Merging a WooCommerce and a Shopify store
When two brands with distinct identities choose to merge into one, challenges arise from having two brands, two websites, two technologies, and two product lines. This was the task posed to us by the founders of Kambium Möbel and Kyburz Made, who aimed to combine their strengths under a unified brand while streamlining their online presence and continuing to emphasize high-quality furniture made in Basel. Each brand had its own website—one built on WordPress with WooCommerce, and the other on Shopify. After assessing their requirements, we found that Shopify was the preferred option due to its scalability, strong e-commerce capabilities, and user-friendly management.
For the solution, we decided to maintain the existing Shopify theme and refine it for a more polished appearance, focusing on minimalism to highlight their exquisitely crafted products as the new brand was still establishing its identity.
Regarding technical integration, our skills were crucial in navigating the project's challenges. We set up a test environment, which Shopify made easy to create and manage. Using an app, content syncing between environments was streamlined.
We also developed custom functionalities by utilizing a GitHub-hosted theme with version control, which facilitated smooth collaboration and updates. During the domain migration, we meticulously redirected URLs, updated email addresses, and ensured that SEO rankings and organic traffic remained stable throughout the transition. In terms of data and content migration, transferring products from WooCommerce to Shopify involved some manual effort, but the Matrixify tool made the process much simpler. This tool was also employed to migrate content from the test environment to the live site.