When a migration goes wrong, it’s rarely bad luck — it’s one of a handful of avoidable mistakes. Here are the seven we see most often, and how to sidestep them.

1. No URL mapping

Changing URLs without a plan is the fastest way to lose rankings. Before anything else, crawl the old site and map every URL to its new home.

2. Skipping (or botching) 301 redirects

Every old URL needs a 301 to its closest equivalent. “Redirect everything to the homepage” tanks rankings — map them properly.

3. Losing metadata and structured data

Titles, meta descriptions, headings and product/review structured data all need to carry over. If they’re lost in the rebuild, so is your visibility.

4. Abandoning content

Buying guides and category copy earn rankings. Migrate them deliberately instead of letting them quietly disappear.

5. Launching slower than before

A migration is a chance to get faster. Launching a heavier, slower store undoes the SEO and conversion benefits — keep the build lean.

6. No staging QA

Redirects, tracking, payments and structured data must be tested in staging. Surprises on the live site are expensive.

7. Going quiet after launch

The first two weeks matter most. Monitor redirects, rankings and errors daily so small issues get fixed before they become big ones.

The fix is a process

Every one of these is prevented by treating SEO as the first priority, not a clean-up job. That’s exactly how our Shopify migration service works.

Grab the free Ecommerce Migration Checklist to run the process yourself, or book a migration audit.