The verdict in three sentences
An e-commerce migration from PrestaShop or Magento to a modern stack costs 15,000 to 60,000 EUR in Toronto in 2026, depending on the volume of products and orders to carry over. The main danger is not technical but SEO: without a rigorous redirect plan, traffic can drop 10 to 25% for several months. Done well, a migration improves performance, conversion and halves maintenance costs.
What a migration really costs
Price depends mostly on data migration and the number of URLs to redirect. Here is the typical breakdown in Toronto in 2026.
| Item | 2026 range (EUR) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Audit + migration plan | 2,000 - 6,000 | URL/data/risk mapping |
| Catalogue + media migration | 3,000 - 12,000 | By product/variant count |
| Customer + order migration | 2,000 - 9,000 | History, accounts, GDPR |
| 301 redirects + technical SEO | 3,000 - 10,000 | Critical item |
| Front-end + performance rebuild | 4,000 - 18,000 | Optional but frequent |
| Testing + cutover + monitoring | 1,000 - 5,000 | Post-launch tracking |
| Total | 15,000 - 60,000 | 6-14 weeks |
The SEO risk, quantified
A migration touches URLs, structure and often content: Google must reindex everything. Here is the typical impact by plan quality.
| Scenario | 301 redirects | Peak traffic loss | Return to normal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Well-managed migration | 100% mapped | -5 to -10% | 4-8 weeks |
| Average migration | 80-95% mapped | -12 to -18% | 2-4 months |
| Botched migration | < 80% mapped | -20 to -30% | 4-8 months |
| No SEO plan | near zero | -30 to -50% | 6-12 months |
The lesson is clear: the "301 redirects + technical SEO" line is the cheapest yet most profitable. That is where your organic revenue is preserved.
Mini case study
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Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Julien runs a sports-equipment store in Toronto on Magento 1, unmaintained and slow (LCP at 4.8s). Organic traffic: 45,000 visits/month, online revenue of 1.8M EUR/year of which 38% via SEO.
He invests 38,000 EUR in a migration to a modern stack with a full redirect plan. Result: traffic loss limited to -8% for 6 weeks, then LCP at 1.9s and a conversion rate rising from 1.4% to 1.8%. The conversion gain alone represents ~+280,000 EUR annual revenue, paying back the migration in under two months.
FAQ
How long does a migration take? Between 6 and 14 weeks depending on data volume and the scope of any associated front-end rebuild. The longest phase is often catalogue migration and cleanup.
Will we lose our rankings? Not if the 301 redirect plan covers 100% of existing URLs. A well-managed migration limits loss to -5 to -10% over 4 to 8 weeks, then traffic recovers and often exceeds the original level.
Should we rebuild everything at once? No. You can migrate "like-for-like" first (same URLs, same design) to secure SEO, then rebuild the front-end later. This lowers risk but lengthens the schedule.
What happens to orders and customer accounts? They are migrated with their history, GDPR-compliant. Plan a data audit: it is often a chance to clean up years of duplicates.
When is the best time to migrate? Outside sales peaks (avoid November-December for retail). A cutover in a quiet period limits commercial impact if something goes wrong.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your current platform, product volume and SEO traffic: we scope a migration plan and a budget of 15,000 to 60,000 EUR. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
