The Shopware Situation
Princess Goes Hollywood faced a dilemma.
Despite significant financial expenditure on managing their Shopware store and a costly update from Shopware 5 to Shopware 6, the state of the Shopware store was unfortunately unsatisfactory, alongside stagnant revenue.
Initially, necessary SEO measures were to be implemented in Shopware, but the changes were largely unfeasible, or their implementation took a very long time and was also costly.
The biggest problem with Shopware 6
Not only did search engine optimization require adjustment, but the biggest problem after the switch from Shopware 5 to Shopware 6 was that returns processing was virtually non-existent.
This meant that, in particular, no credit notes were created for returns. The additional workload on the accounting side was difficult to manage.
Furthermore, a customer account was necessary in the checkout and returns process, which significantly impaired the conversion rate.
What to do? Stay with Shopware or not?
After it was determined that further work with the previous agency was not possible, discussions were held with various other Shopware agencies and freelancers.
After the discussions, it became clear that a restart on a different platform would be the best choice. Here, Shopify was the clear choice.
Why Shopify was chosen as the e-commerce system
The main advantages were that with Shopify, no further knowledge regarding servers had to be provided.
Even though Shopware always advertises its "open system", it does not mean that the "open system" can or should be used at all in Shopware. An open system also means that even more points need to be monitored and, in particular, developed. This extra effort is only necessary in exceptional cases.
Even though Shopify is a "closed system", it means that many more components of the online shop can be implemented without development and thus without cost. Furthermore, it must be considered that the Shopify App Store offers almost all possibilities to continuously adapt the online shop, mostly without external help.
The drag-and-drop approach in Shopify allows the online shop provider to easily edit and adapt without external help, because in the long run it is not expedient for all parties if adaptations have to be requested instead of being performed themselves.
Shopware to Shopify Migration
1. Data Migration
Through a third-party partner, all existing data of customers, orders, products, categories, blog articles, and more could be transferred. This allowed for continuity of information to be maintained and no information was lost.
This also makes it possible to compare revenues, even if no returns are included in the revenues from Shopware. As a result, the data basis is unfortunately not comparable in the long term.
2. SEO Migration
During the relaunch, great importance was placed on ensuring that continuity in the SEO process could be maintained. This can be seen in the screenshot. The switch took place on 10.01.2024, and after approx. 4 days there was a short dip, which was quickly recovered.
This is often the biggest mistake during a shop migration, if the existing pages are not properly transferred to the new shop system. Through a professional migration, this problem could, of course, be avoided.
3. Design Update
The new design was primarily intended to increase conversion and keep customers on the website longer. In particular, conversion could be increased by 32% in the shortest possible time, and even further by another 42% after additional adjustments. The communication of shipping costs had a decisive influence here.
SEO 2 Months After Migration
With the migration, the focus was also reset, particularly on new keywords. This is already evident. Since the switch, 20% more traffic has been achieved compared to the average annual comparison in 2023. The focus on a clear content strategy and a good category system will hopefully double the share of organic traffic in the long term.
Conclusion
Anyone who is dissatisfied with their current Shopware 5 or Shopware 6 might find an e-commerce shop system in Shopify that solves problems and offers new possibilities.
Is it suitable for every application? No.
However, many problems that may currently exist in the Shopware store can be solved in Shopify.
For Princess Goes Hollywood, the migration from Shopware was definitely the right choice.