Migrating old website From Shopify to New Website in Shopify

[Juliejime123]

On my old website I currently own the Spark Version Master theme is there a way I can transfer that version to my new website. I don't want to pay another $300 but if I need to if I have to.

I don't know where to start. I got a go daddy domain in which I would be transferring my url  domain to Shopify. I currently have my old website in Shopify with its date, clients and order history. Would all that be erased once I make my new url website the primary website? I am rebranding my store with a new name and new url. 

Also is there a way in which I can work in my new url website while the old one is active? So that when the website is launch I just click primary website in the new url. Or do I have to make a new Shopify account for my new url while still active the old url. I don't want to scare my clients with a white page of nothing or for them to receive 404 codes.

Also if I make my new website the primary which would be with the new url would it start as new again or would the old url theme be automatic updated to the new url? Or I would have to manually add the collections and the products and choose the theme and start all over again? What is the correct way to start a new website when your old account has a lot of clients, Order History. What about if the subscribe to the newsletter would that be deleted as well?

Thank you for your time.

[Aashish_Bhatt]

Hi @Juliejime123 ,

Thanks for asking a great question here on the Shopify Community!

I'm a Shopify expert, and I'm happy to help you with the issue you're facing.

From what I understand, you're looking to update your theme (specifically the Spark Version Master) and transfer your domain to a new URL without losing your store data. The good news is that you can definitely upgrade or change your theme without losing any of your store data, such as order history, client information, and products.

Regarding your domain, you can switch to a new domain after the new theme or site design is ready. The important thing to note here is that your data won't be lost during this process, and your customers will not see a blank or 404 page. However, it may take some time for Google to fully crawl and index your new domain, which could result in temporarily lower traffic. But rest assured, this will improve once your new site is live and indexed.

In terms of working on your new website while keeping the old one active, Shopify makes this possible without needing to create a separate account. You can use the "Online Store" sales channel in your Shopify admin to create a new theme/Backup theme or website under the same account. Once the new site is ready, you can switch your primary domain to the new one without interrupting the customer experience.

When you make the switch to the new domain, your collections, products, clients, and order history will remain intact, and nothing will be deleted. The newsletter subscribers will also remain saved within your Shopify admin, so you won’t lose any important data.

I hope this clarifies your concerns, and "If you'd like to discuss this more, don't hesitate to send me a PM." 

[Juliejime123]

Thanks so much for this! ❤️ Okay I went to check my domains and I still have my Shopify.com that shopify gives out. I would set that as primary for now and remove my .com website from primary and then I would connect to existing domain with the new go daddy domain. The third step is to change the new domain as the primary domain and nothing from my website would be removed. I upload my update of my new theme with the new domain and new logo. Awesome for this. I was so worried about this . I was thinking if I change the primary domain everything would be deleted. I am thinking of deleting my old primary . COM domain off the map not the Shopify.com and use my new . COM as the main one. 

one. 

I was also worried because all tax information is in there too. 

I would let you know how it works out!!

[PaulNewton]

💣when migrating these are very common topics, don't just make forum posts do thorough research when there is risk.

Hi @Juliejime123 👋 for theme transfers contact support directly external contributors CANNOT effect the theme license process.

https://help.shopify.com/en/support/topic-select/login-issue/contact/chat 

When that process is clarified by support , then after ask them about the other questions.

When migrating things will break , there is not a 1:1 transfer between stores data such as customers, order, sales histories, etc etc etc.

Alot of data can be export/import as CSVS, through apps or with the api but this will never be the same as the original store.

Such as for customers you may need to reissues account invites, and jump through other hoops.