Switching eCommerce Platforms: What to Know When Using Omnivore
Switch ecommerce platforms without breaking sync.
This article outlines key points to consider if you're changing or moving your site to a new eCommerce platform. We recommend reviewing all of the points carefully.
This article is not platform-specific-whether you're moving from WooCommerce to Shopify or Magento to Shopify, the information provided will be relevant to you.
Reinstalling and Setting Up on a New eCommerce Platform
If you're using one of our marketplace integration apps and are moving from one eCommerce platform to another, you'll need to complete a new installation and setup from your new eCommerce platform. For example, if you're currently using Omnivore on Shopify and are moving to WooCommerce, you'll need to install and configure the Omnivore plugin for WooCommerce.
Due to the way eCommerce platform integrations work, we are unable to migrate existing Omnivore instances between platforms.
To get started, visit our Support Portal and navigate to Getting Started: Installation and Setup, where you'll find the relevant setup guide for your new eCommerce platform.
Products, Product Data, and Product Identifiers
Once your new eCommerce site has been set up, you'll need to import your products into Omnivore again.
In some cases, Omnivore uses the eCommerce platform's product ID as the SKU sent to marketplaces. As a result, changing platforms may also result in SKU changes. Please refer to the relevant FAQs below for platform-specific information.
To better support retailers migrating between platforms, Omnivore has introduced improvements to its SKU management strategy. These changes can help maintain existing marketplace listings by preserving the same SKU structure where possible. Depending on the platform you're migrating from and to, you may be able to retain existing listings through a SKU strategy adjustment.
However, in some situations, you may need to end or purge existing marketplace listings before going live from your new eCommerce platform to avoid duplicate listings or conflicting marketplace data.
We strongly recommend contacting each marketplace you sell on before making the transition. Advise them that you are changing eCommerce platforms and seek guidance on the correct way to manage your existing listings.
You will also need to repeat all setup and configuration tasks within your new Omnivore account, including:
- Product and category mapping
- Shipping policies
- Promotions
- Product groups
- Exclusions and marketplace-specific settings
- Any other marketplace configuration previously completed
Before You Go Live
When you connect Omnivore to your new eCommerce platform, a new account instance will be created within our system.
In many cases, retailers choose to keep their existing integration active while configuring the new one. This can be helpful, as it allows you to reference and replicate settings from your previous setup, including:
- Shipping configurations
- Promotions and merchandising settings
- Product title templates
- Product description templates
- Exclusions and rules
- Marketplace mappings
- Product groups
Your new integration should remain in Setup Mode until all configuration steps have been completed and you are ready to switch from the old integration to the new one.
Important: If you are migrating between eCommerce platforms, we strongly recommend that you do not select Start Selling on the new integration until you have contacted our Support Team. We perform a number of migration-related checks that can save considerable time and help prevent common setup issues.
We also provide an option to import orders from a specified date. Before going live, ensure the selected date aligns with your preferred cutover or go-live date to avoid importing unwanted historical orders into your new system.
Marketplace Considerations
Very Important: If you are changing eCommerce platforms, you must contact every marketplace where you currently have active listings before going live.
Moving to a new platform can result in SKU or product identifier changes, which may affect how existing marketplace listings are linked, synchronized, and managed.
Before activating your new integration:
- Notify each marketplace that you are migrating to a new eCommerce platform.
- Advise them of any potential SKU changes.
- Review any marketplace-specific migration documentation.
- Follow the guidance provided by the marketplace or your marketplace account manager.
- Confirm the recommended process for managing existing listings during the transition.
Taking these steps will help minimise disruption, avoid listing conflicts and duplicate listings, and ensure the smoothest possible migration to your new eCommerce platform.
Please note the FAQs below and how they relate to your change. They outline what eCommerce data we use for product identification on each platform.
Shopify - https://support.omnivore.com.au/data-used-from-shopify-in-omnivore
Bigcommerce - https://support.omnivore.com.au/data-used-from-bigcommerce-in-omnivore-and-ebaylink
WooCommerce - https://support.omnivore.com.au/woocommerce-data-in-omnivore
Potential Issues When Installing from Your New eCommerce Platform
When moving from one eCommerce platform to another, you may encounter errors when attempting to install Omnivore from your new site. There are several reasons why this can occur, with the most common being conflicts caused by reusing information that is already associated with an existing installation.
For example, if you originally installed Omnivore on a WooCommerce store and are now moving to Shopify, you may be using the same domain, retailer code, or administrator email address. Because these details are already linked to your previous installation, our system may identify them as duplicates and prevent the new installation from proceeding.
To ensure each installation can be uniquely identified, certain credentials must be unique within our system. Reusing information such as your admin email address, retailer code, or site name may result in the installation being rejected.
For example, if your WooCommerce installation uses sales@xxx.com as the administrator email address and you attempt to use the same email address when installing on Shopify, the system may detect the existing association and block the installation.
To reduce the risk of installation issues, we recommend using unique values wherever possible, particularly for:
- Administrator email address
- Retailer code
- Site name
What Are Your Options?
During installation, each of our applications connects to a specific server to securely validate and register your store credentials.
For example, eBay LINK and Omnivore operate on separate servers. This means that using the same site credentials to install a different application may still succeed because those credentials have not yet been registered on that server.
Because of this, one approach we often recommend is installing a different application while maintaining your existing integration. This allows both your old and new integrations to exist within our system at the same time, with only one marketplace connection actively selling. Your new integration can remain in Setup Mode while you complete configuration and prepare for your migration.
Alternatively, our team can remove the account associated with your old eCommerce platform from our system. This will release the existing credential information and allow you to install the same application again using your new eCommerce platform.
In many migration scenarios, retailers retain the same business details when moving platforms. While this is completely understandable, it can also be the cause of installation conflicts. If the same application is installed on the new site using credentials that already exist in our system, the installation may fail until those credentials have been updated or released.
Getting Assistance
Before beginning your migration, we recommend carefully reviewing this FAQ and familiarising yourself with the process and potential considerations involved.
If you have any questions or are unsure of the best approach for your specific situation, please contact our Support Team for guidance. We also recommend notifying any marketplaces you sell on so they can advise you on the correct process for handling existing listings and any SKU changes that may occur during the migration.
If you would prefer additional guidance throughout the process, we also offer a specialised assisted onboarding service. Details of this service can be found in the section below.
https://support.omnivore.com.au/how-the-omnivore-support-team-helps-retailers-succeed