Switching from BigCommerce to Shopify is one of the most straightforward ecommerce migrations you can do – and for most Swiss merchants, it’s worth it. Here’s everything you need to know to do it right.
Why merchants leave BigCommerce for Shopify
The short answer: BigCommerce works, but Shopify works better for most growing businesses.
Number of apps
BigCommerce’s app marketplace sits at roughly 1,000–1,500 apps. Shopify’s has over 15,000. That gap matters the moment you need something slightly outside the standard setup – subscriptions, advanced loyalty programs, niche integrations – because on BigCommerce, you’re often stuck with a custom build. On Shopify, there’s usually an app for it.
Admin interface
Shopify’s backend is widely regarded as the cleanest in ecommerce. New staff can typically handle products, orders, and basic settings within a day or two.
BigCommerce’s admin has a steeper learning curve – more complex navigation, less intuitive workflows – which quietly increases training costs and error rates over time.
Payment integrations
For Swiss merchants specifically, Shopify Payments natively supports CHF and integrates with TWINT (via Shopify Payments directly since 2025). The broader Swiss payment provider ecosystem like Datatrans, Payrexx and Wallee also integrates cleanly with Shopify. On BigCommerce, you’re stuck routing everything through third-party gateways with additional fees and configuration overhead.
Shopify Markets
Shopify Markets lets you manage storefronts for Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and France – with localized pricing, currencies, languages, and domains – all from one backend. BigCommerce has no direct equivalent. For Swiss merchants already selling to DACH neighbors, this alone is a significant operational advantage.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus extends this further with Checkout Extensibility, Shopify Functions for custom discount and shipping logic, and higher API rate limits – critical once you’re running complex ERP or PIM integrations.
The switch makes the most sense if:
- Your team is constantly working around platform limitations
- You’re planning international expansion
- Your marketing team can’t run campaigns without developer support for basic storefront changes
- Your BigCommerce contract is up for renewal
- You’re losing ground on mobile commerce
It’s worth waiting if:
- You depend on BigCommerce’s native B2B features – complex quote workflows, tiered pricing, purchase order management. Shopify Plus is closing this gap, but if your setup is deeply embedded, audit it carefully before committing.
- A major custom development project was completed in the last six months and hasn’t delivered its full ROI yet.
How the BigCommerce to Shopify migration works
A Shopify migration from BigCommerce follows a structured eight-phase process. The general flow is similar to other platform migrations – but there are a few BigCommerce-specific things worth knowing.
For a detailed breakdown of each phase with full context, check out our general guide on Shopify migration. Here’s a quick summary of how the phases apply specifically to a BigCommerce setup:
- Phase 1 – Audit and planning: This is where most migrations succeed or fail. You need a detailed brief covering every data object, every integration, every custom script, and every piece of functionality that needs to be replicated or replaced. Skipping this phase is the single most common cause of migration failures.
- Phase 2 – Shopify store setup: Store settings, payment providers (CHF/EUR), shipping zones, and tax rules. For Swiss shops, MWST (VAT) configuration (8.1% standard, 2.6% reduced) needs to be correct from day one.
- Phases 3–5 – Theme development, data migration, app setup: These run largely in parallel. Theme development tailors your chosen Shopify theme to your brand. Data migration transfers products, customers, orders, and content using tools like Matrixify for granular CSV-based control. App setup maps each BigCommerce integration – email marketing, accounting, wishlists, translations – to a Shopify equivalent.
- Phase 6 – QA and testing: Cover the full customer journey from product discovery to post-purchase confirmation, across devices and browsers. Don’t skip edge cases like tax overrides or B2B pricing.
- Phase 7 – SEO preparation: Non-negotiable. Every URL that changes needs a 301 redirect to its Shopify equivalent. Meta titles, descriptions, and structured data should be verified across key pages. Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console on launch day and monitor rankings closely for four to six weeks.
- Phase 8 – Launch and monitoring: DNS cutover during a low-traffic window, with the full team on standby to catch any post-launch issues.
One structural tip that works well: run theme development and data migration as parallel workstreams. It cuts the overall timeline significantly without adding risk.
What data migrates – and what doesn’t
Most of the core ecommerce data set moves cleanly between platforms. Here’s a clear breakdown:
Migrates well:
- Products and variants (custom metafields require remapping)
- Customers and historical orders
- Product reviews (via apps like Judge.me)
- Blog posts, pages, and product images
- Discount codes and metafields
Historical orders are especially worth migrating – they’re not live orders on Shopify, but they matter for customer service and reporting continuity.
One important caveat: Customer passwords can’t be migrated due to encryption. Customers will need to log in via OTP sent to their email. Plan a communication campaign around this before launch.
Partially migratable:
- URL structures – they will change between platforms, making a comprehensive redirect map essential
- BigCommerce-specific custom scripts and widgets – these need to be rebuilt with third-party apps or custom solutions
- Native BigCommerce analytics history – this doesn’t transfer directly, but Shopify’s built-in analytics is genuinely strong, with cohort reporting, sales attribution, and real-time dashboards. Transaction data in Google Analytics is also retained, so historical performance data isn’t lost.
Migrating to Shopify Plus: what changes
If you’re migrating directly to Shopify Plus, a few additional capabilities open up that are worth planning for.
Checkout Extensibility lets you add custom UI components to the checkout – additional fields, B2B-specific inputs like UID numbers, age verification, or regional payment restrictions – without touching core checkout code. Unlike the old checkout.liquid approach, these extensions survive platform updates.
Shopify Functions gives you custom logic for discounts, shipping rules, and payment customizations – things that often required bespoke development on BigCommerce Enterprise.
Higher API rate limits matter a lot if you’re running ERP or PIM integrations with high data volumes. Standard Shopify can hit limits quickly in complex setups.
B2B on Shopify Plus adds company accounts, custom price lists, and net payment terms – closing the gap with BigCommerce’s native B2B features for most use cases.
Plus merchants also get a dedicated Merchant Success Manager during and after migration, which is genuinely useful for complex projects.
Costs and Swiss-specific hurdles
Migration costs vary widely. Agency fees for a BigCommerce to Shopify migration typically start around CHF 5,000 for simpler projects and can reach CHF 25,000–50,000+ for setups with ERP integrations, custom functionality, and theme rebuilds. Shopify plans run from CHF 25/month up to CHF 2,000/month for Plus.
Hidden costs merchants often overlook:
- App replacements for BigCommerce native features (these add up monthly)
- Theme rebuild costs if you’re also redesigning
- Staff retraining time – though this is usually minimal given Shopify’s simpler admin
For Swiss shops specifically, the main technical hurdles are: setting up CHF and multi-currency correctly, integrating TWINT and PostFinance, and connecting Swiss ERP systems like Bexio.
A Shopify agency with local knowledge removes the most common and costly points of failure here – Swiss MWST (VAT) configuration, local payment providers, and regional ERP connectors aren’t things you want to figure out on the fly.
The right time to start
The merchants who get the most out of a BigCommerce to Shopify switch are the ones who treat migration as an opportunity to improve – better UX, cleaner integrations, faster checkout – rather than a like-for-like copy of what they had before.
Even if launch is six months away, starting the audit and planning phase now means arriving at launch day with confidence rather than compromise.
We’ve helped Swiss merchants through this exact process – from the initial audit to a smooth go-live. As an experienced Shopify agency with deep knowledge of Swiss payment providers, MWST (VAT) configuration, and local ERP systems, we handle the complexity so you don’t have to.
Get in touch with our team to discuss your migration – and let’s make sure it goes right the first time.
FAQ
How long does a BigCommerce to Shopify migration typically take?
For a straightforward shop with standard integrations, you’re typically looking at 2–4 weeks. More complex setups with ERP connections, custom functionality, or large product catalogs can take up to 12–16 weeks.
The audit and planning phase at the start has the biggest impact on overall timeline – shops that skip it almost always take longer in the end.
