Key Highlights
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Shopify Plus is an enterprise-level ecommerce platform designed for high-volume businesses, offering advanced features beyond standard Shopify plans.
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Migrating from Magento reduces technical overhead, as Shopify Plus handles hosting, security, and updates within a predictable monthly fee.
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Gain access to powerful automation tools like Shopify Flow to streamline repetitive tasks and improve operational efficiency.
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Enjoy advanced customization options, including full control over your checkout page and the ability to manage up to 100 themes.
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Benefit from dedicated, 24/7 priority support and a Merchant Success Program to guide your growth strategy.
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Effortlessly manage global operations with multi-store capabilities, allowing you to run up to nine expansion stores from one dashboard.
Introduction
Is your current eCommerce platform holding your online business back? Many growing companies find that platforms like Magento, while powerful, become complex and costly to manage. As your business scales, you need a solution that grows with you, not one that creates bottlenecks. Migrating to a new eCommerce platform can feel like a huge step, but it is often the key to unlocking new levels of growth. This guide explores the benefits of moving your Shopify store to Shopify Plus, an enterprise-grade solution built for scalability and ease of use.
Understanding Shopify Plus and Magento for Enterprise Commerce
When choosing an enterprise commerce solution, you'll often encounter two major players: Shopify Plus and Magento (now Adobe Commerce). Shopify Plus is a fully hosted, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platform, meaning it handles all the technical aspects of running your store for a monthly fee. It provides enterprise businesses with advanced tools and dedicated support in a user-friendly package.
In contrast, Magento is an open-source platform, which offers immense flexibility but requires you to manage your own hosting, security, and updates. This key difference creates a divide in how enterprise businesses approach their tech stack, with Shopify Plus offering a more streamlined, all-in-one solution. Let's examine their core differences and scalability.
Core differences between Shopify Plus and Magento
The key differences between Shopify Plus and Magento stem from their fundamental architecture. Shopify Plus is a hosted solution, which means you pay a subscription fee and Shopify manages the servers, security, and performance. This approach simplifies operations, allowing you to focus on growing your business rather than on technical maintenance. You get a powerful, reliable platform without needing a large team of developers.
Magento, on the other hand, is self-hosted. This gives you complete control over your server environment but also makes you responsible for everything—from software updates and security patches to ensuring your site can handle traffic spikes. This often leads to higher, less predictable costs and a greater reliance on technical expertise.
Ultimately, the choice impacts your entire customer experience. Shopify Plus provides built-in tools and a user-friendly interface that helps you quickly launch campaigns and optimize your online store. With Magento, achieving similar results can require more custom development and a longer timeline, making Shopify Plus a more agile option for many brands.
Overview of platform scalability and flexibility
Platform scalability is a critical concern for larger businesses, and it's an area where Shopify Plus truly shines. The platform is built to handle high-volume traffic and massive sales events without a hitch. You get unlimited bandwidth, ensuring your online store remains fast and responsive even during Black Friday rushes or viral marketing campaigns. This reliability is built into the service, so you don't need to worry about server upgrades.
Flexibility is another major advantage. While Magento offers deep customization, it often comes at the cost of complexity. Shopify Plus provides a balance of power and ease of use. Through its advanced APIs, Shopify Scripts, and the Shopify App Store, you can create a highly customized tech stack tailored to your needs. This allows you to integrate with essential systems like ERPs and CRMs seamlessly.
For growing ecommerce brands, this means you can scale your operations without replatforming. Whether you're expanding into new markets with multiple storefronts or adding complex B2B functionalities, Shopify Plus provides the foundation to support your growth without the technical headaches often associated with open-source platforms like Magento.
Key Features Unique to Shopify Plus
What makes the Shopify Plus plan so powerful for enterprise businesses? It’s not just about handling more traffic; it’s about giving you access to an exclusive suite of advanced features designed to automate, customize, and scale your operations. These tools are what set the advanced plan apart from standard Shopify plans and competitors like Magento.
From checkout customization to workflow automation, these key features empower your team to create a superior customer experience and manage your online business more efficiently. Let’s explore some of the unique functionalities that come with a Shopify Plus subscription.
Advanced customization and design options
One of the most significant advantages of Shopify Plus is the ability to fully customize your checkout experience. You get access to checkout.liquid, which allows for deep code-level changes to the look and functionality of your checkout pages. This means you can create a completely branded and optimized process, which is crucial for maximizing conversions and building brand trust.
Beyond the checkout, Shopify Plus lets you store up to 100 themes in your account. This is perfect for testing new designs, preparing for seasonal campaigns, or making changes to a duplicate theme without affecting your live online store. You can easily switch between themes, giving your marketing team the flexibility to respond quickly to market trends.
For ultimate design freedom, Shopify Plus also offers a headless commerce API. This decouples the front-end presentation layer from the back-end ecommerce engine, allowing you to use any front-end technology you choose. This gives you unparalleled control over the customer experience and design, enabling you to build truly unique and engaging product pages and shopping journeys.
Workflow automation with Shopify Flow
Imagine automating the repetitive tasks that consume your team's time every day. That's exactly what Shopify Flow is for. This exclusive Shopify Plus feature is a powerful workflow automation tool that lets you create custom "if-this-then-that" rules to streamline your business processes. You can build workflows without writing a single line of code, freeing up your team to focus on more strategic initiatives.
For example, you can use Shopify Flow to automatically tag high-value customers, send alerts to your team when inventory is low, or flag potentially fraudulent orders for review. These automations help reduce human error and ensure consistent execution across your operations. The possibilities are nearly endless, from marketing and merchandising to risk management.
By automating these back-end processes, you not only improve efficiency but also enhance the customer experience. For instance, you could create a workflow that segments customers based on their purchase history and automatically adds them to a targeted email campaign. This level of advanced reporting and automation is a game-changer for scaling businesses.
Access to powerful API integrations
Shopify Plus is built for integration, offering enhanced API resources that allow you to connect your eCommerce website with virtually any other system. With higher API call limits, you can sync large volumes of data between Shopify and your existing enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and other third-party software without hitting frustrating limits.
This robust API access empowers you to build a cohesive and efficient tech stack. Whether you need to connect to a custom inventory management system or a specialized marketing automation platform, Shopify Plus provides the flexibility to do so. You are no longer confined to the standard features of a single platform.
Furthermore, you can develop custom apps tailored to your unique business needs. While the Shopify App Store offers thousands of solutions, some businesses require proprietary tools. With Shopify Plus, your developers can create custom applications that integrate seamlessly with your store's backend, giving you a competitive edge that is difficult to replicate.
Reasons Businesses Upgrade from Magento to Shopify Plus
Why are so many businesses making the migration from Magento to Shopify Plus? The decision often comes down to simplifying operations and reducing the total cost of ownership. While Magento offers extensive customization, it can be technically demanding and expensive to maintain, requiring a dedicated team of developers to manage updates, security, and performance.
Businesses are looking for a more streamlined solution that empowers their teams to drive online sales without being bogged down by technical complexities. Upgrading to a Shopify store on the Plus plan offers enhanced usability, lower maintenance costs, and improved security, leading to higher customer satisfaction and a better bottom line.
Enhanced usability and ease of management
A primary reason businesses move from Magento is the superior usability of Shopify Plus. The Shopify dashboard is renowned for its intuitive design, allowing team members without a technical background to manage day-to-day operations with ease. From updating product pages to launching marketing campaigns, the interface is straightforward and user-friendly.
This ease of management extends to your entire team. Shopify Plus offers unlimited staff accounts, so you can give everyone from your marketing team to your customer service representatives access to the tools they need. With granular permission settings, you can control what specific staff members can see and do, ensuring security while empowering your team.
For merchants migrating from Magento, this change is transformative. Instead of relying on developers for simple updates, your team can make changes to the online store in real-time. This agility allows you to respond faster to market trends, run more dynamic promotions, and ultimately create a better customer experience without the technical hurdles.
Lower maintenance costs and reduced technical overhead
One of the most compelling arguments for migrating from Magento is the significant reduction in maintenance costs and technical overhead. With Magento, you are responsible for hosting, security patches, software updates, and performance optimization. These responsibilities translate into unpredictable costs for server management and developer hours, which can quickly add up.
Shopify Plus eliminates these burdens. As a SaaS platform, all hosting, security, and platform updates are included in your monthly fee. You no longer have to worry about your server crashing during a sales event or applying critical security patches. Shopify’s team handles all the backend infrastructure, providing you with a stable, secure, and high-performing platform.
While the upfront price tag for Shopify Plus may seem higher than a Magento license, the total cost of ownership is often much lower. When you factor in the savings on hosting, developer salaries, and emergency maintenance, the predictable monthly fee of Shopify Plus offers a more cost-effective solution for enterprise businesses, allowing for better budget planning.
Improved security and compliance offerings
In today's digital landscape, security is not just a feature—it's a necessity. Shopify Plus provides robust, built-in security features that give you peace of mind. The platform is Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, which means it meets the highest standards for handling credit card information. This compliance is included out of the box, saving you the time and expense of undergoing complex audits yourself, a common requirement for Magento users.
Shopify also manages all security updates and patches automatically. You don't have to worry about vulnerabilities or hiring developers to keep your site secure. The platform includes features like bot protection to safeguard your store during high-stakes events like flash sales and product launches. With Shopify Payments, you get a secure and integrated solution for processing payments from all major payment methods.
This focus on security builds trust with your customers and protects your business from potential threats. With a dedicated security team working behind the scenes and 24/7 customer support, you can be confident that your online store and customer data are in safe hands, allowing you to focus on growth instead of risk management.
Advantages for Large and Growing eCommerce Brands
For large and growing ecommerce brands, scalability isn't just a buzzword—it's essential for survival. As your sales volumes increase and your business expands into new markets, you need a platform that can support that growth without friction. Magento can often become a bottleneck, requiring significant investment to scale effectively.
Shopify Plus is engineered specifically for this purpose. It provides the infrastructure to handle high-volume traffic, the tools to manage a global online business, and the dedicated support to guide your strategy. Let's look at how it helps large brands thrive.
Multi-store management capabilities
Managing an international presence or multiple brands can be a logistical nightmare. Shopify Plus simplifies this with its multi-store management capabilities. From a single Organization Admin dashboard, you can oversee all your stores, users, and analytics in one place. This central hub is perfect for global brands that need separate storefronts for different regions or languages.
With a Shopify Plus plan, you can create up to nine expansion stores in addition to your primary store, for a total of ten. This allows you to create localized experiences for international customers, with different currencies, languages, and product catalogs for each market. You can also run distinct B2B and B2C sites or separate stores for different product lines.
This centralized control streamlines operations significantly. You can manage staff accounts across all stores, view aggregated analytics, and automate workflows for your entire organization. For global brands looking to scale efficiently, this feature alone is a powerful reason to migrate from a more fragmented system.
High-volume traffic handling and performance
Does the thought of your website crashing during a major sale keep you up at night? For businesses on Shopify Plus, this is a worry of the past. The platform is designed to handle enormous surges in traffic and transactions with ease. With unlimited bandwidth, your store can process thousands of orders per minute without compromising speed or performance.
This level of reliability is critical for high-growth brands that run flash sales, launch new products, or experience viral moments. Shopify Plus has proven its ability to support some of the world's biggest brands during their most demanding sales events. The checkout process remains fast and seamless, ensuring you don't lose out on online sales due to a slow or unresponsive site.
Unlike self-hosted platforms like Magento, where you are responsible for provisioning and managing servers to handle traffic spikes, Shopify Plus takes care of it all for you. This means you can launch your biggest marketing campaigns with confidence, knowing your eCommerce platform can handle whatever comes its way.
Dedicated account management and support
When you are running a large-scale eCommerce business, standard customer service is not enough. Shopify Plus understands this, which is why it offers a dedicated support structure designed for enterprise needs. As a Shopify Plus merchant, you gain access to the Merchant Success Program, which pairs you with an expert who can provide strategic guidance on how to grow your business on the platform.
This is more than just technical help; it's a partnership. Your Merchant Success Manager can help you with everything from preparing for a major launch to adopting new features and connecting with industry-leading partners. In addition to this strategic guidance, you also get 24/7 priority support, ensuring any urgent issues are resolved quickly by a team that understands your business.
This level of customer support is a significant step up from the community forums or paid support tiers often associated with Magento. You have a direct line to experts who can help you get the most out of the platform. You also get access to the Shopify Plus Academy, which offers courses to help your team master the platform and build a successful business.
Shopify Plus Pricing and Inclusions
When considering a platform upgrade, the pricing model is always a key factor. The Shopify Plus plan is priced for enterprise-level businesses and reflects the comprehensive suite of features, support, and infrastructure it provides. Unlike standard plans with fixed costs, Shopify Plus has a more flexible pricing structure designed to align with your success.
The monthly fee is not just a license; it’s an investment in a fully managed solution that includes hosting, security, and dedicated support. Let’s break down what the price tag includes and the value it delivers for large-scale operations.
Cost breakdown and value for enterprises
Shopify Plus pricing is designed to be straightforward for enterprise businesses. The cost starts at $2,300 per month for businesses with monthly sales under $800,000. If your revenue exceeds this, the fee becomes variable, calculated as 0.25% of your monthly revenue, capped at $40,000 per month. This model allows the cost to scale alongside your growth.
While this price tag is higher than a standard Shopify plan, it offers immense value when compared to the total cost of running a platform like Magento. With Magento, you have separate costs for hosting, developers, security audits, and third-party extensions, which can be unpredictable. Shopify Plus bundles all these necessities into one clear monthly fee.
Here is a quick comparison to illustrate the difference:
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Feature |
Standard Shopify Plans |
Shopify Plus |
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Pricing |
$29 - $299/month |
Starts at $2,300/month |
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Transaction Fees (Shopify Payments) |
2.4% - 2.9% + 30¢ |
2.15% + 30¢ (or lower) |
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Dedicated Support |
Standard Support |
Merchant Success Program & Priority Support |
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Automation (Shopify Flow) |
Not Included (or limited) |
Included |
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Checkout Customization |
Limited |
Full Control |
This structure makes Shopify Plus a cost-effective choice for many enterprises by providing predictability and eliminating hidden costs.
Features included within the pricing structure
The monthly fee for the Shopify Plus plan unlocks a wealth of advanced features that would otherwise require expensive third-party apps or custom development. One of the most valuable inclusions is Shopify Flow, the powerful workflow automation tool that helps you streamline back-office tasks and create efficiencies across your business.
Additionally, you get unlimited staff accounts, allowing your entire team to access the platform without extra charges. This is crucial for growing organizations with multiple departments. The plan also includes Shopify POS Pro for up to 20 locations, seamlessly integrating your online and offline sales channels without the usual $89/month per location fee.
You also gain access to exclusive apps and advanced analytics tools like ShopifyQL Notebooks for creating custom reports. With priority support and a dedicated Merchant Success Manager, you have a team of experts ready to help you succeed. This comprehensive package of features and customer support ensures you get maximum value from your investment.
Migration Process from Magento to Shopify Plus
Thinking about moving your eCommerce platform can be intimidating. The migration process from a complex system like Magento to Shopify Plus might seem like a monumental task, but with the right plan and support, it can be a smooth transition. Shopify is well-equipped to help businesses migrate their data and operations with minimal disruption.
The key to a successful migration is a structured approach. Shopify Plus provides access to a dedicated launch team and a network of expert partners who specialize in making the process as seamless as possible, ensuring your online sales continue uninterrupted.
Steps for a successful data transfer
Migrating your store's data accurately is one of the most critical parts of the process. A successful data transfer from Magento to Shopify Plus involves careful planning and execution. The Shopify Plus team and its partners have extensive experience in this area and will guide you through each step to ensure nothing is lost in translation.
The process typically begins with a thorough audit of your existing Magento store to determine what data needs to be moved. This includes everything from your product catalogs and high-resolution images to your customer data and order history. Using specialized migration tools, this data can be exported from Magento and formatted for import into your new Shopify store.
Key steps in the data transfer process usually include:
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Product Catalog Migration: Transferring all product information, including SKUs, descriptions, images, and variants.
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Customer Data Migration: Securely moving customer accounts, order histories, and contact information.
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Order History Transfer: Importing past orders to maintain a complete record for customer service and reporting.
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SEO Data Preservation: Setting up 301 redirects to ensure you don't lose search engine rankings for your product and category pages.
Minimizing business disruption during migration
One of the biggest fears during a platform migration is the potential for downtime and lost sales. Minimizing business disruption is a top priority when moving from Magento to Shopify Plus. The entire process is designed to be as seamless as possible, with a focus on keeping your online store operational and your customer experience consistent.
A key strategy is to build and test your new Shopify Plus store in the background while your Magento site remains live. This allows you to perfect the design, configure settings, and transfer data without affecting your active customers. Your dedicated Shopify Plus launch team will help you create a detailed project plan with clear timelines.
Once you are ready to go live, the switch-over can be scheduled during a low-traffic period to minimize impact. Setting up URL redirects is a crucial step to ensure that customers and search engines are seamlessly directed to the new pages on your Shopify store. With careful planning and expert customer support, you can transition to Shopify Plus with zero downtime, ensuring a smooth and professional launch for your eCommerce business.
Integrations and Custom App Development on Shopify Plus
One of the greatest strengths of Shopify Plus is its incredible flexibility. The platform is designed to be the central hub of your eCommerce operations, integrating seamlessly with the other tools and systems you rely on. This is made possible through a rich ecosystem of third-party apps, powerful APIs, and advanced customization tools like Shopify Scripts.
Whether you need to connect to an ERP system or build a unique feature from scratch, Shopify Plus provides the tools to create a tailored solution. Let's explore how you can extend the platform’s capabilities to meet your specific business needs.
Third-party integrations for advanced operations
No eCommerce platform exists in a vacuum. Shopify Plus excels at connecting with the third-party services you need for advanced operations. The Shopify App Store offers thousands of vetted applications that can extend your store’s functionality in just a few clicks. For Shopify Plus members, there are also exclusive certified apps designed for high-growth merchants.
You can integrate your store with essential enterprise systems for a unified workflow. Common integrations for advanced operations include:
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ERP Systems: Connect to systems like NetSuite or SAP for streamlined inventory management, order fulfillment, and accounting.
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CRM Platforms: Integrate with Salesforce or HubSpot to manage customer relationships and sync data for personalized marketing.
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Marketing Automation: Link to tools like Klaviyo or Omnisend to create sophisticated email and SMS campaigns based on customer behavior.
These integrations allow you to build a powerful, interconnected tech stack that automates processes and provides a single source of truth for your business data. This level of connectivity is crucial for scaling efficiently and creating seamless experiences across all your sales channels, from social media to POS Pro.
Custom app development and Shopify Scripts
While the Shopify App Store has a solution for almost everything, some businesses have unique needs that require a custom solution. Shopify Plus provides the tools to build your own applications and create highly specific functionalities. With enhanced API access, your development team can create custom apps that integrate directly with your Shopify backend.
A standout feature for customization is Shopify Scripts. This powerful tool allows you to write custom code that runs on Shopify’s servers, giving you deep control over the checkout process. With Shopify Scripts, you can create complex pricing rules, custom discounts, and dynamic shipping options that aren't possible with standard Shopify plans. For example, you could offer tiered pricing for wholesale customers or "buy one, get one free" promotions that apply automatically.
This level of checkout customization enables you to create tailored shopping experiences that drive conversions and increase average order value. By combining custom app development with Shopify Scripts, you can build an eCommerce store that perfectly matches your brand's unique operational and marketing requirements.
Industries That Benefit Most from Migrating
While Shopify Plus is a versatile platform that can serve a wide range of eCommerce businesses, certain industries are particularly well-suited to benefit from its features. High-growth sectors that rely on strong branding, scalability, and operational agility often find that migrating from a platform like Magento to Shopify Plus unlocks their full potential. These industries typically have dynamic product catalogs, run frequent marketing campaigns, and are focused on creating an exceptional customer experience.
Businesses that need to manage large sales volumes, expand into international markets, or operate both online and offline will find the tools within Shopify Plus invaluable. Its ability to handle high traffic, manage multiple storefronts, and automate complex workflows makes it an ideal choice for ambitious eCommerce brands. Let's dive into some of the specific industries that thrive on this platform.
Retail, Fashion, Beauty, and global brands
The retail, fashion, and beauty industries are highly visual and trend-driven, making brand experience paramount. Shopify Plus excels in this area, offering extensive theme customization, high-resolution imagery support, and the ability to create stunning product pages that captivate customers. Brands like GymShark and Kylie Cosmetics leverage Shopify Plus to create immersive online stores that reflect their strong brand identity.
These industries also benefit from the platform's agility. With tools like Launchpad, fashion and beauty brands can easily manage flash sales and new product drops—common tactics in these fast-paced sectors. The ability to quickly change themes and run promotions without developer assistance allows these eCommerce brands to stay ahead of trends and keep their online store feeling fresh.
For global brands in any sector, Shopify Plus provides the infrastructure needed for international expansion. The multi-store capabilities, multi-currency support, and localized checkout experiences make it simple to enter new markets and cater to a worldwide audience. This scalability ensures that as your brand grows, your eCommerce platform can grow with you.
Conclusion
Migrating to Shopify Plus from Magento offers a wealth of benefits for e-commerce businesses. With enhanced usability, lower maintenance costs, and advanced features like workflow automation and powerful API integrations, Shopify Plus stands out as an ideal platform for enterprises seeking scalability and performance. The migration process, while requiring careful planning to minimize disruptions, ultimately provides a smoother operational framework. Whether you're in retail, fashion, beauty, or managing global brands, the advantages of Shopify Plus can significantly elevate your business capabilities. If you’re ready to take the leap into a more efficient e-commerce environment, get in touch with our experts for a free consultation to explore how Shopify Plus can transform your online store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shopify Plus suitable for businesses with an international presence?
Yes, Shopify Plus is highly suitable for businesses with an international presence. Its robust features support multiple currencies and languages, making it easier to cater to diverse markets. Additionally, it offers seamless integrations and scalable solutions that enhance global e-commerce operations.
How easy is it to migrate store data and design from Magento to Shopify Plus?
While any migration requires careful planning, Shopify Plus makes the process as smooth as possible. You get support from a dedicated launch team and can use specialized apps to transfer product catalogs and customer data. Many Shopify partners also specialize in seamless migrations, helping you move your online store with minimal disruption.
What ongoing support does Shopify Plus offer for migrated businesses?
Shopify Plus offers comprehensive, dedicated support. This includes 24/7 priority support via phone, email, and live chat. You also gain access to the Merchant Success Program, which provides strategic guidance from an eCommerce expert to help you grow your business and get the most out of the platform.

