As your business evolves, so should your eCommerce platform. Whether you're moving to BigCommerce for its robust feature set or away from it in search of more flexibility or cost-effectiveness, BigCommerce migration is a crucial step that can significantly impact your store’s performance and future growth.

BigCommerce is known for its enterprise-level capabilities, built-in SEO tools, and powerful integrations. But whether you're scaling up or pivoting platforms, migration must be done right to avoid data loss, downtime, or disruptions to your customer experience. In this guide, we'll walk you through the reasons for BigCommerce migration, the potential challenges, and how to execute a smooth, successful transition using tools like Cart2Cart.

Why Migrate from or to BigCommerce?

Migrating to BigCommerce

  • Scalability: BigCommerce is a great choice for growing businesses, offering strong infrastructure to handle increased traffic and orders.

  • Built-in Features: No need for endless plugins — BigCommerce includes multi-channel selling, abandoned cart recovery, and advanced analytics out of the box.

  • Security & Hosting: As a hosted SaaS solution, it includes PCI compliance, automatic updates, and secure hosting.

Migrating from BigCommerce

  • Cost Considerations: Monthly subscription fees and transaction-based pricing can add up for high-volume merchants.

  • Customization Limits: While flexible, BigCommerce is not as customizable as open-source platforms like WooCommerce or Magento.

  • Platform Preference: Businesses may prefer a more content-focused CMS (like WordPress) or a simpler interface like Shopify.

Common BigCommerce Migration Scenarios

  • Shopify to BigCommerce: For merchants needing more B2B features or flexibility in product rules and APIs.

  • WooCommerce to BigCommerce: To move from open-source to a fully hosted, managed solution.

  • BigCommerce to Shopify: For sellers seeking a simplified interface or better mobile app experience.

  • BigCommerce to Magento: For enterprises needing complete control and custom development capabilities.

Challenges of BigCommerce Migration

1. Data Integrity Risks
Poorly planned migrations can result in lost or mismatched product data, customer accounts, and order histories.

2. Theme Compatibility
Themes and visual elements are platform-specific. You’ll need to rebuild or adapt your design during migration.

3. SEO Disruption
Migrating without maintaining URL structures and metadata can impact your site’s search engine ranking.

4. Downtime or Broken Features
Improper migration timing or testing can lead to downtime, broken links, or faulty checkout processes.

Steps for a Successful BigCommerce Migration

1. Evaluate and Backup

Before migrating, audit your current store. Identify what data needs to be moved (products, categories, customers, orders, coupons, reviews, etc.). Create full backups of your store’s content and database.

2. Choose the Right Platform

Select a new platform based on your specific needs — budget, scalability, integrations, and customization levels.

3. Use a Tool Like Cart2Cart

Cart2Cart simplifies BigCommerce migration by securely automating the data transfer process:

  • Supports migration to/from 85+ platforms.

  • Transfers all core data including SEO URLs, product images, customers, orders, and more.

  • Offers demo migrations to test results before full execution.

4. Rebuild Theme and Extensions

Select a new theme or replicate your existing design. Reinstall any essential apps or plugins on the new platform.

5. Test Everything

Double-check product pages, checkout, payment gateways, shipping methods, and mobile responsiveness. Run test orders and simulate user behavior.

6. Redirect URLs and Preserve SEO

Set up 301 redirects to retain your old URLs. Migrate metadata, product descriptions, and canonical tags to avoid ranking loss.

7. Go Live and Monitor

Once everything works as expected, point your domain to the new site. Closely monitor performance, loading speed, and customer feedback in the first few days.

Benefits of Using Cart2Cart for BigCommerce Migration

  • Time-Saving: No manual CSV exports or re-entries — complete migration in hours, not days.

  • Accurate Mapping: Keeps relationships between products, categories, and orders intact.

  • Secure: Uses encrypted connections to protect sensitive customer and store data.

  • No Downtime: Your BigCommerce store stays live while the new one is built in parallel.

Best Practices for BigCommerce Migration

  • Always run a demo migration to test accuracy.

  • Migrate during low-traffic periods to minimize disruption.

  • Keep backups until the new store is fully live.

  • Notify your team and customers in advance of any changes.

  • Test thoroughly on staging before launching publicly.

Conclusion

Whether you’re expanding to BigCommerce for its advanced capabilities or moving to another platform for greater flexibility, BigCommerce migration is a vital step in the evolution of your online store. With careful planning and the right tools — especially automated solutions like Cart2Cart — you can move your store securely, efficiently, and with confidence.

Don’t let migration slow your growth. Take control of your store’s future and migrate smarter.