Switching ecommerce platforms without losing your search rankings

Map each old URL to its best destination

Your redirect map ties each old URL to the closest page on the new site. Don't send everything to the homepage: Google says that redirecting many unrelated URLs to a single page can be treated as a soft 404.

When content is removed with no equivalent, Google recommends returning a 404 or 410 status rather than forcing a redirect.

Set up permanent, direct redirects

Google recommends permanent server-side redirects, such as 301 or 308, whenever technically possible. JavaScript redirects should only be a last resort.

Avoid redirect chains. Your current site may already have redirects left over from a previous redesign: update them so they point straight to the final destination.

Keep redirects in place as long as possible. Google generally advises at least a year, and indefinitely from a visitor's point of view. Update your internal links too, rather than relying on redirects.

Keep the content and metadata that rank

Carry over title tags, meta descriptions, H1s, category copy, image alt text and structured data such as Product or BreadcrumbList. A new page template can wipe out category copy that was bringing in visits.

Each new page should have a canonical tag pointing to its own URL, as Google recommends. Also decide which pagination and filter pages should be indexed.

Check that product page content is present in the rendered HTML, especially if the new storefront relies on JavaScript. Test it rather than assume.

Protect your English and French versions

A bilingual site needs a separate URL for each language. Google asks you to update hreflang annotations with the new URLs: each version should reference the other versions and itself.

Build your redirect map by language. An old French page should lead to the new French page, not its English equivalent. Also check that the language switcher points to the matching page rather than the homepage.

Test before you switch over

Staging sites are often blocked with robots.txt or a noindex directive. Google reminds you to remove those blocks at launch and confirm none are left behind.

• Full crawl of staging to catch broken internal links.
• Test the entire redirect map, not just a sample.
• Check canonical and hreflang tags.
• An XML sitemap containing only the new URLs.
• Validate structured data on the main templates.
• Analytics and conversion tracking in place.

Launch day and the weeks that follow

Turn on redirects at launch and submit the new sitemap in Search Console. The Change of Address tool only applies if you're changing domain or subdomain.

Monitor index coverage, 404 errors, server logs for Googlebot activity, impressions and clicks by page, and conversions. According to Google, it can take a few weeks for a medium-sized site to see its new URLs replace the old ones in search results.

Compare this data with the baseline you captured before the migration. Decide in advance who reviews the gaps and which fixes come first.

Your checklist

An SEO-safe migration is prepared weeks before the switch and monitored for months afterward.

Your decision list

• List URLs from several sources, including images and files.
• Record traffic, conversions and links for every important page.
• Build the redirect map by language.
• Set up permanent, direct and long-lasting redirects.
• Carry over titles, descriptions, copy, structured data and canonical tags.
• Update hreflang annotations and the language switcher.
• Remove staging blocks and submit the new sitemap.
• Assign who monitors metrics and fixes errors after launch.

Where Shopflow fits

Shopflow's B2B Engine page describes importing customer data, pricing and order history by CSV or API, with migration scripts and support. The Headless Commerce page outlines a channel-by-channel migration. These pages don't describe a redirect or SEO management tool: ask who builds the redirect map, where redirects are configured, how canonical and hreflang tags are generated and who handles monitoring after launch.