How to move your store from Shopify to Staaf

This guide walks you through moving an online store from Shopify to Staaf in seven steps. The most important rule is simple: keep your Shopify store open until your Staaf store is ready, then switch your domain over. Your customers keep ordering the whole time.

Because Staaf imports your Shopify product file directly, most stores can make the move in an afternoon.

Why stores in Kenya move to Staaf

Shopify is a good platform, but it was built for buyers who pay by card. Shopify Payments is not available in Kenya, so you have to use an outside payment provider, and Shopify adds its own fee on top of that provider's fee on every sale. You also pay your subscription in dollars, so the cost changes with the exchange rate.

Staaf is built around the way Kenyan buyers pay and talk to you:

• M-Pesa, card and cash on delivery. Take M-Pesa through your own Paybill or Buy Goods till, cards and mobile money through Paystack or Pesapal, bank transfers and cash on delivery.
• One inbox for WhatsApp and Instagram. Answer customers next to their orders, share conversations with your team and reply with quick replies.
• One price in shillings. KES 4,999 a month after a one-month free trial, and we never take a cut of your sales.

Step 1: Export your data from Shopify

Before you change anything, download a copy of everything you will need. In your Shopify admin:

1. Go to Products, click Export, choose All products and export as a CSV file.
2. Go to Customers, click Export, choose All customers and export as a CSV file.
3. Go to Orders and export your recent orders, so you have a record of anything still waiting to be delivered.

Don't edit the products file. Staaf reads it exactly as Shopify exports it. Keep all three files somewhere safe, because your Shopify order history does not move across.

Step 2: Create your Staaf store and import your products

Start your free trial and create your store. Then go to Products, choose Import and upload the products CSV you exported from Shopify.

Staaf brings across each product with its:

• Title, description and price.
• Images, taken from the image links in your file.
• Options and variants, such as size or colour, with a price and stock count for each one.
• Stock. Staaf keeps counting from where Shopify left off, and stops selling a product when it runs out.

When the import finishes, open a few products and check them against your Shopify store, especially the ones with lots of variants. Then group your products into Categories the same way you used collections on Shopify, so buyers can browse them easily.

Step 3: Set up payments

Go to Settings and then Payments, and connect the ways your customers already pay:

• M-Pesa. Enter your Paybill or Buy Goods till, and the consumer key and secret from your Safaricom Daraja account. Payments go straight to your till.
• Paystack or Pesapal. Connect your own account to take cards and mobile money. The money settles into your account, not ours.
• Bank transfer. Add your account name and number for buyers who prefer to pay by bank.
• Cash on delivery. Turn it on if you collect payment when the order arrives.

If you used Paystack or Pesapal with Shopify, you can connect the same account to Staaf. Use test mode first and place a test order before you go live.

Step 4: Set up delivery and VAT

Go to Settings and then Shipping, and add your delivery options, for example Nairobi same-day delivery, countrywide delivery by courier and international shipping. For each option, set the price and the countries it delivers to. Match what you offered on Shopify, so returning customers see the same choices.

If you are registered for VAT, go to Settings and then Tax, and set whether your prices already include VAT. Receipts then show the VAT correctly.

Step 5: Choose your theme

Your storefront starts with the Staaf default theme, so you can sell from day one. Add your logo and store name, then check your product pages on your phone, because that is where most of your buyers will see them.

If you want to keep your current design, you can bring your Shopify theme with you. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store and then Themes, open the menu next to your theme and choose Download theme file. Shopify emails you a .zip. Upload that file in Staaf under Sales channels and then Online store, and your sections, colours, fonts and theme settings come across as they are, filled with your Staaf products, cart and prices.

Features that depend on Shopify itself, such as Shopify apps, gift cards and Shopify's payment buttons, do not carry over, so open your store on your phone and check each page before you switch your domain.

Step 6: Bring your customers and team across

Add your regular customers under Customers with their name and an email address or phone number, so you can create orders for them and recognise them when they message you. Start with the customers who buy from you most often.

Then invite your staff under Settings and then Team members, so everyone has their own login.

Finally, connect your WhatsApp and Instagram accounts under Settings and then Inbox, and save the answers you send every day as quick replies: prices, delivery times and how to pay.

Step 7: Switch your domain and close Shopify

When your products, payments and delivery are ready, place a real test order from start to finish. Pay with M-Pesa, check that the order appears and mark it as fulfilled.

Then move your domain:

1. In Staaf, go to Settings and then Domains, and add your domain, for example www.yourstore.co.ke.
2. Staaf shows you the DNS records to add. Add them where you manage your domain. If you bought the domain through Shopify, you can edit its DNS records in the Shopify admin under Settings and then Domains, or transfer it to a registrar of your choice.
3. Wait for Staaf to show the domain as live with a certificate. This usually takes from a few minutes to a few hours.

Until your domain is live, your store is always available on its Staaf address, so you can share that link with customers straight away.

Once your domain points to Staaf, finish delivering any orders you took on Shopify. Then pause or close your Shopify store from Settings and then Plan in the Shopify admin, so you stop paying for it. Do this only after the last Shopify order has gone out.

Tell your customers

A move is a good reason to get back in touch. Post on Instagram, update your WhatsApp status and message your regular customers to let them know your new store is live and that they can now pay with M-Pesa at checkout.

Moving checklist

1. Export your products, customers and open orders from Shopify.
2. Create your Staaf store and import your Shopify products CSV.
3. Connect M-Pesa, Paystack or Pesapal, bank transfer and cash on delivery.
4. Add your delivery options and VAT settings.
5. Upload your Shopify theme or set up the Staaf theme, then check it on your phone.
6. Add your regular customers, invite your team and connect WhatsApp and Instagram.
7. Place a test order, switch your domain, then close Shopify.

Ready to make the move? Start your free trial and you can have your new store set up before your next Shopify bill.