MOVING YOUR SHOP

How a shop moves in, and how it moves back out

Most platforms describe how to come to them in detail and say nothing about the way back. Both directions are here, with what carries across and what does not.

What comes across when you arrive

Everything uploads from files you already have. Your current platform’s export works as it is, with no manual reformatting.

Products: CSV or XLSX. Columns are recognised by name, including from a WooCommerce or Shopify export, and images are downloaded into our storage instead of pointing back at the old site. Re-uploading the same file updates rather than duplicates.
Customers: CSV or XLSX, recognising Bulgarian and English column headers and matching on email. Marketing consent carries over only when the file states it explicitly, with the date from the old platform. It is never inferred from someone merely being on the list.
Order history: CSV or XLSX with the order lines: rows sharing an order number group into one order with its items. The history comes in for reference and for customer profiles; it does not create products.
Your old URLs: Every product and category has an "old URL" field. Fill it in, or let it arrive from the import file, and a real 301 redirect is created. There is also a bulk CSV upload for pages outside the catalogue.

What you take with you if you leave

This half is why the page exists. The export is in the admin panel. You do not request it from support, and it does not depend on our being on good terms.

Products: CSV or XLSX in the same column order our own importer reads, so the file re-imports here unchanged and opens as an ordinary spreadsheet anywhere else.
Customers: A full export from Customers, including people who ordered as guests rather than only registered accounts.
Orders: The orders report downloads as CSV or XLSX, with whatever filters you applied.
The whole site: A JSON bundle with everything: page sections, per-product and per-page SEO settings, SKUs and the 301 redirects. Read the limitation on it below.
The domain: It is yours and it stays yours. It is registered to you, you point it elsewhere whenever you decide, and you need no permission from us.

Why the 301 redirects matter most

The expensive part of changing platform is rarely the move itself. It is expensive if the old URLs start returning 404s: the Google positions built over years go with them, and ads and inbound links lead nowhere.

A real 301, not a JavaScript hop: The response comes from the server with a 301 status, which is the only thing search engines treat as a permanent move and pass ranking through.
They maintain themselves on a rename: If you change a product’s address later, the existing redirects are repointed to the new one instead of being left aimed at a page that no longer exists.
They work before the domain is connected: Redirects are live on the shop’s temporary address too, so you can check everything before switching DNS.

What does NOT carry across

Written down so you do not find them at the wrong moment. Each is a real limitation rather than fine print.

The full-site bundle is in our own format. It is a complete backup and re-imports here, but no other platform reads it. For moving elsewhere, the usable files are the product, customer and order spreadsheets.
Variants do not survive a spreadsheet, in either direction. One row is one product, so sizes and colours are entered in the admin when you arrive, and on the way out they exist only inside the bundle.
The exported sheet references images by URL on our storage. Download the files themselves before closing the account, or the sheet will point at addresses that no longer answer.
We do not perform the migration for you on the way out. There is no "export to Shopify" button; there are exports in formats every platform accepts, which is the difference between an open door and a service.

Questions about moving

Another question? Write to us

Am I locked into ZweiHost if I decide to change platform?

No. Products, customers and orders export from the admin as CSV or XLSX at any time, the whole site downloads as a bundle, and the domain is registered to you and repointed without our involvement. There are three limitations and they are on this page: the bundle is in our format, variants do not fit in a spreadsheet, and the images must be downloaded separately.

Will I lose my Google rankings when I change platform?

Not if the old URLs are redirected. Every product and category has an old-URL field that creates a real 301 redirect, and there is a bulk CSV upload for the remaining pages. The redirects maintain themselves through a later rename and work before you switch the domain, so you can check them in advance.

How long does moving an existing shop take?

It depends mostly on the catalogue and on how clean the export from the old platform is. Uploading products, customers and orders is a matter of files; the time goes into checking the data, into the variants that are entered in the admin, and into the list of old URLs to redirect.

Is the domain mine if I leave?

Yes. The domain is registered to you, not to us. You point it at your new hosting whenever you decide, and you need no permission or assistance from us.

Order your shop

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An online shop with your lookINCLUDED
Hosting, domain and SSLINCLUDED
Couriers, payments, Meta marketingINCLUDED
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