Magento to BigCommerce Migration

Why Migrate from Magento to BigCommerce

Migrating from Magento to BigCommerce is a big step, so it’s worth choosing the right time. Below are the most common scenarios where the switch makes the most sense.

1. When maintenance becomes too time-consuming

Magento is powerful, but it often requires regular updates, developer support, and hosting management. If you’re spending more time fixing issues than growing your business, that’s a sign it might be time for a change. BigCommerce removes the need for manual server maintenance and offers a fully hosted solution with 99.99% uptime, so you can focus on what matters most.

2. When you want a simpler, more user-friendly backend

Magento can be overwhelming for non-technical users. If your team struggles with day-to-day tasks or needs help for every small update, BigCommerce offers a much more intuitive dashboard. The switch can improve workflow and reduce your reliance on developers.

3. When you want lower long-term cost

While Magento is free to download, the total cost of ownership adds up fast with hosting, development, and third-party extensions. BigCommerce offers transparent pricing, a wide range of integrated payment gateways (orders paid through its embedded payment providers carry no Open Payment Provider fee, though other providers can carry one depending on your plan), and built-in tools that reduce the need for extra apps. Over time, this can add up to major savings. If you’re facing more than one of these signs, it’s likely the right time to begin your Magento to BigCommerce migration.

When BigCommerce may not be the right fit

BigCommerce is a hosted platform, so you trade some code-level freedom for lower upkeep. If your store depends on heavy custom Magento code, or on complex Adobe Commerce B2B features such as company accounts and quote workflows, check that BigCommerce apps or its APIs can cover them before you commit. Scoping those gaps with an expert early is cheaper than discovering them after launch.

Choose Your Migration Method

Before diving into the steps, it helps to understand the three main approaches for migrating Magento to BigCommerce. Each comes with different trade-offs in cost, speed, and technical involvement.

What Transfers in a Magento to BigCommerce Migration

Magento and BigCommerce structure store data differently, so some items move cleanly while others need mapping or a rebuild. Use this table to set expectations before you start:

Prepare Before Your Magento to BigCommerce Migration

Proper preparation reduces errors and makes the whole transfer go more smoothly. Complete these steps before starting.

Back up your Magento store

Always create a full backup before migrating. In your Magento Admin Panel, go to System > Tools > Backups and choose one of three options:

• System Backup: a full backup of the database and file system.
• Database and Media Backup: the database plus the media folder.
• Database Backup: the database only.

During backup, tick the checkbox to enable maintenance mode. This shows customers a temporary notice and prevents new orders while the backup runs. Maintenance mode turns off automatically once the backup completes. On current Magento 2 versions, Adobe lists the built-in backup feature as deprecated and disables it by default. If you do not see the Backups menu, enable the feature and run bin/magento setup:backup from the command line, take a database backup with your hosting tools, or ask your host for a snapshot.

Set up your new BigCommerce store

Register a new BigCommerce account. The platform offers a 15-day free trial with no credit card required, so you can get your store ready without any upfront cost. Focus on the basics first, like currency, shipping zones, and tax rules. BigCommerce support is also available around the clock via phone and chat if you get stuck.

Audit and clean your current data

Before migrating, review your Magento store data. Remove outdated products, inactive customer accounts, test orders, and duplicate entries. Cleaner data means fewer issues on BigCommerce and a faster migration overall.

Method 1: Migrate Magento to BigCommerce with LitExtension

Migrating from Magento to BigCommerce can feel complex, especially with large data volumes and custom store setups. LitExtension offers an automated tool that securely transfers your key data, including products, customers, and orders, in just a few clicks, with no technical skill required. With LitExtension, you can complete a Magento to BigCommerce migration in three simple steps. Your Magento store stays live and selling throughout the process, since the transfer runs securely on the cloud.

Step 1: Set up the Source and Target cart

Start by connecting your Magento store as the Source Cart and your BigCommerce store as the Target Cart.

• Log in to the LitExtension app using your registered account or Google account.
• Click “Create New Migration” to get started.
• In the Source Cart Setup section, select Magento from the drop-down list.

You have two ways to connect your Magento store:

• LitExtension Connector: install the connector to your Magento store following the on-screen instructions, then fill in your Source Cart URL and wait for the “Connection was successfully installed” notification.
• Magento API: select the Magento API option from the drop-down list instead, then fill in your Source Cart URL, Username, and Password.

Once your Source Cart is ready, scroll down to the Target Cart Setup section and choose BigCommerce from the drop-down list. You’ll need to provide your Target Cart URL, API Path, Client ID/Username, and API Access Token. A step-by-step guide is available if you need help finding these details, or you can contact support directly. When everything is ready, click “Next: Configure Your Migration” to move on to choosing what to transfer.

Step 2: Select data and migration options

Choose which entities to migrate from Magento to BigCommerce. Tick individual boxes for what you want to bring along, such as products, categories, orders, customers, manufacturers, coupons, reviews, CMS pages, and blogs, or simply click “Select All” to migrate everything. Important note: due to BigCommerce platform restrictions, Order IDs cannot be migrated directly. LitExtension transfers your original order ID into BigCommerce’s “external ID” field instead, so keep in mind this doesn’t guarantee a unique order ID when searching on your new store.

LitExtension also provides Additional Options here to further enhance your migration, such as preserving product IDs, stripping HTML tags from categories, creating 301 redirects, and migrating SEO URLs. Hover over any option’s name or watch the accompanying video for more details before deciding which ones fit your needs. Don’t forget to map your Order Status and Customer Groups in this step, so your data displays correctly on your new BigCommerce storefront.

Important: in your BigCommerce Advanced Settings, under Order Notifications, make sure you do not tick any options under “Email customers when.” This prevents BigCommerce from sending notification emails to your customers while the migration is running. Once you’re done, click “Next: Start Free Demo Migration” to preview how the migration works, or toggle “Skip Demo Migration” to go straight to the full transfer.

Step 3: Perform the full migration from Magento to BigCommerce

LitExtension recommends running a Demo Migration first to preview how your data will appear on BigCommerce. The demo transfers a limited sample, typically the 20 most recent orders with their related customers, products, and categories, and reviews are not included. It usually takes 10 to 20 minutes, and you can close your browser and wait for the email notification.

After reviewing the demo results, launch the Full Migration. LitExtension transfers all your selected data on the cloud, so you don’t need to keep your browser open, and you don’t need to put your store into maintenance mode either. Your Magento store keeps operating normally throughout, and you’ll receive an email notification as soon as the full migration completes so you can check the results right away. By following these steps, you can migrate your store from Magento to BigCommerce with LitExtension’s automated tool.

If you are short on time or want extra peace of mind, the All-in-One Migration Service lets our experts handle everything for you, from setting up the migration to verifying the final results. The All-in-One service also includes free Additional Options such as stripping HTML tags from categories and migrating SEO URLs, custom migration projects, and premium support from a dedicated personal assistant who guides you through the process and handles unexpected issues right away.

Method 2: Manually Export and Import Data from Magento to BigCommerce

If you prefer a hands-on approach, you can export data from Magento and import it into BigCommerce yourself. This suits merchants with strong technical skills, since you map fields, handle CSV files, and adjust formats to match BigCommerce’s requirements, and even a small mistake can lead to data loss or incorrect imports. Here is how to do it.

Step 1: Export Magento data

The first step is exporting your store data from Magento. You can do this directly from the Magento Admin Panel:

• Navigate to System > Data Transfer > Export.
• In the Export Settings section, set “Entity Type” to one of the following: Advanced Pricing, Products, Customer Finances, Customers Main File, Customer Addresses, or Stock Sources.
• Accept the default Export File Format of CSV.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Continue.” Your CSV file downloads automatically to your local device.

Step 2: Format data to match BigCommerce’s requirements

Before importing, prepare your exported data so it aligns with BigCommerce’s format. This avoids incompatibility issues and ensures a smoother import later on.

• Download a sample BigCommerce CSV file for reference.

• Map the data from your Magento CSV file to match the BigCommerce CSV file. You can remove any unnecessary fields you don’t plan to include in your new store, so they won’t be imported.
• Once everything is adjusted and aligned, verify your file carefully to prevent failed imports.

Step 3: Import your data into BigCommerce

Once your CSV files are formatted, you can begin the import from Magento to BigCommerce.

• Go to the BigCommerce admin panel and navigate to Products > Import.
• Upload your CSV file and map the fields accordingly.
• Start the import and wait for confirmation.

Protect SEO During a Magento to BigCommerce Migration

URLs are the biggest SEO risk in any Magento to BigCommerce migration. Magento stores often use an .html suffix and paths such as /category/product.html, while BigCommerce uses a different default URL scheme, so many addresses change unless you configure custom URLs. These steps protect the traffic you have already earned:

• Crawl your Magento store first: list every indexed URL, including products, categories, CMS pages, blog posts, and filtered pages, with its title tag and meta description.
• Decide on your URL format early: either keep Magento-style URLs through custom URLs and redirects, or adopt BigCommerce’s native format. Either way, record each old and new address in a spreadsheet.
• Use the migration options: Step 2 lets you migrate SEO URLs and create 301 redirects. Check the results against your spreadsheet before launch.
• Add any remaining redirects: BigCommerce’s redirect tools let you add redirects for the URLs the migration did not cover, including in bulk for larger catalogs.
• Redirect in one hop: send each old URL to its closest matching page, not the homepage, and avoid redirect chains.
• Keep your metadata stable: carry over title tags, meta descriptions, headings, image alt text, and canonical tags, and check them after import because character limits can differ.
• Monitor after launch: submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console and watch for 404 errors and indexing issues. Some ranking movement in the first weeks is normal.

How Long Does a Magento to BigCommerce Migration Take?

The data transfer is the quick part. With LitExtension, the demo transfers a limited sample and usually takes 10 to 20 minutes, and the full migration runs in the cloud while your Magento store stays live. Choosing a theme, replacing Magento extensions with apps, building redirects, and testing take longer, so plan your launch date around them. Small catalogs with light integrations may be ready in a few weeks, while mid-size stores and B2B catalogs with ERP or CRM connections usually need more time.

How to Rebuild Your Magento Storefront in BigCommerce

Your Magento theme and extensions do not transfer, so treat the storefront as a separate project. Keep the live Magento store open as a reference and rebuild in this order:

1. Choose a BigCommerce theme that fits your catalog and brand.
2. Recreate your navigation and key landing pages before polishing the rest.
3. Replace Magento extensions with BigCommerce apps, or rebuild the function through the APIs.
4. Review product options and variants against BigCommerce’s limits, and split products that exceed them.
5. Check the storefront on mobile and run a full checkout before launch.

What Affects the Cost of a Magento to BigCommerce Migration?

The total depends on several separate choices, so list them before you pick a route:

The Complete Checklist for a Successful Magento to BigCommerce Migration

A clear checklist helps you stay organized and avoid costly mistakes. Preparation steps are covered above, so this list covers the migration itself and the launch.

During migration

Keep these two points in mind while the transfer runs:

• Run a Demo Migration first: test with sample records to verify how data appears on BigCommerce.
• In BigCommerce, do not tick “Email customers when” under Order Notifications while the migration is running.

After migration

Once the migration finishes, work through these checks before you launch:

• Check your migration results: verify products display correctly on both the front end and back end.
• Confirm products appear in the appropriate categories and in onsite search.
• Place a test order to verify checkout, payment, shipping, and confirmation emails.
• Prepare a password reset message for customers in case their passwords did not carry over, and make the reset link easy to find on the login page.
• Keep your Magento store and its backup available for a short time after launch, so you can compare records or roll back if something looks wrong.

Configure your new BigCommerce store

Next, set up the store settings that the data migration does not cover:

• Select a BigCommerce theme: choose from free and paid themes, all mobile responsive. Your Magento theme can’t transfer directly due to incompatible platform structures.
• Configure tax settings: go to Store Setup > Tax. Both manual and automatic tax setups are available.
• Configure shipping: go to Store Setup > Shipping. Add your origin address and the shipping services you want to offer.
• Set up payment methods: go to Store Setup > Payments > Online Payment Methods. A wide range of gateways is available, including Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and PayPal. Orders paid through BigCommerce’s embedded payment providers carry no Open Payment Provider fee, while other providers can carry one depending on your plan.
• Reconnect your apps and integrations: marketing, analytics, shipping, and any other third-party tools your store relies on.

Handle new data and go live

Use these post-migration services to bring over any new data, then finish the launch:

• Recent Data Migration: transfer orders and customers added to Magento while the migration was running, free when the new data represents 5% or less of your original transfer.
• Smart Update: sync product changes made on Magento, such as stock and status, during or after the migration.
• Re-migration: transfer your data again from scratch if needed.

Free windows and limits differ by package, so check the current terms in the LitExtension Help Center before you rely on them.

• Update your DNS settings to point your domain to BigCommerce. Contact your old hosting provider for assistance, or update the DNS records directly yourself.
• Place several test orders, covering successful and failed transactions, refunds, cancellations, and partial fulfillment.

Choose Your Route and Switch Your Domain Last

A very small store with a simple catalog can be moved by hand, but a catalog with variants, customer history, and rankings to protect is usually safer with a tested Magento to BigCommerce migration. Whichever route you choose, run a demo first, build your redirect map before launch, keep Magento live until BigCommerce is verified, and switch your domain last.