Complete Guide to Migrating from BASE to Shopify | A Thorough Explanation of the Migration Process and Benefits

Note: This article covers BASE, an e-commerce platform available only in Japan. This will not be relevant if you are not evaluating platforms for the Japanese market.

When sales on BASE have grown and you think, "It may be time to move to our own site," Shopify is one of the options.

Shopify and BASE are both e-commerce platforms, but each has its own characteristics. Shopify's appeal lies in its flexible customizability, a wide variety of sales channels, and abundant SEO tools. BASE, on the other hand, is simple and easy to use, and because there is no setup fee, it is ideal for beginners and small businesses.

When you consider migrating, there are several things to decide, not only moving the product data but also customer information, payment methods, the domain, and even closing BASE.

This article explains, in order, a guide for judging whether you should migrate from BASE to Shopify, what can and cannot be carried over, the steps for moving products with a CSV, how to move customer data and the domain, and when to close BASE.

*This article contains Shopify affiliate links.

Should you migrate from BASE to Shopify? Decide based on fees by monthly sales

A common reason to consider migrating is the burden of fees. BASE's Standard plan is ¥0 per month, but each sale incurs a payment processing fee of 3.6% + ¥40 and a service fee of 3%. Shopify charges a monthly fee, but if you use Shopify Payments there is no transaction fee.

If you estimate the total of the monthly fee and the fees for each level of monthly sales, the result is as follows.

[Assumptions for the estimate]

• Average order value of ¥5,000 (monthly sales ÷ ¥5,000 = number of orders)
• Payments with domestically issued Visa, Mastercard, and JCB
• The monthly fee is the monthly equivalent of annual billing (Shopify Basic ¥3,650, BASE Growth ¥16,580)
• App and paid theme costs, shipping fees, and BASE's extra 1% for PayPay and similar methods are not included

Once monthly sales exceed roughly ¥100,000, the total fees for Shopify Basic are lower than for BASE Standard. However, on Shopify you add the features you need through apps, so include the monthly cost of the apps you plan to use when you compare. Also, once monthly sales reach around ¥2,000,000, the BASE Growth plan, with a payment processing fee of 2.9%, becomes less expensive than Shopify Basic, so if fees are your only reason, staying on BASE and switching plans is also an option.

Differences in cost between BASE and Shopify

We have summarized the costs of both services, including the rates used in the estimate. You can use Shopify Payments without signing a separate contract with a payment processor, and in Japan it supports credit cards and debit cards, as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, and others. Note that you may be asked to verify your identity and business information before you start using it.

Differences in features and customization between BASE and Shopify

BASE and Shopify differ greatly in features and customizability.

BASE is simple and easy to use, but there are limits to customizing the design and the features. By using free and paid themes from the official theme store and more than 10,000 apps, you can freely customize the look and the features of your site on Shopify. SEO and marketing features are also extensive, so you can run the site flexibly as your business grows.

The article below compares the differences in fees and features between BASE and Shopify in more detail.

Benefits of migrating to Shopify

There are benefits to migrating to Shopify besides the fees. Here we explain three of them: branding, SEO, and cross-border e-commerce.

Easier branding

Shopify has 1,200 or more themes, and each template is created by professional designers. With the visual editor and Liquid, a programming language, you can freely customize how products are presented and the design of the whole store, so you can build an online store that reflects your own branding. You can also add videos and 3D models to product pages and create product pages that communicate visually.

The Shopify App Store also has many apps that help with branding.

Stronger SEO

Every Shopify plan includes SEO features, and you can edit the title tag, the meta description, and the page URL. The title tag is shown as the title in search results and at the top of the browser, and its role is to convey the page content accurately and concisely. The meta description is used as the summary in search results, and explaining the page content clearly leads to more visitors.

On Shopify you can also edit an image's file name and alt attribute (alternative text). The alt attribute describes the content of the image. It not only helps the image appear in Google search, but it is also an important feature that lets a screen reader read the image content aloud for users with visual impairments.

The article below introduces the SEO tactics you can use on Shopify.

Cross-border e-commerce is possible

A major characteristic of Shopify is its broad support for multiple languages and currencies, so it can respond flexibly to customers overseas. You can switch the store's display language and currency, and you can also set taxes and shipping fees for each country. If you use Shopify Markets, you can optimize the product list and the pricing for each country and sell in a way that fits the local market.

The article below introduces how to set up cross-border e-commerce on Shopify.

What can and cannot be carried over in a migration

You cannot copy an entire shop from BASE to Shopify with a single button. How you move the data differs by type of data.

Points to check before you migrate

When you move to Shopify, things you could take for granted on BASE may no longer be available, and new costs may apply. Before you decide to migrate, check the following three points.

1. Sales through the PAY ID app will stop

Products from a shop opened on BASE can also be found by buyers on "PAY ID", BASE's shopping app. When you move to Shopify, orders through this app stop. In the BASE admin, check how many orders come through the app.

2. You need to reconfigure your payment methods

"BASE Easy Payments (BASEかんたん決済)" on BASE supports credit cards plus convenience-store payments, bank transfers, deferred payment, carrier billing, and more. Shopify Payments, on the other hand, supports credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, and American Express) and Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay. If you want to keep convenience-store payments or deferred payment, add an external payment service or app separately.

3. A fixed monthly cost applies

Shopify charges a monthly fee even when you have no sales, and many apps are billed monthly as well. Before you migrate, list the apps you plan to use and estimate the fixed cost for each month.

Two ways to migrate

There are two main ways to move data such as products.

Note that Shopify's migration app, Store Migration (formerly Store Importer), does not support BASE, so moving data by CSV is the standard approach.

Steps to migrate products from BASE to Shopify by CSV

From here, we explain with images how to convert the CSV manually and move your products. The flow is the following three steps.

1. Download a CSV of product information from BASE
2. Prepare a CSV template for importing into Shopify
3. Copy the BASE data into the Shopify CSV and import it

Step 1: Download product information from BASE

First, download the product information from BASE. Install the "CSV Product Management App (CSV商品管理 App)" from BASE Apps, and download the CSV data. When you download the CSV data, choose "CSV file for editing registered product information (登録済み商品の情報を編集するためのCSVファイル)". For the character encoding, choose "UTF-8". The CSV you import into Shopify must be UTF-8, and choosing Shift_JIS causes garbled characters.

At the same time, also save a CSV of the order data with the "Order Data Download App (注文データダウンロード App)". You will use it when you create the customer data.

1. Click Apps at the top right of the page, enter CSV as the keyword, and search

Image source: BASE

2. Click CSV Product Management (CSV商品管理) in the app list

3. Install the app

4. Check the box for the CSV file for editing registered product information (登録済み商品の情報を編集するためのCSVファイル) and download

That completes the data preparation on BASE. Next, start preparing the migration on Shopify.

Step 2: Prepare a CSV template for importing into Shopify

After you open a Shopify account, prepare a CSV template for the import. An easy way is to download the sample product CSV from the product CSV page in the Shopify Help Center and use that.

If you create it from the admin, register one temporary product and export it. A temporary product name is fine. After the import is finished, delete the temporary product.

1. Select Products from the menu on the left, then click Add product

Image source: Shopify

2. Enter text for the title, description, and price, then save *The content you enter can be temporary

If the category is already decided, entering it saves you the work of editing after registration.

3. Click the Export button at the top right and download the data

Step 3: Copy the BASE data into the Shopify CSV and import it

To copy the BASE data into the Shopify CSV, use Google Sheets. Import the BASE and Shopify CSV data into Google Sheets, and copy the BASE data into the Shopify data.

1. Create a new spreadsheet in Google Sheets, then click File > Import at the top left

2. When the Import screen appears, select Upload

3. Upload the Shopify CSV data and the BASE CSV data

• Import location: Insert new sheet(s)
• Separator type: Detect automatically

4. Copy the BASE information into the Shopify sheet

Copy the items below from the imported BASE data sheet and paste them into the Shopify sheet, and enter "URL handle" in letters and numbers for each product. Shading the relevant items makes the work easier. Column names in the Shopify CSV are in English, so be careful not to paste into the wrong place. Also, if you do not want products uploaded to Shopify to be published right away, change "Published on online store" from TRUE to FALSE.

The URL handle becomes the product page URL (/products/XX). If you enter the BASE product ID as it is, the URL is numbers only, so use English words that describe the product (for example, red-mug-s) and the product will also come across from the URL.

The BASE CSV includes product image URLs. Shopify can import an image URL if it is a public URL that anyone can open, so if you import while the BASE shop is still public, you do not need to upload the images one by one. If one product has multiple images, prepare as many rows with the same URL handle as there are images, and enter one URL per row.

If a BASE product has variations, data is exported for each variation. In that case, prepare the same number of rows in the Shopify CSV, and enter the variation name and the option value in "Option1 name" and "Option1 value" respectively.

With BASE's standard features you cannot set a different price for each variant, and price differences are added as paid options in the "Product Options App (商品オプション App)". On Shopify you can set a price for each variant, so the migration is a good chance to organize your prices.

*Please check the Shopify website for details.

5. Download the Shopify sheet you created

From File, select Download, and download it as Comma-separated values (.csv).

6. From Products in the Shopify admin, select Import at the top right and import the CSV data you just downloaded

When the import is complete, the products are added to Products. The BASE data has been migrated to Shopify successfully. Place the cursor next to the product name and a preview is displayed.

After the import is complete, be sure to check that the product count, variations, prices, stock quantities, and images match BASE.

How to move customer data and order history

Customer data and order history cannot be moved just by converting a CSV, the way product information can. We explain how to move each, and the points to watch.

Customer data

On BASE, you cannot download customer information as a customer list. However, the order-data CSV that you can export with the "Order Data Download App (注文データダウンロード App)" includes the buyer's name, email address, address, and phone number. Remove duplicates from this data to make a customer list, format it as a Shopify customer CSV, and import it.

What you need to watch for here is consent to the email newsletter. The Shopify customer CSV has a column where you enter "yes" or "no" for whether the customer has consented to email. Set "yes" only for people who consented to delivery on BASE, and set "no" for people whose consent you cannot confirm.

Also, login information for BASE members cannot be carried over to Shopify. After the migration, customers log in with a verification code sent to their email address, so it goes more smoothly if you tell them that together with the migration notice.

Order history

Past order history cannot be imported with Shopify's standard CSV import. If you also want to manage past orders on Shopify, use a migration app such as Matrixify. Even if you do not import it, you will not be able to view the data after you cancel your BASE account, so be sure to save a CSV of the order data before you cancel.

Set up payments, shipping, and the legal notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions again

Settings such as payments, shipping, and the legal notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions cannot be carried over from BASE. In the Shopify admin, set up the following items again.

• Payments: Enable Shopify Payments and, if needed, add an external payment service for convenience-store payments, deferred payment, and similar methods
• Shipping: Shipping fees (flat nationwide, by region, and so on), carriers, and the conditions for free shipping
• Legal notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions and policies: Pages for the business name, address, contact details, return conditions, and similar information
• Tax settings: Whether to display product prices with tax included

After you finish the settings, place a test order before you publish, and check that the whole flow works correctly, from payment through receiving the order confirmation email.

Carry over the BASE domain and redirect the old URLs

If you use a custom domain, you can move the shop while keeping the same URL by switching where the domain points, from BASE to Shopify. Here we explain how to carry over the domain and how to redirect the old URLs.

Carry over the custom domain

A custom domain on BASE is set up as a subdomain such as "shop.XX.com". In your domain management service, you connect it to BASE by setting the subdomain's CNAME to "cname.thebase.in".

When you migrate to Shopify, change this CNAME to the value Shopify specifies (shops.myshopify.com) and connect the domain in the Shopify admin. You can keep using the subdomain as it is, so you do not have to change the shop URL you have given to customers.

The URL issued when you opened the shop on BASE stops working when you cancel your BASE account, so it cannot be carried over to Shopify.

The steps for connecting a custom domain are explained in detail in the article below. It can take up to about 48 hours for the domain settings to take effect, so allow enough time for the migration work.

*If you also run a website or email on the same domain, a mistake in the DNS settings can cause problems such as the site not displaying or email not arriving. Change only the CNAME for the shop subdomain, and do not touch the other records.

Redirect the old URLs to the new URLs

Even if you carry over the domain, the product page URL format differs between BASE and Shopify. BASE product pages use the form "/items/[product ID]", and Shopify product pages use the form "/products/URL handle".

So that people who open an old URL, and search engines, are sent to the new page, set up redirects from the old URLs to the new URLs in Shopify "URL redirects". If you have many products, you can register them in bulk with a CSV that lists the redirect sources and destinations.

Switching to Shopify and closing BASE

Once Shopify is ready, switch over in the following order.

1. Place a test order on Shopify and check that payments, shipping, and email work
2. Connect the custom domain to Shopify and set up redirects from the old URLs
3. Post a notice of the move on the BASE shop, and also tell existing customers by email or another method
4. Submit a transfer request for the BASE sales balance, and save the data you need, such as the order data
5. Once the conditions are met, cancel your BASE account

There are conditions for canceling a BASE account. You cannot cancel within 60 days of the last order date, and you cannot start the cancellation unless the sales balance is ¥750 or less. After you cancel, you also cannot submit a transfer request, so be sure to transfer the sales balance and save your data before you cancel. We recommend building the migration schedule with this 60-day period in mind.

Summary: Checklist for migrating from BASE to Shopify

In a migration from BASE to Shopify, product information can be moved in bulk with a CSV, but customer information, order history, payment and shipping settings, and the domain each need to be handled separately. Finally, here are the items to check for the migration.

• Have you estimated, from your monthly sales and the cost of the apps you plan to use, whether moving to Shopify is the better deal?
• Have you checked sales through the PAY ID app, and your use of convenience-store payments and deferred payment?
• Have you saved the BASE product CSV (UTF-8) and the order-data CSV?
• Have you checked that the product count, variations, and images match after the import?
• Have you set email delivery consent correctly in the customer data?
• Have you set up payments, shipping, and the legal notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions, and placed a test order?
• Have you connected the custom domain and set up redirects from the old URLs?
• Have you submitted a transfer request for the BASE sales balance, and chosen a cancellation date with the 60-day rule in mind?

Do not try to finish the migration all at once. Proceed on a schedule that leaves enough time to prepare the Shopify side and close the BASE side.

The blog article below introduces how to open a store on Shopify, so if you have decided to adopt Shopify, please read it as well.