Direct answer: migrating from PrestaShop to Shopify requires an inventory of data, URLs, modules and integrations before exporting anything. The move should preserve what the business needs without automatically replicating modules, workarounds and technical debt from the previous platform.
What should be migrated from PrestaShop to Shopify?
I map products, combinations/variants, customers, categories, content, images, URLs and integrations. Every entity is assigned to a real Shopify destination: product, variant, collection, metafield, metaobject, page, app or external system.
Not every PrestaShop object has a direct equivalent. A correct migration can therefore require transforming the data instead of copying it field by field.
Customers and accounts: what should be checked?
Customer data can be mapped when necessary and supported, but credentials should not be treated as a normal transferable field. I design the new account flow around the Shopify account system being used and explain how customers will handle their first login.
How I handle redirects and SEO
Before go-live I collect relevant URLs and create an old URL → new destination map. I check canonicals, titles, main content, internal linking and sitemaps on the new templates.
301 redirects reduce the risk of losing signals associated with previous URLs, but identical rankings and traffic cannot be guaranteed. After launch I check 404s, redirects, indexing and Search Console queries.
Categories, filters and faceted navigation
PrestaShop categories and filters should not be copied automatically into the new structure. I decide which categories become collections, which attributes are useful as filters and which information belongs in metafields or metaobjects.
This avoids recreating hundreds of low-value URLs simply because they existed in the old CMS.
Theme: what to preserve and what to rebuild
The storefront is rebuilt on Online Store 2.0. I preserve brand identity, useful content and components, but I do not carry legacy code over just to preserve the same technical implementation.
Before launch I test responsive design, navigation, product pages, search, cart and the elements the merchant needs to edit through the theme editor.
PrestaShop modules and integrations
For every module I identify the commercial function, then check whether Shopify provides it natively, whether a reliable app exists or whether custom development is needed. ERP, CRM, feeds, fiscal systems and proprietary logic are treated as integrations, not modules to “transfer”.
Payments, shipping and taxes
These settings must be rebuilt and tested in the new context. Providers, markets, shipping profiles and tax rules can differ; I do not consider an imported catalog proof that checkout is ready.
How I prepare go-live
- trial import with representative data;
- verify products, variants, images and collections;
- test the customer account flow;
- test payments, shipping, taxes and emails;
- crawl the new site and verify redirects;
- test key flows on mobile and desktop;
- check tracking and integrations;
- plan the synchronization of data that changed after the last trial.
What I check after migration
I monitor 404 errors, redirect chains, indexing, orders, feeds, tracking and integrations. If an important URL has no coherent destination I fix it; if a previous module provided a function that was not rebuilt, I treat it as a missing requirement rather than hiding it with a workaround.
How long does a PrestaShop → Shopify migration take?
It depends on data quality, catalog size, languages, number of URLs, modules, integrations and testing requirements. I do not use a standard duration: I define the scope first and then the testing and release sequence.
I am Francesco Guiducci, a freelance Shopify expert and Shopify app developer. I handle migrations on Basic, Grow and Advanced plans.
Updated September 6, 2026.
