Can subcategories be migrated?

Yes, subcategories can be migrated from Magento to Shopify, but they are handled differently. Magento uses a true hierarchical category structure (parent and child categories), while Shopify uses collections and navigation menus instead of nested categories.

How subcategories are migrated:

• Magento parent categories are typically migrated as Shopify collections or used as top-level navigation items.
• Magento subcategories are recreated as additional collections and linked through nested navigation menus.
• Automated collections can group products dynamically based on tags, product types, vendors, or metafields.
• Manual collections can be used when greater control over product grouping is required.

Example:

Magento:

• Jewelry
  • Rings
    • Engagement Rings
    • Wedding Rings

Shopify:

• Collection: Jewelry
• Collection: Rings
• Collection: Engagement Rings
• Collection: Wedding Rings
• Navigation Menu:
  • Jewelry
    • Rings
      • Engagement Rings
      • Wedding Rings

Best practices:

• Map each Magento subcategory to the appropriate Shopify collection.
• Recreate the hierarchy using Shopify’s nested navigation menus.
• Preserve SEO by setting up 301 redirects from old category URLs to the new collection URLs.
• Update internal links to match the new navigation structure.
• Test menus and collection pages to ensure customers can easily browse products.

While Shopify does not support Magento’s native parent-child category hierarchy, its collections and nested navigation provide an effective way to organize products and deliver a similar browsing experience.