A platform switch should solve a business problem – not follow a technology trend. It’s worth it when the existing system architecture actively hinders growth – not because a new platform is currently in vogue. Typical triggers include an e-commerce platform without vendor support, an integration that becomes more complex rather than simpler with every new tool, or performance issues that directly impact conversion rates. If a relaunch has not delivered the hoped-for results, you should first determine whether the causes actually lie with the platform or with the design, operation, and optimization.
Anyone looking to replace their outdated e-commerce software should first determine whether the problem lies with the platform or with the way it is operated. Often, it’s only during this assessment that it becomes clear that the problem isn’t the platform itself, but rather a lack of release processes, unclear responsibilities, or a sprawling jungle of integrations made up of siloed solutions. A migration does not automatically resolve these organizational gaps – in the worst case, it merely shifts them to a new system. That is why an honest assessment of the current state should come first, not the decision on which platform to use.
Blackbit is a commerce engineering partner for mid-sized e-commerce companies in the DACH region that want to implement a platform switch technically soundly and continue to grow measurably afterward. The right solution is determined by the company’s requirements – not by a preconceived platform preference. Anyone seeking independent advice should therefore clarify before the first meeting just how technology-neutral the recommendation will be and who will be responsible for operations and further development after the migration – not just the go-live.
Shopware 6 is particularly well-suited for companies seeking a flexibly customizable commerce platform and having specific requirements for processes, front-end design, or system integration. The platform is native to the DACH region: GDPR compliance, German tax logic, and SEPA payment methods aren’t retrofitted but built in from the ground up. Contrary to popular belief, Shopware isn’t purely a self-hosted system. The platform offers three operating models:
SaaS (fully managed, no need to maintain your own servers),
PaaS (greater control over managed cloud infrastructure), and
Self-Hosted (full customization freedom on your own server or Kubernetes cluster).
Which model is right depends on your existing IT capacity, not on the feature set alone.
For integration with an existing Pimcore PIM, there is a robust technical solution: the Blackbit Shopware-Pimcore Connector, which synchronizes product catalogs, categories, assets, and prices bidirectionally. Blackbit has been a certified Shopware Bronze Partner since 2022 and is also a Pimcore Platinum Partner – a combination that few agencies in the DACH region can boast.
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Especially if a company wants to grow internationally, manage complex e-commerce processes, and reduce the operational overhead of its shop platform. For many companies, BigCommerce becomes particularly attractive once revenue reaches the high double-digit millions.
The open SaaS platform is operated by BigCommerce on the Google Cloud and handles hosting, maintenance, and infrastructure scaling. At the same time, it offers open APIs, headless capabilities, no platform-side transaction fees, and an architecture that significantly reduces vendor lock-in compared to many traditional SaaS platforms. The native B2B Edition includes, among other features, a buyer portal, quote workflows, and an invoice portal. Blackbit is currently the only BigCommerce partner in the DACH region specializing in the BigCommerce B2B Edition and has been a BigCommerce Preferred Partner since 2021. Since BigCommerce operates as a U.S. provider, companies with strict data sovereignty requirements should clarify the implications of the U.S. CLOUD Act in advance as part of a GDPR impact assessment. BigCommerce at Blackbit in Detail
No single criterion is decisive on its own. The hosting model, level of customization, degree of internationalization, integration effort with ERP and PIM systems, and the available team resources for maintenance and further development all interact – and should be weighed internally before the first meeting with a provider takes place. Otherwise, the most persuasive sales pitch will ultimately determine the platform choice, not your own system architecture.
When it comes to integration effort, one special case stands out particularly clearly: Those migrating from an older system such as xt:Commerce, Magento, JTL, Oxid, or osCommerce often bring with them a well-established, custom-tailored business logic. These customizations cannot be transferred 1:1 but must be evaluated: Which custom logic is actually still relevant to the business, and which has simply been carried along over the years? This evaluation should take place before the platform decision is made, not only during the migration project.
For both business leadership and IT management, the end result is the same: a platform that actually delivers after the switch. Migrations rarely fail due to technical issues. They fail because of inadequate planning beforehand and insufficient support afterward. Four mistakes recur with striking frequency.
Data migration is underestimated: product data, customer data, and historical orders are often scattered across multiple systems over the years, with varying data quality. Anyone who only realizes this during the migration wastes time and loses confidence in the project.
SEO and visibility are addressed as an afterthought: URL structures, redirects, and structured data belong at the beginning of the planning process, not at the end. After a relaunch without this preparatory work, organic traffic often drops noticeably – and recovery takes months.
Post-go-live operations remain unclear: If you successfully implement the transition yourself but leave it open as to who will be responsible for ongoing development and stability afterward, you’ll end up with a functioning but unmanaged platform. This is precisely what leads to disappointing relaunches that fail to deliver the hoped-for results.
The platform decision is made in isolation, without considering the rest of the system landscape: A new e-commerce platform that isn’t seamlessly integrated with ERP and PIM simply shifts the original problem to a new system. Migration projects that plan for integration from the very beginning avoid this double effort.
Blackbit operates its own Kubernetes-based hosting infrastructure in the EU and is therefore also responsible for operations after the migration – not just the project up to go-live. The migration of Nik the Greek demonstrates how this works in practice: During the switch from xt:Commerce to Shopware 6, the Blackbit Shopware-Pimcore Connector connected the shop, Pimcore PIM, and ERP system fully automatically and bidirectionally. With 30,000 customers and just under 7,000 products, the planned downtime for the go-live was four hours. The full Nik the Greek case study details how the project unfolded.
This is the “Build” and “Run” phase of the Blackbit service model. The “Grow” phase begins only after that: Using the DCPR (Digital Commerce Performance Roadmap), quarterly evaluations track how GEO visibility, conversion rates, and technical stability develop after go-live – and the roadmap is actively adjusted based on these figures, rather than simply being documented. The three performance areas – Build, Run, and Grow – are thus interconnected, rather than ending with the project’s completion.
In practical terms, this means for migrations: The DCPR treats visibility not as an afterthought, but as an integral part of migration planning. Schema.org markup, clean redirect strategies, and a GEO strategy for generative AI searches like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews are planned from the very beginning – not only after the new platform is already live.
There’s a specific reason for this: Every month without structured data and a clean redirect strategy costs organic traffic, which takes time to rebuild. Those planning a platform switch anyway will incur the lowest costs if GEO and SEO are part of the roadmap from the start – and the highest costs if they have to be implemented retroactively.
Yes – though they are rare. Most agencies deliver the migration project up to go-live and then hand it over to the client or a separate hosting provider.
Anyone seeking independent consulting that isn’t locked into a specific platform from the outset, but rather bases its recommendations on actual requirements, should establish this as a selection criterion before the first meeting – and ask for documented reference projects and official partner status, not just general case studies. Blackbit meets this criterion for both platforms: it is a certified partner for both Shopware and BigCommerce, with documented reference projects for both.
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