Some quick thoughts on whether to simply migrate to Shopify or to use it as an opportunity for a design refresh

Once you have decided to make the move to Shopify, it’s worth thinking about your goals for the migration.

Do you want to simply replatform with bare minimum changes to simply get up and running on Shopify as quickly as possible? Or do you want to use the migration as an opportunity to undertake a full design and usability refresh?

If you have a small team with limited bandwidth or you have a very tight deadline because your platform is shutting down or you’re launching a new product and have limited creative control, a straightforward migration with limited design might be the best approach. Keeps the investment and level of effort low and provides a solid foundation on Shopify for future growth with minimal technical debt.

If you’re migrating because you’ve had limited creative control on your previous site and/or it’s bogged down by technical debt—or it’s simply old and tired—using the migration as an opportunity to step back and revisit wireframes and user-flows, content structure, messaging and storytelling, and design could definitely be worthwhile. It’s potentially a bigger project but if you have the budget and bandwidth, the return on investment could be significantly higher—especially if you know your growth potential is being hampered by your current site.