Rainy City Agency discusses the topic of data migration with us in this latest Q&A feature.
Every year, our Shopify agency handles several website migrations. These are typically eCommerce businesses in anything from skincare to luxury goods, moving their online stores to Shopify or Shopify Plus.
Unsurprisingly, data is a massive priority in every one of these projects. It bears the weight of a business’s customer relationships, sales history and product information, and we need our clients to know that their leap to Shopify is in safe hands.
Speaking to Rewind’s team, we’re sharing how our agency makes sure that data moves with businesses and is managed and protected during and after the transition.
Understanding the risks of data loss during migration
Rewind Asks: What are the main risks of data loss that eCommerce businesses face when migrating to Shopify? How does your agency counter these risks during the process?
Anytime a business migrates to Shopify or any new eCommerce platform, they face several data loss risks. These range from accidental deletions during data handling and file corruption during transfers to compatibility issues leading to incomplete data integration. There’s also, of course, always the possibility of human error in overlooking critical data and security breaches during the transfer process.
In other words, there are a lot of areas where ‘data things’ can go wrong.
In our line of work, prevention is key. We need to make sure these risks never become realities. To confidently counter any risks, our agency has a layered approach. Without going into the weeds, it begins with us carrying out a full inventory and backup of the existing data. We then use our chosen automated tools for the transfer, supplemented by manual checks to ensure no data is lost or corrupted. We maintain strict security protocols throughout the migration to keep data accurate and secure. Finally, we perform a comprehensive post-migration audit to verify that all data has been accurately transferred and is fully functional within the Shopify ecosystem.
Data safeguarding happens before, during, and after the migration.
The role of backups in a flawless migration experience
Rewind Asks: In your experience, how critical are backups during migration, and what backup solutions do you recommend?
Backups serve as our fail-safe in any website migration we carry out. They ensure that if anything goes awry (and trust us, it can), we can quickly restore the business to its pre-migration state without losing a single piece of data. This safety net is vital for peace of mind and operational continuity.
At Rainy City Agency, we recommend a layered backup approach. That means we create a full backup of the existing platform before any migration action. We use incremental backups to capture data as it changes in real time during the migration. If an issue arises, we can restore the data’s most recent, clean version, minimizing any potential downtime.
For these tasks, we partner with you guys – Rewind. Your solutions provide comprehensive, automated backups that are easy to manage and restore. The fact that they’re specifically designed for e-commerce platforms like Shopify means you understand the nuances of what needs to be protected. The reliability and ease of use make them an important part of our migration toolkit.
Case study: a success story of data migration with Rewind
Rewind Asks: Can you share a real-life scenario where Rewind’s backup solutions played a role during a client’s migration to Shopify?
Certainly, let’s take last year’s case of Darts Corner, the world’s leading online retailer of darts products. Facing growth challenges on their previous platform, Visualsoft, we were helping them migrate to Shopify Plus. The goal was ambitious: migrate close to 1 million orders and customer data, integrate a B2B platform, and significantly boost conversion rates and sales.
As you might imagine, the migration involved thousands of products, orders, and customers while setting up a complex Warehouse Management System (WMS) with OrderWise. Here, Rewind’s backup solutions were instrumental. They provided a comprehensive safety net as we navigated the data transfer – a process that had to be executed precisely without disrupting Darts Corner’s booming business.
By implementing Rewind’s backups, we ensured that every piece of data was accounted for and could quickly be restored if needed. This gave us the confidence to perform an efficient migration and focus on optimizing the site for increased conversions leading up to the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) sales period.
The result? A super smooth transition with a brilliant outcome: a 120% increase in sales within the first 30 days post-migration and a 200% boost in conversion rates. The new Shopify Plus site, complemented by custom-designed features such as an enhanced cart and site speed optimizations, not only elevated the user experience but also positioned Darts Corner to achieve record-breaking BFCM and Christmas sales.
This example shows the importance of solid, dependable backups in any migration. With Rewind’s solutions, we had that safety net that allowed us to focus on the migration itself and concentrate on enhancing Darts Corner’s platform and helping with their successful expansion on Shopify Plus.
Data lessons learned: key takeaways from migration challenges
Rewind Asks: What have been some of the biggest lessons your agency has learned from overcoming migration challenges?
Let’s start with “Never overlook the details”: The minutiae of data can sometimes make or break a migration. It might sound dramatic, but it’s true. Attention to detail is critical, especially when handling complex data structures and relationships.
Moving on to “Anticipate the unexpected,” Unforeseen data anomalies can arise despite thorough planning. Having contingencies for these surprises has proven crucial, enabling us to address issues promptly without derailing the migration timeline.
Then there’s “Test, then test again”: Rigorous testing at every stage has been invaluable. It goes beyond ensuring the data transfers correctly; we need to confirm it functions as intended in the new environment.
A broader lesson, “Communication is key”: Maintaining clear and proactive communication with all parties (particularly when explaining the technical aspects of data handling) is essential. It keeps everyone aligned and aware of their role in the migration process.
“Backup confidence” is another big takeaway: Solid backups through Rewind bolster our and our clients’ confidence. They allow us to proceed with migrations knowing that the data is secure, come what may.
Lastly, “Post-migration vigilance”: This is a big one. Completing data migration doesn’t mark the end of our agency’s responsibility. Post-migration monitoring and support ensure we catch and correct any lingering issues, preserving data integrity well beyond the initial move. We set up tailored backup solutions with Rewind for each store so business data stays safe long after the switch.
