To migrate BigCommerce to Shopify, you export the catalog, customers and orders as structured files, rebuild what does not map, and redirect every old URL. A BigCommerce to Shopify migration is the gentlest kind we handle: both platforms are hosted, so there is no server to move. Even so, when you transfer BigCommerce to Shopify, the same few things tend to go wrong.
We are noprob agency, and we run these moves with the Shopify Launch Sprint. One thing first: we have no BigCommerce case study. Our real migrations are Nazzi, from WooCommerce, and Cumini, from a proprietary platform tied to the ERP. What follows rests on how we work and on the official documentation of both platforms, linked wherever a fact comes from.
What is the same on every platform (scope, timeline, risks) is in our guide to migrating to Shopify. This piece covers only what is specific to BigCommerce.
Why do brands move from BigCommerce to Shopify?
Brands move from BigCommerce to Shopify for what surrounds the store, rarely for a feature the store lacks. These are the reasons that hold up:
- Ecosystem: more apps, more agencies and more developers who already know the platform, so most problems you meet have been solved by someone first.
- Checkout: Shopify hosts and maintains it, including accelerated payment options such as Shop Pay. You stop owning that part of the store.
- Editing: the admin and the theme editor let a marketing team change pages without opening a ticket.
- Channels: the same catalog sells on social and marketplace channels from one admin.
- Total cost: the plan price is the small number. Add apps, developer hours and the agency retainer. If one platform needs three apps for what the other does natively, the cheaper plan is the more expensive store. What a Shopify migration costs shows how to count.
A reason that does not hold up is “everyone is on Shopify”. Write down what hurts today and check that the move fixes it. And we would tell you to stay if your BigCommerce store is a B2B build with deep integrations that already works.
What is easier than leaving a self-hosted platform?
Leaving BigCommerce is easier than leaving a self-hosted store because nothing sits on a server you have to dump, and the data comes out already structured.
- No server work: no database export, no hosting access, no PHP or plugin versions to match. You ask the platform for files.
- Structured exports: BigCommerce lets you export products, customers and orders as files; check the export options in your BigCommerce control panel, along with whether your existing redirects can be exported.
- Nothing to switch off: the old store keeps selling, untouched, until the day you change the domain.
- A documented target: Shopify’s migration documentation lists products, customers, historical orders, pages and blogs as movable, and advises importing products first, then customers, then orders.
What stays hard is not the files. Every hosted platform has its own data model, and a CSV carries the shape of the old one. On Nazzi the problem was the opposite: data scattered across a WordPress database and plugins (see the WooCommerce guide). Here the job is translation, and it happens in the places below.
What happens to BigCommerce product options and modifiers?
Only BigCommerce variant options become Shopify variants; modifiers do not, because they were never variants.
BigCommerce’s product documentation is explicit: variants carry a SKU and inventory, while modifiers cannot be part of a variant and cannot track inventory against their combinations. Shopify limits how many options and variants a product can have; the current limits are in its variants documentation.
- Variant options (size, color) become Shopify options and variants, and inventory follows.
- Modifiers (engraving text, file upload, gift-wrap checkbox) become line item properties, drawn by the storefront code or an app. They carry no stock.
- More options than Shopify allows means restructuring: split the product, or move one choice to a property. Decide product by product.
Two traps. Very large variant counts trigger a Shopify warning that some themes, apps and channels may not support them (see the variants documentation above). And in a product CSV, changing an option value deletes the old variant IDs and creates new ones, which can break anything that stored them (CSV guide). So before importing anything we mark each product in the mapping sheet as clean, restructure or custom input.
Do BigCommerce custom fields become metafields?
BigCommerce custom fields become Shopify metafields only when they hold real information; the rest should be tags or be dropped.
A BigCommerce custom field is a name and a value, and values have a length limit, so check long texts before importing. A Shopify metafield extends products, customers or orders with your own data, and a definition adds validation so values stay consistent. We sort every custom field into one of three piles:
- Real attributes (material, dimensions, care): create a definition, import the values, show them in the storefront code.
- Merchandising flags (“new”, “bestseller”): tags or collection rules.
- Template workarounds (the same shipping note pasted into every product): drop them.
Product metafields can travel in the product CSV. Variant metafields cannot, and go through the variant bulk editor.
How do BigCommerce categories become Shopify collections?
A BigCommerce category tree becomes Shopify collections plus navigation menus, and the tree has to be rebuilt as rules.
In BigCommerce a product can sit in several categories. A Shopify product CSV takes only one collection per product. So we write automated collections driven by tags, type or vendor, and keep the hierarchy in the menus, not in the collections. One SEO point: category pages often rank thanks to the text written on them, so that text moves to the collection page.
How do customer groups and price lists map to Shopify B2B?
They map to Shopify B2B only if the groups were really companies; a retail discount tier is a different job.
A BigCommerce price list holds prices per variant, assigned to a channel or a customer group, with the catalog price as fallback. In Shopify B2B you set customers up as companies, and catalogs decide which products and prices each company sees. B2B is available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans.
Before mapping, list every group: who is in it and what it changes (price, visible products, tax exemption, payment terms). Trade accounts become companies with catalogs. Tax-exempt status travels in the customer CSV. A “VIP 10%” tier becomes a discount or a customer tag. Then test the pricing rule that surprises people: when a company has several catalogs, Shopify shows the lowest price.
What happens to BigCommerce URLs and redirects?
Every indexed BigCommerce URL needs a 301 to its Shopify equivalent, and because Shopify’s paths are fixed, almost all of them change.
BigCommerce creates 301 redirects for storefront channels when a storefront URL changes (redirect documentation), so a mature store can carry years of them. Shopify uses /products/, /collections/ and /pages/ with a handle.
- Collect every URL: crawl the live store, read the sitemap, pull Search Console, check your BigCommerce control panel for a way to export its redirects.
- Map to final destinations: old redirects must point to the new Shopify URL, never to a BigCommerce URL that itself redirects. No chains.
- Import the CSV in Shopify, after checking the redirect import limits in its documentation.
- Respect the rules: Shopify only redirects broken URLs, so a live page must be hidden first, and some paths, such as /collections/all, cannot be redirected.
The full method, including what to check after launch, is in our migration SEO checklist.
What happens to the Stencil theme and the apps?
Nothing from a Stencil theme or a BigCommerce app installs on Shopify, so the storefront and every app job are rebuilt.
Stencil is BigCommerce’s Handlebars-based theme engine; Shopify storefronts are written in Liquid. There is no converter worth trusting, so the old design is a reference, not a source. In the Sprint we write the storefront from scratch with our Custom AI System: code for your store only, with no dead code and no apps slowing it down.
For apps, list the job each one does (reviews, loyalty, search, subscriptions, wishlists) and give it one of four fates: native Shopify feature, Shopify app, code in the storefront, or dropped. Ask every vendor for an export of its data before you cancel. Subscriptions with stored cards move only if the payment processor migrates them, so ask before you choose the cutover date.
Customers need a warning too. Passwords cannot be migrated from another platform, so customers are invited to set a new one, and the total spent and total orders columns are not imported with the customer file.
What proof do we have, given there is no BigCommerce case?
We have no BigCommerce migration to show, and our proof is the process plus two real migrations on other platforms.
Nazzi moved from WooCommerce: built in May and June 2026, live on 19 July. Cumini moved from a proprietary platform tied to the ERP, live on 19 May 2025. What carries over to a BigCommerce move is the method: a mapping sheet for every object, the store built on Shopify while the old one keeps selling, a redirect map tested before launch, tracking rebuilt on the same properties, and a cutover checklist. What does not carry over is the knowledge of BigCommerce quirks that only comes from doing it. That is why we start from the documentation above, and why we say so.
How does this fit the Shopify Launch Sprint?
The Shopify Launch Sprint is a migration to Shopify in 14 days with our Custom AI System, go-live between day 15 and day 30, 90 days of support and 4 written guarantees.
The public price depends on revenue: €5,800 under €2M, €8,800 from €2M to €20M, €12,800 above €20M, VAT excluded, in 4 installments. Store ready on day 14 or we refund the first installment. If you are still comparing providers, read how to choose a Shopify migration agency.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to migrate BigCommerce to Shopify?
It depends on catalog complexity, modifiers, apps and design, not on file transfer. With the Shopify Launch Sprint the store is ready on day 14 and go-live falls between day 15 and 30.
Can I transfer BigCommerce to Shopify with a CSV or an app?
Yes. Shopify lists copy and paste, CSV import, a migration app, a Shopify Partner or the API as options. Products, customers and historical orders can move; the theme, apps and most settings are rebuilt.
Will I lose my Google rankings when I move from BigCommerce to Shopify?
Rankings usually move for a few weeks. A complete 301 redirect map, kept content and monitoring in Search Console let them recover. We cannot show a BigCommerce result, because we have none.
Do BigCommerce modifiers and custom fields carry over to Shopify?
Not automatically. Modifiers cannot be variants, so they become line item properties. Custom fields become metafields when they hold real data. Shopify limits options and variants per product, so check the current limits first.
Do my customers keep their passwords?
No. Passwords cannot be migrated from another platform, so customers receive an invitation to set a new one. Tell them before launch.
Does my BigCommerce theme work on Shopify?
No. A Stencil theme uses Handlebars and Shopify uses Liquid, so the storefront is rebuilt. In the Sprint we write it from scratch with our Custom AI System.
A Final Note
Moving from BigCommerce is a translation job: every option, field, group and URL says the same thing in a different grammar. The brands that struggle are not the ones with the biggest catalogs but the ones that never wrote the translation down. Do it in a mapping sheet, before any file is imported.
The Shopify Launch Sprint moves your store to Shopify in 14 days with our Custom AI System: a fixed calendar, a public price and 4 written guarantees.
Antonio Manitta
Founder & eCommerce Manager at NoProb Agency
For over 7 years I have helped fashion, supplements, and DTC brands scale their eCommerce. I work in long-term partnership with three brands at a time, building stable systems that compound.
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