Replatforming / Launch checklist
Ecommerce migration checklist: data, cutover, and recovery
Agree the evidence that makes a launch ready.
Download worksheetEditable CSV · Open in your spreadsheet app
An ecommerce migration needs a record of what moves, how it is checked, and who can approve the switch. Start with orders, customer records, inventory, and connected systems. The storefront launch depends on those decisions.
Give every data set a destination
For each source, choose whether to migrate it, retain it in an accessible archive, or retire it under your existing retention policy. Document the decision before writing import scripts.
Shopify's migration guide distinguishes content types and transfer methods, then calls for product verification and test orders. A single import method may not cover every record your business needs.
| Data or system | Evidence to collect | Acceptance question |
|---|---|---|
| Products and variants | Stable IDs, counts, option mapping, representative samples | Can customers buy the intended variant at the intended price? |
| Customers | Identity mapping, duplicate policy, account access plan | Can an existing customer use the new account flow? |
| Orders | Counts and totals by period, currency, and status | Can staff locate and explain a historical order? |
| Stock | Authoritative source, locations, reserved quantities | Does available-to-sell stock match the approved opening position? |
| URLs and content | URL inventory and redirect mapping | Do important old links reach the intended destination? |
| Integrations | Owner, credentials location, input/output examples | Does an order reach fulfillment, accounting, and support? |
Rehearse reconciliation before cutover
Use a representative migration sample containing awkward cases: a partial refund, a canceled order, a multi-item order, and a customer with changed contact details. Keep currencies separate when comparing monetary totals. Record expected differences, including fields the destination cannot represent directly.
Then rehearse the full process. Count records before and after, compare relevant totals, and investigate every unexplained mismatch. A matching record count alone cannot prove that values, relationships, or order states are correct.
For example, a migrated order may exist while its refund is missing. Your acceptance record should connect the order, payment, refund, and fulfillment references so an operator can resolve the customer's next question.
Plan the final trading window
Agree how changes made during migration reach the new system. That might involve a short editing freeze, a final update pass, or another tested method appropriate to the source. Name the person who can approve the switch and the person who can stop it.
Record the last successful import time, the source export retained for recovery, and the orders created after that point. Avoid assuming that switching DNS back restores the whole business. Orders or payments created on the new system may require reconciliation even after traffic is moved.
Define the launch gate
Before launch, demonstrate one complete purchase, fulfillment update, cancellation, refund, and customer-service lookup in the agreed environment. Confirm the payment provider's supported testing method before processing test transactions.
Give each unresolved issue an owner and a decision: fix before launch, accept with a workaround, or postpone launch. A migration specialist is valuable when they can explain these tradeoffs with evidence. Devekko's Shopify migration service begins with the data, systems, and launch responsibilities that need to be scoped.
Your next step
Plan your store migration
Share the task, your current systems, and the decision you need to make. We’ll discuss a useful first scope.
Plan your store migration