When to move — and when not to
Kit solves “a store from scratch, physical goods, promotion in Direct”. Move when you hit one of its limits: Russian only and Russian legal entities only, no mobile app, seven section types and one of the ready themes, a catalog with “complex attributes” or 50,000+ items, no services, no way to plug in your own Bitrix or ERP as the backend.
What you can take from Kit
- Products — a catalog export to YML or Excel: names, descriptions, prices, stock, photos, attributes.
- Orders and customers — exports from the dashboard; order history feeds CRM and repeat sales.
- The domain — it is yours and moves with a DNS switch.
- Metrica data — the counter is yours, history stays; the same ID goes on the new site.
- Integrations — your accounting (1C, MoySklad) and CRM (RetailCRM, Bitrix24, amoCRM) remain yours and connect to the new storefront directly.
What stays with Yandex
The site code, the theme and section settings, checkout through Yandex ID, partner bonuses of Kit programmes. A storefront cannot be “exported” — it is SaaS: it is rebuilt on the new platform. The good news: a builder had nothing worth copying verbatim anyway — a branded design beats one theme out of seven.
The move in six steps
1. Export the catalog
YML or Excel from Kit → into your Bitrix or ERP, or straight into Frontbox if there is no system yet.
2. Build the storefront on a staging domain
Branded design, category structure, search, product pages. The old store keeps selling.
3. Prepare redirects
A map of old Kit URLs → new addresses. Categories and products are matched by SKU, not by hand.
4. Connect payments, delivery and CRM
The same providers you had, or better: pickup points on a map, instalments, invoices for legal entities.
5. Switch the domain
DNS to the new storefront. Kit stays reachable on its technical address until everything is verified.
6. App and content
After stabilisation — an iOS/Android app from the same code and AI content for product pages.
Keeping your rankings
Kit storefronts are server‑rendered and indexed, so the store has rankings worth keeping. Three rules: 301 redirects from every old URL, the same or a deeper category structure, Product/Offer structured data and a sitemap from day one. In Frontbox technical SEO is part of the subscription; redirects are prepared before the domain switch.
What happens to Direct ads
Ads work with any site: campaigns point to the new URLs, Metrica keeps the same counter, e‑commerce events are set up from day one. Only the partner bonuses of Kit programmes go away — weigh them against what the new storefront brings: an app, languages, mobile conversion.
Pre‑move checklist
- Catalog export done and verified: SKUs, prices, stock, photos.
- Orders and customers exported; CRM ready to take the history.
- Access to the domain’s DNS and the Metrica counter is yours.
- The list of old URLs for redirects collected (Kit sitemap).
- Payment and delivery providers contracted to you, not to the platform.
- A demo of the new storefront on your catalog reviewed and accepted.
FAQ
How long does the move take?
Weeks, not months: the export and the storefront build run while the old store keeps working.
Can we keep the Kit design?
The block logic — yes; the theme itself — no, and there is no need: the storefront is built for your brand.
What if there is no backend at all?
Catalog, prices and stock are managed in Frontbox; any backend can be connected via API later.