Magento → Shopify Catalogue Rescue

Overview

This project focused on rescuing a legacy Magento 2 catalogue during migration to Shopify.

The goal was not a cosmetic platform swap.
It was to remove accumulated technical debt, stabilise product data, and rebuild the catalogue in a way that Shopify could actually scale with.

The Problem

The Magento catalogue had grown organically over years and suffered from:

  • Overloaded category structures

  • Inconsistent product types and variants

  • Attributes used inconsistently or incorrectly

  • SEO risk tied to fragile URLs and duplicated logic

  • High maintenance overhead for routine changes

The migration was already underway, but without intervention it risked becoming a like-for-like transfer of broken structure into a new platform.

Why It Mattered

Magento tolerates complexity that Shopify does not.

If migrated naïvely, the result would have been:

  • Bloated collections and poor discoverability

  • Broken filters and inconsistent variants

  • Ongoing reliance on manual fixes

  • Loss of merchandising speed post-migration

This was a chance not just to move platforms, but to reset the catalogue properly.

Constraints & Risks

Key constraints included:

  • Large live catalogue with active sales

  • SEO equity tied to existing URLs

  • Platform behaviour differences between Magento and Shopify

  • Risk of recreating Magento-style logic inside Shopify

A straight export/import approach would have failed long-term.

What Was Done

The catalogue was rebuilt with Shopify-native structure as the priority.

Product Architecture

  • Rationalised product types and variant logic

  • Normalised handles, vendors, and SKUs

  • Removed Magento-specific artefacts that had no Shopify equivalent

Collections & Navigation

  • Replaced deep category trees with logical, rule-based collections

  • Designed collection structure around customer discovery, not legacy taxonomy

Data & SEO Integrity

  • Preserved SEO-critical URLs where appropriate

  • Cleaned titles, handles, and metadata during migration

  • Ensured product data aligned with Shopify’s filtering and search model

Migration Discipline

  • Only data that served a clear purpose was migrated

  • Historical clutter was deliberately left behind

Outcome

  • Legacy Magento technical debt removed

  • Clean, predictable Shopify catalogue structure

  • Faster merchandising and admin workflows

  • Reduced maintenance and platform complexity

  • A foundation ready for automation, feeds, and scaling

The migration resulted in a catalogue that Shopify could work with, not fight against.

Permanent Change

The biggest win was structural, not visual.

The catalogue is now:

  • Easier to understand

  • Easier to maintain

  • Easier to extend

Future ranges, suppliers, and automations can be added without recreating past problems.

Key Takeaway

A Magento → Shopify migration is not a data transfer exercise.

It’s an opportunity to remove years of accumulated compromise — if you’re willing to rebuild the catalogue for the platform you’re moving to.

This project treated Shopify as a destination, not a container.