Migration Sandbox

A migration sandbox is the staging environment where the new store gets built, populated, and tested before launch. On Shopify Plus this is a development store - free, fully featured, and password-protected from search engines and the public.

The sandbox holds: the design build, the catalogue post-mapping, a sample of customer records, a sample of order history, the integrations (ERP, 3PL, email, reviews) connected to staging endpoints of those systems, the redirect map loaded, all apps installed and configured, and the checkout configured with test payment credentials.

Three things get tested on the sandbox: the build itself (visual QA, mobile, browser compatibility), the data integrity (every product, every variant, every customer field reconciles against the source), and the cutover rehearsal (the full sequence of DNS swap, redirect activation, integration repoint, run end-to-end at least twice).

The sandbox is also where stakeholders see and approve the new store before launch. Every change request, every "can we move this block down" lands in the sandbox first.

When the sandbox passes a final reconciliation pass and the cutover rehearsal runs clean, the project is ready for go-live. Until then, it isn't.

Frequently asked questions

What is a migration sandbox on Shopify?

A password-protected development store where the new site is built, loaded with mapped data and connected to staging integrations before launch.

What should be tested in a migration sandbox?

The build itself, data integrity against the source platform, and at least two full rehearsals of the cutover sequence.

When is the sandbox ready for go-live?

When the final data reconciliation passes and the cutover rehearsal runs clean end to end.

Related terms: Migration Cutover, Catalog Mapping, Re-platforming. For hands-on help, see how Flux runs Shopify Plus migrations.