BigCommerce to Shopify
BigCommerce to Shopify migration for Australian brands
BigCommerce is a capable platform, but many Australian stores find local support, apps and themes thinner than on Shopify. We migrate your catalogue, customers and order history, rebuild the storefront, and redirect your URLs so rankings hold.
Why brands leave BigCommerce
- Fewer Australian developers and agencies. Finding quick help for a BigCommerce store in this market is harder than for Shopify.
- A smaller app and theme market, so some local needs require custom work.
- Local payment and shipping options. Afterpay, Zip and Australian carriers are available, but Shopify's integrations tend to be quicker to set up.
- Storefront editing. Teams often find Shopify's theme editor easier for non-developers.
- Plan structure. BigCommerce plans have revenue thresholds that can force an upgrade as sales grow, which owners compare against Shopify before moving.
What moves, and how
Products and variants
Names, SKUs, prices, images, weights and variants export to CSV and import to Shopify. BigCommerce modifiers and option sets are re-mapped to Shopify options or an options app.
Categories
BigCommerce categories become Shopify collections, with the category tree rebuilt in the navigation menu.
Customers
Contact details, addresses and customer groups move across, with groups becoming tags. Passwords do not transfer, so customers get an account invite on launch.
Order history
Past orders import as historical records with totals, line items and addresses.
Reviews
Product reviews export and load into a reviews app, with ratings and dates retained where supported.
Gift certificates
Outstanding balances are recreated as Shopify gift cards with matched values.
Blog and pages
Posts and web pages are rebuilt in Shopify, with images re-hosted and internal links rewritten.
Redirects
BigCommerce's existing 301 redirects are exported and merged into the new Shopify redirect map.
What changes in your URLs
BigCommerce typically builds product and category addresses from the product or category name with a trailing slash, such as /linen-shirt/ and /shirts/, although URL structure can be customised in settings. We check yours. Shopify puts these under /products/ and /collections/, so most addresses change.
We export your BigCommerce redirects, crawl the live site and combine both with Search Console data, then load permanent 301s into Shopify. Shopify redirects are one path to one path, so nothing is left to pattern matching.
| BigCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|
| /product-name/ | /products/product-name |
| /category-name/ | /collections/category-name |
| /brands/brand-name/ | /collections/brand-name or a vendor collection |
| /blog/post-title/ | /blogs/news/post-title |
What needs real work
- Product options. Complex option sets, modifiers and custom fields need design decisions, because Shopify limits the number of option types per product.
- Brands. BigCommerce has a dedicated brand entity. In Shopify we use the vendor field and vendor-based collections.
- Multi-storefront setups. If you run more than one BigCommerce storefront, we plan Shopify Markets or separate stores. See Shopify Plus.
- Apps and integrations. Accounting, shipping and email connections are rebuilt. Our shipping guide covers Australian carriers.
- Headless builds. A custom front end on BigCommerce APIs is a rebuild, not a migration, and is scoped separately.
How the migration runs
Step 1
Audit and plan
We list products, options, integrations and traffic, and decide what maps cleanly and what needs design.
Step 2
Build and import
We design and build the theme, then import data to a staging store and reconcile counts.
Step 3
Redirects and QA
We load the redirect map, test checkout and payment methods, and check mobile speed.
Step 4
Launch
We switch DNS at a quiet time, submit the sitemap and monitor Search Console.
Migrations are included in the Custom package ($18,500 ex GST) and quoted within Plus for larger builds. See pricing and our migration checklist.
Protecting your Google rankings
- Step 1Export existing BigCommerce redirects and the sitemap, then crawl the live site to capture every indexed URL.
- Step 2301 each product and category address to /products/ or /collections/, prioritising pages with Search Console clicks and backlinks.
- Step 3Rebuild brand pages as vendor collections and redirect /brands/ URLs to them.
- Step 4Preserve titles, meta descriptions and image alt text in Shopify's SEO fields.
- Step 5Keep the domain, resubmit the sitemap and watch 404s and indexing for several weeks after launch.
When to stay on BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a good fit if you sell to businesses with complex catalogues, or want built-in features that Shopify handles with apps, such as certain product options and B2B tooling. If you run a headless build on BigCommerce APIs and your engineering team is happy, a migration changes a lot of working code. If you are on a plan that suits your volume, and sales and support are fine, staying is sensible. We have no interest in moving a store that is working. Our guide comparing Shopify and BigCommerce in Australia covers where each wins.
BigCommerce to Shopify: common questions
Will my product options carry over from BigCommerce?
Simple options do. Complex modifiers and option sets need design work because Shopify limits option types per product. We map each case before the build and use an options app where needed.
Do I keep my SEO rankings?
A full 301 redirect map, carried-over metadata and a submitted sitemap protect most of them. Some movement for a few weeks is normal. We monitor Search Console after launch.
Can customers keep their passwords?
No. Passwords cannot move between platforms. Customers receive an account invite, and guest checkout remains available.
I sell B2B on BigCommerce. Can Shopify do that?
Yes. Shopify Plus includes B2B features such as price lists and company accounts. Smaller stores can use customer tags and an app. We scope it in the wholesale service.
What about my multi-currency setup?
Shopify Markets handles local pricing and currencies for NZ and other regions. We set it up during the build.
How long does it take?
4 to 8 weeks depending on catalogue size and option complexity. Stores with headless front ends or multiple storefronts take longer.
Further reading
Comparison8 min read
Shopify vs BigCommerce for Australian brands
BigCommerce and Shopify are both hosted platforms, and on paper they look similar. The differences show up in pricing structure, how much is built in, and how many people and apps you can call on in Australia.
Checklist9 min read
The Shopify migration checklist: from old platform to launch day
A migration goes well when the boring work is done early: a complete URL list, a redirect map, clean data and a test plan. Here is the order we follow.
Guide9 min read
Shopify SEO for Australian stores: a practical checklist
Shopify gives you a decent technical base. The rankings come from how you structure collections, write product pages and fix the handful of quirks every Shopify store has.
Ready to leave BigCommerce?
Send us your store address. We'll crawl it, count what needs to move, and come back with a fixed quote and a date.