Magento 2 Data Migration Guide:

Tools, Limits, and Best Migration Strategy

A merchant decided to migrate his store using Magento 2 data migration tools that promised a fast, trouble-free process. Eventually, the launch was delayed by a month to resolve issues missed during migration. Why?

Ready-made Magento 2 migration tools can help you save time, but they are not a complete solution. They will not build a store from scratch or execute every setup task. Migration includes multiple stages, and data transfer is only one of them.

In addition, these tools come with limitations. If your store has a complex structure – custom features and large catalogs with thousands of products – they fail or require significant adjustments.

This tutorial explains when and how to use Magento data migration tools, and what to do when ready-made software cannot address your specific requirements.

Key Takeaways

• Migration tools solve only part of the problem: they transfer data but do not rebuild custom logic, validate relationships, or configure the system.
• Database structure, integrations, and customizations determine whether a data migration tool is enough, or manual correction is needed for a Magento migration.
• Manual oversight is mandatory once the transfer process is completed.
• Proper mapping, validation, and expert involvement reduce cost and delays in migration projects

What Is Magento 2 Data Migration?

Magento data migration means moving store information from your current platform into Magento 2, including products, customers, orders, and key configurations.

This process is not a simple copy-paste task. Several technical factors make it complex:

1. Different data structures across platforms. For example, an osCommerce to Magento database migration requires moving data from a simple “flat” table into Magento’s complex Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) structure. In this model, a single product’s details spread across multiple tables.
2. Data relationships across the system. Orders are linked to customers, while products are connected to categories and attributes. One small error can trigger a domino effect and corrupt other data sets.
3. Customizations and extensions that add complexity. The more third-party modules and custom logic your store uses, the harder it becomes to recreate them in Magento.

A real example comes from a project where we migrated data from Magento 1 to Magento 2 for the furniture retailer Kjellmann. Since we already provided their Magento 1 store support services, we knew the technical debt. The store had over 20 extensions, custom ERP integration, and business-specific logic that could not be transferred as-is.

This project took 450 hours of work that paid off with measured business results:

• 37% faster website
• 12.7% sales increase
• Refreshed visual and stable Magento 2 store

Standard tools handled only part of the data migration. Whidegroup team had to rebuild custom code from scratch and carefully select which extensions to keep. Then they run a two-stage migration with a final delta sync to avoid losing recent orders and updates.

Therefore, you need to understand how to transform your current data structure and replicate existing features. Without this context, your new Magento 2 store may appear to work at first but later reveal issues such as lost orders, missing data, or reduced customer trust.

Data types for migration

To plan migration properly, you first need to know which data types should be migrated.

Products

Product data migration to Magento 2 includes the following: 

• Core product details. Product names, descriptions, prices, SKU (Stock Keeping Unit), and meta information.
• Product attributes. Size, color, and material.
• Product images. All associated images for the products.
• Inventory data. Stock levels, inventory statuses, and warehouse locations.
• Product categories. Categories and subcategories that organize the products.
• Reviews and ratings. Customer reviews and ratings for products.

Accurate product data forms a logical network that supports front-end functionality, such as search, filters, and inventory levels.

Customers

Magento database migration for client data includes:

• Customer accounts. Customer names and email addresses.
• Customer addresses. Billing and shipping addresses.
• Customer groups. Groups of customers segmented by pricing, discounts, and special offers.
• Newsletter subscribers. List of customers and guests subscribed to newsletters along with their unique preferences.

This data affects logistics automation, personalized pricing, and, what is vital for ecommerce business, customer retention marketing campaigns. 

Sales data

Sales data represents the financial and legal history of your business:

• Orders. Order numbers, statuses, dates, and totals.
• Invoices. Invoice details associated with each order.
• Shipments. Tracking numbers and shipping methods.
• Credit memos. Refunds and returns.
• Transaction data. Payment methods, transaction IDs, etc.
• Promotions and discounts. Rules and conditions for discounts applied to shopping carts, existing coupon codes, and directly to products in the catalog.

SEO settings

Properly migrated SEO data helps reduce the risk of traffic loss after migration. To preserve organic visibility, you need to transfer and validate:

• URL structure. If product or category paths change, you must implement 301 redirects.
• Meta information. Page titles and descriptions.
• Indexing instructions. Robots.txt files, “noindex” and canonical tags, and updated XML sitemaps.
• Image SEO. Alt text for product images to maintain visibility in image searches.

These lists show how much data must be accounted for during migration. The more complex your current store structure, the more edge cases will emerge. The level of complexity directly determines whether you need professional Magento 2 data migration services beyond standard tools.uch easier. You can use the checklist above as a hint for successful migration, which will not let you forget any important step.

What Should You Check Before Choosing a Magento 2 Migration Tool?

A pre-migration audit is a way to measure your store’s complexity, helping you understand if a standard migration tool can cover your data.

During the audit we recommend paying attention to:

• Database complexity: catalog size, custom fields, attribute set depth, historical data volume, etc.
• Current third-party extensions and how Magento can manage their features.
• API-integrations with external systems like ERP, CRM, or accounting software. API logic in Magento 2, especially for stores using the Hyvä theme, differs from older platforms and requires a total rebuild.
• Any customizations in both back-end functionality and storefront design.

These checks determine your next steps. If your audit reveals simple data structures and no custom logic, a standard tool will work. If your business depends on heavy customizations and real-time data sync, you should not rely on automated tools alone.

When and Which Tools to Use for Magento Data Migration

In 2026, there are two widely used tools that facilitate shifts from platforms like Shopify, Wix, BigCommerce, and even Magento 1 to 2 data migration. They offer similar capabilities and differ slightly in pricing. You can test demo versions of both before choosing. Or understand that neither is suitable due to their limitations. 

When to Use Automated Tools

The tools handle most of the migration if your website has:

• Standard data structure. You use default product types and categories without complex custom attributes.
• Clean database. Your source data is well organized and does not require significant transformation.
• Low customization. Your store relies on core platform features rather than custom-coded logic.
• Limited integrations. You do not depend on complex integrations with ERP or other external systems.

You can still use Magento 2 migration tools for more complex stores. You just should realize that they cover only one stage of the overall migration process.

Cart2Cart

Cart2Cart is the oldest service on the market that currently offers migration from more than 90 platforms.

Capabilities. The service supports the transfer of products, customers, orders, SEO settings, CMS pages, and more. The company states it can also migrate multe-store and multe-language setups. You can filter specific data sets and map fields manually.

Limitations. The tool struggles with complex delta migrations, where data changes frequently during the development cycle. It also cannot replicate custom-built features or theme-specific logic. 

Cart2Cart uses a pay-per-volume pricing model. The cost depends on the number of products, customers, and orders. If your database is large, the cost rises quickly. 

LitExtension

LitExtension supports over 140 ecommerce platforms and provides a guided interface for the transfer process.

Capabilities. Just like Cart2Cart, this tool offers a migration of products, customers, orders, but it does not mention multi-store migration support for Magento stores. Transferring data in multiple languages requires additional fees.

Limitations. Complex migrations require additional checks and manual corrections after the transfer. 

LitExtension is a direct competitor to Cart2Cart and offers better pricing for large-scale projects. As a result, it can be more cost-effective for migrating large volumes of data. 

These and similar services simplify migration efforts and address simple Magento 2 database migration effectively. If your shop’s structure is unique, they can still complete a portion of the task. However, migration tools often require comprehensive post-migration checks and further manual corrections. 

Manual Magento Data Migration Tool

The Magento Data Migration Tool is a command-line interface (CLI) solution designed specifically for the Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration process.

Key features:

• Data integrity. The tool uses XML files to map and validate data fields between Magento 1 and Magento 2 databases.
• Incremental updates. It supports delta migration to transfer last updates in customer and order data after the initial migration process starts.
• Migration modes. You can choose between three modes – Settings, Data, and Delta – to control which information moves at each stage.
• Zero cost. The utility is a free, built-in solution provided by Adobe.

Technical limitations:

• Developer dependency. The tool requires advanced technical knowledge, including CLI usage and database management.
• Manual configuration. Setup, mapping, and validation are manual work. The tool provides a framework, but it does not automate decisions for complex data.
• No add-on transfer. The solution preserves data structures but does not migrate custom codebase and third-party integrations – they must be rebuilt separately for Magento 2.

Quick summary

The native Magento 1 to Magento 2 data migration extension is the best solution that ensures a high-quality migration. You need Magento experts to make it work, but a mixed manual-plus-tool approach is the most reliable option. In this way, you preserve complex logic and your entire database.

Is it necessary in your case? Migration without this tool is possible, but most Magento 1 projects require manual corrections. We base this on our experience migrating over 20 highly-customized stores to Magento 2. Contact us for a free consultation, and we’ll help you choose the most effective way for your migration project.

The Process of Data Transfer to Magento 2

Magento 2 migration tools speed up data transfer, but they do not automate the full process. You still need to configure mappings, control each stage, and validate results. This logic applies whether you migrate from Magento 1 or any other platform.

Below is how migration to Magento 2 typically works.

Stage 1. Data audit and mapping

You analyze your current data structure and define how it will translate into Magento 2.

There are two critical points here:

• Perform a full store backup that protects your data if something goes wrong during migration.
• Determine the correct migration approach – whether to proceed manually or use a specific tool. We recommend an expert assessment to make this choice.

In our practice, a client has come to us after attempting automated migration. They assumed the process would be straightforward, but it didn’t. During transfer, the tool failed to link thousands of orders to customer accounts and lost custom product attributes, including size and color data. 

As a result, the project had to be restarted from scratch. Instead of saving resources, the client spent more time, effort, and budget than if they had engaged professional Magento developers from the start.

Stage 2. Core data migration

Here comes the most complex phase of the project.

First, you migrate products, categories, customers, and orders using your chosen tool.

Critical points. Preserving relationships between the source and target databases, and correctly aligning attributes with Magento’s EAV structure.

Next, you manually migrate third-party and custom functionality. In practice, this migration means selecting suitable Magento 2 extensions and integrating them, or developing custom modules. In either case, you need the help of the expert Magento team.

Stage 3. Delta migration

After the main data transfer, your new store needs to be configured and all functions must be tested. During this time, the Magento 2 site remains invisible to users. Consequently, your current store must remain active to allow customers to place orders, new users to create accounts, and your team to update products. These operations create a gap between the data already migrated to Magento 2 and the latest data still appearing in a Magento 1 database.

Delta migration closes this gap by synchronizing recent changes before launch. The goal is to bring the new Magento 2 store up to date without duplicating records that were already migrated.

Critical point. Accurate transfer of new data without duplicating information migrated in the previous step.

Stage 4. Final validation before launch

After migration, your team should verify core business processes. Here are the aspects that Whidegroup specialists test:

• Data accuracy. Correctness of historical orders, customer addresses, and product relationships.
• Checkout and payments. Proper operation of payment gateways and tax rules.
• Integrations. External systems such as ERP, CRM, and accounting tools functioning correctly.
• Performance. The store meets Core Web Vitals and follows modern best practices for customer experience.

Critical points. Unoptimized data structures and third-party extension conflicts that require a professional Magento development team to resolve.

Whidegroup developers first verify core features, then test custom modules and integrations. We disable extensions one by one to identify the modules causing problems. Then we debug the affected modules and fix or customize them to ensure proper functionality.

To conclude this section: even with a structured step-by-step approach, after migrating to Magento 2, projects with complex data models, custom features, or external integrations often face post-launch issues. 

Common Magento 2 After Data Migration Issues & Solutions

Post-migration issues happen in complex projects, but they are more likely and more severe when migration relies only on automated tools. These issues are not random. They result from broken data relationships, misaligned configurations, or incomplete integrations that tools cannot recreate and validate.

Data integrity issues

For stores with complex structures, migration tools fail to accurately rebuild relationships between entities. This leads to problems such as:

• Products lose attributes.
• Orders are not linked correctly to customers.
• Custom attributes or media galleries are not mapped correctly to the Magento 2 core.

When they surface. You encounter error messages while saving products, or find that media or categories are missing from the storefront despite being present in the database.

What to check. Attribute tables and database schema to ensure data consistency across products, customers, orders, and their respective attributes.

Databases are the foundation of a properly functioning online store. That’s why Whidegroup developers manually compare migrated entities across databases carefully and only then move on to the next verification stages.

System and configuration issues

Structural differences between platforms can disrupt critical business flows that result in:

• Inability to generate unique IDs for new orders or invoices
• Sub-store configurations failing to recognize specific payment or shipping methods
• Customer login failures

When they surface. Customers cannot place orders, payments fail at checkout, or invoices are not created correctly.

What to check. Payment and shipping configurations, sequence tables, and store setup across all store views.

For example, our team manually places test orders for every payment and shipping method. We verify that each transaction processes correctly and that invoice IDs follow the right sequence.

Performance issues

Performance may degrade due to unoptimized data, indexing issues, or excessive extensions carried over from the previous system. This performance decline is reflected in:

• High server load
• Slow page load times across the catalog and checkout
• Delays in search results or layered navigation

At first glance, these issues seem non-critical. Compared to a broken checkout, that’s true. However, today’s shoppers expect fast-loading websites. That’s why this situation requires Magento performance optimization as quickly as possible; otherwise, you risk losing customers.

When they surface. Pages load slowly, search becomes unresponsive, or the admin panel lags during operations.

What to check. Indexing status, database performance, and the impact of third-party extensions. New Relic is one of our primary tools for checking back-end performance. It helps us identify exactly which extensions or database queries are causing lags so we can fix them quickly.

Need help fixing performance?

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SEO issues

Migration tools move data, but they do not guarantee correct SEO configuration. Issues usually come from changes in URL structure and indexing settings:

• Missing or incorrect redirects from old URLs
• Duplicate pages due to HTTP/HTTPS or www/non-www versions
• Incorrect robots.txt or meta directives blocking important pages

When they surface. Traffic drops, pages disappear from search results, or rankings decline after launch.

What to check. Redirect mapping, canonical URLs, robots.txt rules, and indexing settings in Magento and search engines.

URLs! Every Magento company highlights them during migration, but store teams still often underestimate detailed URL and redirect mapping.
Whidegroup specialists compare old and new URL structures, validate redirects, and check indexing rules to prevent traffic loss after a migrated store launch.

Anton Zhuk, Ecommerce Solutions Architect at Whidegroup

Some technical issues become visible only after the store goes live, especially in complex setups with custom features. A successful launch, therefore, depends on a well-designed migration strategy and a thorough manual audit after using Magento 2 migration tools.

Final Thoughts

Magento 2 migration is not only about the tool you choose. Success depends on how your data, logic, and integrations are structured.

Migration tools can transfer standard data, but they do not automatically validate complex relationships or rebuild custom functionality. That’s why issues arise after data migration to Magento 2, especially in stores with custom modules or external integrations.

Not sure if a standard tool is enough for your setup? Request a store evaluation, and we’ll audit your technical specifications to define the safest migration path.

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