MTN HausShopifyCo-authored

The technical $ migrateplaybook for moving from
BigCommerce Shopify Plus.

A 32-page engineering-grade reference for CTOs and technical leaders evaluating the move. Platform-architecture comparison, system-by-system translation, and the ten migration considerations that shape every successful BigCommerce → Shopify cutover.

Co-authored with Shopify Plus Migration Engineering 32 pages · PDF Shopify migration checklist included

Pages

32

Considerations

10

Avg TCO reduction

31%

Avg conversion lift

12%

// Migration path covered in this guide:

BigCommerce (source) ETL · Mapping Shopify Functions · Apps Shopify Plus (target)

↓0 SEO drop target

100% URL continuity

13 wk avg cutover

// What's inside

32 pages. migration considerations.

A practical reference for CTOs, engineering leads, and operators evaluating the move. Platform-architecture comparisons, system-by-system terminology translation, and the ten decisions that shape every successful BigCommerce → Shopify cutover.

Sec. 01 · Exec

The case for migration

TCO, operational-efficiency, and the strategic shifts driving brands off BigCommerce — with the benchmarks to frame the conversation internally.

Executive summary 12% avg conversion lift
Sec. 02 · Arch

Platform architecture

BigCommerce's distributed microservices model vs. Shopify's modular monolith — and what each means for your team's day-to-day operational load.

Side-by-side Infra · scaling · PCI
Sec. 03 · Tools

Extending Shopify

Functions, Metaobjects, Flow, Checkout Extensibility, Hydrogen + Oxygen — the native tooling that replaces the middleware you're maintaining today.

5 capabilities Post-migration
Sec. 04 · Systems

Systems & terminology

PIM, OMS, payments, CRM, analytics, Markets — platform-by-platform translation so every stakeholder shares a common language.

Translation matrix All stakeholders
Sec. 05 · Core

Ten migration considerations

Approach, ecosystem, extensibility, timeline, integrations, data, SEO, customer accounts, QA, and organizational change — covered in project sequence.

10 decisions Project sequence
Sec. 06 · Runbook

Migration checklist

The Shopify migration checklist we run: customers, addresses, products, orders, integrations, notifications — with the pre-launch sequencing that avoids surprises.

End-to-end Field-tested

Architecture decisions, decoded.

The guide walks through the four architectures we actively deploy — Liquid, Liquid + Hydrogen islands, full Hydrogen, and custom-headless — with the cost, velocity, and complexity trade-offs we've measured in production.

Pattern A Liquid + Sections 2.0
Pattern B Hydrogen (Remix)
Pattern C Custom Next.js + Storefront API
Decision 4-axis scoring matrix

// architecture · reference diagram

CDN Cloudflare / Fastlyedge + caching
Presentation Hydrogen (Remix)SSR · streaming
API Shopify Storefront APIGraphQL
Logic Shopify Functionscart · discount · delivery
Data Shopify Admin · Metafieldssource of truth
Search Algolia / Searchspringoptional

App-for-app mapping.

Every BigCommerce integration has a disposition: direct-equivalent, Shopify-native replacement, or bespoke Function/app. The guide ships with a matrix for 40 of the most common BC apps we see.

Coverage 40 BC apps
Direct ports 22 apps
Native replacements 11 apps
Needs custom 7 apps

// extensibility · sample mapping

CapabilityBigCommerceShopifyFit
SubscriptionsRebilliaRecharge / Subscription API
ReviewsYotpoYotpo / Okendo / Stamped
B2B price listsNativeShopify B2B
LoyaltySmile.ioSmile.io / LoyaltyLion
Tax (multi-region)AvalaraShopify Tax / Avalara
Custom checkout UIEmbedded checkoutCheckout Extensions
PIM (legacy)Akeneo pluginCustom Function

A realistic week-by-week cutover.

The guide includes the full Gantt we run internally — 13 weeks for a standard mid-market migration, with parallel workstreams for data, presentation, apps, and QA. Every milestone has acceptance criteria.

Total 13 weeks
Workstreams 4 parallel
Milestones 11 gated
QA checklist 120 points

// timelines · week-by-week cutover

Workstream
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10W11W12
Discovery
Audit + scope
Data mapping
Schema + ETL
Architecture
Hydrogen build
Apps + extensions
Integrate + test
QA + UAT
120-pt checklist
Cutover + DNS
Soft → Hard
MTN HausShopify

Co-authored with Plus Migration Engineering.

This isn't a marketing white paper. Every chapter was reviewed by engineers on Shopify's Plus Migration team and pressure-tested against the reference architectures they recommend to merchants. It's the same playbook we use to win — and run — our own migration engagements.

Authored by

MTN Haus

Technical review

Shopify Plus

Partner tier

Shopify Premier

First published

Q4 2025 · v2.1

"MTN is one of a small handful of Plus partners we trust to handle complex mid-market migrations end-to-end. This guide captures the patterns we recommend — grounded in their track record."

— Shopify Plus Partner Engineering

// Still have questions?

Run your migration plan past the team that wrote the guide.

30-minute technical intro call with a Shopify-certified MTN lead. We'll pressure-test your timeline, flag risks, and send follow-up notes. No commitment.