Inspira’s Shopify migration process: The Foundation Migration Blueprint.

What you’ll learn in this section

We’ve evolved our Foundation Migration Blueprint to reduce risk, increase clarity, and keep both sides aligned, while structuring your Shopify store to leverage the platform’s native AI tooling as effectively as possible.

• How Inspira structures a Shopify migration from first conversation to go-live
• The role of consultation, workshop discovery, planning, and sprint delivery
• What happens during each phase (and why)
• What’s expected from your team during execution
• How risks are surfaced, mitigated and planned for
• The full sequence from data migration → integrations → QA → launch → post-live support

Inspira’s migration method:
A two-phase approach

The migration process is built around two core components:

1. Planning
2. Execution
   

This combination reduces risk, increases clarity, and ensures both sides stay aligned throughout the project.
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1. Planning phase

An initial free consultation

We start with a friendly, obligation-free call to understand:

• Your goals
• Your current platform
• Your operational setup
• Any known challenges or risks
  

If there’s mutual fit, we:

• Huddle internally
• Produce a top-line project plan
• Outline estimated costs
• Highlight key unknowns
• Propose timelines
  

If you approve the direction, we move to a paid workshop where assumptions become validated facts.

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‍Typical workshop tasks

Roles & Responsibilities

Clarity prevents project drift.

We define:

• Who is responsible for what
• How communication flows
• Preferred comms style
• How approvals and decisions happen
  

This avoids confusion and ensures both sides work productively.

We use Monday.com to orchestrate tasks.
We can give you visibility in whichever view you prefer (timeline, gantt, board).

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Operations audit

Performed via:

• Technical one-to-ones
• Calls with key staff
• On-site visits (where required)
  

Purpose:

• Understand your operational reality
• Identify constraints
• Surface risks
• Validate assumptions
  

This becomes the contextual foundation for the migration.
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Data review & migration plan

Data migration is one of the most critical components of a successful Shopify build.

We:

• Review your existing data
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies or risks
• Determine the required structure for Shopify
• Map fields across product, customer, order, and operational data
• Structure data for AI across intent and context
• Ensure no critical workflows break when you move platforms
  

This 360° approach prevents costly downstream issues.

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SEO Impacts

Were search traffic matters, we:

• Map existing URLs
• Identify value/traffic drivers
• Design the new architecture with SEO in mind
• Create redirect plans
• Ensure continuity during migration

This protects search equity and enables improvement post-launch.

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Apps & processes

We assess all downstream and upstream processes connected to your store:

• ERP / WMS
• 3PL
• CRM
• Accounting
• Subscriptions
• Customer service workflows
  

We validate:

• What should change
• What must stay
• What can be optimised
• What can be replaced with off-the-shelf Shopify apps
• What requires custom integrations

This ensures the Shopify build matches your operational reality.

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Store prototyping

Using Shopify’s platform capabilities, we:

• Select the most suitable theme
• Stand up a prototype store
• Implement required core functionality early
• Identify what custom development is needed
• Wireframe and scope any bespoke front-end work
  

Purpose:

Reduce unknowns and confirm what “good” needs to look like before coding.

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Detailed project plan

Once the workshop concludes, we deliver:

• A clear, easy-to-read project plan
• Fixed costs
• Execution timeline
• Task-by-task breakdown

On approval, we move into delivery sprints.

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2. Execution phase (delivery)

We adopt an agile, reality-first approach using 1–2 week sprints.

Why?

Because no plan survives contact with the real world perfectly. Trying to force projects into rigid timelines without agility guarantees failure.
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Core Delivery Stages

• ‍Data Migration - Products, collections, customers, orders. All validated and mapped.‍
• Store Structure & Set Up - Navigation, taxonomy, theme configuration.‍
• App & Integration Migration - ERP, CRM, accounting, subscriptions, 3PL, fulfilment, middleware.‍
• SEO Redirects - Continuity of analytics, URL structure and search equity.‍
• QA & UAT - Full testing suite across storefront, operations, admin and integrations.‍
• Review & Go-Live Planning - Checklists, rollback plans, handovers.‍
• Launch Day Support - Bridge calls, real-time support, post-live monitoring.‍
• Post-Live Optimisation & Support - Structured improvements and continued enhancements.