Shopify to SGEN — Move Your Store

In short. There is no Shopify importer. Moving to SGEN is a rebuild: storefront pages recreated in SG-Builder, products brought across via CSV using Tools → Post Migration, commerce configured (payments, shipping, taxes), redirects set for every changed URL, then DNS pointed at SGEN. Three phases — gather → rebuild + import → preserve and cut over. Small stores (under 100 products, 5-10 pages) take 1-2 weeks; larger stores scale from there. That's the shape — the sections below walk each step.

On this page: How it works · Gather from Shopify · Prep SGEN · Rebuild pages · Import products · Blog + media · Payments + shipping · Preserve SEO · DNS cutover · Checklist · Timelines + pitfalls

How it works

SGEN does not have a Shopify importer. Moving is a two-track rebuild:

• Storefront — pages recreated in SG-Builder using Shopify screenshots as design reference.
• Products — transferred via CSV through Tools → Post Migration, with field mapping.

The three phases:

1. Gather — export products, customers, orders, and blogs from Shopify; screenshot every page type.
2. Rebuild + import — recreate storefront pages in SG-Builder, configure the Ecommerce module, import product CSV.
3. Preserve and cut over — set up redirects, verify staging end-to-end, then point DNS at SGEN.

No migration wizard. The product CSV path moves product data; the storefront design is hand-built.

Who this is for: Merchants leaving Shopify for cost or flexibility reasons, agencies migrating client stores, in-house teams running the platform change. Assumes Shopify admin access, a working SGEN site, basic SG-Builder familiarity, and a payment processor account (Stripe or PayPal).

Before you start — gather from Shopify

Gather everything before opening SGEN. Rebuilding mid-export slows things down significantly.

Product data:

• Products CSV — Shopify admin → Products → Export
• Note variants, options, inventory levels, and image references
• Customers CSV — Customers → Export (for historical records)
• Orders CSV — Orders → Export (for historical reference — SGEN won't have Shopify order history after cutover)

Storefront:

• Theme name + screenshots of every page type (home, product, collection, cart, checkout) — these are your SG-Builder design references
• Custom theme code (Liquid templates) if any — useful as a layout reference
• List of all pages (About, Contact, FAQ) with body content copied to a shared doc
• Blog posts — Blog Posts → Export if your theme has a blog
• All media — download from Shopify Files or from your source assets (Shopify CDN URLs disappear when you cancel your plan)

Commerce config:

• Active payment credentials (Stripe / PayPal)
• Shipping zones and rates
• Tax configuration
• Discount codes in use
• List of load-bearing Shopify apps — note which have no SGEN equivalent and plan a replacement strategy

Domain and redirects:

• Custom domain and DNS provider
• Existing Shopify URL redirects — Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects → Export

Before you start — prep the SGEN side

• Provision a new SGEN site via the Dashboard.
• Enable Ecommerce — under Modules Config, ensure the Ecommerce module is on.
• Configure Ecommerce → Configuration:

• Take a backup — Migration → Backups before starting. This is your rollback point.

Rebuild the storefront pages

For each page in your Shopify store:

1. In SGEN admin, go to Pages → Add New.
2. Set the title and match the URL slug to the Shopify handle.
3. Open the page in SG-Builder.
4. Rebuild the layout using your Shopify screenshot as the design reference.
5. Paste body content into Text and Heading blocks.
6. Save and preview at the staging URL.

Focus on: homepage, About, Contact, FAQ, and any custom landing pages. Product and collection pages use the Ecommerce module's templates rather than custom page builds.

Time estimate: 20-45 minutes per typical page.

Import products

Map your Shopify products CSV to SGEN's product schema, then import:

1. Prepare the mapped CSV.
2. Go to Tools → Post Migration and import.
3. Verify products land in Ecommerce → All Products.
4. Spot-check 5-10 products — confirm variants, pricing, and images.

Large catalogues: Split CSVs into batches of 500 to keep import times manageable.

Bring blog posts across

For each post: Blogs → Add New → match title, slug, publish date, and author → paste body → set categories and tags → re-upload featured image → publish.

50+ posts? This is the most repetitive part. Spread across multiple sessions or split across the team.

Bring media across

1. Go to Media Library → Add New.
2. Upload product images, blog images, and page images from your local copies.
3. Set alt text on each image.
4. Re-insert into pages as you rebuild.

Shopify image URLs (cdn.shopify.com/...) stop working when you cancel your Shopify plan. Re-upload everything from your own copies — do not rely on the CDN staying live.

Configure payments + shipping + taxes

Under Ecommerce → Configuration → Payment Gateways:

Stripe — enter your Stripe public and secret keys (test keys first, then live). Configure the webhook URL in your Stripe Dashboard to point at your SGEN site. Full setup: Stripe Webhooks.

PayPal — enter sandbox and live client credentials.

Shipping — recreate your Shopify shipping zones as SGEN shipping methods (flat / free / pickup / weight-based).

Taxes — set the tax rate, choose inclusive or exclusive pricing, and configure location-based overrides if you sold across regions.

Test purchase required — configure Stripe in test mode and run a complete cart → checkout → payment flow on staging before going live. Do not cut over to live payments without at least one successful test purchase.

Preserve SEO

Redirects — for every Shopify URL that's changing, set a 301:

1. Go to Modules → Redirects → Add New.
2. Source: the Shopify path (e.g. /products/blue-widget).
3. Destination: the SGEN path.
4. Type: 301 (permanent). Save.

Shopify product URLs follow /products/. SGEN URLs may differ — set a redirect for every product page, or use the Is Regex? option to capture a URL pattern in one rule.

Meta titles + descriptions — re-enter for every page and product under the page's SEO panel.

Sitemap — SGEN auto-generates at /sitemap.xml once pages are published. Submit to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster under SEO → Search Console.

Full detail: Manage Redirects.

DNS cutover

Only cut over once the rebuild is complete, redirects are in place, and staging is verified.

1. In SGEN, go to Settings → Site Settings → Site URL and confirm your domain is set.
2. Run a complete cart → checkout → payment flow on staging. Process at least one test purchase.
3. Update your DNS A record (or CNAME) at your registrar to point at SGEN.
4. Wait for propagation (typically minutes to an hour).
5. Test the live URL with a real small-dollar purchase.
6. Confirm the order lands in Ecommerce → Orders.

Keep Shopify active until cutover is complete and you've processed at least a week of live orders on SGEN cleanly.

Verification checklist

• [ ] Every storefront page (home, about, contact, etc.) has a matching SGEN page
• [ ] All products imported with variants, pricing, images, and descriptions
• [ ] Product categories and attributes set up
• [ ] Blog posts migrated (if applicable)
• [ ] All media uploaded with alt text
• [ ] Cart → checkout flow works end-to-end (test purchase)
• [ ] Stripe webhook fires and order lands in admin
• [ ] PayPal works (if enabled)
• [ ] Shipping rates calculate correctly per zone
• [ ] Tax applies correctly
• [ ] 301 redirects fire — test product URLs, collection URLs, and blog URLs
• [ ] SEO titles and descriptions set on every page and product
• [ ] Sitemap submitted to Search Console
• [ ] Analytics and conversion tracking configured
• [ ] SSL active on live domain

Realistic timelines

Commerce migration takes longer than a content-only migration because of payment + shipping + tax setup and test-purchase cycles. Calendar time is typically 2× the rebuild estimate — factor in review, content cleanup, and approval loops.

Common pitfalls

Shopify apps don't have SGEN equivalents. Identify which apps are load-bearing and plan a replacement. SGEN covers forms, SEO, redirects, and ecommerce natively — but specialised third-party app behaviour may need a different integration approach.

Skipping the test purchase. Stripe in test mode first, full cart → checkout → payment before going live. Cutting over to live payments without a verified flow costs real money.

Forgetting historical orders. SGEN won't have your Shopify order history. If customer service depends on order lookup, keep the Shopify admin accessible in read-only export form for some period after cutover.

Missing product redirects. Shopify product URLs are /products/. Set a redirect for every product page individually, or use a regex rule for the pattern.

Cancelling Shopify too early. Keep Shopify active until cutover is complete and at least a week of live SGEN orders has landed cleanly.

Related reading

• SGEN Dashboard Tour — your map of the admin
• Ecommerce Configuration — full field reference
• Stripe Webhooks — webhook setup
• Manage Redirects — the URL-preservation surface
• Custom CSS vs Custom Codes — for any custom HTML or script work during the rebuild