From the site builder to your own shop
With a site builder like Wix an online shop is started quickly. When the business grows, many hit limits in functions, connections and control. This guide shows when the switch from Wix to Magento pays off and how it runs.
Table of contents
- 1. Why operators switch from Wix to Magento
- 2. When the switch from Wix to Magento pays off and when not
- 3. Which data comes along from Wix to Magento
- 4. SEO and addresses when switching from Wix to Magento
- 5. Apps and functions: what becomes of them in Magento
- 6. The process: how you switch from Wix to Magento
- 7. Effort and costs when switching from Wix
- 8. How we support you with the switch
- 9. Summary
- 10. FAQ
1. Why operators switch from Wix to Magento
Wix is a website builder that also offers a shop. You design the page in the browser, without programming knowledge, and the provider takes care of operation and technology. For the start or for a small catalog that is a convenient way.
With the business the demands grow: more products and variants, connection to merchandise management and shipping, own price rules, B2B, several languages and currencies or a freely designable checkout process. A site builder sets fixed limits here, and you cannot change the source code. Whoever wants to go beyond needs a more open system.
The switch from Wix to Magento is therefore usually a step from a site builder to a platform that you design and run yourself. That brings freedom but also responsibility for hosting, updates and care.
2. When the switch from Wix to Magento pays off and when not
| Criterion | Wix | Magento |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Very fast, without technical knowledge | More effort in the build, agency needed |
| Operation | Hosted, maintenance by the provider | Own hosting, maintenance with you or your agency |
| Adaptability | Within the limits of the builder | Access to the source code |
| Large catalog, variants | Limited by the platform | Designed for large catalogs |
| Connection to other systems | Through available applications and interfaces | Through interfaces, modules or individual development |
| B2B and customer prices | Restricted | Through customer groups, B2B functions or extensions |
The switch pays off if the limits of the builder slow your business and you are ready to invest in an own shop. It does not pay off if your shop is small, runs well and you want hardly any operating effort. Then a site builder is the more economical solution.
Note that an own shop causes running costs for hosting, updates and security. Calculate these honestly against the added value you expect from the switch.
3. Which data comes along from Wix to Magento
| Data | Way out of Wix | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Products and variants | Export as a table | Map options to variants in Magento |
| Categories | Part of the product export or manual | Define the structure anew |
| Customers | Export of the contacts as a table | Passwords are not transferred, customers set them anew |
| Orders | Export as a table | Clarify history, define the number range |
| Images | Through the image addresses | Download files and assign anew |
| Pages and blog posts | Not completely exportable | Take over texts and rebuild |
With a site builder data access is narrower than with your own software. Products, contacts and orders can be output as a table, while pages, design and blog cannot be taken along completely. The design is therefore rebuilt in the new shop, and texts are taken over or revised.
Check early which data you really need. Additional applications from the app market of the builder have their own data that must be checked separately.
4. SEO and addresses when switching from Wix to Magento
Wix creates addresses according to fixed patterns, for example with its own components for product pages and blog posts. These patterns are not taken over in the new shop. So that no link runs into nothing, every relevant old address is redirected to the new one by a 301 redirect.
If your domain is managed at Wix, it must be moved or pointed to the new shop before the switch. Clarify early where your domain is registered and who has access, because without access to the domain the switch cannot be made.
In the move from Wix to Magento you also check titles, meta descriptions, structured data, sitemaps and canonical tags. What we do for this is described on the page on SEO optimization.
5. Apps and functions: what becomes of them in Magento
A Wix shop consists of functions of the builder and additional applications for booking, reviews, newsletter or invoices. In the switch you go through each one: is it still needed? Is there a basic function, a module or an individual development in Magento for it?
We implement the frontend with Hyvä, see Hyvä theme. For the connection to merchandise management and shipping read the guide to ERP integration, for B2B functions the guide to the [B2B shop](b2bshop).
Define early which functions must run on day one. Payment, shipping and legal texts are mandatory, additional functions can follow. This keeps the move from Wix to Magento manageable.
6. The process: how you switch from Wix to Magento
A switch from Wix to Magento runs in five steps. First the inventory: which products, customers, orders and content exist, which functions do you really use and which addresses bring visitors? Then the test migration, in which part of the data is transferred and checked. After that the build of the shop with design, payment methods, shipping and legal texts.
In the fourth step you check the shop with us on a test system that search engines cannot see and place trial orders. In the fifth step the switch happens: the data is compared one last time, the redirects are activated and the domain is pointed to the new shop. In the first weeks afterwards we check errors and rankings. You keep the previous shop for a while until everything runs safely.
Seven points for an orderly switch
- ✓Record data, functions and addresses of the previous shop.
- ✓Clean up the data stock before the migration.
- ✓Run a test migration and check samples.
- ✓Create and test the table of 301 redirects.
- ✓Check payment methods, shipping and legal texts in the new shop.
- ✓Place trial orders on the test system.
- ✓Plan the switch and afterwards check errors and rankings.
How you protect your ranking in the process is described in the guide to shop relaunch without SEO loss.
7. Effort and costs when switching from Wix
When moving from Wix to Magento the effort depends above all on the fact that design and pages have to be rebuilt, and on the number and quality of the product data. In addition come the running costs for hosting and care, which are included in the plan with the builder and arise separately with Magento.
A flat figure would be unreliable. After the inventory we estimate in writing, the hourly rate is 30 euros net, see pricing. General hints on costs are in the guide Magento costs.
8. How we support you with the switch
We are a web agency in which fixed freelancers work together, all from home offices. We take over the data migration, build the shop with the fast Hyvä frontend and take care of redirects and start. Source code and access stay with you, and ongoing care can be regulated through a maintenance contract.
This guide gives general orientation and does not replace a check of your shop. For a first conversation a short message through our contact page is enough.
9. Summary
The switch from Wix to Magento is a step from the site builder to your own platform and pays off if the limits of the builder slow the business. Products, customers and orders can be taken over by export, the design is rebuilt, and with 301 redirects the ranking is largely kept.
Switching from Wix to Magento at a glance
Decision
Switch if the builder slows you and care is possible
Data
Products, customers and orders by export, rebuild the design
Assign fixed Wix addresses by 301, clarify domain access
Functions
Check applications: replace, supersede or drop
Note: This article offers general orientation. Statements about Wix can change with new versions, check them in the individual case.