WooCommerce to Shopify Migration Guide: Step-by-Step Checklist

Migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify is not just a product import. A proper migration can involve products, customer records, order history, SEO redirects, a rebuilt theme, payments, shipping, taxes, apps, integrations, subscriptions and a lot of testing.

Some of that moves with official tools. Some needs a migration app, a CSV clean-up, custom development, or rebuilding by hand. A few things, such as customer passwords, cannot be moved at all.

The safest WooCommerce to Shopify migration starts with an audit, before anything is moved. This guide walks through what can and cannot be migrated, a 12-step checklist, how to protect SEO, and where migrations usually go wrong.

Why Businesses Move From WooCommerce to Shopify

Both platforms run successful stores. The reasons to move are usually about how much of the platform a business wants to manage itself.

Common reasons businesses migrate to Shopify include:

• Hosted infrastructure. Shopify runs the servers, security and platform updates.
• Simpler maintenance. There is no WordPress core, theme and plugin update cycle to manage.
• Fewer plugin dependencies. Features that needed several WordPress plugins may be native in Shopify or covered by one app.
• Centralized commerce administration. Orders, products, customers and sales channels live in one admin.
• The Shopify app ecosystem and Shopify-native tools such as Shopify Flow.
• Operational simplicity for teams that want to focus on selling rather than maintaining a website.

There are also good reasons to stay on WooCommerce:

• Server-level control over hosting, performance tuning and data location
• WordPress's content ecosystem, especially for content-heavy sites
• Existing custom infrastructure that works well and would be costly to rebuild
• Deeply customized WooCommerce plugins or workflows without a clear Shopify equivalent
• A preference for owning and controlling the full software stack

If WooCommerce is working and the main frustration is one fixable problem, a migration may not be the right answer. When the business is spending more effort maintaining the platform than growing the store, Shopify often becomes worth considering.

What Can Be Migrated From WooCommerce to Shopify?

Not every type of data moves the same way. Shopify's own migration guidance distinguishes between CSV imports, its first-party Store Migration app (currently in early access, available only to certain stores and only on desktop), third-party migration apps and the Shopify API. Recommended import order matters too: Shopify advises importing products first, then customers, then historical orders, so orders can be linked to the right products and customers.

The table is a starting point, not a promise. Every store's plugins and data are slightly different, which is why the audit in Step 1 matters.

What Usually Does Not Transfer Automatically?

These are the areas most likely to need extra work:

• Customer passwords. Shopify's documentation states that because passwords are encrypted outside Shopify, they can't be migrated. After importing customers, you invite them to create new passwords.
• WooCommerce plugin-specific data. Data stored by plugins, such as product add-ons, bookings or wholesale pricing, usually needs mapping, an equivalent Shopify app, or custom work.
• Shortcode-based content. WordPress shortcodes will appear as raw text on Shopify if they are copied across unchanged.
• Page-builder layouts. Layouts built with WordPress page builders need to be rebuilt in the Shopify theme.
• Custom checkout logic. WooCommerce checkout customizations do not carry over. Shopify has its own checkout customization options, which vary by plan.
• Custom tax plugins and rules. Tax setup needs to be configured in Shopify and checked rather than copied.
• Subscription configurations. Plans, billing schedules and stored payment methods depend on the subscription apps and payment providers on both sides.
• Membership systems built with WordPress plugins.
• Reviews held by review plugins.
• Custom product fields that need Shopify metafields.
• Complex discount rules.
• Custom integrations built around WooCommerce's API or plugins.
• SEO redirects. Shopify's URLs are structured differently, so redirects have to be created.

WooCommerce to Shopify Migration Checklist

Treat these steps as a checklist. Some can run in parallel, but skipping any of them is where most migration problems start.

Step 1 — Audit Your WooCommerce Store

The audit defines the migration scope. Record:

• Product count, product types and variants
• Customers and orders, including how much order history you need
• Categories, tags and attributes
• Pages and blog posts
• Every active plugin, and what it does
• Integrations with other systems
• Subscriptions and memberships
• Reviews
• Coupons and discount rules
• Existing redirects
• Analytics and tracking tools
• Custom fields and product metadata
• Every URL that receives search traffic or backlinks

The output should be a list of what moves, how it moves, what gets replaced, and what is retired.

Step 2 — Back Up the Existing WooCommerce Store

Before exporting anything, take a complete backup you can restore:

• The WordPress database
• The wp-content folder, including themes, plugins and uploads
• The media library
• CSV exports of products, customers and orders
• Screenshots or notes of important plugin settings

Most hosts and backup plugins can handle this. Keep the WooCommerce site running until the Shopify store is live and verified.

Step 3 — Set Up the Shopify Store

Configure the foundation before importing data:

• Store details, currency and units
• The Shopify plan that fits your needs
• A theme
• Payment providers
• Shipping zones and rates
• Tax settings
• Your domain, without switching it yet
• Staff accounts and permissions

Step 4 — Export WooCommerce Data

WooCommerce includes a built-in product CSV exporter under Products → All Products → Export. It can include variations, images and, if you choose, custom product metadata.

The core exporter handles products only. Customers, orders and coupons need a separate tool, such as the paid Customer / Order / Coupon Export extension on the WooCommerce Marketplace, a migration app that connects to WooCommerce directly, or the WooCommerce REST API.

Before importing, review each export:

• Remove test products, duplicates and discontinued items you do not want to move
• Check SKUs are unique
• Confirm prices, stock and variation attributes
• Look for broken image links
• Note custom fields that need a home in Shopify

Step 5 — Import Products Into Shopify

For WooCommerce, Shopify describes its first-party Store Migration app as a way to import products, using a WooCommerce product CSV export. Products with more than 3 options won't have their options imported this way, so they need another approach, such as a third-party app or metafields. Shopify's own product CSV import and third-party migration apps are alternatives.

Check each of these after import:

• Titles and descriptions
• Images and alt text
• Variants and options, within Shopify's limit of 3 options per product
• SKUs and barcodes
• Inventory levels
• Prices and compare-at prices
• Product type, vendor and tags
• Collections
• SEO titles and descriptions
• Custom data mapped to metafields

Start with a small test batch, fix the mapping, then import the rest.

Step 6 — Migrate Customers and Order History

Customers can be imported with Shopify's customer CSV, a migration app or the API. Passwords cannot be migrated, so plan how you will invite customers to set up their accounts, and explain the change clearly when you do.

Historical orders are not part of a basic product import. Shopify's guidance points to migration apps or the Order API. Before importing orders, turn off new-order notifications for staff, because Shopify warns that each imported order can otherwise trigger a notification email.

Privacy and consent matter here too. Only carry over marketing consent you actually hold, and import only the customer data you have a reason to keep. Shopify's customer import includes an email-marketing consent field, and it should reflect each customer's real opt-in status.

Step 7 — Rebuild Navigation and Store Structure

A migration is a chance to fix navigation, not copy it:

• Main and footer menus
• Collections and collection rules
• Filters for size, color, price and other attributes
• Informational pages such as About, Contact, FAQ and Shipping
• Policy pages for refunds, privacy and terms

Step 8 — Reconfigure Apps and Integrations

List every WooCommerce plugin and integration, then decide for each: use a native Shopify feature, install an equivalent app, build a custom integration, or retire it.

Areas to cover include:

• CRM and email marketing
• SMS
• Analytics and tracking
• Fulfillment and shipping
• Subscriptions
• Reviews
• Accounting
• ERP and inventory systems
• Automation

Do not rebuild workflows that only existed to work around WooCommerce limitations. A migration is a good moment to replace them with native Shopify features or proper automation. Our guide to Shopify automation tasks covers the workflows worth automating first.

Step 9 — Configure Payments, Shipping and Taxes

These settings rarely match exactly between platforms, so test them rather than assume they carried over:

• Place test orders with each payment method
• Check shipping rates for different regions, weights and order values
• Confirm tax calculations for your key markets
• Check order confirmation and shipping notification emails

Step 10 — Preserve SEO

This step protects the traffic you have already earned:

• Export an inventory of old URLs for products, categories, pages, blog posts and anything else indexed
• Map each old URL to its closest new Shopify equivalent
• Create 301 redirects using Shopify's URL redirect import
• Carry over page titles and meta descriptions, especially for high-traffic pages
• Check canonical URLs on the new store
• Update internal links in content so they point to new URLs directly
• Keep image alt text
• Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console
• Check structured data on product pages
• Record analytics baselines before launch so you can compare afterwards
• Prioritize your top-ranking pages and pages with backlinks

Even a well-planned migration can cause temporary ranking changes while search engines process the new URLs. Good preparation reduces the risk and the recovery time; it cannot guarantee zero fluctuation.

Step 11 — Test the Shopify Store

Test before switching the domain:

• Products, variants and pricing
• Discounts
• Cart and checkout
• Payments with real test transactions
• Customer and order emails
• Mobile layout and navigation
• Site search
• Integrations and forms
• Inventory updates
• Shipping and taxes
• Redirects from a sample of old URLs
• Analytics and tracking events
• Structured data
• Accessibility basics, such as alt text, contrast and keyboard navigation

Step 12 — Launch and Monitor

On launch day and the weeks after:

• Point the domain to Shopify
• Test redirects for your most important old URLs
• Submit the sitemap and watch Google Search Console for crawl and indexing issues
• Check analytics are recording sessions and sales
• Monitor 404 errors and add missing redirects
• Watch checkout and payment success closely
• Brief customer service on account setup and common questions
• Check site performance
• Track indexing of important pages over the following weeks

How to Protect SEO During a WooCommerce to Shopify Migration

SEO is where a migration can do the most lasting damage, and where careful planning pays off.

Preserve strong URLs where practical. Shopify uses fixed URL patterns, such as /products/ and /collections/, so most WooCommerce URLs will change. Keep the handle, the last part of the URL, the same where you can.

Map old URLs to the most relevant new page. A product should redirect to the same product, and a category to its matching collection. Avoid redirecting everything to the homepage, which search engines tend to treat as a poor match.

Keep title and topic alignment. A page that ranked for a topic should still cover that topic after the move.

Preserve valuable copy. Do not replace detailed product descriptions or guides with shorter theme placeholder text.

Preserve important internal links between products, collections and content.

Keep important images and alt text where practical.

Update canonical URLs so they point to the new Shopify URLs.

Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console, and keep monitoring coverage and 404 reports.

Keep redirects in place long term. Old links from other websites and bookmarks keep arriving for years. Shopify's URL redirects only apply when the old URL no longer loads a page, which is the normal state after a migration.

Avoid deleting valuable content without an equivalent destination. If a page has backlinks or traffic, give it a new home or a relevant redirect.

Redirects pass visitors and search engines to the new page, but they do not guarantee every ranking stays exactly where it was. Treat the first weeks after launch as a monitoring period.

Performance matters after launch too. A new theme loaded with apps can undo some of the gains of moving. Our guide to Shopify speed optimization explains what to check.

Common WooCommerce to Shopify Migration Problems

Automated Migration vs Manual Migration

Automated tools may fit simpler stores with standard products, clean data and few plugins.

A manual or custom migration may fit stores with complex data, subscriptions, custom plugins, custom fields, large catalogs, B2B requirements, ERP or CRM integrations, or advanced SEO requirements.

Many projects combine both: an app moves standard data, and custom work handles the rest.

How Long Does a WooCommerce to Shopify Migration Take?

There is no universal timeline. Duration depends on:

• Catalog size and data quality
• Custom fields and plugin data
• Subscriptions
• How much order history you need
• App replacement
• Design and theme work
• Integrations
• SEO redirect mapping
• Testing
• Stakeholder review and feedback turnaround

As an illustration only: a small store with a few dozen products, clean data and a standard theme moves far faster than a store with thousands of variants, subscriptions and an ERP integration. Plan the timeline from your audit, not from a generic estimate.

How Much Does WooCommerce to Shopify Migration Cost?

Cost depends on the same factors as the timeline:

• Store size
• Theme work
• Product and catalog complexity
• Customer and order migration
• Plugin replacement
• Subscriptions
• Integrations
• Custom code
• SEO preservation and redirect mapping
• Testing

Ongoing costs, such as your Shopify plan and app subscriptions, sit on top of the one-off migration work. Our guide to Shopify development cost explains how these factors affect a budget.

When Should You Hire a Shopify Developer for a Migration?

Small, simple stores can often migrate using Shopify's Store Migration app, CSV imports or a migration app, especially with few plugins and little organic traffic to protect.

Professional help becomes more valuable when you have:

• A large store or catalog
• High organic traffic
• Complex SEO requirements
• Custom WooCommerce plugins
• Subscriptions or memberships
• Complex variants
• B2B requirements
• Custom checkout logic
• ERP, CRM or fulfillment integrations
• Custom APIs
• Automation requirements
• Business-critical uptime

How Flasin Approaches WooCommerce to Shopify Migration

Flasin scopes each migration around the store's actual data and systems, covering:

• WooCommerce audit
• Product, customer and order migration planning
• Shopify setup
• Theme customization and Liquid development
• Redirect mapping and technical SEO
• App replacement
• API and CRM integration
• AI and automation
• Testing and launch support

A migration is also the natural moment to decide which workflows to automate. Our Shopify Flow vs n8n vs Make vs Zapier comparison helps choose the right tools.

Flasin's Shopify development services cover migrations alongside store builds, redesigns, integrations and automation.

WooCommerce to Shopify Migration FAQ

Plan Your Shopify Migration

Moving from WooCommerce to Shopify affects more than products. A proper migration should account for customer data, URLs, SEO, integrations, automation, testing and launch planning.

Discuss your Shopify migration with us, or explore our Shopify development services first.