Many growing stores move from WooCommerce to Shopify to spend less time on hosting, updates and plugin maintenance. The move itself is very doable, but there are a few places where stores lose data, rankings or sales if they are not careful.
This guide walks through the migration step by step. If you are still deciding, read my WooCommerce vs Shopify vs Magento comparison first.
Is Shopify the right move?
Good reasons to move:
- You want to stop managing hosting, security and plugin updates
- Your team is marketing-focused, not technical
- Your catalog structure fits Shopify’s products and variants model
Think twice if:
- You rely heavily on WordPress content and complex custom post types
- Your products need many options beyond Shopify’s variant model (check current option and variant limits for your plan)
- You have deep custom B2B logic built into WooCommerce
What can be migrated?
| Data | Migratable? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Products, variants, images | Yes | Attributes become options or metafields |
| Categories | Yes, as collections | Category hierarchy works differently |
| Customers | Yes | Passwords cannot be migrated; customers must reset or use account activation |
| Orders (history) | Yes | Usually imported as archived historical orders |
| Reviews | Yes | Via your review app’s import |
| Blog posts and pages | Yes | Formatting and shortcodes need cleanup |
| Coupons and gift cards | Partly | Often recreated manually |
| Subscriptions | Complex | Payment tokens may not transfer; plan with your providers |
Step 1: Inventory and plan
- List all plugins and what each does; find Shopify apps or built-in features for each
- Decide what to rebuild, what to replace and what to drop
- List integrations: ERP, accounting, shipping, email platform, marketplaces
- Choose a launch date outside your peak season
Step 2: Crawl and benchmark your current site
Before anything changes, save:
- A full crawl of all URLs (products, categories, pages, posts, images)
- Search Console performance per page
- Analytics revenue per landing page
- Top backlinked URLs
Step 3: Migrate the data
Options:
- Migration apps and services: fastest for standard stores
- CSV export/import: fine for simple catalogs
- Custom migration via API: best for large catalogs, complex attributes and multiple languages
Test the migration on a development store first, then run a final delta migration (new orders and customers) just before launch.
Step 4: Plan URL redirects
WooCommerce and Shopify use different URL structures:
| WooCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|
/product/trail-shoe-x200/ |
/products/trail-shoe-x200 |
/product-category/shoes/ |
/collections/shoes |
/blog-post-slug/ |
/blogs/news/blog-post-slug |
/about-us/ |
/pages/about-us |
Every old URL needs a 301 redirect to its new equivalent. In Shopify, add redirects in Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects or import them as a CSV.
Tips:
- Keep the same handles (slugs) where possible
- Redirect removed products to the closest collection, not the homepage
- Include image and PDF URLs that get traffic or links
- Avoid redirect chains
Follow the full website migration SEO checklist.
Step 5: Rebuild SEO elements
- Titles and meta descriptions for products, collections and pages
- Image alt text
- Structured data (check for duplicates from apps)
- Collection content for category pages
- Hreflang if you have multiple languages (see my hreflang guide)
Step 6: Customer accounts
Because passwords cannot be migrated, plan communication:
- Send account activation invitations in batches after launch
- Explain why in a friendly email
- Make “Forgot password” and activation easy to find
Step 7: Payments, shipping and taxes
- Set up payment providers and local payment methods your customers expect
- Recreate shipping zones and rates
- Configure taxes and check prices including/excluding VAT
Step 8: Tracking and marketing
- GA4 e-commerce tracking (see GA4 e-commerce setup)
- Google and Meta pixels, Consent Mode
- Merchant Center feed with the new URLs and same product IDs where possible
- Email platform integration and flows
Step 9: Test everything
- Place test orders with every payment and shipping method
- Check mobile and desktop
- Test redirects from your old URL list
- Check emails and notifications
Step 10: Launch
- Put WooCommerce in maintenance mode, run the final data sync
- Connect your domain to Shopify
- Activate redirects
- Submit the new sitemap in Search Console
- Monitor 404s, rankings, conversion rate and orders daily for several weeks
Keep a backup of the old WooCommerce site and database for reference.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose SEO when moving to Shopify?
Not if you redirect every URL properly and keep your content. Short-term fluctuations are normal.
Can I keep my domain?
Yes. You connect your existing domain to Shopify.
How long does a WooCommerce to Shopify migration take?
Small stores can migrate in a few weeks. Large catalogs with integrations, multiple languages or B2B features take longer.
Can customers keep their passwords?
No. Passwords are stored as hashes and cannot be transferred. Customers activate their account or reset their password.
Planning a migration?
I plan and carry out migrations between WooCommerce, Shopify and Magento, including data, redirects, tracking and launch. See my Shopify service or request a migration plan.