eCommerce Replatforming: Challenges, Benefits, and Best Practices

There are several key signs to look out for to know if your current
eCommerce platform is keeping
pace with your needs:

• Performance issues: Your current website struggles with load times or downtime and
  cannot scale to meet demand at peak periods.
• Lack of functionality: New features or updates take a long time. Patching is
  difficult, particularly as a web of complex integrations gets in the way.
• Unsupported features & integrations: You cannot integrate with third-party services
  or add the features you want. The comment, “We can’t do that,” is a red flag.
• Security: Your platform may need security controls (e.g., access and identity), may
  not meet compliance minimums, or may require a lot of hands-on work to meet minimum security
  standards. Excess patching and complex integrations may have introduced additional security
  concerns.
• Unsupported channels/devices: Your website is not responsive to mobile devices and/or
  does not speak with other channels (e.g., social). You may run more than one platform to
  support additional channels or devices.
• Unhappy customers: You may have user experience issues with load time, navigation,
  features, or service availability. Tracking critical eCommerce KPIs is
  essential to spot trends in user experience.
• Lack of enterprise capabilities: Your platform may not connect well with other
  enterprise systems (ERP, CRM, etc.) and may not provide the data output or analytics
  necessary to support real-time decision-making.
• Competitors face different struggles: If competitors are not struggling with user
  attraction, retention, or sales, that’s a sign that your eCommerce platform may not be
  keeping pace.
• Sunset products: If an eCommerce platform or critical services are no longer being
  updated or are being sunsetted, it’s time for a change.
• Rising costs: High OpEx expenditures to maintain a legacy eCommerce platform and
  costly scaling.

With enough of these signs occurring, it is a good idea to consider
eCommerce migration to a new
platform via replatforming.

eCommerce
Migration: How it is Different from eCommerce Replatforming

While eCommerce migration and replatforming are often used
interchangeably, there is a fine
difference between these. eCommerce migration involves moving the eCommerce website from one
platform to another – but with no major changes to the code or structure of the website. Where
the two platforms are similar, this process will be simple. If different platforms are involved,
then the process can be more complex. In the language of the 7 R’s, this is “Rehost.”

During eCommerce replatforming, a reasonable amount of changes will occur
in the website’s core
structure and code. While this could be a complex process, it offers more opportunities for
improvement. If you want to incorporate new functionality or features, you would be better off
replatforming than migrating. The choice will depend on your particular requirements.

Considerations Before eCommerce
Replatforming

Irrespective of the eCommerce Model you are operating in, any modernization or replatforming effort should be considered seriously – planning and implementing the migration carefully will take time. Before starting on the project and building your eCommerce strategy, carefully consider the following:

• Business impact
  

  Clearly define the business goals for replatforming: what
  challenges are faced or missed
  opportunities associated with the current platform. Align the replatforming effort to
  maximize the business impact across these issues. Taking this step will help ensure
  executive buy-in for the project as well.

• Budget and resources
  

  What are the costs associated with ecommerce replatforming?
  Ensure you have the technical
  expertise and availability necessary to support the replatforming project. Do a thorough
  examination of the current platform’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and the costs
  involved in both migration and operation of the new platform: licensing fees,
  development, configuration, data migration, and ongoing maintenance.

• Integration with legacy
  systems

  Evaluate the ability to migrate existing data from various
  systems (data, order,
  inventory) and ensure integration with legacy systems (CRP, ERP, etc.) already in use
  without any complexity or loss of performance.

• Features &
  capabilities

  When considering a new eCommerce
  platform, consider
  whether it has all the core functionality desired or supports the desired integrations.
  Ensure not just availability but also usability of those functions and essential
  elements such as bulk upload, categorization, shipping options, and filters. Know your
  relative peak volume, where scaling needs to occur, and what existing integrations may
  need replacement with new services or features.

  Learn about 12 Essential factors to choose the best eCommerce platform

  Check out the blog
  

• Support & service
  capabilities

  Ensure the platform offers admin and analytics features that make
  life on the platform
  easier. Do a deep dive on whether the platform meets the security/compliance
  requirements, which may require consultation with legal or a review of documentation /
  SLAs. Assess how often the platform releases updates and any ongoing costs for platform
  customer service and support or if there is an active community forum for self-help
  materials.

10 Steps for Replatforming Your
eCommerce Site

To optimize your eCommerce migration, follow these steps:

• List the
  requirements/business use
  case for replatforming

  Take the time to document the business use case: the
  deficiencies of the current system
  and the wish list for the new system for all stakeholders (IT, marketing, sales,
  customers, etc.). Prioritize the list of ‘wants’ to help inform choices and get
  executive buy-in and other stakeholders on board (knowing what teams need is essential
  before the project begins).

  

• Create a shortlist of
  eCommerce platforms

  Create a list of common eCommerce platforms. As this is a
  replatforming situation, most
  organizations are moving away from basic/starter eCommerce solutions such as Shopify,
  BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. They will consider more extensive, complex, headless offerings
  such as Magento (now Adobe Commerce), Sitecore, Shopify Plus, or Kentico.

  

• Choose an eCommerce
  platform

  Weigh your list of requirements against your shortlist and ensure
  considerations for
  eCommerce platform choice take account of cost, integrations, integrations, features,
  and service (those ‘Considerations’ addressed earlier). This is your chance to do full
  due diligence on the platform before signing contracts.

• Backup eCommerce data
  

  The first step in eCommerce site migration is to back up all
  data (and attachments)
  before migrating. All data should be backed up in the correct format and checked to
  ensure the backup was successful. Backup all data stores: products, customer data,
  inventory, order history, etc. For smaller sites, this may be as simple as using CSV
  files, while more significant sites will have more complex backup and/or
  import/migration workflows involving APIs.

  

• Design & develop a new
  eCommerce
  site

  The goal of replatforming is not to completely reinvent the
  wheel, so to speak, take the
  core of the current eCommerce platform and implement a select number of changes to the
  front-end design to optimize (per priority list).

• Data Migration
  

  Your eCommerce data migration begins with the backup but
  starts with a more specific
  analysis of the data and attachments and a plan to shift that data without any loss. A
  data map will help control this process when migrating to the new platform. We have a 10-point data
  migration plan to help walk you through this process. Most eCommerce platforms
  have tools or API support to assist in data migration. There are also a variety of
  third-party migration tools that can help. Always test and validate during this process.

  

• Optimize for the best user
  experience (UX)

  Ensure that the site is responsive, accessible, and following UX best practices. Check for eCommerce personalization and critical sales funnel experiences such as payments, shopping cart, and checkout. Do ensure that they have been vetted for experience and security and that every page, button, or form has been looked at. Also, ensure that performance is meeting expectations.

• System Integration
  

  Earlier planning would have created a map for integrations: what
  integrations with
  internal systems must remain and which integrations are planned. This stage will execute
  and test those integrations.

• Search Engine Optimization
  (SEO)

  Create a plan to ensure that SEO is not disrupted during the
  migration. This will include
  proper redirect mapping, traffic and KPI monitoring (with pre-migration benchmarks), and
  a plan for any hiccups during migration.

• Launch your eCommerce site
  

  Once the testing phase is complete, it’s time to publish the
  new eCommerce site and
  prepare for those sales! Be sure to encourage customer feedback to help build buzz and
  get critical feedback to inform necessary or future improvements.
  To help you get started, we have summarized these points in the following downloadable
  replatforming infographic:

  

eCommerce Replatforming Challenges

Challenges can be associated with any replatforming project, including
replatforming eCommerce.

• Compatibility issues if existing systems do not work on the new platform
• Scope creep if more changes keep getting added, leading to budget overruns
• Problems with data migration if there are mapping or compatibility issues
• Unexpected challenges with old or new integrations
• Risk of disruption to customers or SEO
• A lack of skills to adapt when challenges arise
• A lack of executive buy-in for the change

eCommerce Replatforming with Net Solutions

There can be many challenges associated with eCommerce platform
migration that can be overcome
with the assistance of an experienced partner. A partner brings the technical expertise about
eCommerce platforms and integrations, extensive knowledge of best practices, and the hands-on
expertise to safely and securely replatform your website – quickly, efficiently, and
effectively.