Magento powers approximately 131,000 websites worldwide (mgt-commerce), but the market is shifting: In the first half of 2024 alone, 15.8% of Magento merchants left the platform (mgt-commerce). In Germany, Shopware dominates the market - named the most-used e-commerce platform among the top 1,000 shops for the fourth consecutive year (EHI/eCommerceDB 2025). Those who migrate from Magento to Shopware 6 now secure a technological advantage and can significantly reduce their total cost of ownership in the long term. In this guide, you will learn what can be migrated, what risks exist, and what a structured migration plan looks like.
Magento vs. Shopware 6 - The Comparison
Magento and Shopware 6 take fundamentally different architectural approaches. While Magento is built on a monolithic PHP stack with its own framework, Shopware 6 uses a modern Symfony-based architecture with an API-first concept. For e-commerce businesses, this results in significant differences in operations, maintenance, and scalability.
| Criterion | Magento 2 | Shopware 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Monolithic, proprietary framework | Symfony-based, API-first |
| Market Share DE (Top 1000) | Declining | 11.5% - Market Leader (EHI 2025) |
| TCO over 3 Years | Higher (Qualimero) | Up to 42% lower (Qualimero) |
| Performance (SW 6.7) | Standard | +108% orders/sec (Shopware) |
| Hosting Requirements | High (Elasticsearch, Redis, Varnish) | Moderate, flexibly scalable |
| Extensibility | Marketplace with shrinking selection | Growing plugin ecosystem |
Studies show that Magento's total cost of ownership over a three-year period can be up to 42% higher than Shopware's (Qualimero). Reasons include higher hosting requirements, more complex update cycles, and a greater need for specialized development.
According to the manufacturer, Shopware 6.7 processes 108% more orders per second than the previous version (Shopware). For shops with high order volumes, this can be a decisive factor.
What Can Be Migrated?
Shopware provides an official Migration Assistant that facilitates data transfer from Magento 2. The following data can be transferred using the tool (Shopware Documentation):
- Products - including variants, prices, images, and descriptions
- Categories - category trees and assignments
- Customers - customer data, addresses, and customer groups
- Orders - order history and transaction data
- Manufacturers - brand and manufacturer information
- Media - product images and documents
The Migration Assistant is a valuable tool but only covers part of the overall migration. For a complete migration, additional manual steps and custom integration development are required.
What Needs to Be Rebuilt?
Not all aspects of a Magento shop can be automatically transferred. The following areas require redevelopment or manual configuration (Shopware Documentation):
Theme & Design
Magento themes are not compatible with Shopware 6. The frontend is completely redesigned - an opportunity for modern, conversion-optimized design.
Shipping Cost Rules
Shipping cost rules must be reconfigured in Shopware 6. The rule engine offers significantly more flexible options.
Payment Methods
Payment provider integrations need to be set up from scratch. Shopware 6 supports all common providers via plugins.
Email Templates
Transactional emails in Shopware 6 are managed via Twig templates and must be recreated.
This rebuild should be seen as an opportunity: Rather than carrying over old structures, proven concepts and current UX standards can be implemented. Particularly with theme design, shops often benefit significantly from starting fresh.
The 5-Phase Migration Plan
A Magento-to-Shopware migration typically takes 3 to 6 months (Qualimero) - depending on shop complexity, the number of products, and individual requirements. A structured phase plan minimizes risks and ensures nothing is overlooked.
- Phase 1: Audit & Analysis (2-3 weeks) - Inventory of all data, plugins, integrations, and custom modifications. Definition of migration goals and KPIs. Identification of critical ERP integrations and third-party connections.
- Phase 2: Concept & Design (3-4 weeks) - Creation of the Shopware 6 concept, information architecture, and wireframes. UX optimization based on existing analytics data. Planning the SEO migration strategy with URL mapping.
- Phase 3: Data Migration & Development (6-10 weeks) - Setting up the Shopware 6 environment, data migration via the Migration Assistant, development of custom plugins and integrations. Theme development and configuration of all business logic.
- Phase 4: Testing & QA (2-3 weeks) - Comprehensive testing of all functions, order processes, and integrations. Performance testing under load, SEO audit of the new structure, UAT (User Acceptance Testing) by the client team.
- Phase 5: Go-Live & Hypercare (1-2 weeks) - Final data synchronization, DNS switchover, and 301 redirects. System monitoring, rapid response to issues, team training.
During the migration phase, the Magento shop should continue running in parallel. The final data synchronization occurs immediately before go-live to prevent data loss.
Protecting SEO During Migration
The greatest danger during a platform migration is the loss of hard-earned SEO rankings. Without careful planning, organic rankings and consequently revenue can decline for months. Protecting SEO visibility is therefore a central component of any professional migration.
- 301 redirects for all URLs - Every old Magento URL must redirect via 301 to the corresponding Shopware URL (Qualimero). This includes products, categories, CMS pages, and blog posts.
- Create URL mapping - Complete comparison of all old and new URLs before go-live. Automated scripts can help with large catalogs.
- Update XML sitemap - Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console, remove the old sitemap.
- Check canonical tags - Ensure no duplicate content is created through faulty canonicals.
- Transfer structured data - Re-implement Schema.org markup for products, reviews, and FAQs in Shopware 6.
- Post-go-live monitoring - Monitor rankings, crawl errors, and indexation in Search Console daily.
301 redirects are considered the most critical factor in a platform migration by experts (Qualimero). Missing redirects lead to 404 errors, which Google interprets as a negative signal. Rankings built over years can be lost within weeks.
Avoiding the 5 Biggest Migration Mistakes
From numerous migration projects and industry analyses (Solution25), typical mistakes that can jeopardize a migration's success can be identified:
1. Insufficient Data Verification Before Migration
Magento data has often grown over years and contains duplicates, orphaned records, or inconsistent attribute values. Without thorough cleansing before migration, these problems are transferred to the new system. A data audit phase with cleansing is therefore essential.
2. Missing SEO Migration Strategy
As described in the previous section, SEO protection is critical. Many migration projects fail because 301 redirects are implemented incompletely or incorrectly. A complete URL mapping should be created as early as Phase 1.
3. Underestimating Custom Modifications
Magento shops have often received custom extensions over the years. This functionality must be replicated in Shopware 6 through custom plugin development or existing plugins. A complete inventory of all customizations is essential during the audit step.
4. Overly Tight Timeline
A realistic timeline is 3 to 6 months (Qualimero). Those who try to push the migration through in a few weeks risk data losses, missing tests, and a problematic go-live. Plan buffer time for unforeseen challenges.
5. Missing Integration Tests
ERP systems, payment providers, shipping services, and marketing tools must be reconnected in Shopware 6. Without comprehensive testing of all integrations before go-live, order processes and data flows can fail after launch.
After the Migration - Optimization and Monitoring
The go-live is not the end of the migration project, but the beginning of the optimization phase. If you have already explored the topic of Shopware migration, you know: The first weeks after launch are decisive. All critical KPIs should be closely monitored:
- Performance monitoring - Check load times, Core Web Vitals, and server response times daily. With the right hosting configuration, Shopware 6 delivers excellent performance values.
- Conversion tracking - Compare conversion rates before and after migration. Systematically analyze and optimize deviations.
- SEO monitoring - Keep track of rankings for important keywords, crawl errors in Search Console, and organic traffic.
- Integration monitoring - Monitor ERP synchronization, payment flows, and shipping integrations for errors.
- Customer feedback - Actively collect feedback and quickly address usability issues.
Many shops see improvements in load times and conversion after a successful migration to Shopware 6. The modern architecture enables optimizations that were often only possible with significant effort on Magento.
For comprehensive post-go-live support, a maintenance contract including regular updates, security patches, and ongoing optimization is recommended. This keeps your shop performing well and secure in the long term. Get in touch - we are happy to advise you on the options.
This article is based on data from: EHI/eCommerceDB Study 2025 (market shares), mgt-commerce (Magento market data, merchant churn), Qualimero (TCO comparison, migration timeline, SEO redirects), Shopware (performance benchmarks 6.7), Shopware Documentation (Migration Assistant), Solution25 (migration risks). The figures mentioned may vary depending on timing and methodology.
Typical migration projects take 3 to 6 months (Qualimero), depending on shop size, number of products, and the complexity of custom modifications. A thorough audit phase at the start helps plan a realistic timeframe.
With professional execution, all relevant data is carefully transferred. The Shopware Migration Assistant supports the transfer of products, customers, orders, and categories (Shopware Documentation). Through comprehensive testing and parallel operation, the risk of data loss is minimized.
Costs vary significantly depending on project scope. Factors include the number of products, custom modifications, integrations, and design requirements. A reliable cost estimate is only possible after a detailed audit. Contact us for an individual assessment.
With a careful SEO strategy, rankings can typically be maintained. Key factors are complete 301 redirects, correct URL mapping, and the transfer of all meta data. A temporary slight ranking dip is normal during platform changes but typically recovers within a few weeks.
No, Magento extensions are not compatible with Shopware 6. However, for most features there are Shopware plugins or the functionality can be implemented through custom development. During the audit, all required features are documented and Shopware alternatives are identified.