Software Development Blog

When Should You Migrate Your Ecommerce Platform?

Knowing you need to migrate is easy. Working out when to actually do it is harder.

Migrate too early and you disrupt a working system for no good reason. Migrate too late and you waste money maintaining something that should have been replaced years ago.

Here is how to work out the right time to migrate.

Signs You Need to Migrate

Some problems cannot be fixed by improving your current platform. They need a different platform entirely.

The platform cannot do what you need. Your business has grown beyond what the platform was designed for. You need features it cannot support. Workarounds are getting increasingly complicated and fragile.

Maintenance is eating your budget. Every change needs a developer. Security updates are manual. The platform is old and nobody wants to work on it anymore. Monthly costs are climbing while functionality stays the same.

Performance is getting worse. The site is slow. It struggles under load. Peak trading periods are stressful because you are not sure the platform will cope.

Your team hates using it. The admin is clunky. Simple tasks take too long. Training new staff is difficult. Mistakes are common because the interface is confusing.

Integration is difficult. Connecting to modern systems requires custom development. APIs are old or missing. Data sync is manual and error-prone.

You are losing sales. Checkout is complicated. Mobile experience is poor. Load times are slow. Customers abandon carts because the platform is frustrating.

If you recognise several of these, migration is probably the right answer.

Signs You Should Wait

But migration is not always the solution.

Your current platform works fine. It does everything you need. Your team is comfortable with it. Performance is acceptable. Costs are reasonable. There is no compelling reason to change.

You cannot articulate why you need to migrate. If your reason is based on trend rather than necessity, you probably do not need to migrate yet.

You are about to make major business changes. Wait until those changes are complete, then assess what platform you need.

You do not have budget or time. Migrations are expensive and time-consuming. If you cannot commit properly, wait until you can.

Your team is not ready. If your team is already overwhelmed, adding a migration project will make things worse.

Peak season is coming. Do not migrate during your busiest period. Wait for a quieter time.

The Seasonal Question

Timing matters.

Best times to migrate:

• After peak season
• During your quietest trading period
• When you have team capacity
• When budget is available
• When there are no other major projects competing for attention

Worst times to migrate:

• During your peak season
• When launching new products
• When running major marketing campaigns
• When key staff are on holiday

A migration needs focus. Choose a time when you can give it proper attention.

The Limping Along Problem

The worst situation is knowing you need to migrate but delaying indefinitely.

You keep patching problems. Adding workarounds. Paying developers to maintain an unmaintainable system.

Every month you delay costs you money in developer time, lost sales, team inefficiency, and missed opportunities.

At some point, the cost of delay exceeds the cost of migration.

Work out when that point is and commit to migrating before you reach it.

The Business Case

Build a proper business case for migration.

Current costs:

• Platform fees
• Hosting
• Developer maintenance
• Apps or plugins
• Support contracts
• Staff time dealing with platform issues

Migration costs:

• One-time migration project
• New platform setup
• New theme
• New apps
• Training
• Post-launch support

New platform costs:

• Monthly platform fees
• App subscriptions
• Reduced developer time
• Reduced staff time

Benefits:

• Improved conversion rate
• Better performance
• Easier team workflow
• New features enabling growth
• Reduced risk

Add it up. If the total cost of ownership over three years is lower on the new platform, migration makes financial sense.

How Long It Takes

Factor in realistic timelines.

• Simple migration: 6 to 8 weeks
• Medium complexity: 10 to 14 weeks
• High complexity: 16 to 24 weeks
• Enterprise: 6 months or more

Add buffer time. Migrations always reveal unexpected complexity.

Then work backwards from when you need to be live to work out when you need to start.

Red Lines

Some situations mean you must migrate soon, regardless of timing preferences:

• Security risk because the platform is no longer supported
• Compliance failure or legal risk
• Critical feature missing that affects revenue
• Platform vendor shutting down or discontinuing support

These are not negotiable. Start planning immediately.

The Decision Process

1. List everything wrong with your current platform
2. Work out which problems can be fixed and which cannot
3. Calculate total cost of staying vs migrating over three years
4. Assess timing and capacity
5. Build a business case
6. Get stakeholder buy-in
7. Commit to a start date or confirm you are staying put

Do not drift. Either commit to migrating or commit to staying.

What To Do Next

If you have decided you need to migrate, start planning now.

Work out the best timing. Book in discovery with potential partners. Get budgets approved. Brief your team.

If you have decided to wait, revisit the decision every six months. Circumstances change.

Need help deciding? Our Platform Migration Service starts with an honest assessment of whether migration makes sense for your business right now. Book a discovery call and we will help you work it out.