Why the move to Shopware 6 is due now
Shopware 5 came out in 2015, and its official support ended on July 31, 2024. Since then, shopware AG no longer ships security updates, bug fixes or new features, and there is no version 5.8. For continued paid operation, Shopware has pointed to the third-party provider safefive, which handles security fixes and legal adjustments. A stopgap, not a permanent solution.
- 2015 Shopware 5 is released. Release
- July 31, 2024 Official end of support. No more security updates from the vendor. More than 2 years ago
- Dec. 31, 2026 Last security updates for PHP 8.2, the highest officially supported version. 62 days left
- after that The store runs on server software that is itself no longer maintained. Risk rises
In day-to-day store operations, the end of support means three things above all:
Security
The vendor no longer fixes new vulnerabilities in the Shopware core. A store processes customer data and payments, so an unmaintained system becomes a liability risk.
Payment and shipping plugins
Payment providers regularly change their interfaces. Many no longer maintain their Shopware 5 plugins, or only to a limited extent. If a payment plugin fails, your checkout is affected.
PHP version
Shopware 5 officially runs on PHP 8.2 at most. Many hosts only offer old PHP versions for an extra fee or not at all.
The longer a Shopware 5 store keeps running, the more expensive and risky it becomes to operate. The migration can be postponed, but not avoided.
Why the migration is a rebuild, not an update
Shopware 6 carries the same name, but it was built from scratch. The database structure, extension system, template engine and administration are all built differently. That is why there is no “upgrade to Shopware 6” button.
Shopware 6 is installed fresh, the data comes over from the old store, and your store’s look and special features are rebuilt. The technical term is re-platforming. It is also an opportunity to clean up plugin collections and workarounds that have piled up over ten years.
Shopware 5
Shopware 6
What the Migration Assistant transfers and what it doesn’t
The official tool is the Migration Assistant plugin. It is installed in the new Shopware 6 store and reads the data from the old store.
Transferred
- Products, variants, properties, translations, cross-selling
- Categories, manufacturers, media
- Customers, customer groups, orders, documents
- SEO URLs, reviews, newsletter recipients, promotions
- Shipping methods
- Basic settings such as currencies, customer groups and number ranges; countries are mapped and must be active in the new store
Has to be recreated or rebuilt
- Theme and templates
- Shopping Worlds (called Shopping Experiences in Shopware 6)
- Plugins and custom code
- Email and document templates
- Shipping costs: check them and refine them in the Rule Builder
- Data from the Shopware 5 B2B Suite
Payment methods, salutations, delivery times, countries and tax rates are mapped to the corresponding entries in Shopware 6 during the migration, so they need to exist and be active in the new store beforehand. Plugin data is only carried over if the plugin stored it in standard tables or custom fields. A plugin’s own database tables are left behind.
The assistant can run more than once.
Every transferred record gets a checksum, and later runs only transfer new or changed data. This keeps the new store up to date for weeks. Shortly before go-live, one final sync follows: the delta migration.
The typical phases of a migration
Seven steps from the first assessment to the switchover. The data moves several times, the switchover happens only once.
- 1
Assessment
Which plugins are installed and actually used, which customizations live in the theme and code, which systems are connected? This list is the basis of any serious effort estimate.
- 2
Choosing or building extensions
For every feature: Shopware 6 covers it out of the box, there is an extension in the Store, or it is custom-built. In my experience, some of the old plugins are dropped without replacement.
- 3
Rebuilding the theme
The Shopware 5 theme cannot be carried over. Recreating it or redesigning is a business decision. Shopping Worlds are rebuilt as Shopping Experiences.
- 4
Data migration
Early in the project, so development happens with real products. Further syncs follow, and shortly before go-live the delta migration brings over the latest orders and customer accounts.
- 5
SEO: keep or redirect URLs
Keep the existing URLs through migrated SEO URLs and adjusted templates, or redirect every old URL with a 301. Including category, CMS and image URLs.
- 6
Testing
Orders with every payment method in test mode, discounts, shipping rules, taxes, emails and documents, login with migrated accounts and the handover to the ERP or inventory system.
- 7
Switchover
Maintenance mode in the old store, delta migration, redirects active, domain pointed at the new store, first orders watched closely. The better it was rehearsed, the shorter the window.
What drives the effort
The amount of data itself is rarely the problem. The effort is mainly driven by:
- 01The number and complexity of custom plugins and customizations
- 02Connected systems such as ERP, PIM or marketplaces
- 03The theme: recreating the existing design or a redesign
- 04The number of sales channels, languages and countries
- 05Shopping Worlds and editorial content that are rebuilt
- 06B2B features such as customer-specific prices or approvals
The time for review rounds.
Someone on your team has to check the new store, approve texts and Shopping Experiences, and walk through the processes with inventory management and customer service. This time is often missing from quotes and in practice is the bottleneck.
Don’t switch over in your busiest season.
Schedule go-live in a quieter period, when minor follow-up work doesn’t immediately cost revenue.
Common pitfalls
Five places where migrations typically cost money or trust, and how to prevent them.
Lost rankings
If the redirect list is missing or only covers products, visitors from Google land on error pages.
Payment and ERP integrations
A store that looks good but doesn’t pass orders correctly to inventory management causes a lot of manual rework.
Customer passwords
Old password hashes are carried over and converted on first login. That usually works, but not without testing.
Number ranges
New order, invoice and customer numbers must not collide with existing ones, neither in the store nor in the ERP.
Orders during the switchover
Orders placed after the last delta migration are missing from the new store.
How a staging environment makes the migration safer
The migration can be rehearsed. On a staging environment, a separate copy, the new Shopware 6 store is built while the old one keeps selling unchanged.
- ↻ Transfer data
- ↻ Test
- ↻ Fix errors
- ↻ Reset and migrate again
- Go live
There, the migration and switchover can be run as often as you like, until the process runs smoothly and you know exactly how long go-live will take. Real customer data does not belong unprotected on a test system, and for rehearsals a copy with anonymized customer and order data is enough.
This is exactly how I work with the Doppelgänger for Shopware: the new store is built on a copy on a dedicated server in Germany, personal data is anonymized in line with the GDPR on every copy, and you review the result before it goes live. After go-live, the Doppelgänger stays in place as the test system for every further change.
A professional migration without the agency price
Agencies quickly quote five figures for a migration from Shopware 5 to 6. Part of that is real work, the rest is project management, feedback loops and a bundled relaunch with a new design that the move doesn’t need.
I offer the migration at a fair fixed price. I have worked with Shopware 5 for more than six years and with Shopware 6 for more than four, so I know both sides of the move from daily practice.
Directly with the developer
No project manager in between.
Automated
Repeatable runs, tests and verified redirects save manual work.
Move before redesign
Move safely first, a new design can follow afterwards.
What’s included
- Free assessment: a look at your store, plugins, customizations and systems, then a fixed price and a schedule.
- Data migration with the official assistant, including the delta sync.
- Theme and features: your design recreated, replacements or new builds for the plugins you need.
- Integrations: inventory management, ERP, payment providers and shipping carriers.
- SEO: a complete redirect list, checked automatically.
- Dress rehearsal: migration and switchover on a copy with anonymized data.
- Go-live and after: I oversee the switchover and stay with you through the weeks after it.
From a client: I have looked after JuCad’s store since 2020. In 2025 I migrated it from Shopware 5 to Shopware 6, with all its data and the custom features, which I rebuilt for Shopware 6.
We had a healthy respect for the move from Shopware 5 to Shopware 6; after all, our store is how customers buy from us directly if they don’t go through a dealer. Julian has known our store inside out since 2020, so he was our first choice. He didn’t just carry over our products, customer accounts and order history going back to 2017, he also rebuilt our complex custom features for Shopware 6, at a more than fair price. In the end everything was there, and day to day only one thing changed for us: the store is more modern.
Quick answers.
Can I simply update Shopware 5 to Shopware 6?
No. Shopware 6 was developed from scratch, with a different data structure and a different template system. You install Shopware 6 fresh and transfer the data with the official Migration Assistant. The theme, plugins and custom changes are rebuilt.
How long does a migration from Shopware 5 to 6 take?
It mainly depends on the number of plugins, the extent of custom changes and the connected systems. A small store with standard features moves quickly, and even a store with an ERP integration and many custom solutions takes a few weeks at most. A reliable estimate is only possible after the assessment.
What does a migration from Shopware 5 to 6 cost?
It mainly depends on plugins, custom changes and integrations. Agency quotes quickly run to five figures. I offer the migration after a free assessment at a fixed price below typical agency rates.
Will my customers have to set a new password after the migration?
Usually not. The Migration Assistant carries over the old password hashes, and Shopware 6 checks them with the old method on first login and then stores them in the new format. You should still test this with real test accounts before go-live.
Will I lose my Google rankings because of the migration?
Not necessarily. Rankings are usually lost when URLs change and no 301 redirects are set up. If you record every existing URL and either keep it or redirect it cleanly to the new address, you will usually come through without noticeable losses.
Is it still safe to run Shopware 5 after the end of support?
Shopware itself has not shipped security updates since July 2024. A third-party provider offers paid long-term support with security fixes; that buys time but does not replace modernization. On top of that, payment providers and plugin vendors are gradually discontinuing their Shopware 5 extensions.