The case for migration
TCO, operational-efficiency, and the strategic shifts driving brands off BigCommerce — with the benchmarks to frame the conversation internally.
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MTN Haus
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Shopify
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Co-authored
The technical $ migrate playbook 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. Ten 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.
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.
Extending Shopify
Functions, Metaobjects, Flow, Checkout Extensibility, Hydrogen + Oxygen — the native tooling that replaces the middleware you're maintaining today.
Systems & terminology
PIM, OMS, payments, CRM, analytics, Markets — platform-by-platform translation so every stakeholder shares a common language.
Ten migration considerations
Approach, ecosystem, extensibility, timeline, integrations, data, SEO, customer accounts, QA, and organizational change — covered in project sequence.
Migration checklist
The Shopify migration checklist we run: customers, addresses, products, orders, integrations, notifications — with the pre-launch sequencing that avoids surprises.
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 / Fastly
edge + caching
Presentation
Hydrogen (Remix)
SSR · streaming
API
Shopify Storefront API
GraphQL
Logic
Shopify Functions
cart · discount · delivery
Data
Shopify Admin · Metafields
source of truth
Search
Algolia / Searchspring
optional
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
| Capability | BigCommerce | Shopify | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscriptions | Rebillia | Recharge / Subscription API | |
| Reviews | Yotpo | Yotpo / Okendo / Stamped | |
| B2B price lists | Native | Shopify B2B | |
| Loyalty | Smile.io | Smile.io / LoyaltyLion | |
| Tax (multi-region) | Avalara | Shopify Tax / Avalara | |
| Custom checkout UI | Embedded checkout | Checkout Extensions | |
| PIM (legacy) | Akeneo plugin | Custom 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
W1
W2
W3
W4
W5
W6
W7
W8
W9
W10
W11
W12
Discovery
Data mapping
Architecture
Apps + extensions
QA + UAT
Cutover + DNS
M
MTN Haus
×
S
Shopify
Co-authored with Shopify 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 Platinum
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.