Performing an eCommerce migration is never as easy as it seems. The process of moving your entire eCommerce store to a brand new cloud-based platform can come with its fair share of complications. There are multiple moving parts involved. including search engine rankings and security breaches, so it’s best to be well prepared for any potential scenario. This article will help you figure out the best cloud migration best practices for eCommerce. Keep reading this eCommerce migration roadmap to learn more! 

8 cloud migration best practices for eCommerce

1. Set clear KPIs from the start. 

Key performance indicators will help you understand the exact state you want your store to achieve once the eCommerce migration is over. They will help you track the migration journey and assess if anything has gone wrong in the process. This makes it so the first thing you should do before starting the process is to establish KPIs and put different measures in place to track them accordingly. 

2. Migrate the easiest applications first. 

When you’re creating an eCommerce migration roadmap to organize your process, it’s best to plan for the easiest applications to migrate first. This dual approach will ensure the simplest details are already taken care of before you get to the more complex parts of the store. Then, once all basic elements are migrated, you can take all the time needed with the heaviest applications. 

3. Ensure there are no security risks. 

Security breaches are to be expected, even if you’re following the top cloud migration best practices. This is why you need to validate the security measures of all the applications within your store and their data. Otherwise, you will likely go through this challenge at some point in the cloud migration, since it’s one of the main difficulties for those performing eCommerce migrations. You can utilize machine learning and analytics tools to assess the state of your data and verify it’s ready to undergo such a drastic change. 

4. Budget for the migration in advance. 

Cloud migration procedures can become a pricey process if not budgeted appropriately, since complications, last-minute changes, and other details really add up in the end. Like any other aspect of your business, the ideal situation is to have a strict budget and stick to it thrughout the entire migration. Setting goals in advance will help you assign the process a budget as well. It’s a great idea to settle on specific objectives, map out a few benchmarks, and ensure no additional money is spent on the project. 

5. Have a contingency plan in case something goes wrong. 

Since you’re migrating your eCommerce store to a virtualized, cloud-based platform, mistakes can certainly happen due to the sheer amount of data transfers occurring at the same time. This is why you need s solid contingency plan in case something goes wrong. How will you fix any issues? What are the programs your tech team will use to solve this problem? Do you have a data backup? Those are the questions you need to answer as part of the cloud migration best practices. 

6. Pay attention to SEO.

One thing that many fail to realize is that eCommerce cloud migrations have a severe influence on the store’s SEO. One wrong move and you might lose all of your search engine results without even realizing any damage was done in the first place. This also goes for the analytical information of your website, such as all the contextual data about the behavior and preferences of your store’s users. To ensure you don’t lose any of this valuable data, you’ll need to perform a careful SEO migration to your new site with the help of a tool like Moz or UberSuggest. 

7. Document when migrating an eCommerce store.

Because this is most likely a business procedure involving at least one party from outside of your team, you need to treat the eCommerce cloud migration with the utmost care. This includes documenting every step of the process, from the initial planning session to the final revisions. Keep a document with every bit of progress, every setback, and a summary of the costs involved with the process. 

8. Strategize the entire eCommerce migration. 

Our final tip from this list of cloud migration best practices is to have an actual eCommerce migration roadmap right from the start. It’s simple, really. The key is in planning the cloud migration in advance, as soon as you have a budget, tangible goals, and relevant KPIs. A clear strategy with a firm calendar will help you finish the eCommerce cloud migration as soon as possible, as well as allow you to work on other projects knowing the schedules don’t clash. 

Do you need help performing an eCommerce migration?

eCommerce migrations are complex procedures that require a great amount of attention and detail, leading to them performing better when assisted by a dedicated team of specialists. At Resolve Digital, we specialize in custom software development for eCommerce businesses. We help companies like yours perform eCommerce migrations, software integrations, and more. Contact us today to learn more about our services!