· 5 min read · By M. Taimoor Jamali
WooCommerce to Shopify: a migration checklist
What to move, what to leave behind and how to keep your search rankings when you switch from WooCommerce to Shopify.
Moving from WooCommerce to Shopify removes hosting, plugin updates and security patches from your list. The move itself is where stores lose sales and rankings, so it pays to plan it carefully.
1. Decide what moves
- Products, variants, images and inventory
- Customers and their addresses
- Order history, if you need it for support or reporting
- Blog posts and pages
- Reviews, gift cards and store credit
Old orders are useful for customer service, but you rarely need every one in Shopify. Many brands move the last two years and archive the rest.
2. Map every important URL
WooCommerce and Shopify use different URL patterns. List your product, collection and page URLs from Search Console and your sitemap, then create a 301 redirect for each one to its new Shopify address. This is what protects your rankings.
3. Rebuild, do not copy, your apps
Most stores rely on a dozen WordPress plugins. Some have Shopify equivalents, some are built into Shopify, and some are no longer needed. Review each one rather than replacing them one for one.
4. Test, then launch at a quiet time
- Place test orders with every payment and shipping option
- Check tax for each region you sell to
- Test redirects from a list of your top 100 URLs
- Launch on your quietest day and watch the first orders closely
Customer passwords cannot be moved, so plan a friendly email inviting customers to activate their new account.
