FAQs \
General
What happens to my original store data?
Source store data is never modified or deleted. The migration only reads from the source and writes to the destination.How long does a migration take?
| Data size | Approximate time |
|---|---|
| Small (under 1,000 products) | 15 to 30 minutes |
| Medium (1,000 to 10,000 products) | 1 to 3 hours |
| Large (10,000+ products) | Several hours |
Can I migrate multiple times?
Yes. Duplicate detection means already-migrated records are skipped on retry. Safe to re-run.What if my migration fails partway?
Failed items are logged with error details. Review the downloadable log file in Migration history and retry. Already-migrated records will not be duplicated.What is the difference between Bulk and Selective migration?
Bulk migrates entire entity types at once. Selective lets you browse and pick specific items.Can I anonymise customer data during migration?
Yes. Select “Anonymise Customer Data” when migrating Customers or Orders. Personal data is scrambled before being written to the destination.Products and inventory
Will my product images transfer?
Yes. Product images are downloaded from the source and re-uploaded to the destination.How is inventory handled?
Inventory quantities are transferred based on location name matching. Missing locations are auto-created in the destination. Only inventory items with non-zero quantity are migrated.What about products in multiple collections?
Product-collection relationships are preserved when both Products and Collections are migrated together.Are product metafields migrated?
Standard metafields (text, numbers, dates, JSON, URLs) are fully migrated. Reference-type metafields require the referenced entities to exist first.What happens to product SEO data?
SEO titles and meta descriptions transfer directly.Customers and orders
Can customers log in with their old passwords?
No. Passwords are encrypted and cannot be transferred between Shopify stores. Customers must use Forgot Password.Will orders link to the correct customers?
Yes. Orders are linked to customers by email address.Should I disable notifications before migration?
Yes. Disable on the target store before migrating Orders or Customers to avoid triggering customer emails.Are order fulfilments migrated?
Orders migrate as unfulfilled by default. Historical fulfilment status is not transferred.Discounts and promotions
Will my discount codes work immediately?
Yes, once migrated, discount codes are active in the destination with the same rules.Are customer segments migrated for targeted discounts?
Customer segments are store-specific and cannot be migrated. Discounts targeting segments fall back to “all customers”.Do usage counts transfer?
No. Discount usage counts reset to zero.Gift cards
Will gift card codes stay the same?
No. Shopify generates new codes for migrated gift cards.Can migrated gift cards be redeemed in production?
No. Gift card codes are encrypted by Shopify and the full code cannot be retrieved via API. Migrate gift cards only to staging or development environments.Content (Pages, Blogs, Files)
Is my page HTML preserved exactly?
Yes. Page content including HTML formatting and embedded media is transferred directly.What about blog comments?
Blog comments are not available through Shopify’s API and cannot be migrated.Are all file types supported?
Yes. Images, videos, external videos (YouTube), 3D models, and documents (PDF, etc.) are all supported.Navigation menus and URL redirects
Do nested menu structures transfer?
Yes. Navigation menus preserve their complete nested structure including parent-child relationships, link URLs, and resource associations.Are URL redirects preserved for SEO?
Yes. URL redirect paths and targets are migrated.Store policies
Are store policies migrated?
Yes. Refund, privacy, terms of service, and shipping policies are migrated with full HTML preserved.Metaobjects
What order should I migrate metaobjects?
Always migrate Metaobject Definitions before Metaobjects.Are metaobject field values preserved?
Yes. All field values are transferred.Delivery profiles, markets, catalogs
Are shipping profiles migrated?
Yes. Delivery profiles with shipping zones, rates, conditions, location groups, and product associations are migrated.Are international markets migrated?
Yes. Market configurations including regions and currencies are migrated. Web presence settings may require manual verification.Are B2B catalogs and price lists migrated?
Yes.Technical
What API does the migration use?
Shopify’s official GraphQL Admin API.Is my data secure during migration?
Yes. Data is transferred over encrypted connections. Anonymisation adds an extra layer for staging environments.Are there rate limits?
Vortex Staging respects Shopify’s API rate limits and handles throttling automatically.Can I download migration logs?
Yes. Downloadable log files are available from the Migration History tab.Troubleshooting
”Entity already exists” is this an error?
No. The record was found in the destination and skipped to prevent duplicates.Some products failed to migrate. Why?
Common reasons: inaccessible source image URLs, invalid data, Shopify validation errors. Review the log file.My discount code is not working.
Verify referenced products / collections exist in the destination, the date range is active, and customer eligibility is met.Known issues \
Vortex Staging cannot migrate every part of Shopify. Some limitations are known and may be addressed in future releases; others are constrained by Shopify’s platform and APIs.Products
- When products are migrated, Shopify assigns new product IDs. Original IDs cannot be preserved. Products are matched by handle to prevent duplicates.
- Product images are downloaded from the source and re-uploaded. Inaccessible source image URLs (expired CDN links) cause images to be skipped.
- Inventory quantities are mapped by location name. If location names differ, inventory may not map correctly. Missing locations are auto-created.
- Only inventory items with non-zero quantity are migrated.
- Reference-type metafields require referenced entities to exist in the destination first.
Customers
- Customer passwords are encrypted and cannot be transferred. Customers must use Forgot Password.
- Customer segments are store-specific and cannot be migrated. Discounts targeting segments fall back to “all customers”.
- Use the anonymise option for staging / development environments.
Orders
- Orders migrate as unfulfilled by default; historical fulfilment status is not transferred.
- Order totals, payment status, and transaction history are preserved as historical records; you cannot process additional payments on migrated orders.
- Zero-amount transactions are skipped (Shopify requires positive amounts for sale transactions).
- The migration intelligently determines financial status (Paid without transactions becomes Pending; transactions without Paid status become Paid).
- Disable notifications on the target store before migrating orders or customers.
Gift cards
The following limitations apply when migrating gift cards on Shopify.Gift card redemption is not supported in Production
Shopify encrypts gift card codes; only the last four digits are visible after creation. The full code cannot be retrieved or recreated through the Shopify API. Gift cards cannot be redeemed after migration to a Production store. Use only for staging / development where redemption is not required. Gift card IDs may remain linked to orders and customers, but the redemption code is unavailable.Gift card lifecycle restrictions
- Gift cards can be deactivated but cannot be deleted.
- Once deactivated, a gift card number cannot be reused.
- If a gift card is redeemed in the source store after migration, its status cannot be updated through Shopify.
Gift card value limits
- Gift cards created in the Shopify admin have a maximum value of 10,000 USD for eligible merchants by contacting Shopify Support.
- Gift card products have a fixed maximum denomination of $10,000 USD.
Customisation and access constraints
- Gift cards are treated as currency; only the customer or recipient can access the full redemption code.
- Gift card values and redemption codes cannot be customised via themes.
- Gift cards are included in Shopify’s liabilities reporting.
Regulatory considerations
Gift card regulations vary by region. Merchants are responsible for compliance with local laws including expiration, taxation, and consumer protection rules.Discount codes
- Usage counts reset to zero after migration.
- Discounts targeting customer segments fall back to “all customers”.
- BXGY discounts require referenced products and collections to exist in the destination.
Collections
- Manual collection associations require products to exist in the destination with the same handle.
- Products are associated with Collections only when both are migrated together.
Image and video files
The Files section in Shopify stores both image and video assets. Image files are migrated. Video files cannot be migrated due to Shopify API limitations as of writing; this is on the platform limitations list to revisit if Shopify exposes the necessary endpoints.Themes
Theme files and customisations may require additional setup or manual review after migration. Theme configurations are migrated, but destination theme settings may need verification.Navigation menus
Navigation menus preserve their complete nested structure. If a menu references a resource (page, collection, product) that does not exist in the destination, the link is still created but may be broken until the referenced entity is migrated.Metaobjects
Metaobject Definitions must be migrated before Metaobjects. Migrating metaobjects without their definitions present in the destination will fail.Delivery profiles
Delivery profile migration transfers shipping zones, rates, and product associations. Rest of World zones may need manual verification.Markets
Market configurations including regions and currencies are migrated. Web presence settings (domains, subfolders, locales) may require manual verification.Store policies
Store policies are migrated as HTML content. Custom formatting and embedded media are preserved.Production environment restrictions
Bulk deletion of products is not permitted in production destination stores. The Delete and Recreate conflict resolution option is not available when the destination is production.Roadmap \
Delivered
Q4 2025
- Base version of the app with bulk migration for Products, Collections, Customers, Orders, Gift Cards, Pages, Blogs, Files, Themes.
Q1 2026
- Selective content migration with per-entity selection.
- Preview store for bulk and selective migration.
- Discount Code and Discount Automatic migration.
- Location migration and multi-location inventory support.
- Enhanced blog and blog post migration flow.
- Navigation Menu migration with nested item hierarchy.
- URL Redirect migration for SEO continuity.
- Store Policy migration (refund, privacy, terms of service, shipping).
- Metaobject Definition and Metaobject migration.
- Delivery Profile / Shipping Profile migration.
- Market Configuration migration.
- Catalog and Price List migration.
- Customer and Order data anonymisation for staging environments.
- Real-time migration progress updates.
- Downloadable migration log files.
- Removal of OpenSearch dependency from bulk migration.
- Internal API improvements.
Upcoming
Q2 2026
- Scheduled migrations (set date / time for migration execution).
Release notes \
The following are the product fixes and releases since the Vortex Staging app went live.Release notes, 24 Mar 26
Fixes (STAGSF-76)- Anonymising Customer and Order Data.
Release notes, 17 Mar 26
Fixes (STAGSF-71)- Added real-time updates.
- Added the functionality to download log files.
Release notes, 04 Mar 26
Fixes (STAGSF-66)- Addition of the migration of Navigation Menus.
- Addition of the migration of URL Redirects.
- Addition of the migration of Store Policies.
- Addition of the migration of Metaobjects.
- Addition of the migration of Metaobject Definitions.
- Addition of the migration of Delivery / Shipping Profiles.
- Addition of the migration of Market Configurations.
- Addition of the migration of Location Configurations.
- Addition of the migration of Catalogues and Price Lists.
Release notes, 18 Feb 26
Fixes (STAGSF-62)- Remove the whitelisting requirements for the recently launched page widgets API.
Release notes, 16 Feb 26
Fixes (STAGSF-61)- Internal API changes.
- Add preview store for bulk and selective migration.
- Reimplementation of selective content migration.
- Enhanced the migration flow for blogs and blog posts.
- Add migration support for Discount Code and Discount Automatic.
- Remove OpenSearch from Bulk Migration.
- Implementation of the migrating of locations.
- Bug correction where incomplete fields were showing during customer migration.
Still have questions?
If you need clarification, contact helpdesk@vortexiq.ai. To get assistance from our team, submit a support ticket via the Helpdesk portal.Related pages
- Welcome, the overview start point
- Onboarding, the post-install walkthrough
- Field mapping and data, the per-field migration reference
- Bulk content migration, running a migration
- Migration history, the audit log