations can help bring your business to life and explain what you offer visually.

Travel booking software Rezdy could have added an image here of its software, but using an illustration helps it show the different types of travel businesses that can benefit from its product in a more engaging and fun way.

Rezdy also uses custom icons across the site to fit the business. Adding a visual that’s related to their product helps to quickly communicate the growth a business might have depending on the package option they go with in a way that’s relatable to them.

If you want to go down the illustration route, remember to keep it related to your brand, and ensure it doesn’t overshadow your offer and what you’re trying to communicate.

You want to get leads and sales, not be an art gallery.

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Pops of Colour

Another B2B website design trend is clean designs with pops of colour. All the examples we’ve shared so far have used some kind of pop of colour in their designs.

Pops of colour are great for drawing the visitor’s eye to different parts of your website.

In the below image from Hootsuite, the red colour guides the viewer’s eye from the image to the text.

The image includes lots of aspirational elements – a high like count on a social media post and the ideal times to post, which gets the viewer excited, and then the right hand side hits them with the offer.

It’s important here that you go with pops of colour rather than bright colours everywhere. If your site is too bright, it will be difficult for visitors to look at, and it might be challenging for people to read if you’re not using enough contrast.

Deep Scrolling

Deep scrolling is the name given to web pages that reveal more the further you scroll. They morph and evolve, giving you the feeling that you haven’t moved down the page but that your scrolling is changing it.

However, lots of designers aren’t so keen on this from a CRO perspective, as it’s more about revealing things to the viewer slowly than sharing your offer with them.

This style can sometimes work for “About” pages or in blogs where you are telling a story, and you want to build some suspense and immerse the reader in the page.

Bold Text

2024 has been the year of big heading text.

Big text can help you tell a visitor what you do, but it shouldn’t be used on its own above the fold.

This big text needs to communicate what you’re offering. If it doesn’t, then half your above the fold section will be taken up by something that doesn’t benefit your business.

This heading from Craft is a great example of big, bold text being used well on a website. It tells you exactly what the business does, which is helping you craft the best documents in the world.

While big heading text can be impactful, it’s important to balance it with other design elements, like subheadings, images, or interactive elements. These will provide additional context and guide users towards conversion.

Remember, the effectiveness of big, bold text ultimately depends on how well it aligns with your overall brand strategy and resonates with your target audience.
A/B testing different variations can help you determine the best heading for your specific website and business goals, eliminating the guesswork.

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Dark Mode Vs. Light Mode

The debate about whether dark or light mode is better rages on in offices everywhere.

Instead of picking sides, some businesses have opted to design their websites with both light and dark colour schemes that the visitor can switch between.

Not only is this great for people who have a preference, but also for those who struggle to read one or the other. It’s a design choice and an accessibility feature.

It isn’t as simple as just inverting colours, though. Implementing this type of theme switching effectively requires careful consideration of the following things:

1. Consistent Design: Ensure that both light and dark versions maintain your brand identity and provide equally good user experiences.
2. Colour Contrast: Pay attention to colour contrast ratios in both modes to ensure readability and meet accessibility standards.
3. Easy Toggling: Place the theme switch in an easily accessible location, typically in the header or navigation menu.
4. Performance: Optimise the switching mechanism to ensure smooth transitions without affecting page load times.
5. User Preference Memory: Consider using cookies or local storage to remember a user’s preference for future visits.
6. Testing: Thoroughly test all site elements in both modes to ensure functionality isn’t compromised.

Web Design Trends in 2024

Remember that the key to success in the B2B world isn’t just about following the latest fads.

It’s about finding that sweet spot where eye-catching design meets practical functionality.

Whether you’re making an impact with bold text, playing with light and dark modes, or keeping things clean with pops of colour, always keep your audience and their journey in mind.

After all, a website that looks great and generates leads is the ultimate win-win.

And who knows – you might just create the next big trend yourself.

What to Watch Next

What to Listen to Next

• THIS Part of Your Funnel (Probably) Sucks
• How To Get Qualified B2B Leads using PPC
• How We 10x’d Leads for a Finance Company.

What to Read Next

• How to Optimise Each Page of Your Website
• How to Get Qualified B2B Leads Using SEO
• Link Building for B2B Businesses.

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Visitors are landing on the right pages, but they get stuck.

They leave.

They don’t convert.

You want to increase the number of pages they visit, but you don’t know where to start.

This guide will explain different tactics you can use to move visitors around your website, moving them down the sales funnel and towards a conversion.

Struggling to get to grips with Google Analytics 4? Check out this video to learn where the most important metrics are, and how to include them in explorations (custom reports).

We’ll be focusing on the views per user metric in Google Analytics 4. If you already know where to find this metric and why it’s important, you can click here to skip straight to the tips.

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What Are Views per User in Google Analytics 4?

Views per user is a metric in Google Analytics 4 that tells you the average number of web pages or mobile app screens viewed per user.
If your average views per user is three, that means that visitors are visiting three pages, on average, when they visit your website.

Why Increase Your Website’s Views per User?

You might be wondering, “What’s the point of this?”. There are multiple reasons why increasing the pages your visitors visit is a positive move to make:

• Build brand connection. The more time visitors spend on your website, consuming different content, the more affinity they’ll have for your brand.
• Search engine optimisation. Google uses many signals to decide where your pages will rank in search results. One of these signals is how much time visitors spend on your website. If Google sees that visitors are reading multiple pages on your website, this is a sign it is of high quality.

Ultimately, you want to take your user on a journey around your website. External factors can make it difficult to get the user to stay on the journey you want them to, but there are several tactics you can use to move them around your site with the least amount of friction.

Where to Find Your Website’s Average Views per User

You can find your website’s views per user data in the “Pages and Screens” report in Google Analytics 4. If you haven’t yet made the move to Google Analytics 4, you can check out our beginner’s guide, which talks you through the Google Analytics 4 setup step-by-step.

To find the “Pages and Screens” report, head to reports, then open the “Life cycle” drop down. Open the “Engagement” drop-down and select “Pages and Screens”.

Scroll to the bottom of the “Pages and Screens” report, where there is a table. Here you can see the average views per user across your entire website, as well as individual pages.

Knowing the average views per user for a specific page can be useful, as it shows you which content users are revisiting on your website. If you have one blog post that users are visiting often, you may want to replicate the format for other blogs in the future.

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How to Increase Website Views per User

There are three main strategies you can use to increase your website’s views per user.

1. Identify sticking points
2. Improve the user experience
3. Create pillar content.

We suggest you work through these in order, as identifying the areas users get “stuck” on your website will help you improve your design and user experience, which will inform the format of your content.

1. Identify Sticking Points

If you’re getting traffic to your website but struggling to get visitors to move to other pages, it could be there are areas of your website where they are getting “stuck“.

This could be due to weak calls-to-action or difficult-to-understand navigation.

It could be that you have really strong CTAs, but they’re too far down the page.

Let’s look at an example of a bad website. We created this mock-up, so there’s no shade towards any website in particular.

Why might a user get stuck on this homepage?

1. There’s no call to action.
2. It’s not clear what the business is selling.
3. The products take a back seat on the menu.
4. The menu is difficult to read and doesn’t make much sense.

If it looks like a bunch of random elements thrown together, that’s because it is. We come across websites like this every day — no clear next step, no clear product or service offering and no benefits to choosing this brand over competitors.

So, what does a good site look like?

What on this website would make visitors move to another page?

1. The H1 heading tells them exactly what the business does, so they don’t leave immediately.
2. An easy-to-read menu, ordered by importance.
3. Clear calls-to-action for those ready to buy and those unsure which product is right for them.

Each of these makes it easier for visitors to take a next step, whether that’s navigating to another page via the menu or following a call-to-action.

The same rules apply to every page on your website, from product pages to blog posts.

Make sure your menu is visible and consistent on each page and that all your content includes internal links and calls to action where relevant. We’ll cover the power of internal links and calls to action further down this guide.

There are several ways you can identify the places visitors are getting stuck on your site.
You can install heat mapping software on your website, such as Hotjar, to see how users interact with your site.

Image Source: Hotjar

You can pay people to visit your site and review their experience. It’s good to get an outside perspective, as they often see things differently from those who are close to or immersed in the brand.

You can also use custom reports in Google Analytics 4 to follow user journeys.

How to View a User’s Journey in Google Analytics 4

To follow user journeys in Google Analytics 4, head to the “Explore” section and create a new path exploration.

By dragging and dropping the “page title and screen” node type into the starting point box, you’ll be able to see where people go after your homepage or any other page on your site.

If the Google Merchandise Store was trying to get more visitors from the home page to visit products on the Men’s/Unisex category page, they could expand this path and see the behaviour after they visit the Men’s/Unisex category page.

We can see that a majority of visitors (102) head back to the homepage after visiting the Men’s/Unisex page, which could indicate that the category page needs optimising and many visitors are not finding what they need on that page, so don’t move onto a product page.

Understanding the order in which your users visit your pages and where they are heading, or not heading, instead of converting, can help you understand the areas of your website that need improving.

If you want to increase conversions and your average view per user, you can do this by adding a search box to your website. You can then use the search box to not only track what people are searching for but also to help them find what they’re looking for if they didn’t find it on the page they’re currently on.

Adding a search box to the bottom of your category pages allows people to search for an item they’ve not found. This means instead of thinking you don’t sell it and leaving your website, the visitor will find the product they’re looking for and become a customer.

You can also use Google Analytics to track what visitors are searching for and make sure those products are visible on product pages. It could be that visitors are searching for a product often but are having trouble finding it, so it isn’t making the sales needed for you to identify it as a popular product.

2. Improve the User Experience

If visitors are getting “stuck” on certain pages of your site, it’s likely that you need to make some changes. This could be the overall design of your website, the navigation or pages within your site.

Website Design

If your website is difficult to look at, users will find it difficult to identify where to go next or may even leave right away.

This could be due to a lack of calls to action, too many calls to action, bad design when it comes to colours and images or an overcrowded website.

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Navigation

It can be tempting to “innovate” with your menu bar, but this is one of the key ways that users travel from page to page on your website. Your menu should list the most important product or service first so users can find what they need right away.
Let’s say you’re a law firm. Which of these menus would make more sense?

A. Home – Our History – Customer Login – Law Guides – Legal Services

B. Home – Legal Services – Law Guides – Our History – Customer Login.

Menu B is far more effective. The services are at the forefront, followed by blog content. The customer login ends up on the far right where users often expect it to be.

Your website’s menu isn’t the only way users get around your site. Internal linking can help increase your website’s views per user by directing visitors to places on your site where they can learn more about a specific topic.

Internal Linking

Internal linking helps your visitors navigate your website from within your content.

If you’re writing a product page and mention other products, link to them.

If you’re writing a guide and mention another topic you’ve written about previously, link to it.

This is a great way to promote old content and give your audience more information about a topic without needing to include everything in one giant, impossible-to-read guide.

You can also create a piece of pillar content and use internal links to direct users towards more detailed, specific pieces of content.

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3. Create Pillar Content

Pillar content is a fleshed-out piece of content that links to smaller, more specific content.

An example of pillar content for a mortgage broker could be “How to Buy Your First House”. This blog post would include all the steps you need to go through to buy your first house.

Some of these steps need more explanation and detail than others, so you can create individual blog posts going into greater detail about those steps.

Examples could be:

• “How to Find a Mortgage Broker”
• “How to Calculate Your Deposit”
• “Best Savings Accounts for First Time Buyers”.

You then link to this content in the pillar piece, allowing readers to learn more about that step or topic if they want to or continue reading.

Because of this, pillar content can result in multiple page views across your site, as some readers will visit these other pages to learn more.

Pillar content isn’t an excuse to give half the advice just so you can link to another page — keep in mind that the time spent on a page also helps boost that page in search rankings. You also want to give your visitors a good user experience — if they realise they need to keep moving to a new page to get more information, they’ll lose interest fast.

This guide you’re reading right now is a piece of pillar content for our blog, “Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics 4”. The original guide is very detailed, but being a beginner’s guide, it wasn’t right to include this much information in that one guide.

How to Create Pillar Content

Writing pillar content is similar to writing any other blog but with a bit more detail. Think of pillar content as the ultimate guide to a topic, with links to more detailed content on your site for those who want to take their knowledge to the next level.

There are a few ways to ensure your pillar content is the best it can be.

Click-Worthy Title

Conduct keyword research to ensure there is an audience out there for your piece of pillar content, then use this keyword in your title. Put the keyword as close to the start of the title as you can, but ensure it makes sense.

It’s better to have a title that makes sense, that people will actually click on, than one that is only written to appeal to Google robots.

Heading Tags

Writing out your headings before writing your pillar content will give you a structure to work to. We recommend typing your keyword or title into a search engine and then using the Skyscraper Method to find inspiration for your headings. You may see a topic you didn’t think to cover or realise that a topic you were going to cover is outdated.

Once you’ve decided on your heading titles, use the H2 tag to identify headings and the H3 tag to identify subheadings.

Using different heading sizes throughout your blog post will help keep your reader engaged. This also helps keep the attention of readers who scan the content for the section they are looking for.

Here’s an example of how a user scans a page on the Apple website, from a study into how people read online by the Nielsen Norman Group.

Image Source: NN Group

This is especially helpful when it comes to pillar content with sections that link to more detailed blog posts — the visitors who scan will find the section they want, see they can get even more information on another page and head there, increasing the number of pages they view.

Mix up the Format

Pillar content is often long, and mixing up the format of your post can help keep your reader’s attention.

• Use bold or italic text sparingly to emphasise to certain words or phrases.
• If you’re making a list, use bullets or numbers to set it apart from the rest of the text and create visual interest.
• Include pop-out quotes from experts and professionals to add credibility and break up the text.

Here’s an example of a pop-out quote. It brings attention to the quote itself by making the text larger and adding more defined quotation marks”.

Multimedia

Pillar content benefits hugely from multimedia elements. Pillar content often goes into a lot of detail, and some ideas will be better explained with a video or infographic.

Images also help keep your readers engaged, adding visual interest to your blog post. When creating offshoots of your pillar content to explain some aspects in more detail, you can potentially reuse the multimedia elements from your pillar content, saving you time.

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Calls to Action

Adding relevant calls to action (CTAs) can help convert customers, which often includes moving to another page on the site, increasing your average pageviews per user.

It’s important that these CTAs are relevant. If they don’t fit with your content or ask something of the reader that doesn’t match the stage of the funnel they are at, they’ll tune it out and won’t see why it’s relevant to them.

Depending on the topic of your pillar content, it’s likely you won’t be promoting CTAs that try to get a sale out of your customer, but you may want to offer a downloadable guide, checklist or use the CTA to direct them to another detailed guide that relates to your pillar content.

Linking

Internal linking is an important part of your pillar content. Throughout the guide, you want to link to more detailed guides about the different aspects of this topic. It’s likely you’ll write the pillar content first, then work on adding more detailed guides later, linking to them once they’re finished.

Pillar content is also “evergreen”, meaning it will keep working for you long after it’s posted. It’s worth revisiting your pillar content every six to 12 months to ensure it is still relevant.

Summary — How to Increase Your Website’s Views per User

There are many benefits to increasing your website’s views per user, including boosts to search rankings and building a relationship with your existing or future customers.

The main ways you can improve your views per user are:

1. Identifying sticking points
2. Improving the user experience
3. Creating pillar content.

Don’t forget to move over to Google Analytics 4 before July 2023.

If you leave it until the last minute you’ll lose all your historical data. It’s better to set it up now and have a year’s worth of data, even if you don’t want to make the move right away. Learn how to set up Google Analytics 4 in our beginner’s guide.

What to Read Next

• Learn how to keep visitors on your website for longer to increase your website’s average engagement time.
• Keep your visitors coming back to your website by learning how to increase engaged sessions per user on your site.
• Create content that visitors actually want to read, and that gets you to the top of Google.

The post How to Increase Your Website’s Views per User appeared first on Thinkplus.

What’s covered in this post:

1. Why move from WooCommerce to Shopify?
2. What are the migration process options, and what are the positives and negatives?
3. Migrating using the Store Importer App
4. Manual migration
5. Migration using an automated shopping cart migration solution
6. Hire a Developer or Agency.

Why move from WooCommerce to Shopify?

With the release of Shopify store 2.0, users are finding more reasons to make a move over to Shopify. It’s quickly become one of the most used eCommerce platforms for those who want to run an online business.

Shopify has over two million daily active users, so you’ll be in good company if you decide to migrate.

Before exploring how to perform a WooCommerce to Shopify migration, we’ll take a quick look at why you might want to switch to Shopify.

It’s easy to use

Shopify has over 70 ready-made themes that are easy to customise, along with apps that can take your Shopify store to the next level in terms of functionality. Arguably, the WooCommerce store also has much of the same functionality. The thing that sets your Shopify store apart is its excellent 24/7 support and Learn Platform.

It’s easy to set up SEO

Initially, the WooCommerce store has been much easier to update than the Shopify store in terms of SEO. The new 2.0 updates include an option to include Metafields without using APIs or code. Like WooCommerce, Shopify includes a place for meta description plus an easy way to add a blog or news section.

It grows with your business

Both Shopify and WooCommerce allow you to scale your business, but if you’re looking for a fuss-free way to quickly scale up your business plan so that your store grows with your business, then Shopify does make it easy to do.

It’s extremely simple to set up

Short on time? You can set up your Shopify store in as little as 15 minutes if you need to. It will take longer if you’re looking to customise your store, but it’s still very much a plug-and-play platform.

It’s secure and easy to make payments

Once again, Shopify and WooCommerce are quite evenly matched on payment options. Shopify makes it very easy to set up payments from Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and more.

Unlike WooCommerce, Shopify comes with a built-in SSL certificate, so it’s one less thing to think about when setting up your store.

It has a flexible pricing plan

Shopify isn’t the cheapest option, but it offers three core pricing plans, a starter plan and a plus plan for larger businesses. This means that whatever your size of business, there is likely to be an option that works for you.

Source: Shopify’s Pricing Plans

What are the migration process options, and the positives and negatives?

If you’ve decided that you’re ready to migrate WooCommerce to Shopify, you’ll need to decide which migration process is the best option for you. There are four options available to you, and each has its benefits and drawbacks, which we’ll look into next.

1. Use the Shopify Importer App

If this is available to you, it’s by far the easiest option.

Positives

• It’s only three steps
• It’s extremely simple
• It’s free to use.

Negatives

• You can only use this if you have an “all content XML file”
• If things ‌go wrong, there’s no expert help at hand.

2. Migrate WooCommerce to Shopify manually

Manual migration is available to everyone but is the trickiest and most arduous process.

Positives

• It’s cost-effective and won’t cost you a penny
• You’re in control of your data migration, which is great for security.

Negatives

• This process is the most lengthy and can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing.
• There’s a high chance of errors, so if you’re unfamiliar with both platforms, be prepared to research each of the platform structures.
• Again, if things ‌go wrong, there are no experts on hand for help.

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3. Use an automated shopping cart migration process

Multiple extensions can help you ‌complete your data migration process. They often come with expert help and make a move much more straightforward.

Positives

• Most follow a three-step process.
• There is plenty of expert help at hand.
• Likely to have good security
• It’s possible to migrate different data types, including orders, customer details and product variants.

Negatives

• They can be expensive. Most base costs on the number of product variants, blogs, orders and customers.
• It’s still possible for errors to occur.

4. Hire an agency or developer

This is possibly the most straightforward option as it takes all the hassle away from you.

Positives

• Your input will be minimal, with a developer or agency doing all the heavy lifting.
• Most will provide after-sales support, so if you’re in warranty and an error occurs, you’ll have someone to fix it.

Negatives

• It’s likely to be the most costly option
• You’re not in control of the migration process, so you’ll need to be careful to hire someone with good security procedures
• Some developers or agencies won’t have a good knowledge of both platforms.

Migrating using the Store Importer App

Source: Shopify App Store

If you’ve decided on this option, it’s likely that you’re fairly certain it’s possible to download the export file needed. Here we’ll run through the steps you’ll need to take to migrate WooCommerce to Shopify.

Step One

Export your store data

1. From your WooCommerce admin, click Tools > Export.
2. Select All content.
3. Click Download Export File.

Step Two

Import data into Shopify

1. From your Shopify admin, click Apps > Store Importer.
2. On the Import your data into Shopify page, choose WooCommerce from the drop-down menu.
3. Under Upload files, click Add file and select your exported files. You can select as many CSV files as needed. When importing products, you need to add the exported files for both the Default and Bulk Edit templates for the data to import properly.
4. Select the WooCommerce XML file ‌ you downloaded.
5. Click Continue import > Import.

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Step Three

If your data import has led to a successful migration, you should take some time to review the imported data. A few possibilities are listed below:

Import successful with changes

This means that everything has gone according to plan. There’s nothing for you to do except review the imported data. If needed, you can edit the imported information by clicking “View Items” in the review section of the import summary.

Some products failed to import data

This might be an issue if your products are bundled on your WooCommerce store. In this instance, you’ll need to manually import your products and then download an app to bundle them once they’re imported.

Products are imported but not published

If you’re seeing this, it means that one or more of your products in your WooCommerce store had their visibility set to hidden when you exported files. The easiest solution for this would be to ensure they were set to visible before you start your import. Or, if you’re past that point, you can set your products to visible or available to a sales channel within Shopify.

Product variants failed to import

Again, in this instance, you’ll need to import product variants using manual migration. So if you have a product that includes different size and colour options, you’ll need to import the entire product manually. Likewise, things like dimensions will need to be added to your product description.

Digital products

It’s possible to migrate digital downloads, but they won’t publish automatically. For digital download product data, download the Digital Downloads App and follow the steps.

Manual migration

As we’ve mentioned before, this is a lengthy process, and so we’ll only briefly cover the steps needed here so that you make a judgement call on whether it’s the right route for you.

For a more detailed step-by-step explanation, take a look at the manual over on the Shopify website.

Step 1: Configure your basic administrative settings

This entails ensuring that all of your store data is up-to-date and getting familiar with your account, billing details, and setting up any staff logins.

Step 2: Organise your data

It makes sense to do some housekeeping before you start your import. Decide which products you’ll import and then compile everything into CSV files.

Step 3: Import products using a CSV file

Once you have your CSV file ready, you’ll find your import options in the Products section of your store. Find full instructions here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zdiCMJ9Tlo

Step 4: Import customers using a CSV file

You can only import customer files that are 1MB and smaller so you may need to use multiple files. Find full instructions here.

Step 5: Organise your products after migration

Review all of your products, including product and meta descriptions, create collections, a drop-down menu and get familiar with your inventory.

Step 6: Choose your theme

This bit should be straightforward. Add your chosen theme from the Shopify theme store.

Step 5: Set up your domain

Either purchase a domain through the Shopify store or repoint your existing domain.

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Migration using an automated shopping cart migration solution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bltzmov-DVI

There are naturally multiple apps and extensions that you can choose to help to migrate WooCommerce to Shopify. We’ve picked a popular store importer app, LitExtension, to look into more closely.

Step 1: Pick your LitExtension plan

The amount you pay will depend on the number of products, blogs, customers and orders.

Step 2: Set up the source cart and target cart

Select WooCommerce as the source store and Shopify as the target store, and follow a few simple instructions to set these up.

Step 3: Select your data

Select the products, categories, customers, orders and blogs you want to import.

Step 4: Run the migration

The app will run the migration for you and provide options to set up redirects and clean up your existing data.

Hire a developer or agency

Hiring a developer or an entire agency to run your WooCommerce to Shopify migration is by far the easiest way to migrate your WooCommerce store data to your new Shopify store.

It’s important to note that not all developers, and therefore not all agencies, are created equal. Picking the right one can be the difference between a smooth and fuss-free experience and feeling like you’ve wasted your money and made the wrong decision.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing who to perform your migration.

1 Developer or agency?

Are you just looking for someone to migrate images and WooCommerce data like customers, orders and product tags? Or are you looking for a more holistic approach to setting up your online store?

If it’s the latter, then an agency might be a better option for your Shopify migration. They should be able to advise on best practice SEO for your Shopify store, plus help you to set up a theme and customise your design.

Listen to our podcast on Shopify SEO for beginners if you’d like to try it yourself.

What’s your budget?

An agency gives you access to a team of experts, so their costs often reflect this. If you’re willing to project manage the Shopify migration, finding a developer might be slightly more cost-effective.

This isn’t always true! There are very reasonable agencies, and there are also very costly developers, so do your research and make sure you don’t compromise on experience, which leads us to our next point.

Are they a Shopify Partner?

Shopify Partners are a community of app developers, store developers and agencies who regularly work with Shopify. They may also be familiar with other eCommerce platforms, which would be a bonus.

The ideal scenario is to find someone who knows both the Shopify and WordPress platforms well.

Can they show you reviews?

Indeed, you can sometimes find a fantastic developer who is just starting and doesn’t have many reviews. But if you want to feel safe working with someone who knows what they’re doing, check out their reviews on Google and Facebook or ask them to share some with you.

Do they provide after-sales support?

While it’s unreasonable to expect your Shopify developer or agency to do additional work for free, most will have a contractual warranty period that lets you know how much support they’ll provide after your WooCommerce to Shopify migration is complete.

For example, this might be several rounds of feedback, or 30 days to report any issues. This after-sales support is essential as it means you will feel supported after your import is complete — whether that’s because you have questions or something goes wrong on your eCommerce site.

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How much time can you offer?

If you’ve decided a developer or an agency is for you, it might be possible to reduce the turnaround time or the cost by doing some background work yourself.

This means ensuring your WordPress admin panel is orderly, you’ve deleted any store data you don’t need, and you’ve created a brief that includes vital information.

This might be information like a list of which products have variables, any bundles, whether you need imported product tags, and info like the shipping price and meta description.

The more information you can provide about your existing website, the clearer the task will be to the developer or agency, and the less room there should be for errors.

Some developers and agencies may require you to do this anyway and will see it as part of your client brief to them.

If this is the case, it’s not a bad thing because it’s likely to reduce the amount of contact they will need with you after this point, meaning that you don’t need to be involved until they have migrated your site successfully.

Learn more about Thinkplus’s eCommerce development services for WordPress and Shopify online stores (and Shopify SEO service too).

What to Read Next

• The Best eCommerce Platforms to Use
• Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which Is The Best One for You?
• How to Create a Winning Shopify Marketing Strategy
• A PPC Guide for Shopify eCommerce Stores
• 11 Things You Need to Know before Choosing a Web Design Agency
• 6 Ways to Increase Your eCommerce Store’s Sales

The post How to Migrate a WooCommerce Store to Shopify appeared first on Thinkplus.

If so, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, we show you how to easily migrate your Shopify store to WooCommerce. We also provide helpful tips on making the migration process as smooth as possible. So, if you’re ready to learn more, keep reading!

What’s covered in this post:

1. Why move from Shopify to WooCommerce?
2. Migration options and the pros and cons
3. Manually migrate store data – steps and tips
4. Migrate Shopify to WooCommerce using a Store Migration app
5. Hire a Developer or Agency

Why Move from Shopify to WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is the UK’s best-loved eCommerce store option, with Webtribunal reporting that WooCommerce is the most popular plugin on the entire internet — with 68% usage distribution.

It’s not a standalone platform. It’s an extension of the popular website builder, WordPress, so it is a convenient way to convert your WordPress dashboard into an online store.

Shopify is quickly growing in popularity — and for good reason; it’s an easy-to-use eCommerce platform for small to medium businesses.

Shopify is not for everyone, with many finding themselves limited by its interface. If you feel you’ve outgrown the functionality within your Shopify store or are looking for something bespoke, then switching to a WooCommerce store might be a great option.

Read on to discover the benefits of opting for a WooCommerce store.

More control over your store

WordPress and WooCommerce are both open-source code, allowing anyone with the technical ability and the imagination to run wild with customisation ideas for their WooCommerce store.

There are countless apps available to turn your website into whatever you need it to be. Whether that’s creating tables, doing regular free back-ups or new design features.

Plugins developed by third-party developers mean that if you can dream it, someone else will likely have dreamed it first and built it. For example, a plugin that allows users to create their own designs to put onto your products is possible with the WooCommerce store.

Better SEO features

WooCommerce allows you to customise and edit all aspects of your SEO, from metadata to URL structures and snippets to plugins that can improve your site speed scores.

Shopify was not originally built with SEO in mind, and whilst they have recently made an update that allows users to update their metadata more easily, it has a long way to go before it catches up with the WooCommerce store and WordPress.

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Niche payment options

Both the Shopify and WooCommerce stores have plenty of payment options, including Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

This again comes down to how flexible the WooCommerce store can be, thanks to the many extensions available. So if you like to offer credit-based options, or your website needs to provide payment options for overseas customers, WooCommerce is a great option.

More flexibility and customisation

The open-source nature of WordPress and WooCommerce means that developers can change the source code in whatever way they’d like.

Likewise, if there isn’t a plugin or extension that does what you need, it’s possible to create one for yourself with the help of an app developer.

Likely, you won’t need to do that. WooCommerce has over 300 add-ons explicitly built for eCommerce, and WordPress has over 54,000 free plugins to help with everything from marketing to functionality.

Shopify has around 6,000 apps, which is plenty, so again, it boils down to what you want to achieve through your store.

This is also true of your store design. The Shopify store has many lovely theme options designed with an eCommerce store in mind. Whilst they are customisable, Shopify is unlikely ever to be as customisable as WordPress.

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More flexible pricing options

The Shopify Store has three core payment plan options, which fit most pocket sizes, and for most small businesses, this is great.

WordPress and WooCommerce are free to use, so if you want to spend years perfecting your online store before launching it to the world, you can do that.

It’s worth mentioning that to put your site live, you will need to pay for a domain name, hosting and an SSL certificate, so WooCommerce is not a completely free option. This post by WooCommerce shows the costs involved.

However, WooCommerce allows you to control your monthly costs more. If you’re looking for an extension to add a specific kind of functionality, you can likely try a free version or pay for one when you can afford it.

There are also no transactional fees with WooCommerce, which is a way to save on costs.

Equally, whilst both Shopify and WooCommerce offer additional shipping tools, the price to use these on Shopify is built into your package, so you’ll need to upgrade to access them.

WooCommerce offers a paid-for extension, so it’s up to you whether you need it or not, no matter your business size.

Access to a community of learning resources

Shopify and WordPress have a large and growing community of users who are happy to share knowledge.

The Shopify store additionally has 24/7 phone or live chat support, which WordPress doesn’t.

So why would you opt for WooCommerce over a Shopify store? It depends on how passionately you feel about open-source, sharing resources and community.

WooCommerce encourages knowledge sharing through their Forum and regular meetups. Likewise, WordPress has a scheme that encourages volunteers to contribute their time to improve the platform.

To summarise, both WooCommerce and Shopify are excellent options for small to medium business owners. Which you opt for will depend on how customised you need your online store to be. If you’re looking for some niche functionality or expect to need this ‌in the future, ‌consider moving from Shopify to WooCommerce.

Migration Options and the Pros and Cons

If you’ve decided that you need more flexibility or niche functionality within your online store than is possible with Shopify, then it’s time to migrate Shopify to WooCommerce.

Whilst the extent of migrating your data is nowhere near as large a project as building a new website, there’s still time, effort and the potential cost involved with moving your store from Shopify to WooCommerce. Which option you choose should reflect how much of each of these three things you’re willing to spend.

All three options will require a degree of time, effort and money, so it’s prudent to look at your WooCommerce migration as an investment that will help your business grow in the long term. Viewing the migration process as inconsequential will likely result in problems later down the line.

Here we’ll explore the three options available to you if you’re looking to move your online store from Shopify to WooCommerce, along with the pros and cons, followed by the steps you need to take for each option. Consider each one carefully before making your choice.

Manually migrate store data

This is the only free option, but it’s likely to be the most time-intensive option. Whilst the process is free, ‌consider the functionality built-in to Shopify that will be lost and might require a WooCommerce plugin to replace it. Do your research upfront because while most WooCommerce plugins are free, some are not.

Pros

• This is a free option, with the only costs being the price of a hosting provider, SSL certificate and any plugins needed (you will need these with any migration option).
• For a manual migration process it’s relatively straightforward.
• You will be in full control of your migration process, which is a great way to review your Shopify data and ensure the security of your customer data.

Cons

• There is no expert support, only community forums.
• It can be tricky if you’re unfamiliar with either platform or not technically minded.

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Choose a store migration app

Multiple automated migration apps can be purchased to speed up the migration process. Two that have excellent reviews are LitExtension & Cart2Cart.

Both tools are excellent options with great customer reviews. Which one you opt for is up to you.

Pros

• Both have a dedicated customer support team.
• A migration app is the fastest option and relatively affordable.
• Both are straightforward and use a migration wizard to guide you through the process.

Cons

• The cost can vary depending on the amount of store data you need to migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce.
• Errors can still occur.
• There is still a good amount of time needed from yourself.

Hire a developer or agency

This is potentially the most costly option, but if you’re time-poor, it’s likely to be the most stress-free.

If taking on the Shopify to WooCommerce migration makes you feel nervous, then hiring a professional is an excellent option that limits the amount of involvement from you.

Pros

• There’s less time needed from you, just a small amount of input required upfront.
• There is likely to be after-sale support provided by both developers and agencies, whether through an agreed amount of feedback or a warranty period.

Cons

• It’s potentially an expensive option.
• You won’t be in control of your data migration, so you should ensure the agency or developer has security procedures in place.

Now that you’re aware of the three options available, we’ll look at each one in closer detail with the steps needed for each one.

Manually Migrate Store Data

This is the option for you if you have little to no budget and plenty of time on your hands or have a good understanding of Shopify and WooCommerce/WordPress.

Compared to some platforms, WooCommerce and Shopify make it relatively straightforward for you to complete your Shopify to WooCommerce migration, so if budget is your number one priority, it is possible to achieve this without the help of a developer.

Step 1 — Back up your data

Within the Shopify store, make a backup of all your store data. You can do this by using CSV files to store data, or you could alternatively duplicate your store or create a store backup using an app purchased through the Shopify store.

Whilst this step won’t affect the outcome, it is vital as it means you won’t lose your store if things go wrong.

Step 2 — Export Shopify products

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products.
2. Click Export.
3. From the dialog box, choose the products you want to export:
4. The current page of products
5. All products
6. Products you have selected
7. Products that match your search and filters.
8. Select which type of CSV file you want to export:
9. CSV file for Excel, Numbers, or another spreadsheet program. Use this format if you plan to use a spreadsheet program to edit your product CSV file.
10. Plain CSV file. Use this format if you plan to use a plain-text editor with your product CSV file.
11. Click Export products.

It’s worth mentioning at this point that your CSV file will not contain your product images, so it’s best to leave your Shopify store open so that your product images are accessible whilst the import is running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpsmMW-GsJc

Step 3 — Tidy up your CSV file

Use either a spreadsheet program like Excel or Google Docs or a text editor and ensure all your data is formatted correctly. You can read formatting guidance from Shopify here.

Step 4 — Import your data to WooCommerce

At this stage, you should have already set up your WooCommerce store.

1. From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to WooCommerce > Products.
2. Select Import to access the product CSV importer.
3. Click Choose File and select your CSV file and click Continue.
4. Next, you will see the Column mapping screen.
5. WooCommerce will attempt to map the column name of your Shopify CSV file to the WooCommerce product fields. This might not be possible in some cases, but you can correct these manually using the dropdown menus.
6. Select Run Importer.
7. Don’t close the screen until the process is complete.

Step 5 — Import customers to your WooCommerce platform

To migrate data that isn’t a product, like a customer, a coupon or an order, you will need to download an additional app. WooCommerce recommends using this snappily titled, Customer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite by Sky Verge.

1. Once it’s installed, simply go to Import data from CSV file and select the CSV file that contains your customer and order data.
2. On the next screen, select your preferred import options and then Preview the fields to ensure they have mapped across correctly.
3. If there are any that haven’t mapped across, it’s no problem. Next, you’ll be presented with the opportunity to map columns against the appropriate WooCommerce fields.
4. Hit the Dry Run button to check that your file will work properly when you do your live run.

If you follow the above steps, you should have successfully imported your Shopify data from Shopify to WooCommerce.

It’s a good idea to review everything on your new WordPress site after the data migration is complete, including product pages, links and checking to see whether your customer and order data look correct.

Migrate Shopify to WooCommerce Using a Store Migration App

As we’ve mentioned, plenty of great store migration tools are available, but for ‌this article, we’ve selected Cart2Cart because there’s an excellent Cart2Cart WooCommerce extension available.

This is an excellent option if you have little to no technical knowledge and are happy to spend a small amount of time and money on the migration process to make it easier.

Unlike migrating Shopify to WooCommerce manually, a migration app allows you to export product data and other data types. A few examples of data transfer options are:

• Products including variants like tags, weights, price and sales tags
• Product categories
• Customer data, including shipping addresses
• Order data
• Coupons
• Reviews
• Blogs
• Languages.

Step 1 — Select your source cart

Cart2Cart offers a free demo migration, which is worth trying before running the full migration.

To get started, click “Start Free Demo” and follow the migration wizard. When it asks for your Source Cart, select “Shopify” and add your existing URL.

Step 2 — Connect your target store

Next, you will need to connect to your target store. Select “WooCommerce” from the drop-down. There will then be an option to install the required Connection Bridge on your WordPress dashboard, which you should do manually or automatically.

Step 3 — Select the data you’d like to migrate

The next screen should allow you to select the data you’d like to export from Shopify to WooCommerce. There will also be additional paid-for options, like setting up automatic 301 redirects. With WooCommerce, you can likely do this for free later, but if you’re looking for ease, consider putting some budget aside for this. Most add-ons cost around $59, but you can get a free estimate from Cart2Cart before you begin.

Step 4 — Launch the migration tool

Hit the “Start Free Demo” button and follow the migration wizard to run the demo migration.

Step 5 — Check your imported data

We always recommend checking the imported data after completing the Shopify to WooCommerce migration. This might include checking navigation links and your onsite search functionality.

It might seem time-consuming, but it’s also a good idea to go through each page systematically and check that all of your product data is intact. Check product categories, prices and other pages like blogs and content pages if you’ve chosen to import them.

Step 6 — Ask users to register

After your new WooCommerce store is ready to go and you’re happy that the import process has been a success, you can invite your customers to register on your new store.

This is a great opportunity to show off your new store and entice people back with some relaunch offers.

The Cart2Cart process is relatively simple, affordable and pretty secure, as the store migration process is performed on a separate dedicated SSL encrypted server.

All things considered, it’s a happy medium option for those who don’t have loads of budget or time.

But if the above process still fills you full of dread, there’s one final option available to you that requires zero technical knowledge and very minimal time and effort from you.

Hire a Developer or Agency

Hiring a developer or an agency is a really good option if you’re not technical or don’t have the time to run your WooCommerce migration.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle with this option is finding the right one for you. After all, there are hundreds to choose from. Whether you’re looking for a freelance developer on a platform like Fiverr or searching for an agency with a good level of expertise in WooCommerce migration, it’s hard to know where to start.

In this next section, we’ll run through some considerations you should have when selecting a developer or an agency for your Shopify to WooCommerce migration.

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Developer or agency?

There are two considerations here:

1. How much time and money do you have to spend?
2. Are you just looking for a Shopify to WooCommerce migration, or are you looking for help optimising your online store as well?

Developer

Let’s start with a freelance developer. Naturally, developers can range from the very budget-friendly to the very expensive. Likewise, you can meet a developer who’s very communicative and an excellent project manager too.

If you are just looking for someone to run your Shopify to WooCommerce import, then a developer is probably the option for you.

Agency

With an agency, you’re getting access to a whole team of experts if you need them.

This is the perfect option if you’re looking for a more holistic way to create your new eCommerce site.

For example, finding an agency with an in-house designer might be helpful if you’d like help designing a beautiful new look for your WooCommerce site.

Likewise, there are many ways you can optimise your new WordPress website for SEO, and you should!

You can take a DIY approach to your SEO and read our Beginner’s Guide to SEO Strategy, or you can look for an agency that provides both WooCommerce migration services and an SEO Strategy to get your website to the top of Google.

Hopefully, you should now have an idea of whether an agency or a developer is for you, and the next big question is…

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What’s your budget?

If you’re on a very low budget, this might impact whether you opt for an agency or a developer, but it doesn’t have to.

Just as there are some developers well worth spending more on, there are agencies providing great value for money with the additional services they provide. So don’t be disheartened if you think an agency is the right option for you but you don’t have a huge budget.

Consider what your own time is worth to you. If you have a low budget but more time to spend, you should consider doing as much as you can upfront to help speed up the process.

This might be tidying up the data on your existing Shopify site, removing any products, data, customer information and order information you don’t need to be moved across.

Understanding your budget and what you can do yourself before you start shopping around for a professional will help you narrow down your search and hone in on the options that work best for you.

If you’re still unsure of where to start, then our next consideration might help.

Are they a Shopify Partner or a WooCommerce Expert?

Most great developers can find their way around a Shopify to WooCommerce migration, but that doesn’t mean you should pick one with no experience on either platform.

There are so many to choose from that it makes far more sense to narrow your search to those with Shopify and WooCommerce migration services.

A good place to start is the Shopify Experts page. A Shopify Expert, or Shopify Partner, is a developer or agency who has previously worked on the Shopify platform and should know how to import Shopify data. You will need your Shopify logins to access the Experts page, so don’t close your store before you’ve had a chance to ‌look.

Likewise, WooCommerce has a partner page, WooExperts, where you can filter by timezone, budget and service. There aren’t many options available here, particularly in the UK, so you might be better off searching on Google if you’re looking for a WordPress-specific agency.

Finally, if you’re on a very tight budget, look at listing platforms like Fiverr or Upwork, which have a massive range of freelancers. You should be able to filter by expertise to help narrow down your search.

Even once you’ve narrowed your search to professionals with WooCommerce/Shopify expertise, that doesn’t mean you should pick the cheapest or the one that offers the fastest turnaround. Both these things are factors, but if you’re opting for help, you likely don’t want to spend much time managing the project, or you need technical support.

In which case, picking an individual or team to do the job efficiently will be important to you.

Can they show you reviews?

One of the best ways to get an idea of whether or not a development team is the right fit for your business is to ask for customer reviews or testimonials. These can give you valuable insights into the quality of their work and their interactions with clients.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to past clients of your potential developer or agency and ask about their experience working with them. Get as much information as possible before making a decision — it could be the difference between a successful project and a frustrating one.

Ensuring you’re working with the right person or people will ultimately give you a much more rewarding experience.

Do they provide after-sale support?

There are several ways that a development team or agency can reassure you that after a project is over, you’re not entirely on your own.

A warranty usually gives you a set period to get in touch with any amends or issues after completing your import. This is usually around 30 days but can be more or less.

Rounds of feedback or amends usually mean you have a set amount of opportunities to get in touch with your developer with changes or issues; two rounds is the normal amount. If this is your option, set time aside to review the work thoroughly and to send through all your feedback in one go. This way, you can be sure that the work has been completed to your standard, and you have another round to utilise if you find something unexpected.

Warranties and amends are a great way to know whether you can trust someone to do a good job. If they’re being offered, you know the developer or agency is committing to do a great job and see it through until you’re happy in a reasonable and contractual way.

How much time can you offer?

If you need your migration project managed quickly and efficiently, then an experienced developer or agency might be the right choice.

It’s important to have a clear idea of what you want from your website before starting the process. For example, do I need product variants set up on this site?

When you let your developer or agency know how busy you are upfront, they can manage how much information is sent to you daily and coordinate on how much information they need from you right at the start of the project.

Some professionals might ask you for a brief or plenty of information at the start of a project. This is a good sign! Whilst it’s frustrating to provide this information when you’re busy, it often means they have everything they need to get on with the job at hand until it’s ready for you to review.

If time isn’t on your side, then hiring someone to set up your new Shopify store is the perfect option, and the less time you have, the more you should be willing to invest in a professional team who can manage the amount of information passed to you.

Want to work with a team of experienced Shopify Experts who can help improve the experience of your eCommerce store? Learn more about Thinkplus’s Website Development eCommerce services for Shopify online stores and Shopify SEO service too.

What to Read Next

• The Best eCommerce Platforms to Use
• Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which Is The Best One for You?
• 11 Things You Need to Know before Choosing a Web Design Agency
• 6 Ways to Increase Your eCommerce Store’s Sales

The post How to Migrate Shopify to WooCommerce appeared first on Thinkplus.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the process step-by-step and show you how to make the switch smoothly and efficiently.

So whether you’re looking for a more user-friendly platform or ready to take your business to the next level, read on for our migration process top tips on making the move to Shopify.

What’s covered in this post:

1. Why Move from Magento to Shopify?
2. The Migration Process Options and Positives and Negatives?
3. Manual Migration
4. Magento to Shopify Migration Using a Migration Tool
5. Hire a Developer or Agency

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Why Move from Magento (Adobe Commerce) to Shopify?

According to Statista, businesses with Shopify eCommerce stores saw a 50% increase in sales during 2019.

It’s only behind WooCommerce as the most used online store platform in the UK, but it appears to be the fastest-growing.

The main reason people choose to move their Magento (Adobe Commerce) store over to Shopify is the easy-to-use interface. It’s much more user-friendly and takes no time to set up.

Shopify is also a fully hosted solution, meaning your monthly costs are all under one platform, which can be much easier to manage.

If you’re a business with an in-house developer or a developer yourself, then Magento is a very flexible platform. However, paying a developer each time you want something completed is likely to be time-consuming and expensive if you’re a small to medium enterprise. If this is the case, Shopify is an excellent option for you as a lot of its functionality has been designed so that the merchants can make changes themselves.

Shopify is easy to use

Magento is open-source software, so it’s often chosen for its flexibility. This can be a popular choice for developers, but Magento is difficult to use for most people.

Shopify is easy to set up, and it’s possible to create your account and set up a theme in just a few hours.

It’s also easy to customise with a drag-and-drop website builder that allows you to move elements around the page, change theme colours and fonts and set up a drop-down menu.

There’s a wide range of ready-to-use themes

Both the Magento (Adobe Commerce) store and Shopify have a great number of themes to pick from. The difference is that Shopify’s themes have all been designed with eCommerce in mind.

On average, Shopify themes are cheaper than those on the Magento store, with prices to suit most pockets. Once you’ve selected one, it’s easy to customise it with your branding, moving and resizing elements and adding features without involving a developer.

It has great sales & marketing features built-in

As we’ve mentioned, Shopify is set up with eCommerce in mind, so it stands to reason that Shopify has some great features.

It’s possible to sell in different languages, partner with courier services through your online store, sell across multiple platforms like Amazon, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, and send automatic abandoned cart emails.

It’s likely possible to do ‌all this with Magento, but often this is through extensions, which can be expensive and fiddly to install.

It has better payment options for small to medium enterprises

The Magento store has plenty of good payment options, but they are ideal for bigger businesses, like WorldPay. Smaller options, again, need to be implemented via an app or extension.

With Shopify, it’s easy to allow users to pay through the most well-known payment methods, such as Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Its support and learning are comprehensive

Shopify gives its users 24/7 access to support via both phone and live chat and email support if needed.

Because Shopify is so well-loved the world over, its wealth of resources in its learning centre covers almost everything you could need to know, and it has a broad community ready to answer everything else.

Shopify has flexible pricing options

Shopify is an all-in-one solution, so one monthly cost will include almost everything you need to start your store. This includes your hosting and SSL certificate, whereas these are extras in a Magento (Adobe Commerce) store.

Whilst most themes and apps are an optional extra, Shopify has three pricing options plus a Lite version — essentially a button that a merchant can place on another website — and Shopify Plus for bigger businesses. A basic package starts at as little as £19 per month, making it affordable for smaller businesses.

Source: Shopify’s Pricing Plans

The Migration Process Options and Positives and Negatives?

If you’ve made it this far, you are seriously considering the migration process from Magento (Adobe Commerce) to Shopify.

You should view your migration from Adobe Commerce as a project rather than a small task. Putting it into perspective in this way might make the time or cost seem more reasonable. At the end of the process, you will have a new Shopify store, so whether you spend your time completing the migration from Magento to Shopify or pay someone else to do it, the result will be worth it.

There are three migration options available to you. We recommend you read about all three options before making any final decisions, as each choice will depend on your budget and how much time you have.

Here we’ll take a quick look at the pros and cons of each option before taking a more in-depth look at the process for each one.

1. Manual migration

If you’re familiar with both Adobe Commerce and Shopify store platforms, you can attempt to do your Magento to Shopify migration manually. This is a time-consuming and involved process, so we don’t recommend you try to do this yourself unless you’re extremely confident.

Positives

• It’s completely free
• It’s secure because you’re in control of your migration process.

Negatives

• It’s time-consuming and needs a lot of patience and a keen eye for detail
• Whether you’re a developer or not, it will probably require some background research before and after the process, as the likelihood of errors is high.

2. Use a migration tool

There are multiple Magento (Adobe Commerce) to Shopify migration tools available. Two examples are LitExtension & Cart2Cart. These two extensions are comparable in terms of features, customer reviews and price, so it’s worth taking a good look at them and deciding which one is for you.

Positives

• Both are fairly straightforward to use and guide you through the process
• Both have excellent customer support if it’s needed
• Both have options to export data like products, customer groups, customers, orders and blogs, and you can organise this within the tool.

Negatives

• Cost is usually based on the amount of product data, so it can become costly if you have a big online store data import
• It’s still possible for errors to occur.

3. Hire an Agency or developer

If you’re nervous about completing the Magento (Adobe Commerce) to Shopify migration process yourself, either with or without a migration app, it’s worth looking into hiring someone to do this for you.

Hiring a developer or an agency to do the heavy lifting makes the migration process far less stressful. Still, it’s important to pick the right one for your Magento to Shopify migration.

Positives

• You need far fewer hours
• Less stressful process
• Developers and agencies are likely to provide some after-sale support, which means you won’t be left in the lurch if something breaks.

Negatives

• It can be expensive
• There will be some work needed from you upfront to organise your store data
• After your warranty is over, any future updates will be an ongoing cost.

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Manual Migration

For most eCommerce platforms, Shopify’s Store Importer app will migrate products in a way that’s convenient and free. However, this isn’t available for Magento to Shopify migration.

The free alternative to the Importer app is to migrate Adobe Commerce to Shopify manually.

This is a long process, and we recommend you fully read Shopify’s instructions on importing your data once you have your CSV file ready.

Whilst we won’t describe the full data migration to you here, we will summarise what to expect from the manual export process. This way, you can make an informed decision on whether it’s the right option.

Step 1: Export data from Adobe Commerce

1. Start with a database backup.
2. On the Admin sidebar, go to System > Data Transfer > Export.
3. In the Export Settings section, set Entity Type to any of the following:
   1. Advanced Pricing
   2. Products
   3. Customer Finances
   4. Customers Main File
   5. Customer Addresses
   6. Stock Sources.
4. Accept the default Export File Format of CSV.
5. If you want to change entry attributes, filter data migration or include special characters within your export data. Read the full Adobe Commerce instructions on how to create a CSV file here.

Step 2: Configure your basic administrative settings

Now that you have your CSV file ready, you’ll need to complete your Shopify store setup. This is quick and easy to do, but review these considerations from Shopify before you make a start.

Step 3: Organise your data

Decide ahead of time which products, customers, orders and any other data you’ll need on your new site. The less you can move over, the easier the process will be for you.

Once you’ve decided on this, compile everything into CSV files.

Step 3: Import products using a CSV file

By now, you should have your files exported from Adobe Commerce. You will need to be careful to ensure that the format in your CSV file matches the format required by Shopify. You can read full product import instructions here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zdiCMJ9Tlo

Step 4: Import customers using a CSV file

In the manual process, you will need to import customers and products separately. Because you can only import customer files that are 1MB and smaller, you may need to use multiple files or limit your customer list. Your customers will also need to be invited to register their accounts with your new store using the email addresses you’ve imported. Find full instructions here.

Step 5: Organise your products after migration

Once your migration is complete, you’ll need to go through your Shopify store and ensure everything has migrated from Adobe Commerce to Shopify fully.

Go through and systematically check your products, including the product price and any variants. You should also check your customer and order list as much as possible to ensure everything has moved over correctly.

Step 6: Choose your theme

Once satisfied that you have managed to migrate store data successfully, select your theme from the Shopify theme store. You will need to customise your new Shopify store with colours, images and logos.

Step 5: Set up your domain

After your Magento (Adobe Commerce) to Shopify migration is complete, you can either purchase a domain through the Shopify store or repoint your existing domain.

Magento to Shopify Migration Using a Migration Tool

If you’re looking to migrate your data from Adobe Commerce to Shopify, a migration app is the happy medium between the free manual-store migration and hiring a developer to do the process for you.

There are many options available to you, but the ones that appear to have the best reviews are LitExtension & Cart2Cart.

Both‌ tools work similarly in selecting your source cart (or store) and your target store and then letting the extension do most of the hard work for you.

A good migration tool will come with customer support and guidance if things go wrong. That being said, the fact remains that the responsibility ‌remains with you to do the import, so you will still need to put aside enough time to do it properly.

For this article, we’ve focused on a step-by-step guide using Cart2Cart, but it’s important to look at all options and pick the best tool for you.

Step 1 — Select your source cart

You might as well try the free demo that Cart2Cart offers, so click “Start Free Demo” and follow the migration wizard. When it asks for your Source Cart, select “Magento” and add your existing URL.

Step 2 — Connect your target store

You should be asked to select your Target Cart. Here, select “Shopify” from the drop-down. You can then click the button to install the Migration for Shopify App,

Step 3 — Select the data you’d like to migrate

There are a few options ‌here, like creating 301 redirects and the option to migrate images. Some of these cost extra (around $59 each), so it’s worth knowing this upfront so that the extra cost doesn’t come as a surprise. You can try this estimator to see how much it might cost.

Step 4 — Launch the migration tool

Hit the “Start Free Demo” button and follow the migration wizard to run the demo migration.

Step 5 — Check your imported data

Once your demo migration is complete, it’s worth double-checking for missing data. Go through product categories, products and other pages to ensure nothing is missing. You should also check navigation links and your onsite search functionality.

Step 6 — Ask users to register

If you’re happy that your data migration has been a success, invite your customers to re-register by emailing them at the addresses you’ve stored in your imported data. It’s a great opportunity to get them to ‌look around your new Shopify store.

Hire a Developer or Agency

If all the above seems like a big ask, or you’re not technical, then hiring someone to migrate Magento (Adobe Commerce) to a Shopify store is your best option.

It can also be the most expensive option of the three, so do your background research on which option is right for you. It might be that a solo developer is a better option for you than an agency. Your choice will depend on your budget and the ‌time you have to spend on the project.

Next, we’ll look at some things to consider when selecting someone to complete your Magento (Adobe Commerce) to Shopify migration.

Developer or agency?

By hiring an agency, you’re getting a whole team of experts rather than just one. What kind of agency you pick will depend on what kind of service you’re looking for. Looking to rebrand your business when you migrate Magento? Then look for an agency with a design department.

Need help picking a web design agency? Read our blog on what to consider.

If you’re new to SEO, you might be worried that your website won’t be optimised even though it might look great.

If you’re looking for more than just someone to migrate Adobe Commerce over to your new Shopify store, an agency is a great option.

If you’ve already got a great in-house team of experts or are very good at SEO, a freelance developer might be the best option.

What’s your budget?

There are great affordable agencies and developers that could easily blow your budget, but generally speaking, a developer is likely to cost you less than an agency.

As we’ve looked at above, the one you pick should depend on your circumstance. If you have plenty of budget but don’t need a full-service agency, it makes sense to look for a great developer with lots of fantastic reviews and experience.

If you need marketing advice and are time-poor, an agency can often provide good value for money as you’ll have a project manager to do most of the heavy lifting.

Are they a Shopify Partner or a Magento (Adobe Commerce) Store Expert?

If you’re unsure about how to find someone to migrate your store from Adobe Commerce, the Shopify Experts page is a great place to start.

These experts or Shopify Partners are the developers or agencies that regularly work with Shopify and, therefore, will know their way around the platform.

Whilst this is an important consideration, for Adobe Commerce, it’s just as crucial that whoever you hire has good knowledge of the Magento platform or, at the very least, its migration setup. Magento is a complex platform, so it’s important to find someone familiar with its nuances.

Can they show you reviews?

Most agencies will have reviews on Google or Facebook. If you’ve found a developer through a platform like Fiverr, you’ll likely find plenty of honest customer reviews.

If there aren’t any reviews, this might not be a bad sign — the developer might have only just gone freelance after many years working in an agency, for example.

If this is the case, don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials from customers who have had a similar service, and if they can’t provide any, look elsewhere.

Ensuring you’re working with the right person or people will ultimately give you a much smoother experience.

Do they provide after-sale support?

Most developers and agencies will offer either a warranty period where you can request changes or support, or they might offer rounds of feedback.

This is an important consideration because it means that whoever you hire is giving you the reassurance that they won’t leave you to handle anything that might go wrong after the data transfer is complete.

How much time can you offer?

If you don’t have much time to manage your migration, an agency or an experienced developer could be a better option.

In either instance, it’s a good idea to start with a brief outlining your expectations and any important information about your site. For example, do you have product variants set up?

The more time you can offer upfront, the smoother your experience will likely be. By letting your developer or agency know this upfront, they can manage how much information they send you daily.

If time isn’t on your side, hiring someone to help you set up your new Shopify store is an excellent option.

Want to work with a team of Shopify Experts who can help improve the experience of your eCommerce store? Learn more about Thinkplus’s eCommerce Development services for Shopify online stores (and Shopify SEO services too).

What to Read Next

• The Best eCommerce Platforms to Use
• Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which Is The Best One for You?
• How to Create a Winning Shopify Marketing Strategy
• A PPC Guide for Shopify eCommerce Stores
• 11 Things You Need to Know before Choosing a Web Design Agency
• 6 Ways to Increase Your eCommerce Store’s Sales

The post How to Migrate Magento (Adobe Commerce) to Shopify appeared first on Thinkplus.

Shopify is a platform that makes it easy to create an online store and offers many features that BigCommerce doesn’t have.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through migrating your store from BigCommerce to Shopify. We’ll cover everything from creating your Shopify account to uploading your products. Let’s get started!

What’s covered in this post:

• Why move from BigCommerce to Shopify?
• The migration process options and positives and negatives?
• Migrating using the Store Importer App
• Manual migration
• Migration using an Automated Shopping Cart Migration Solution
• Hire a Developer or Agency

Why Move from BigCommerce to Shopify?

The number of users who shopped through a Shopify store increased by 52% in 2020, Shopify reported in a 2021 press release. So if you’re considering making the move, you’d be in good company.

But what makes the Shopify store so popular with merchants and users alike? The answer is in its easy-to-use interface, great support, a huge community of developers and the number of themes that users can pick from.

The result is a professional-looking online store that has been designed with eCommerce in mind that can be set up in as little as 15 minutes.

Here we explore why you should choose Shopify specifically over a BigCommerce store and make the switch.

Source: Shopify Announces Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Financial Results

It’s easy to use

As we’ve already described, it’s possible to set up a very basic Shopify store in as little as 15 minutes. While it will take much longer to personalise it to your brand and customise your options, it’s still an easy-to-use interface.

Setting up your Shopify store is easier than a BigCommerce store. This is because Shopify is slightly less flexible than BigCommerce.

Unless you’re a big business with a team of developers, Shopify should have all the functionality you require, and you should find it easier to use.

It has great design options

Neither platform has many free themes, but Shopify has plenty of additional themes you can pay for. They vary in price, so you’ll likely find one to fit your budget.

BigCommerce also has plenty of paid themes — more than Shopify, but they are less thoughtfully designed and are often just slight variations on each other.

In general, Shopify’s ease of use means that the themes are much easier to customise and tweak to create an online store that’s personal to you.

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Great for security and plenty of payment options

Both BigCommerce and Shopify are evenly matched here with plenty of payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, Visa, Mastercard and AMEX.

Both are easy to set up, and both come with the SSL certificate as standard.

The support is second to none

Both the Shopify and BigCommerce stores give you access to 24/7 customer support via phone and live chat. They both have a great help centre with lots of helpful video content.

The standout feature for Shopify is how their intuitive website dashboard links through to their learning centre at appropriate points.

Thanks to its popularity, there are endless resources and community forums to help you find your way around.

It has a flexible pricing structure.

Source: Shopify’s Pricing Plans

Shopify has five pricing plans, including three core plans plus a Lite option and Shopify Plus for larger businesses.

Shopify Lite isn’t the best option if you’re looking for a complete eCommerce platform, but it is useful if you already have a basic website you’d like to add a payment button to.

While the pricing options for a Shopify store aren’t much different from BigCommerce (each plan is only 99p per month cheaper than its BigCommerce equivalent), Shopify does come loaded with more features, which leads us to our next point.

There are plenty of great features

BigCommerce has more built-in features than Shopify, but thanks to its app store and Shopify partners, Shopify presents more possibilities.

With Shopify 2.0, it’s possible to include a meta description within each product page, customisable URLs, discount card creators and analytics to track performance.

While Shopify was not originally built with SEO in mind, it’s certainly possible to optimise your Shopify store for SEO. Many of the great new features in Shopify store 2.0 will help with this.

Want to try it for yourself? Watch our video on SEO Shopify optimisation.

To sum up, if you’re happy with your BigCommerce store, there isn’t a massive reason to move from BigCommerce to Shopify. However, if you’re a small to medium enterprise and finding BigCommerce a little clunky and difficult to use, then a move to Shopify migration might be a good option for you.

The Migration Process Options and Positives and Negatives?

If you’re here, then you’re already thinking about migrating BigCommerce to Shopify. If that’s the case, it’s a good idea to understand your options before you make a start. Which option you choose depends on how much time, money and expertise you are willing to commit to Shopify migration. We recommend you read all four options before you make your decision.

Here we’ll take a quick look at the pros and cons of each option before taking a more in-depth look at the process for each one.

1. Use the Shopify Store Importer app

This is likely the best all-round option if you’re looking for something cost-effective, easy and fast.

Positives

• It’s just a few simple steps
• It’s easier than the manual process
• It’s free to do.

Negatives

• You will need to be able to export an “all content XML file” to do this. If your online store doesn’t have this capability, you’ll need to look at other options.
• Whilst it’s an easy process, you rely on Shopify’s support if things don’t go to plan.

2. Manual migration

You can import data manually if you’re familiar with both the BigCommerce and Shopify store platforms.

Positives

• It’s completely free
• It’s secure and complete because you’re in control of your data migration.

Negatives

• To do this well, it’s time-consuming and needs a meticulous eye
• It may require additional research into each platform because the likelihood of errors is high.

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3. Use a Store Importer app

There are multiple BigCommerce to Shopify migration tools available. Some examples are LitExtension & Matrixify (formerly Excelify). For this article, we’ll be looking at Cart2Cart.

Positives

• Usually, only a few short steps to full Shopify migration
• Technical consultants are on hand
• Likely to have good security
• It’s easy for a beginner to use.

Negatives

• Cost is normally based on the amount of product data, so it can become costly if you have a big online store data import
• It’s still possible for errors to occur.

4. Hire an agency or developer

This is a great option if you’re time-poor and can afford it. You may already have someone you work with who can do this for you.

Positives

• The developer or agency will likely do all of the heavy lifting, so this can be a stress-free experience
• They’re likely to provide a warranty period or several feedback rounds to ensure the job is complete.

Negatives

• It can be expensive
• You may need to check the data import and store data to ensure the Shopify migration meets your requirements.

Migrating Using the Store Importer App

Source: Shopify App Store

If you’re unsure of where to start, looking into the free migration tool that comes with Shopify is where we’d recommend first. If it works out for you, then it’s by far the quickest, easiest and cheapest option.

Next, we’ll guide you through the simple steps you need to take to migrate BigCommerce to Shopify using the Shopify migration tool.

Step one

Export your store data, order data and customer data from BigCommerce. You’ll need to do these things separately to create three individual CSV import files.

Export your product data from BigCommerce

1. From your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Products > Export.
2. Under Export Template and File Format Options, select Default and click Continue.
3. In the Products dialog box that appears, click Export my Products to a CSV file and then click Close. A CSV file containing your product data is saved to your computer.
4. Under Export Template and File Format Options, select Bulk Edit and click Continue.
5. Click Export my Products to a CSV file and then click Close. A second CSV file containing additional product details and variant data is saved to your computer.

Export your order data from BigCommerce

1. From your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Orders > Export.
2. Under Export Template and File Format Options, select Default and click Continue.
3. In the Orders dialog box that appears, click Export my Orders to a CSV file and click Close. A CSV file containing your order data is saved to your computer.

Export your customer data from BigCommerce

1. From your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Customers > Export.
2. Under Export Template and File Format Options, select Default and click Continue.
3. In the Customers Export dialog box that appears, click Export my customers to a CSV file and click Close. A CSV file containing your customer data is saved to your computer.

Step two

Import data into Shopify.

1. From your Shopify admin, click Apps > Store Importer.
2. On the Import your data into Shopify page, choose BigCommerce from the drop-down menu.
3. Under Upload files, click Add file and select your exported files. You can select as many CSV files as needed. When importing products, you need to add the exported files for both the Default and Bulk Edit templates for the data to import properly.
4. Click Continue import > Import.

Step three

That’s it! Your BigCommerce to Shopify migration should be complete.

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It’s a good idea to check your data import has worked how you wanted it to before moving on. Go through your online store page by page and check your products are in place along with any variant data like colours and sizes.

It’s also a good idea to check data like your orders and customers have transferred across fully.

Shopify has compiled a list of potential outcomes following your BigCommerce to Shopify migration, which we’ll look into next.

Import successful with changes

If your import is successful, there’s nothing to do other than what we suggested and double-check your data import has made it to your target store successfully.

If there are any changes you need to make, you can edit the imported information by clicking “View Items” in the review section of the import summary.

Historical orders

Orders imported from your previous platform are migrated to your Shopify store. These orders are automatically set to the “Archived” status. You can unarchive them, but you won’t be able to do anything with them that you can’t do with orders created in a Shopify store.

Some products or customers failed to import

If some of your products or customers didn’t import, you could add them manually.

If two or more customers share an email address or phone number, then only the most recently created customer entry is imported.

Products are imported but not published

If you had any products in BigCommerce that were set to be hidden, they would be imported into Shopify as hidden. If you don’t want a product to be hidden, make it available for the sales channels of your choice.

Product variants failed to import

You will need to use the manual migration process to add product variants. This means that if you have a product that includes different options for size and colour, you will need to add each variant manually. The same is true for dimensions. You will need to add these to your product description.

Digital products

It’s possible to migrate digital downloads, but they won’t publish automatically. For digital download product data, download the Digital Downloads app, and follow the steps.

Manual Migration

Shopify has covered this process in more detail on their website. As we mentioned, it can be a long process that requires a good understanding of both platforms to get it right. Before diving in, read our brief summary of each step below to understand how to migrate BigCommerce to Shopify manually.

Step 1: Configure your basic administrative settings

You should complete the basics before beginning your BigCommerce to Shopify migration. Review these considerations by Shopify, complete your store set-up and ensure you have logins for the staff who need one.

Step 2: Organise your data

Decide ahead of time which products, customers, orders and any other data you’ll need on your new site. The less you can move over, the easier the process will be.

Once you’ve decided on this, compile everything into CSV files.

Step 3: Import products using a CSV file

If you’ve exported files from BigCommerce, you’ll need to check if the CSV file format matches the format required by Shopify. You can read full product import instructions here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zdiCMJ9Tlo

Step 4: Import customers using a CSV file

You can only import customer files that are 1MB and smaller, so you may need to use multiple files or limit your customer list. Your customers will also need to be invited to register their accounts with your new store using the email addresses you’ve imported. Find full instructions here.

Step 5: Organise your products after migration

Review all of your products, including product and meta descriptions, create collections, a drop-down menu and get familiar with your inventory.

Step 6: Choose your theme

This should be straightforward. Simply add your chosen theme from the Shopify theme store.

Step 5: Set up your domain

Either purchase a domain through the Shopify store or repoint your existing domain.

Migration Using an Automated Shopping Cart Migration Solution

This fast, easy way to complete your Shopify migration removes much of the manual effort. Multiple importer apps do a similar job, so which one you opt for should depend on your budget and the level of support you need. Ensure you research and pick the one that works for you and has good customer reviews.

Two options are LitExtension & Matrixify (formerly Excelify), but here we’ll look at Cart2Cart as they have great Trustpilot reviews.

Step 1 — Select your source cart

You will need to provide the existing URL for your store and then fill out a few details about your source store to establish the connection.

Step 2 — Connect your target store

Your target store is your Shopify online store. You will need to provide the new URL you’ve set up for this. You can switch over your domain later.

Step 3 — Select the data you’d like to migrate

Go through your data, match the ones you’d like to import to your target store data and select any additional options you require.

Step 4 — Launch the migration tool

Run a free demo migration to see how the tool works. If you’re happy, export the complete product data and import the data using Cart2Cart.

Step 5 — Check your imported data

We recommend double-checking your store to ensure your BigCommerce to Shopify migration has worked as you expected. You may need to go through your pages and tidy up any product variants or descriptions.

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Hire a Developer or Agency

When you’re ready to move your WooCommerce store data from the old site into a new one, hiring an agency or developer is the easiest way.

Many factors go into picking which developer or agency will make this process run smoothly, such as their experience with both platforms, their security procedures or their after-sale support.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing who to perform your migration.

Developer or agency?

If you’re simply looking for someone to migrate BigCommerce to Shopify, picking a developer might be a cheaper, quicker option as they can easily be found on platforms like Fiverr.

The benefit of choosing an agency is getting access to a whole team of experts, including designers and SEO experts. So, if you’re looking for a more holistic way to set up your new online store, an agency is an excellent way to ensure it’s optimised for user experience and SEO.

Listen to our podcast on Shopify SEO for beginners if you’d like to try it yourself.

What’s your budget?

As mentioned, choosing an agency gives you access to a team of experts. This often means their costs will be higher than if they were just a freelancer.

If it’s possible to project manage your Shopify migration yourself, finding a developer might be slightly more cost-effective.

Of course, some developers are costly, and some agencies are very reasonable, so you should pick the option that works for you.

Have a low budget but need SEO and design? It might be worth looking into an affordable agency. Have a bigger budget but just need a developer? Look for one with great reviews and relevant experience, even if they’re a little more costly.

Are they a Shopify Partner?

If an agency or a developer is a Shopify Partner, it means they have worked with multiple Shopify eCommerce stores and are likely to understand the platform well.

Checking out the Shopify Experts page is a great place to start, but you will need to set up your Shopify store URL first.

Can they show you reviews?

If you can’t find reviews for the developer on the platform you found them on or through Google or Trustpilot, then don’t be afraid to ask them.

Choosing a developer or agency with good reviews can put your mind at ease and help you understand their experience with BigCommerce and Shopify data.

Do they provide after-sale support?

Ask your developer or agency about their after-sale support. They will likely provide a warranty period or offer several rounds of feedback.

This is great because if anything isn’t quite right with your BigCommerce to Shopify migration, you won’t be left alone to fix it. If no after-sale support is offered, you may wish to look elsewhere.

How much time can you offer?

You might need your developer or agency to do everything for you from start to finish with minimal input from yourself. If this is the case, an agency with a project manager is potentially a better option for you.

The more information you can offer upfront, the easier the process will be. For example, if you can help list the products, customers and orders you do and don’t need to migrate up front, this will prevent confusion and lead to a smoother process.

If you’re time-poor, create a brief for your developer clearly outlining your expectations and what your ideal outcome is.

Want to work with a team of Shopify experts who can improve the experience of your eCommerce store? Learn more about Thinkplus’s eCommerce services for Shopify online stores (both Website Development and Shopify SEO).

What to Read Next

• The Best eCommerce Platforms to Use
• Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which Is The Best One for You?
• How to Create a Winning Shopify Marketing Strategy
• A PPC Guide for Shopify eCommerce Stores
• 11 Things You Need to Know before Choosing a Web Design Agency
• 6 Ways to Increase Your eCommerce Store’s Sales

The post How to Migrate BigCommerce to Shopify appeared first on Thinkplus.

We’re about to tell you about Shopify 2.0 — including what’s new, why it’s good and what you need to do to take advantage of the update.

So whether you’re just starting out and doing your research or already a Shopify user considering an upgrade, read on for everything you need to know.

What’s covered in this post:

• A brief overview of the Shopify Store
• What is Shopify 2.0, and what are the new features?
• What is the new theme architecture?
• What do developers need to know?
• How to set up your shop on Shopify 2.0
• What should you do if your shop was created on Shopify 1.0?
• Do you have to upgrade your Shopify Store to 2.0?

1. A Brief Overview of the Shopify Store

Source: Introducing Online Store 2.0: What it Means For Developers

If you’re here, you’ve either already got a Shopify store or are thinking about getting one. And if it’s the latter, you might be wondering whether a Shopify online store is the right platform for you.

If this is the case, you might be interested to read our article, “Shopify vs WooCommerce — Which is the Best One for You”.

There were 457 million buyers on Shopify in 2020 — up from 218 million in 2018 (Source: Shopify).

Here at Thinkplus, we love working with Shopify. It’s the right fit for you if you’re an eCommerce business looking for an online store that is easy to use with plenty of support.

Its great features allow you to track sales, create revenue reports and generate purchase orders.

The original Shopify store came loaded with 70 plug-and-play custom themes, making it easy for anyone to set up their online store in as little as 15 minutes.

Editing themes and creating custom pages was not always straightforward, but the Shopify online store 2.0 hopes to change that. Shopify merchants can now look forward to a much more flexible online store with a theme editor and theme app extensions included.

2. What Is Shopify 2.0, and What Are the New Features?

Shopify online store 2.0 is a major update to Shopify’s online store platform.

Released in June 2021, the updated online store 2.0 has seen a significant shift for Shopify into a more customisable space and one that many developers may welcome.

With one eye on user experience, Shopify has not forgotten about its many users who use the platform, thanks to its ease of use. The changes, they assure us, are “easier and more flexible”.

So what are the key new features?

• “Sections” are now available across all pages, not just confined to the homepage
• They have introduced theme app extensions
• App blocks are now available through the theme editor interface
• Add assets to your theme app extensions
• Improvements to metafields
• File picker supports image files
• A new files API
• Theme editor enhancements
• Liquid input setting.

The update includes a new reference theme called “Dawn” that is 35% faster than the previous default theme, Debut. The Shopify online store 2.0 is also open to theme submissions from developers and has improved customization options and support.

If you’re looking through the list of new features and wondering what on earth it all means, stick with us. We’ll be guiding you through everything you need to know about the online store 2.0.

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3. What Is the New Theme Architecture?

Theme architecture might sound like jargon, but in simple terms, it refers to how the editor is structured.

Shopify online store 2.0 has an updated theme editor, which is good news for two reasons:

1. It’s easier for non-developers to customise all pages
2. It’s easier for developers to build custom themes and build integrations.

Seven new features have been added to the online store 2.0. Here we’ll look into each one in a little more detail.

Page templates now have sections

Sections are the visual components of a page on your website, for example, a banner, an image block with text or a button.

In the previous version of Shopify, only the homepage allowed you to add new sections and drag and drop to where you wanted them on your page.

It was possible to customise your sections on other pages, but not without the help of a developer.

Now merchants can customise any page on their site, including product pages, so that their online store feels fully personalised to their business.

How do they work?

• Each page can now be rendered using JSON template files
• You can set up multiple template files that map to different products
• Merchants can have different product pages, collection pages and other pages in the same store
• Merchants can define the sections and the order in which the sections should appear by default when the theme is installed
• Dynamic sections can now be added to the homepage.

Theme app extensions with app blocks

In the previous Shopify online store, there was no way for apps to integrate with the theme editor. A merchant would have needed to employ a developer to code integration with existing themes. This could cause breakages within the theme code, making it difficult to carry integrations across themes.

With the online store 2.0, a theme app extension enables developers to add features and extensions. Thanks to this, you can now add additional functionality to your Shopify stores.

Built-in App modularity

App blocks allow developers to build components to add to a theme editor without coding the integration.

What does this mean for you as a merchant? Simply put, if you want to change your theme but take an integral app with you, this is much easier and means a developer won’t need to rebuild the entire integration. It also makes it much easier to remove an app, with all ghost code removed on an uninstall.

Changes to metafields

A metafield is the space for you to add informational data about a particular asset within your website. This might be an image, list, chart or downloadable.

This new theme editor allows you to add metafields and properties without using APIs or code. This is not possible with previous functionality in Shopify’s native editing tools.

Metafields have been reworked from the ground up to be more flexible and intuitive. Now, you can create custom fields to fit your needs in minutes with the online store 2.0 advanced type system. Standard metafields have been introduced so that every theme will work out of the box in stores across different market verticals — no need for extra coding or plugin installation.

File picker

The metafield file picker makes uploading and selecting media on product pages easy. All your images saved in the Settings/Files section are immediately available for use with this new feature.

Metafields work with many media sources, such as images or PDF files.

For example, rather than coding for particular file types to each theme’s page builder content area, metafields let you upload the selected item from your phone and have it immediately appear on product pages — no need to go back into settings.

File API

The online store 2.0 update to the File API provides merchants with new functionality and a streamlined interface for uploading files.

With this release, developers can create, choose and upload media in their Shopify stores through an easy-to-use GraphQL console inside Shopify’s Admin panel.

In addition, the API now allows access from multiple apps to use the space for files not directly related to a particular product.

Liquid Input Settings

Liquid input settings allow merchants to add custom Liquid code to pages directly from the editor with a new setting similar to the HTML one. This means you’ll have access to global variables and template-specific objects, reducing the need to change the theme code manually.

This custom Liquid code makes it easier for Shopify merchants to work with the new online store 2.0 without interfering with your theme’s code or getting app developers involved too heavily.

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4. What Do Developers Need to Know?

If you’re a merchant and only looking to know the basic reasons why you should switch to Shopify 2.0, then the updated theme editor should be reason enough.

But Shopify has included some new developer tools as part of the revamped online store. We’ll go over these briefly here.

GitHub integration

The Shopify GitHub integration allows developers to easily connect to their GitHub user account with just a few clicks.

The integration between themes and GitHub will allow developers to work more efficiently when making changes. Developers can now implement workflow where they need approval before populating live sites with their updates. This now works on one platform, saving time when populating to a live theme.

Shopify CLI tool

Previously, developers may have used CLI to generate Node.js, Ruby on Rails apps and app extensions. Shopify online store 2.0 allows them to use the CLI to update development themes.

Development themes are hidden from the Shopify Admin part of the store, allowing developers to work on them. These development themes don’t count toward your theme limit, but Shopify ‌deletes these automatically if they see inactivity on the development themes after seven days.

The new CLI tool will give you or your developer control over the theme development, editing themes and your new theme’s look. Within your new theme project, you’ll be able to view any changes happening live, interact with and customise them using the editor.

Theme Check

Among the new developer tools is the Theme Check — a language server that integrates with a text editor to identify issues within the code for efficient new theme development.

It’s bundled with the Shopify CLI tool, so a developer should install these together. It’s been designed thoughtfully, with error messages including a link to the failed check’s documentation.

Dawn

Source: Introducing Online Store 2.0: What it Means For Developers

Dawn is the new reference theme that comes as standard with the new Shopify online store 2.0. The previous default theme was Debut, and Dawn is notably faster, more flexible and more streamlined than its predecessor, making the development process much smoother.

Dawn already has JSON templates for all its pages, so it can be used as a model when unlocking sections within a new theme.

Its speed is thanks to being built with minimal Javascript, so Shopify encourages developers to take advantage of native browser functionality to render HTML and CSS layouts.

5. How to Set Up Your Shop on Shopify 2.0

Setting up a store on Shopify 2.0 is the same as the previous version of Shopify. It’s quick and easy to do, but before you get started, you should have thought about the following:

• What is the name of your business? You will be asked the name of your store right away, and it’s impossible to change this, so ensure you choose carefully. You will, however, be able to change this to a chosen domain later.
• Brand colours, fonts and a logo. You will select a theme from the Shopify theme store, but you’ll likely want to replace certain theme components with your branding.
• Images and descriptions of the products you want to sell, including UPCs, variants, shipping details and, of course, the pricing.
• How you’d like users to make payments.
  • Shopify allows most options, including Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay and Google Pay.
• The site structure; what pages you’d like to include and the copy you’d like to have on them. You will need to know this when you come to set up your navigation and your new pages.
• Additional elements like the metadata and SEO elements you’d like to include within your pages.

For a complete guide on setting up your Shopify store in a way that has SEO in mind, listen to our podcast, Shopify SEO for Beginners or watch the video below.

What Should You Do If Your Shop Was Created on Shopify 1.0?

If you’ve already got a Shopify online store and want to upgrade to Shopify 2.0, there are three ways available:

Visit the Shopify theme store and download one of the new Shopify themes.

Check whether your existing theme offers an updated version using online store 2.0.

Migrate your current theme templates to the new architecture.

1. Download a new theme

1. Visit the Shopify theme store.
2. Filter by “Theme Architecture”.
3. Select “Online Store 2.0”.
4. Pick your preferred theme and hit “Try Theme”.
5. You only need to pay if you publish the theme to your Shopify site.

2. Update your current theme

1. Visit the Shopify theme store and filter by “Online Store 2.0” as above. If your theme is available for an upgrade, you should see it there.
2. Alternatively, you should have a notification in your Shopify Admin (below where it states your theme).
3. Click the notification and “Add to Theme Library”.
4. Any customisations made to your theme using the Theme Editor are copied over and applied to the updated theme. These include:
5. Modified theme settings
6. Modified page layouts, such as adding, reordering, removing, or hiding sections or blocks
7. New templates
8. Added, removed, or modified settings of app embeds or app extensions.

3. Migrate your theme template

This is a lengthy process and one we wouldn’t recommend unless you’re a developer.

1. Use Shopify CLI tool or the code editor. You may need to install CLI.
2. Ensure you’re logged in as a collaborator or as “staff” for the account you want to work on.
3. Make a copy of your theme.
4. Convert your current theme code from a Liquid input setting into a JSON template.
5. Move any Liquid code or HTML into sections to be used in your new JSON template.
6. You can read the full process here on Shopify.dev.

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Do You Have to Upgrade Your Shopify Store to 2.0?

The short answer to this is no.

Shopify still provides plenty of themes compatible with the original version.

However, if you’re a store owner looking for added customisation, new page templates and custom pages, then switching to 2.0 could be a good option for you.

The latest advice by Shopify is that if you plan on using apps, you should try using app extensions to integrate with your online store. This is true if you’re submitting a new app because they must use theme extensions to integrate. Shopify plans on making this a requirement for all apps in the future.

Shopify business owner? You might enjoy reading our blog on How to Create a Winning Shopify Marketing Strategy.

What to Read Next

• The Best eCommerce Platforms to Use
• Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which Is The Best One for You?
• How to Create a Winning Shopify Marketing Strategy
• A PPC Guide for Shopify eCommerce Stores
• 11 Things You Need to Know before Choosing a Web Design Agency
• 6 Ways to Increase Your eCommerce Store’s Sales

The post Everything You Need to Know About Shopify 2.0 (and What to Do) appeared first on Thinkplus.

Pick the wrong web design agency to build or rebuild your website, and the end result could be spiralling costs and no return on investment, rather than an increase in traffic or conversions.

Choosing a web design agency shouldn’t feel like a gamble.

To help you find the right website design and development agency for your business, we’ve picked eleven things you should know before choosing one.

Don’t hire an agency until you’ve read this guide

Find out how the best web design agencies build high-converting websites.

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Why Should You Listen to Us?

Thousands of businesses send us their websites to review every year. Unfortunately, we see too many websites that are clearly not ranking at the top of Google or converting enough leads or sales because their websites have been built by web design agencies that prioritise design over revenue generation.

These websites look good, and they could probably win some design awards too, but they don’t earn any organic search traffic, and barely convert at over 1% (if at all).

Websites should be built with purpose. They should be built to:

1. Rank at the top of Google.
2. Convert traffic into leads.
3. Aid the conversion of leads into sales.

Websites should look great and represent your brand well, but they should convert like machines too.

Building high-traffic, high-converting websites is something we know how to do very well.

By the end of this blog post, we hope that you’ll be able to find an agency to do that for you so that when you decide to request a website and marketing review, your website will fit in the “Ready to scale their marketing” category and not the “Needs to be rebuilt from scratch” one.

1. Does the agency have a process?

In our experience, inexperienced website design agencies don’t follow a process. They know how to build a website, and there might be several roles defined within the team that builds it, but they’re all working from memory, not a standard operating procedure (SOP) or tasklist.

That’s how mistakes are made. That’s how more time is spent on designing landing pages that have all the latest HTML, CSS and Javascript widgets but don’t contain any sales-optimised copy or clear calls-to-action.

Your agency shouldn’t be jumping into the design stage before understanding your business. They certainly shouldn’t be drafting product pages before understanding your product or your customer’s typical sales journey.

There should be a consistent process of stages, each with a defined SOP, including:

1. Research.
2. Wireframing.
3. Designing.
4. Building.
5. Quality checks.
6. Post-launch quality checks.
7. Post-launch performance improvement.

If you’re talking to an agency and they can’t outline a series of stages like those above, that’s quite a red flag.

2. Do they do their research?

You wouldn’t launch a marketing campaign without doing customer research.

No web design agency should design and launch a website without doing plenty of research either.

There’s so much to understand about a business and its target market that could (and should) influence the structure and design of any website build or redesign.

The design and development team should understand:

1. What your business offers.
2. What your competition is doing.
3. What your industry looks like.
4. What your target market looks like (and how they behave).
5. What your target market is searching for (and what kind of content best helps them).

If your target market typically reads a lot of information before deciding on a company, your website needs content at the core.

If your target market is well educated about your industry and is looking for the company that best matches their needs, your website needs to be designed to quickly and effectively communicate your value proposition and unique selling points.

If your web development agency suggests that the first thing they’ll be doing (post-sale) is jumping into the design or build phase, consider doing more research yourself and look at other agency options.

3. Do they understand multiple industries?

Industry-focused website design and development agencies are a good thing. They’ve found a process or design style that works, and they’re effective at producing the same consistent builds for all of their clients.

Therein lies the problem.

If an agency serves only one industry, they’re much less likely to try out different design styles or conversion-rate-optimisation techniques working well in other industries.

For example, if something is working really well for direct-to-consumer or eCommerce brands right now, your agency should be trying to test it on your website too.

If there’s an emerging design trend leading to more time on site, a lower bounce rate and a higher conversion rate, you’d want your web design agency to at least consider replicating it on your website too.

If that agency uses the same “tried and tested” design on all their client websites, where is the competitive edge for those sites?

Imagine every car manufacturer producing the same identical car. Where’s the competitive advantage? Why would you choose one car over another one?

Instead, your website needs to be tailored to your needs using the best user experience and conversion-rate-optimisation principles available, not just “what normally works for our clients”.

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4. Do they have experience with both small and large websites?

Web agencies that only build smaller websites tend to have trouble with big ones. They’re not used to working on such a large scale and become quickly unstuck, and that’s when costs start to spiral.

On the other hand, development agencies that only build large websites tend to over-complicate smaller website builds.

You need an agency used to doing both.

They should be able to research, plan, design and build any website size.

The web design agency you choose needs to understand the differing needs of different industries, how their market tends to navigate online and how complex or simple the website needs to be.

5. Do they have expertise in multiple platforms?

We’re fond of agencies with a singular platform focus. It allows them to build great-looking and functional websites. The downside, however, is that they might not necessarily be using the best platform for your business.

Agencies solely focused on Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento will have a hard time building a non-eCommerce site for your business.

We’ve been asked multiple times to review a website built on Shopify — not because they have products to sell, but because the developer knew the platform better.

The website was overly complicated, and visitors were encouraged to add products to a basket for a quote rather than to checkout. Instead, the best lead generation solution for that business would have been to offer a consultation call.

The same can be said for companies specialising in platforms like Squarespace and Wix. Yes, they’re getting better at adding eCommerce functionality, but they’re incredibly limiting from a user-experience, conversion-rate-optimisation and (especially), a search-engine-optimisation point of view.

If you need a lead generation website, you need a platform like WordPress that has plenty of room for customisation.

If you need an eCommerce store, you could build that in WordPress too, but if you need something simpler to manage, it could be built in Shopify.

The worst option is the agency that only builds in its own custom platform. One that you can only go to them to update. One that, if the agency shuts down and stops working on their custom platform altogether, results in businesses having to pay five or six-figure amounts to migrate their websites away from them.

For more on this point, plus another ten that aren’t covered in this blog post, download our free eBook, 21 Things You Need to Know before Choosing a Web Design Agency.

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6. Do they understand your business?

Your business isn’t the same as the others. Your competitors might sell similar services or products, but it’s your expertise and higher quality that sets you apart as the best.

It’s important that the web development team you commission to build or redesign your website understands the differences between them and you.

They also need to understand how your business makes money.

• How do you earn leads?
• How many touchpoints do you need to have with your leads before they convert?
• Do they need to see just one page or several to self-educate and convert?
• Does your business convert better via blog content or squeeze pages?
• Would it be better to sell your services as a package on the site, or do leads convert higher and spend more when they’re face-to-face or speaking with someone over the phone?

These are just some considerations your agency should be making time for.

If they don’t understand this, they’ll build the wrong website for you with a sales funnel that doesn’t work. Fixing the funnel after the website has gone live won’t be cheap either.

That’s why it’s so important to work with a business partner and not just a vendor.

The cost of choosing an agency that doesn’t understand your business is not just a drop in leads or an insignificant lead increase, it’s a drop in total business revenue. Scary.

7. Do they understand your brand?

Branding is one of the most significant parts of your marketing.

People see your brand and immediately know a lot about your business.

Depending on how you’ve crafted your brand’s story, they could see a reliable business with great customer care. Or, they could see a business that doesn’t follow through on their promises, with a customer service team that never answers the phone.

Your website needs to be built with your brand principles in mind.

The web agency you choose needs to understand the value of your brand and how it should be used on your website to help promote your brand story, your value proposition and your unique selling points.

Take Apple as an example.

When their products are sold in other technology stores, they’re not just on the shelf with every other available phone, tablet or computer. They’re typically separate, displayed in the same style as their flagship stores. They have the same maple-wood tables with lots of space between each item (unlike the other product tables where items are squashed together).

Brand guidelines are being followed, and a brand message is communicated, even if it’s not in an Apple store. They’re using their branding to repeatedly remind potential customers that Apple is uniquely different.

Choose a web design agency that knows how to use your brand and how to utilise it to increase your website’s conversion rate.

8. Do they prioritise conversions and functionality over design?

We’ve mentioned it throughout this post a few times, but conversion rate optimisation is a crucial yet often overlooked part of website design.

We regularly say to people who submit their websites for a review that their traffic strategy looks decent, but their website is never going to convert that traffic.

Conversion rate optimisation is far too often overlooked in favour of flashy website designs. No wonder, then, that we regularly see conversion rates under 1%.

Another overlooked area is user experience.

It’s amazing how many websites we are sent that are completely unusable. Again, they might look great, but if people can’t use them to find out about your business and then convert, what’s the point?

It must be great for web design agencies to be able to show off design awards they’ve won, but if the businesses they’ve served aren’t seeing an increase in conversions or revenues, it’s only the design agencies that make any gains.

If the agencies you’re choosing from are more focused on talking about the awards they’ve won and not the results their clients have earned, take caution.

9. Are they conversion rate optimisation experts?

Yep. We’re banging the drum here, but this is the area we’re most passionate about (and for good reason).

Last year we reviewed thousands of websites. The number of them with conversion rates below 1% was astonishing.

We’re deeply passionate that businesses considering building a website or rebuilding one don’t fall into the same problem of having a new website built that doesn’t offer any return on their investment or earn them any leads or sales.

Simply put, the agencies you’re considering need to talk about conversion rate optimisation.

They need to be working from best practices, but they also need to know what not to do (based on industry expertise). They also should know how to test and improve a website’s lead generation performance.

For example, conversion rate optimisation agencies (or teams, like ours) are constantly running a variety of tests for their clients. A/B testing, for example, is a brilliant way of testing whether a landing page could convert higher than it currently does. The findings from those tests should then influence the design of future landing pages and websites, which the best web design agencies should be doing.

10. Are they user experience experts?

User testing is one of our favourite things to do. We use tools like Hotjar to do it, but it can also be achieved by standing behind people and watching them as they use your website.

As an agency of digital natives, it always surprises us just how differently other people use the internet.

Sometimes we see people having trouble finding buttons that you’d assume to be obvious, but because of their size, colour or wording, are not as clear as we expected.

Those people are often outliers and an exception to how 99% of people use the web, but now and again, we’ll spot something that could be blocking 100s of conversions on a website (that we didn’t build but have agreed to run pay-per-click ads to).

Another part of user experience that’s often overlooked is how the website is to use on mobile…

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11. Do they understand the importance of mobile friendliness?

77% of the traffic to the Thinkplus website comes via desktop devices.

Does that mean we should ignore the other 23% of visitors visiting via mobile or tablet devices? Absolutely not.

Every website visitor is a potential future client. Yes, your traffic might be dominated by one traffic source, but your next high-value client or SQL might see your LinkedIn ad on their phone, click on it, and spend the next half an hour reading your content. You just never know.

As a digital marketing agency with search engine optimisation at the core, we also appreciate that mobile-friendliness is a key ranking factor in search engine rankings, especially Google.

Google uses a mobile-first indexing system. That means that websites are ranked on the performance of the website on a mobile device.

Now, even if 77% of your traffic is via desktop, like ours — if you’re reliant on organic search traffic, you’ll need to optimise your website for mobile first, desktop second.

Make sure the web design agency you choose not only knows this but practices this.

10 More Things You Need to Know

There’s a lot more to consider when you’re choosing a web design and development agency, many of which we’ve covered here.

But we can think of ten more important things you need to consider too.

We’ve gathered 21 things in total that you need to know and put them into a singular eBook. You can get a copy of it for free by visiting this page or by clicking the “Download this eBook” button in the call-to-action box beneath (you wouldn’t believe how many websites we review that have zero calls-to-action in their blog posts).

Still have a few questions?

Still a little unsure about how to choose a web design agency or whether your website might benefit from just some conversion rate optimisation tweaks instead?

If so, drop your question in the comments section beneath or send it to our team via the form on our contact page.

Alternatively, you can request a website quote for your website project via our Website Development page, or submit your website to our website and marketing review.

After that, why not read through some of our best blog posts and videos about website design, development and conversion rate optimisation (linked below).

• Why Your Website Isn’t Making Any Sales (and How to Fix It) [blog]
• How To Improve Your Website’s Conversion Rate 3x-10x [blog]
• Best eCommerce Platforms to Use [blog]
• Why You’re Getting No Leads and Sales From Your Blog [YouTube video]
• 10 Ways to Increase Your eCommerce Conversion Rate [YouTube video]
• 26 Ways to Earn 100 Leads a Day on Your Website [YouTube video]
• 15 Ways To Increase Your Leads [YouTube video]
• How To Create The Perfect Website Sales Funnel [YouTube video]
• 8 Reasons Why Your Conversion Rate Is Low [YouTube video]
• How To Write Website Copy That Converts (and ISN’T Boring) [YouTube video]
• How To Create Landing Pages That Convert at 43% [YouTube video]
• 3 Steps To Find and Remove Website Conversion Blockers [YouTube video]

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Due to the closure of stores deemed non-essential and restrictions on travel that may have put distant shops out of the reach of consumers, it’s likely a large number of people who had never shopped online before were forced to use their computers and phones to get the things they needed.

Perhaps with the ease and convenience of online shopping — eliminating the need to travel and park vehicles, both of which can be costly — the newly formed habit may stay and eCommerce might further overtake the High Street in the long term.

As of now, it’s estimated that retail sales online make up just over 14% of all retail sales around the world, and the figure is forecast to rise to 22% by 2023.

The total value of the eCommerce retail sector in 2020 was just under $4 billion, according to research firm eMarketer, which said growth was robust in almost all countries but dominated by economic powerhouses China and India.

eCommerce Rising: Global online retail sales. (Statista)

Due to the abrupt arrest of much of the physical economy in 2020, companies were suddenly forced to adapt and change so they could survive; that meant quickly starting a digital arm of their business.

Popular eCommerce platform Shopify saw “unprecedented” growth during the year, enjoying record expansion in the 12 months of a whopping 86% and reaping $2.9 billion in revenue.

And the trend is increasingly towards mobile, with shopping on smartphones and tablets expected to make up almost 54% of all retail eCommerce sales this year, meaning online stores must be responsive and able to adapt to whatever type of device is accessing them.

If you’re wondering which is the best eCommerce platform for you, here’s a rundown of the top ones to consider.

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Some of the Best eCommerce Platforms in 2021

Shopify

Shopify has become wildly popular as one of the best eCommerce platforms today because of its ease of use, making it quick and easy to set up an online store; plus it has many add-ons and plug-ins that help with orders, deliveries and lots more.

The company says that more than 1 million companies in 175 countries use the platform and, all told, have made more than $200 billion in sales by using it.

What they promise: We help people achieve independence by making it easier to start, run and grow a business. We believe the future of commerce has more voices, not fewer, so we’re reducing the barriers to business ownership to make commerce better for everyone.

BigCommerce

This is one of the best eCommerce platforms for bigger companies — from medium- to large-scale enterprises — but it’s also built with simplicity in mind.

For instance, you can easily customise your online store without knowing anything about code or requiring a web developer. And unlike some other eCommerce platforms, BigCommerce is strong on SEO, meaning you’ll get the online exposure and sales traction you need.

What they promise: Create a robust, differentiated commerce experience without compromising security, stability or scalability. The openness and power of the BigCommerce platform empower you to focus on optimising your business for growth.

WooCommerce

Anyone who’s familiar with the popular publishing platform WordPress and wants to start an online store will love WooCommerce because it’s built on the easy-to-use content management system. It has a team of “Happiness Engineers” around the world to provide the support customers need, and the entire company is remote.

What they promise: WooCommerce is committed to democratising commerce and putting you in control of your own livelihood. Our core platform is free and open-source, empowering anyone to sell anything, anywhere.

Magento

Magento is another big-business eCommerce platform, reflected in the $100 billion in sales that passes through it every year.

It’s got lots of great features, including 1-Click selling, but while it can be used free, for large eCommerce solutions, it can be pricey, with astronomic fees in the tens of thousands.

What they promise: Magento successfully integrates digital and physical shopping experiences, delighting customers. In addition to its flagship, open-source commerce platform, Magento boasts a strong portfolio of cloud-based omnichannel solutions, including in-store, retail associate and order management technologies.

Wix eCommerce

Many small businesses operate online stores using Wix eCommerce, but as they grow, they might find the maximum storage space of 50GB for the top-tier Business VIP service limiting. And that the platform’s features and lacklustre SEO options might not be the best for them. Still, it’s not a bad starting point for an eCom setup.

What they promise: Wix eCommerce is the complete solution for entrepreneurs starting an online business, retailers moving their store online or brands already selling over $1M. Our industry-leading eCommerce website builder and advanced business features help you launch, run and scale your online store successfully.

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Weebly

Next on our list of the best eCommerce platforms in 2021 is the online stores solution offered by Weebly.

It’s another solid solution for someone looking to start a basic online store, as it has lots of slick templates to choose from as well as tools that help you customise them the way you want; plus, you get great email tools.

But the SEO is not all that amazing, so if that’s your focus, it may not be the best eCommerce platform for you.

What they promise: Choose a unique online store design with a customisable theme to showcase your products. Our easy-to-use drag & drop builder helps you launch your online store quickly.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s online store offering provides an easy-to-use interface that lets you arrange your products the way you want.

It’s another reliable choice for anyone who wishes to start a simple online store without much fuss, and the template designs are stunning.

It has all the add-ons you need to make your business a reality, including shipping and subscriptions.

What they promise: The most creative way to sell your products is with a Squarespace online store. Allow your customers to browse your merchandise, add items to their cart, and check out simply and efficiently.

Volusion

Quickly set up an online store with the platform offered by Volusion.

There are lots of great templates to choose from and all the plug-ins and integrations you need — and it comes with its own CRM system, newsletter option and built-in SEO to get the online visibility and sales you desire.

What they promise: With responsive themes and a comprehensive site builder, you can create a unique store — without code — in minutes.

PrestaShop

Use the Demo feature of PrestaShop to see what your new online store could look like. Then you can browse the many themes and customise the one you like.

PrestaShop lets you use a number of languages and currencies so that you can sell in markets around the world.

What they promise: Choose from a store with web hosting that you can set up in just a few clicks, a store that’s 100% customisable, or get help from an expert to build your e-commerce website.

Square

Want an online store with no monthly fee, just pay a commission with every sale? Then eCommerce platform Square may be for you.

Setting up an online business with Square is also pretty simple. The service offers such desirable benefits as local delivery and curbside pickup, along with tons of free apps to integrate into your new shop.

What they promise: You can create and publish your online store quickly. With the help of our site builder, you don’t need to know how to code. And your site will work well on any device.

Already have an online store but it’s not doing as well as you’d hoped? Let the digital marketing experts at Thinkplus have a look at it and give you a free website and marketing review. Your sales and profits could skyrocket!

Don’t have a store yet? Request a website quote and we’ll turn your needs into a high-converting eCommerce store.

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