Ecommerce Migration: Is re-platforming worth it in 2023?

Ecommerce migration or ecommerce re-platforming refers to the process of moving your online store from one ecommerce platform to another.

For example moving from Shopify to BigCommerce. There can be a number of reasons for ecommerce site migration. Mostly centred around performance, updating technology and improving cost-effectiveness.

Changing ecommerce platforms is an investment in your business growth. But it is an expensive and time-consuming process. So it is not to be taken lightly. Particularly in a year like this one with the looming recession hanging over consumers and businesses alike. It’s not an easy choice to spend money right now. Is the return on investment high enough to warrant the expense?

This article will cover:

1. Design: does your ecommerce store stand out?
2. UX: are you offering the smooth experience customers expect?
3. Tech Stack: How much time are you losing to manual tasks?
4. Legacy issues: Is your platform causing more harm than good?
5. Scalability: has your business outgrown your ecommerce store?
6. So, is it worth re-platforming?
7. Ecommerce Replatforming with Calashock Commerce

Ask yourself these five questions if you are considering whether your store would benefit from migrating to a new platform.

Design: does your ecommerce store stand out?

In a matter of seconds, you can lose a customer for good. That’s how important the design of your website is. It’s the first impression and it is the backdrop to the entire customer journey.

If your website was designed using one of your ecommerce platform’s out-of-the-box templates or themes. Customised with your brand colours and font. Chances are it feels pretty much the same as every other store using that theme. Hardly standing out from the crowd, it is?

In a year when every single customer will count more than ever, you need to make an impact. Upgrading your ecommerce platform to one that allows greater design customisation and bespoke storefronts will give you an edge over your competition. Winning more customers in those crucial seconds.

UX: are you offering the smooth experience customers expect?

It’s 2023. Shoppers have certain expectations. Like a frictionless checkout experience, personalised deals and offers, intuitive product search, and responsive live chat.

One of the most common reasons for merchants to move to a new ecommerce platform is to improve user experience. No matter how slick and up-to-date your online shop was when you built it, sooner or later the UX will feel clunky. If your shopping experience lacks the functionality your customers expect, your sales will suffer.

Re-platforming to a newer, more modern platform can give your store the update it needs to provide a better UX. Better UX will lead to happy customers. Happy customers lead to a higher conversion rate life time value.

Tech Stack: How much time are you losing to manual tasks?

How many of your processess are manual? Order processing, stock management, data entry, etc. These manual processes aren’t just wasting your time, they also risk the repercussions of human error.

Ecommerce site migration doesn’t just mean a new shop front-end. It means a new back-end. It means streamlining and automating your business processes. Changing ecommerce platform will allow you to integrating solutions such as PIM (Product Information Management), ERP (Enterprise Resource Management) 3PLs (3rd Party Logistics) and more. Freeing up your time to focus instead on what really matters. Growing your business.

Can you afford to keep your workflow as it is right now? Are you throwing away time and money that could be helping your business make it through this year?

Legacy issues: Is your platform causing more harm than good?

In some cases, re-platforming is necessary simply because the current platform is no longer supported. As platforms evolve, they typically stop supporting older versions sooner or later. This means that if you’re using an older platform, you might not be able to take advantage of new features or integrations. Lack of support for an old ecommerce platform could also lead to security risks for your customers.

If you started out on a simpler platform that offered a cost-effective solution at the time you’ve probably been added integrations, APIs and patches to increase your functionality over time. This could lead to two problems.

Have a look at your total costs including all of the microservices. Chances are, it’s costing you more moving to a platform with higher fees but more extensive native functionality.

Check your site speed. Google core web vitals takes site speed into account. As industry standards improve, if your store is lagging behind due to clunky legacy systems and a patchwork of integrations, your SERP rankings could take a hit even if you content is optimised.

Scalability: has your business outgrown your ecommerce store?

Different platforms have different strengths and weaknesses. When you first start out you might want to build a smaller, simpler store on a cheaper ecommerce platform. As your business grows, your traffic increases, your product range expands, does that platform stand up to the strain?

What about expanding your business overseas or into a new vertical, such as including B2B as well as B2C? Does your current ecommerce platform have the functionality for multi-storefront?

Re-platforming your website to an agile and scalable platform won’t just help you grow right now. It will also continue to grow with your ecommerce business and help future-proof against the need to migrate again later.

So, is it worth re-platforming?

If you are happy with the performance of your online shop then no, it’s not worth it considering ecommerce platform migration. However, as you’ve read this far, you probably aren’t happy.

Ultimately, you need to ask yourself if you current ecommerce platform still makes financial sense for your business?

Are you losing sales due to outdated design and UX? Wasting time and energy on manual processes? Struggling to get the support you need, or unable to integrate the latest tools? Spending too much money on services that could be native to a different platform?

How much of a difference would it make to your bottom line if you could solve those problems?

Sure, that’s a lot of questions. But they are all important. Ecommerce migration is a big investment but if the impact it will have on your business is high enough then it is worth it. This is going to be a difficult year but getting the edge over your competitors with a fully optimised and up-to-date website could make all the difference.

Ecommerce Replatforming with Calashock Commerce

Depending on the complexity and size of your current website and tech stack, replatforming your ecommerce website can be a long and complicated project. So finding the right platform partner to work with your team is vital.

At Calashock we have been helping merchants to grow their business for over 13 years. We specialise in re-platforming and building bespoke, beautiful websites that maximise ROI. As one of the first BigCommerce partners we know the platform inside and out. With unparalleled platform knowledge, our team can build intuitive solutions for even the most complex of business needs.

If you think it’s time to replatform your online shop, or if you still have questions, get in touch and talk to one of our experts about your project.