Inventory the existing store
Record the Shopware version, sales channels, languages, currencies and extensions. Include ERP, stock, shipping, accounting and marketing. Prepare examples for essential workflows: normal purchase, discount, B2B customer, return or custom configuration.
Classify requirements as essential, suitable for simplification or unnecessary. Similar feature names do not guarantee equivalent behaviour. A price or shipping rule must produce the required outcome for your actual inputs.
Choose export methods and map fields
Shopware 6 exports using import/export profiles. The profile determines included fields; special data may require an adjusted profile or API export. Preserve exports and record version, time and scope.
Map source fields to the Shopify model. Examples include product numbers to SKUs, options to variants and custom fields to metafields. Choose the mapping according to how the data will be used and maintained.
| Area | Check before import |
|---|---|
| Products and variants | SKUs, options, images, prices and inventory |
| Categories and content | Collections, navigation, pages and templates |
| Custom fields | Metafield types and theme use |
| Customers | Addresses, company information and consent evidence |
| Orders | Required history, statuses and payment information |
| Rules and extensions | Native feature, available app or custom development |
Test representative products and content
Use products covering catalogue complexity: several variants, multiple images, special prices and extra information. Compare the result with the source before importing everything.
Do not copy category structures blindly into navigation. Decide what customers need and how collections represent it. Shopware templates and extensions are not directly installable Shopify themes; set up the relevant content and functionality on the new platform.
Separate customer accounts and order history
Customer records can be imported with a suitable Shopify CSV. Existing passwords do not migrate this way. Plan sign-in: current Shopify customer accounts use an emailed code, while legacy account models may need a new password.
Historical orders need a suitable app or API solution and follow products and customers. Specify the required records. Suppress unwanted notifications and automations where supported by the import method, so old orders do not trigger new emails or documents.
Rebuild rules, B2B workflows and integrations
Create an example for every important Shopware rule. Quantity pricing, shipping conditions, customer-specific prices and custom options need new mappings. Assess current platform capability and plan requirements before choosing extensions.
B2B combines companies, catalogues, payment terms and approvals. See Shopify B2B setup. For synchronisation, define the authoritative system for products, prices and stock; see ERP integration.
Map URLs and content before cutover
Export important product, category and content URLs. Include search landing pages, internally linked addresses and backlink targets. Map them to relevant destinations rather than redirecting everything to the homepage.
Account for Shopify redirect limitations. An old path that still serves a valid page is not automatically overridden. Verify redirects by requesting the addresses. Relevant content and redirects reduce avoidable losses, but rankings can still change during migration.
Preserve invoices and check tax setup
Order imports do not replace the invoice archive. Preserve original documents, structured e-invoices and required evidence. Document the cutover and archive access before shutting down Shopware.
Review taxes and accounting separately. Invoice numbering must avoid duplicates; a clearly separated new series is possible. See the accounting guide. Avoid creating new invoices accidentally from imported historical orders.
Test, reconcile and launch
Agree a cutover window and responsibilities. After a test import, reconcile records, prices, inventory and important purchase cases. Bring in changes since that test and reconcile again before switching.
A fallback plan must cover orders already placed in Shopify. Reversing DNS alone does not transfer those transactions back. Specify when rollback is allowed and how new orders will be handled.
- Reconcile counts and representative records.
- Test shipping, payments, discounts and documents.
- Check important old URLs, status codes and destinations.
- Activate app and ERP synchronisation deliberately.
- Import final stock and order differences.
- Verify domain, HTTPS and existing email DNS records.
- Assign support, monitoring and fallback decisions.
