Move your online shop, and bring everything with you.
Moving your online shop to one that fits, without starting from scratch
Your shop has years of customers, orders and Google positions in it, which is usually what keeps people stuck on a platform they've outgrown. We move all of that onto a shop built around how you actually sell, and test it properly before anyone notices it's moved.
When it's time to leave.
Nobody moves an online shop for fun. Standard platforms suit plenty of businesses, and if yours is working, stay put. It's time to look around when you spend more effort working round the shop than working in it.
That usually looks like a stack of plugins or apps nobody dares update, a spreadsheet beside the shop to fix what it gets wrong, staff typing orders out by hand, or a monthly bill that keeps growing for features that nearly do what you need. Sometimes it's simpler: the person who built it has gone, and nobody knows how it works.
What comes with you.
The fear is starting again with an empty shop. Most of what matters can come across, though exactly how much depends on what your current platform lets you export. We check that first, before promising anything.
Your customers.
Names, addresses and order history, so regulars still feel like regulars. Passwords are the usual exception: customers normally set a new one the first time they log in, and we'd word that message so it doesn't look like a scam.
Your products.
Descriptions, photos, prices, options and allergens or specifications, cleaned up as they come across. It's a good moment to get rid of the products nobody has bought since the last decade.
Vouchers and balances.
Gift cards, codes and account credit, with the rules that apply to them. Someone turning up with a voucher they were given at Christmas shouldn't be the person who finds a gap in the move.
Your reviews.
The reviews on your shop can usually be brought across, and reviews on Google stay on your Business Profile regardless. We'd rebuild them into the pages where they do the most good.
Your Google positions.
Every old address gets a permanent redirect to its new home, so people and search engines arrive at the right page. Google says these don't lose link credit, though it also says rankings can wobble for a while during any move.
How we move you.
The old shop keeps trading until the new one is proven. There's no weekend where you're closed and hoping for the best.
Read the export first.
We go through your orders and products to see how the business really runs. It often changes the plan: what people actually pay with, which products matter, and which rules everyone has been working around.
Build it beside the old one.
The new shop goes up at a private address, with your real products. You click round it on your own phone early, and we change what's wrong while that's still cheap.
Rehearse the import.
We run the data across as many times as it takes, with a report each time, so problems turn up in a rehearsal rather than on launch day.
Map every address.
A list of every old page, and where it now lives. We redirect straight to the final page, rather than through a chain of hops, and test each one before the switch.
Switch over, then keep watching.
We pick a quiet time, move across and place real test orders. Then we watch Search Console for pages Google can't find, and fix them as they appear. The redirects stay up for at least a year, as Google suggests.
What you're moving to.
Usually a bespoke shop, because if you've got this far it's generally because your products or your way of working don't fit a template. It knows your pricing, your delivery rules and your workshop or kitchen. It runs on accounts in your name, and you own it when it's done.
That isn't always the right answer. If a standard shop set up properly would do the job, we'll tell you, and that's a cheaper conversation for everyone. What we won't do is spend your money propping up something that needs replacing.
Real work
We've done this for a family food business.
Mr Moussaka outgrew its WooCommerce shop, because a kitchen delivering every other Friday isn't a shop with stock on the shelves. We read more than 3,600 past orders, moved the customers, vouchers and order history across, and built an ordering system around how the kitchen works. People are now spending more and preordering up to a month in advance.
“The system With Gumption built is 100 times better than what we had with WooCommerce.”
Questions about moving your online shop.
Will I lose my Google rankings if I move my online shop?
Handled properly, you shouldn't lose them for good, but nobody honest can promise none at all. Google itself says visibility can fluctuate during a move, and that it can take a few weeks or more to settle. Permanent redirects from every old address, the same useful content on the new pages and close watching afterwards all make the wobble small and short.
Can you move me off WooCommerce, EKM, Wix or Shopify?
Usually, yes, though how much comes across depends on what each platform lets you export, and on your plan. Tools like these suit plenty of businesses, so we'd only suggest moving if yours has stopped fitting. We'd look at your actual shop and what we can get out of it before we promise anything or give you a price.
Do I have to close the shop while you move it?
No. The old shop carries on as normal while the new one is built and tested at a private address. On the day, we bring across anything that's changed since the last rehearsal and switch over at a quiet time. Customers should simply notice that the shop has got better.
What happens to my customers' passwords?
They normally can't be moved in a usable form, which is a good thing, because it means your old shop wasn't storing them in a readable way. Customers set a new one the first time they log in. We'd send a clear, friendly message explaining why, and guest checkout can carry on working for anyone who'd rather not bother.
How much does it cost to move an online shop?
It depends on how many products you have, what comes across and what the new shop needs to do. We'll look at your current shop and your export, then give you one fixed price in writing, with running costs set out separately. Those go on your own accounts, so you can see every line.
My developer has vanished and I can't get in. Can you still help?
Yes, though there's a step first. We'd work out who holds your domain, your hosting and your logins, and help you get them back. We've written a guide to what to do, and our website rescue page explains how we go about it. Once you're back in control, moving is the same job as anybody else's.
Moving your online shop for your trade.
Some of the trades we build for. Or see everyone we help.
Got something that's slowing you down?
Tell us what's eating your time, in your own words. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and what it would take.