How to Migrate Your Store from ANS Commerce to Shopify: A Complete SEO-Friendly Guide
Ashish Kasama

How to Migrate Your Store from ANS Commerce to Shopify: A Complete SEO-Friendly Guide

Are you planning to migrate your store from ANS Commerce to Shopify? Shifting eCommerce platforms can be complex, but with the right strategy, you can ensure a seamless transition while maintaining SEO rankings, data integrity, and customer experience.

This step-by-step guide will help you successfully transfer your products, orders, customers, and SEO settings from ANS Commerce to Shopify without losing traffic or sales.

 

Why Migrate from ANS Commerce / Kartify to Shopify?

Before diving into the migration process, let’s explore the benefits of moving to Shopify:

1. User-Friendly Interface & Customization

Shopify offers a drag-and-drop editor, extensive theme options, and custom coding capabilities, making it easier to personalize your store compared to ANS Commerce.

2. Stronger SEO & Marketing Tools

With built-in SEO optimization, marketing automation, and app integrations, Shopify helps drive organic traffic and improve Google rankings.

3. Scalable & Secure Hosting

Shopify handles high traffic loads, has automatic updates, and ensures fast page speeds, crucial for SEO and user experience.

4. Seamless Integrations

Shopify seamlessly integrates with payment gateways, logistics providers, CRM, ERP, and marketing platforms, unlike ANS Commerce, which may require manual API development for many integrations.

5. Multi-Channel Selling

Expand your business by selling on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google Shopping, and POS systems, all integrated within Shopify.

 

Key Considerations for Migration

When transitioning from ANS Commerce to Shopify, the following aspects must be carefully evaluated:

 

1. Products

  • How many products do you have?
  • Do your products have different sizes, colors, or other options?
  • Can customers customize their orders? If yes, does that affect pricing?
  • How do you currently manage your inventory?
  • Are you using any order management systems like Unicommerce, Vinculum, or Browntape?
  • Do you use third-party logistics (3PL) services like Eshopbox?
  • Are you selling on marketplaces like Amazon or Flipkart?
  • Do you have physical retail stores that also fulfill orders?
  • Is your inventory managed through systems like SAP, Microsoft Nav, or Salesforce?
  • Do you need access to old product data?

2. Customers

  • Do customers sign up using email or phone numbers?
  • Can customers place orders as guests (without creating an account)?
  • If guest checkout is allowed, can they track their orders?
  • Can guest customers see their past orders if they create an account later?
  • How is customer information stored and managed?
  • Are you using email marketing tools like MoEngage, WebEngage, or Netcore?
  • Do you use any chatbots or messaging tools like Contlo or LimeChat?
  • How do you currently handle customer support?

3. Orders

  • How will you move your past order data—by downloading an Excel file or using an API?
  • How do you handle tax calculations (especially GST)?
  • What is your process for returns, cancellations, and exchanges?

4. SEO & Website Links

  • Have you listed all your current website URLs?
  • Have you planned to set up redirects so that old links don't break after moving to Shopify?

5. Loyalty & Gift Cards

  • Do you currently have a loyalty program for customers?
  • How will you move loyalty points and rewards?
  • Will your loyalty program work with Shopify?
  • Do you offer gift cards? If yes, how will you move that data?

6. Discounts & Offers

    • How many active discount codes do you currently have?
    • Will all discounts still work after moving to Shopify?
    • Do you have special pricing rules (like automatic discounts or complex offers)?

 

Step 1: Backup & Export Data from ANS Commerce

Before migrating, secure a backup of all critical data to prevent data loss.

Data to Export from ANS Commerce

🔹 Products – Product names, descriptions, images, categories, SKUs, pricing, stock levels.
🔹 Customers – Customer names, emails, phone numbers, addresses.
🔹 Orders – Order history, payment status, shipping details.
🔹 Pages & Blog Content – About Us, Contact Us, Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, blogs.
🔹 SEO Data – URL structure, meta titles, meta descriptions, 301 redirects, and alt text.

How to Export Data from ANS Commerce?

  • Check ANS Commerce’s export tool to download data in CSV format.
  • If CSV export is unavailable, use API extraction or third-party migration tools.
  • Copy static pages and blogs manually or use a content scraping tool.

 

Step 2: Set Up Your Shopify Store

Before migrating your data, you need to set up your Shopify store properly. This ensures that your store is ready to receive products, customers, and orders without any issues.

1. Sign Up for Shopify

Visit shopify.com and create an account. Shopify offers different pricing plans based on your business needs. Choose a plan that fits your budget and requirements. You can start with a free trial to explore Shopify’s features before committing to a paid plan.

2. Select a Theme

Your store's design plays a key role in customer experience. Shopify provides a variety of free and paid themes that you can use. If you want a more unique design, you can customize an existing theme or hire a developer to create a completely new one. Make sure the theme you choose is mobile-friendly and aligns with your brand’s identity.

3. Configure Store Settings

Once your Shopify account is set up, you need to adjust important store settings:

  • Currency – Choose the currency in which you want to sell your products.
  • Tax Settings – Set up tax rules based on your country’s regulations, including GST or VAT if applicable.
  • Shipping Methods – Configure shipping rates, delivery zones, and integrate with shipping providers like Shiprocket or FedEx if needed.

4. Install Essential Apps

Shopify has an extensive app store that allows you to add extra functionalities to your store. Some important apps to install include:

  • SEO Apps – Help optimize your store for better search engine rankings.
  • Email Marketing Tools – Automate email campaigns to engage with customers.
  • Logistics & Shipping Apps – Manage deliveries and order tracking.
  • Analytics & Reporting Tools – Track your store’s performance and customer behavior.

Once these steps are completed, your Shopify store will be fully set up and ready to receive data from your ANS Commerce store.

 

Step 3: Migrate Store Data to Shopify

A. Migrate Products to Shopify

  • Format the CSV file exported from ANS Commerce to match Shopify’s product import format.
  • Navigate to Shopify Admin → Products → Import → Upload CSV file.
  • Ensure that product images are hosted properly (you may need to re-upload images).
  • Use a Shopify migration app like Matrixify (Excelify) for bulk product transfers.

B. Transfer Customers to Shopify

  • Open Shopify Admin → Customers → Import and upload your customer CSV file.
  • Note: Shopify does not allow the transfer of passwords due to encryption policies. Customers will need to reset their passwords after migration.

C. Migrate Orders & Order History

  • Shopify does not allow direct order imports but you can:
    • Use Matrixify (Excelify) or API migration tools.
    • Retain old orders in ANS Commerce for reference.

D. Preserve SEO Rankings

To avoid a drop in search engine rankings, carefully migrate your SEO settings:

  • 301 Redirects: Redirect old ANS Commerce URLs to Shopify URLs to prevent broken links.
  • Meta Titles & Descriptions: Optimize your Shopify pages using the same or improved metadata.
  • Image Alt Text: Maintain accessibility and SEO value by adding alt text to images.
  • Submit New XML Sitemap: Update Google Search Console with your new Shopify sitemap.

 

Step 4: Set Up Store Functionalities with Essential Apps

After migrating your data, configure essential settings to ensure smooth operations.

🔑 Login & Authentication

Simply OTP Login by Lucent

  • OTP-based login for passwordless authentication.
  • Secure and quick access for customers.
  • Improves user experience and reduces password-related issues.

⭐ Product Reviews & Social Proof

Judge.me Product Reviews

  • Collects and displays verified product reviews.
  • Supports photo & video reviews for better engagement.
  • Boosts social proof and SEO ranking with rich snippets.

💖 Wishlist Feature

Flits Wishlist

  • Allows customers to save favorite products for future purchases.
  • Helps reduce cart abandonment and increases repeat purchases.
  • Provides insights into customer preferences.

🎁 Reward & Loyalty Program

Flits Store Credit & Rewards

  • Encourages customer retention with a custom rewards program.
  • Offers store credits, cashback, and loyalty incentives.
  • Integrated with the wishlist and customer account system.

💡 Upselling & Cross-Selling

Wiser AI Upsell & Cross-Sell

  • AI-powered product recommendations based on user behavior.
  • Features Frequently Bought Together, Cart Upsell, and Post-Purchase Upsell.
  • Increases average order value (AOV) and boosts revenue.

🔄 Return & Exchange Management

Reverto Returns & Exchanges

  • Automated return and exchange management system.
  • Simplifies return requests and reduces manual workload.
  • Improves customer satisfaction by providing hassle-free returns.

🚀 Additional Must-Have Apps for Shopify Migration

  1. SEO Optimization – Plug in SEO
  2. Google Analytics & Facebook Pixel – Google & YouTube + Facebook & Instagram
  3. Email & SMS Marketing – Klaviyo
  4. Abandoned Cart Recovery – Recart
  5. Shipping & Fulfillment – Shiprocket

Step 5: Set Up Store Functionalities

After migrating your data, configure essential settings to ensure smooth operations.

1. Set Up Payment Gateways

  • Configure Shopify Payments, Razorpay, PayU, Stripe, or other options.

2. Configure Shipping & Logistics

  • Integrate logistics providers like Shiprocket, Delhivery, BlueDart, or Shopify’s shipping partners.

3. Enable Analytics & Marketing Tools

  • Set up Google Analytics for tracking traffic and conversions.
  • Install Facebook Pixel & Google Ads tracking for retargeting campaigns.
  • Use email marketing apps like Klaviyo or Omnisend to recover abandoned carts.

 

Step 6: Test & Launch Your Shopify Store

Before going live, conduct a thorough testing process to ensure your Shopify store is fully functional.

🔍 Testing Checklist

✔ Check Product Listings – Ensure images, descriptions, and pricing are correct.
✔ Test Checkout Process – Place test orders using multiple payment methods.
✔ Verify SEO & 301 Redirects – Ensure old URLs redirect to new Shopify URLs.
✔ Review Mobile Responsiveness – Optimize for mobile users (Shopify is mobile-first!).
✔ Run a Soft Launch – Allow selected users to test the store before the full launch.

 

Final Step: Publish & Promote Your Shopify Store 🚀

🛒 Final Launch Checklist:

Switch Domain: Point your domain to Shopify.
Announce Your Launch: Use email marketing, social media, and ads to notify customers.
Monitor Performance: Use Google Analytics and Shopify analytics to track traffic and sales.
Run Promotions: Offer launch discounts to boost initial sales.

 

🔹 Need help with migration? Hire a Shopify expert to automate the process and ensure a smooth transition.