Migrating from Shopware 5 to Shopware 6: A Practical Guide

Migrating from Shopware 5 to Shopware 6 is not a simple update -- it is a platform change. While both systems are based on Symfony, they differ fundamentally in architecture and data structure.

Choosing a Migration Strategy¶

There are two basic approaches:

1. Shopware Migration Assistant -- The official tool migrates data incrementally. Well suited for standard shops.
2. Manual Migration -- Often the better choice for heavily customized shops. Here you have full control over the data transfer.

In my experience, a hybrid approach works best: standard data via the Assistant, custom data through your own scripts.

Data Mapping¶

The data structures differ considerably. A typical mapping script for product data:

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Migration;

class ProductMapper
{
    public function mapFromSW5(array $sw5Product): array
    {
        return [
            'productNumber' => $sw5Product['ordernumber'],
            'name' => $sw5Product['name'],
            'description' => $sw5Product['description_long'],
            'price' => [
                [
                    'currencyId' => $this->getDefaultCurrencyId(),
                    'gross' => (float) $sw5Product['price'],
                    'net' => (float) $sw5Product['price'] / 1.19,
                    'linked' => true,
                ],
            ],
            'stock' => (int) $sw5Product['instock'],
            'active' => (bool) $sw5Product['active'],
            'taxId' => $this->mapTaxRate($sw5Product['tax']),
        ];
    }

    private function mapTaxRate(string $taxRate): string
    {
        $mapping = [
            '19' => 'standard-tax-id',
            '7' => 'reduced-tax-id',
        ];

        return $mapping[$taxRate] ?? $mapping['19'];
    }
}

Plugin Migration¶

SW5 plugins cannot be transferred one-to-one. I frequently recommend:

• Review functionality -- Is the plugin still needed? Is there a SW6 equivalent?
• Rebuild from scratch -- Custom plugins should be rewritten for SW6
• Marketplace -- Many popular SW5 plugins are available as SW6 versions

Don't Forget SEO Aspects¶

During migration, all URLs must be preserved or correctly redirected:

# nginx Redirect-Map für alte SW5-URLs
map $uri $redirect_url {
    ~/detail/sArticle/(\d+)  /product-detail-page;
    ~/listing/                /category-page;
}

server {
    if ($redirect_url) {
        return 301 $redirect_url;
    }
}

Migration Checklist¶

• Create a database dump of the SW5 shop
• Set up a test environment with SW6
• Migrate products, categories, and customers
• Transfer order history
• Set up SEO URLs and redirects
• Adapt or recreate the theme
• Migrate or replace plugins
• Perform thorough testing
• Plan the DNS switchover

A well-planned migration minimizes downtime and ensures a smooth transition. Take the time for adequate testing -- the effort is well worth it.