How to Migrate from WordPress / WooCommerce to Shopify

Moving your store from WooCommerce or WordPress to Shopify feels like a big step, especially if you’ve never done it before. 

But with the right plan, switching to Shopify becomes a step-by-step process.  Nothing technical or overwhelming.

This guide walks you through each step, from backing up your data to setting up payments, so you can switch platforms without losing progress. 

Bonus: You’ll also learn how to avoid common mistakes that slow down or break most migrations.

If you’d prefer to leave the migration to the experts, Uptek’s Shopify migration services are here to handle every step for you.

Quick Question: Is Shopify Right for You? Here’s Why Store Owners Make the Switch

If you’re currently…	Shopify gives you…	Why it matters
Struggling with plugin issues or site speed	A fully hosted platform with automatic updates	No more tech maintenance slowing your business down
Spending too much time managing backend tasks	A clean, beginner-friendly dashboard	Focus more on sales, and less on technical setup
Planning to scale or expand your product line	Built-in features and apps that grow with your store	Easier to grow without migrating again later

Step 1: Back Up Your WooCommerce Store Completely

Before you move anything, make a complete backup of your site. This gives you a restore point if something goes wrong mid-migration.

What to Back Up?

Make sure your backup includes:

• All product listings (titles, images, prices, descriptions, SKUs)
• Customer data (names, emails, purchase history)
• Order records
• Blog content (if any)
• Media files (images, downloadable PDFs, etc.)
• Theme files and custom code
• Plugin settings and site configurations

How to Back It Up

For backing up the data from your WooCommerce/WordPress store, there are two reliable methods:

Method 1: Use a backup plugin (Recommended for Most Users)

• Install UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, or All-in-One WP Migration
• Choose full site + database backup
• Export the backup to your local drive or cloud storage

Method 2: Manual export via WooCommerce

• Go to WooCommerce → Products → Export
• Repeat for Customers and Orders
• Save all files as CSVs
• Use Tools → Export from WordPress to back up Pages, Posts, and Media

Even if you plan to use a migration app later, keep a manual copy of your store data as insurance.

Tip: Save your backups in at least two locations, like a local folder and Google Drive or Dropbox. 

Step 2: Export Your WooCommerce Data

After backing up the store, it’s time to export all the essential data from your WooCommerce store to Shopify. 

This includes products, customer records, order history, and any other content you want to bring with you.

The goal is simple: create structured, complete exports that Shopify can accept without data loss or rework.

What You’ll Need to Export

Focus on exporting the following:

• Products: Titles, descriptions, images, prices, SKUs, inventory levels, tags
• Customers: Names, emails, billing and shipping addresses, order count
• Orders: Purchase history, order IDs, payment statuses, fulfillment statuses
• Categories and Tags (optional): Especially if you want to retain product organization
• Coupons or custom fields (optional): If these are required for your store setup

Plus, you don’t need to export plugins, themes, or WordPress-specific settings. These won’t carry over to Shopify and are handled differently.

Exporting Data via WooCommerce Dashboard

WooCommerce has built-in export tools that let you extract data in CSV format (which Shopify accepts). Here’s how to use them:

1. Go to WooCommerce → Products → All Products
2. Click the Export button at the top
3. Select the columns and product types you want (or leave defaults)
4. Click Generate CSV

You’ll receive a downloadable file with product data, this can be edited or reviewed before importing into Shopify.

Exporting Customers

WooCommerce doesn’t natively support customer export, so use a plugin like:

• Customer / Order / Coupon Export by SkyVerge (official WooCommerce extension)
• Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce (free on WordPress.org)

These let you export:

• Customer names and contact details
• Account creation date
• Lifetime value or order counts

Export this data as a CSV for easy Shopify import.

Exporting Orders

With the same plugins above, you can also export:

• Order numbers
• Purchase date and totals
• Payment and fulfillment status
• Products purchased in each order
  

Again, format it as a CSV and save a clean copy locally.

Use a Migration Plugin (Optional)

If your store has a large catalog (500+ SKUs), hundreds of customer records, or complex data relationships (e.g. grouped products, bundles), manual exports can get tedious or error-prone.

You can streamline the process using one of these tools:

Tool	Features	Notes
LitExtension	One-click WooCommerce → Shopify migration with product, customer, and order mapping	Paid service; excellent for stores with 1,000+ products
Cart2Cart	Automated data transfer between platforms	Supports real-time sync during the migration window
Matrixify (formerly Excelify)	Shopify app for importing/exporting large datasets	Great if you’re comfortable editing CSVs

Keep Data Formatting In-Check

Before importing into Shopify, check that your CSV headers match Shopify’s required format. Some fields may need to be renamed or restructured. For instance:

Bonus Shopify CSV Tips:

• The column headers should match Shopify’s exact format (e.g. Title, Body (HTML), Vendor, Tags)
• If your WooCommerce export includes non-standard fields (like post_type, ID, slug), remove or rename them before uploading
• Image URLs must be publicly accessible if you’re not re-uploading images manually

Here’s a 1:1 field comparison for product exports:

WooCommerce CSV Field	Shopify CSV Equivalent	Notes
post_title	Title	Product name
post_content	Body (HTML)	Full product description
sku	Handle	Used for unique product URL slugs
regular_price	Variant Price	Main product price
sale_price	Variant Compare at Price	Optional (used for showing discounts)
stock or stock_quantity	Variant Inventory Qty	Quantity in stock
images	Image Src	Shopify requires direct image URLs
product_cat	Collection or Tags	Shopify doesn’t have categories, use collections or tags instead
product_type	Type	Optional but helpful for sorting
attributes (like Size/Color)	Option1 Name / Option1 Value	Shopify uses “Options” for variants
meta:_weight	Variant Weight	Needed for shipping calculation
meta:_length / _width / _height	Custom fields or metafields	Shopify doesn’t support dimensional fields natively, use apps or metafields

Refer to Shopify’s product CSV documentation to ensure compatibility.

Save Your Exports in One Folder

Create a dedicated folder on your desktop or cloud storage and keep all exported files organized:

• products.csv
• customers.csv
• orders.csv
• Notes on categories, tags, or special settings

This helps you stay organized as you move into the import phase.

Step 3: Set Up Your Shopify Store

Now, it’s time to set up a functional Shopify environment to receive all exported data and continue the migration.

Create Your Shopify Account

Visit Shopify and start your free trial. You’ll be prompted to:

• Enter your email, password, and a store name
• Answer a few brief setup questions
• Access the Shopify Admin (your store’s control panel)

Quick Tip: There’s no need to commit to a plan yet. Shopify’s trial period gives you full access to features so you can build before paying.

Select a Starter Theme

Navigate to Online Store → Themes and choose a theme that aligns with your brand. You can start with:

• Dawn: Shopify’s default theme, fast and highly flexible
• Craft: Great for storytelling-focused brands with elegant layouts
• Refresh: Simple, modern, and ideal for general-purpose stores
• Sense: Designed for health & beauty products with a soft visual style
• Ride: High-impact theme for bold, athletic, or performance-driven brands

Once done with the selection, customize them to best suit your store’s vibe. 

Step 4: Import Your Data into Shopify

Now that your WooCommerce data is ready, it’s time to bring it into your Shopify store. 

Shopify accepts CSV files for products, customers, and discounts. Orders are trickier as they usually require an app or manual workaround.

We’ll cover both manual and assisted import options, explain formatting requirements, and point out pitfalls you’ll want to avoid.

Import Products via CSV (Manual)

If you exported your product catalog as a CSV, here’s how to import it directly into Shopify:

1. Go to Shopify Admin → Products
2. Click Import in the top right
3. Upload your products.csv file
4. Click Upload and Continue
5. Review column mapping and click Import Products

Reference: Shopify’s Product CSV Format

Import Customers via CSV

The steps are similar:

1. Go to Shopify Admin → Customers
2. Click Import Customers
3. Upload your customers.csv
4. Map fields carefully and click Import

Tip: Shopify doesn’t allow passwords to be imported for existing customers (for security reasons). You can notify customers to set new passwords via email after import.

Restore Customer Access (Without Password Import)

You can transfer customer data such as names, emails, and order history but you can’t migrate passwords from WooCommerce to Shopify. Shopify uses a different encryption system and, for security reasons, doesn’t allow password imports.

Instead, you’ll need to prompt customers to create new passwords.

Here’s how to do it:

1. After importing your customers, head to Customers → Add Name, Phone Number, and Email → Actions → Send account invite

2. Shopify will email them a secure link to activate their account with a new password
3. Their new accounts will retain their email and past orders (if migrated via the app)

Customize the invite email under Settings → Notifications → Customer account invite to align the message with your brand tone and reassure returning users.

Note: Shopify doesn’t currently support sending invites to all customers in bulk unless you’re using a third-party tool. For larger lists, automate the process with tools like Bulk Account Inviter or use your email platform to notify customers manually.

Import Orders (Requires App)

Shopify doesn’t support direct order import via CSV unless you use an app. If you want to retain historical order data use apps like:

App	What It Does	Ideal For
Matrixify	Imports orders, products, customers, collections, blog posts, and more	Large or complex migrations
LitExtension	One-click WooCommerce → Shopify migration, including full order syncing	All-in-one solution
Cart2Cart	Real-time sync for live WooCommerce stores	Stores that need minimal downtime

Preserve Order History 

If you’re moving from WooCommerce to Shopify, keeping accurate order history is important for customer support, refunds, and loyalty workflows.

To preserve WooCommerce order data, use a migration tool (same as above) like Matrixify, LitExtension, or Cart2Cart. They can preserve: 

• Order numbers and IDs
• Purchase dates
• Payment and fulfillment status
• Products per order
• Order values

Check the Imported Data

After each import (products, customers, orders), verify:

• Product titles and prices are correct
• Images load properly
• Variants are assigned correctly (size, color, etc.)
• Customer names and emails are intact
• Order IDs match your WooCommerce records

If anything looks off, you can delete the imported batch and re-import it with corrections.

To do that:

• Go to Products → All Products
• Use filters to select imported products
• Click Actions → Delete selected products

Set Up 301 Redirects in Shopify (Without Losing Traffic)

When migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify, URL structures will change. If you don’t set up proper redirects, old links will lead to 404 errors, costing you traffic and SEO value.

Here’s how to do it right:

Manually Redirect Individual URLs:

1. In Shopify Admin, go to Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects

2. Click Create URL Redirect
   Enter your old WooCommerce URL (e.g. /product/blue-mug)
3. Add the new Shopify URL (e.g. /products/blue-mug)
4. Click Save

Map Common WooCommerce URLs to Shopify Equivalents:

WooCommerce URL	Shopify Equivalent
/product/*	/products/*
/product-category/*	/collections/*
/blog/*	/blogs/news/*
/shop	/collections/all

These patterns help guide your redirect setup

Bulk Redirects (For Larger Stores):

For multiple redirects, use Shopify’s bulk upload tool:

1. Prepare a CSV with two columns:
   
   • Redirect from (your old WooCommerce URLs)
   • Redirect to (your new Shopify URLs)
     
2. Go to Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects
   
3. Click Import and upload your CSV

Transfer Product Reviews

By default, Shopify doesn’t import WooCommerce product reviews. But there are reliable ways to move them:

• Install Shopify’s free Product Reviews app if you need a simple solution
  For advanced features (like star ratings, photos, and review requests), use Judge.me, Loox, or Stamped.io
• You’ll usually need to export your WooCommerce reviews in CSV format and match the new app’s template before uploading.

Pro Tip: Apps like Judge.me even offer free review migration support if you’re switching from WooCommerce.

Migrate Discount Codes

WooCommerce coupons won’t carry over automatically but you can recreate them inside Shopify.

To do it:

1. Go to Discounts → Create Discount
2. Choose the same code (e.g., SAVE10)
3. Reapply your conditions: percentage/amount off, product restrictions, usage limits, expiry dates

Step 5: Set Up Your Shopify Theme and Store Design

Once your products and data are in, your storefront still needs to be structured, styled, and made usable.

And for that, you need to go beyond just picking a nice theme. This step is about organizing your content, recreating menus, and building trust with visitors from the moment they land on your homepage.

Choose and Customize Your Theme

Go to Online Store → Themes. You’ll start with Shopify’s default theme (Dawn), but you can explore others from the Shopify Theme Store.

Themes come in two types:

• Free (lightweight and flexible)
• Paid (often include advanced filtering, layouts, and animations)

Once you pick a theme, click Customize to open Shopify’s drag-and-drop theme editor.

Within the editor, you can:

• Change homepage layouts (banners, featured collections, testimonials, etc.)
• Customize typography and color palette
• Add your logo and favicon
• Build custom sections for trust badges, reviews, or guarantees

Pro Tip: Preview the theme on both desktop and mobile before finalizing. Shopify is mobile-first but each theme handles responsiveness slightly differently.

Rebuild Navigation Menus

After you import your products, you’ll need to organize how visitors move through your store, starting with menus.

Here’s how to edit Shopify’s navigation the easy way:

1. In your Shopify Admin, click Online Store → Navigation
2. You’ll see two default menus:
   • Main Menu: The header navigation (top of your site)
   • Footer Menu: Links that show at the bottom of your pages
3. Click on Main Menu, then:
   • Add links like Home, Shop, About, Contact
   • Create dropdowns (e.g., “Shop” → “T-Shirts”, “Accessories”)
4. Open the Footer Menu and add:
   • Legal pages like Refund Policy, Terms, and Privacy Policy

Organize Products into Collections

Collections help users browse your catalog. Think of them as Shopify’s version of WooCommerce product categories.

To create a collection:

• Go to Products → Collections → Create Collection
• Choose Manual (you hand-pick products) or Automated (rules-based)
• Add a title, image, and description for SEO

Then:

• Link collections to menus (via Navigation)
• Feature collections on the homepage via the theme editor

Example:

If you sold “Hoodies” in WooCommerce, create a “Hoodies” collection and assign the relevant products during or after import.

Rebuild Key Pages (About, Contact, FAQs)

Shopify doesn’t automatically import custom pages from WordPress. You’ll need to recreate these manually under:

Online Store → Pages → Add Page

Pages to rebuild:

• About Us: Tell your brand story
• Contact Us: Include a form and contact details
• FAQs: Answer common customer questions
• Shipping & Returns: Add policies to reduce support tickets
  

You can also re-enable or create a Blog under Online Store → Blog Posts. If you have a WordPress blog, now’s a good time to re-import key posts manually or via a CSV+app combo.

Step 6: Set Up Payments, Shipping, and Taxes

You’ve imported your products and styled your storefront, now it’s time to make your store function like a real business. 

That means enabling payments, configuring shipping rates, and ensuring tax rules are accurate. Here’s how to do it!

Set Up Payments

Go to Settings → Payments inside your Shopify Admin. Click Activate Shopify Payments, enter your business and banking info, and you’re done.

For Third-party gateways (for regions where Shopify Payments isn’t supported) options include:

• PayPal
• Stripe
• Authorize.net
• 2Checkout

Tip: If using PayPal, link the same email address you used in WooCommerce to avoid syncing issues with customer refunds or order history.

Configure Shipping Rates and Zones

Shipping in Shopify is handled under Settings → Shipping and Delivery.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Create Shipping Zones based on where you ship (e.g., U.S., Canada, Europe)
2. Assign Rates to each zone:
   
   • Flat rate (e.g., $5 per order)
   • Free shipping (with conditions)
   • Carrier-calculated rates (UPS, USPS, FedEx)

Set Up Taxes

Shopify automatically calculates most sales taxes based on your business address and where you’re shipping to. 

But it’s your job to confirm those rules.

Under Settings → Taxes and Duties:

• Add your business location
• Enable automatic tax calculation
• Review tax overrides if you sell exempt items or have special rules (e.g., clothing, digital products)

If you collect VAT or GST:

• Enable those regions (EU, Canada, Australia)
• Set inclusive/exclusive pricing depending on how you want prices displayed

Step 7: Test Everything Before You Launch

You’ve set up your Shopify store, imported your data, styled your pages, and configured payments and shipping. Now it’s time to make sure everything works.

You’ll be checking for:

• Missing content
• Broken functionality
• Confusing layouts
• Any friction a real customer might feel

Let’s break it down.

Browse the Store Like a First-Time Visitor

Start from your homepage and navigate through the entire store.

• Click every menu item and link
• Open category pages, product pages, and info pages (About, Contact, FAQ)
• Look at image quality, text formatting, and mobile layout

Pro Tip: Use different devices: a phone, a tablet, and a laptop. Ask someone unfamiliar with the site to test it. Watch where they get confused or frustrated.

Place a Test Order

1. Go to Settings → Payments
   Enable Bogus Gateway (Shopify’s fake payment processor for testing)
2. Add an item to your cart and complete checkout as if you were a real customer

You’re testing:

• Add-to-cart functionality
• Shipping calculation
• Checkout flow
• Order confirmation page
• Email notifications

After the test, disable the Bogus Gateway and re-enable your real payment provider.

Check Email Notifications

Go to Settings → Notifications and:

• Review all templates (order confirmation, shipping update, refund, etc.)
• Send test emails to yourself
• Make sure branding is correct (logo, business name, contact info)

Test the Backend

Even if customers won’t see this, you will. Make sure:

• Inventory updates correctly after a test order
• Orders show up in Orders → All Orders
• You can edit orders, issue refunds, and mark them as fulfilled without errors
• Your analytics dashboard starts tracking visits and conversions

Final SEO Checks

You’ve migrated your store, styled your pages, and redirected your old URLs. 

Now it’s time to make sure your Shopify site is fully crawlable, indexable, and optimized to rank.

Here’s your last-minute SEO checklist:

• Resubmit your sitemap via Google Search Console. Shopify auto-generates a sitemap at /sitemap.xml. Submit this to ensure search engines index your new structure quickly.
• Add metadata to key pages. Make sure each product, collection, and blog post includes a clear title tag, meta description, and image alt text. You can do this under the Search engine listing preview on each page.

• Check your robots.txt. Shopify manages this by default, but you can preview it at /robots.txt. Make sure it’s not blocking important pages.
• Remove password protection. Head to Online Store → Preferences → Password Protection and disable it. Your site won’t be publicly accessible until you do.

4 Migration Traps That Catch Even Smart Store Owners, Here’s What to Avoid:

Even if you follow every step correctly, migrations can still break. Not because of tools or files but because of overlooked assumptions and rushed decisions.

Here are four migration traps we see most often and how to stay clear of them.

Trap 1: Assuming All Your Data Will “Just Work”

Most store owners think exporting/importing is enough as the data structure will match and the fields will map perfectly.

What Goes Wrong:

Images don’t appear. Product variants vanish. Customer data is incomplete.

How To Avoid It: 

Manually inspect your CSVs. Spot-check 10+ rows. Understand how Shopify structures product data, and clean your export accordingly. Use tools like Matrixify if you need more control.

Trap 2: Treating Design as a Finishing Touch

After importing products, the design feels optional. Owners often “set it later.”

What Goes Wrong: 

The store is functional but looks generic or broken. Navigation is unclear. First impressions tank conversion.

How To Avoid It: 

Theme structure is part of the experience and shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought. 

Rebuild menus, collection layouts, and homepage content before launch. Test it like a customer would.

Trap 3: Focusing Only on the Front-End

A good-looking store is not always a good working store. 

What Goes Wrong:

Payment gateways aren’t live. Shipping rules are off. Notifications fail. Tax rules are wrong.

How To Avoid It:

Run a full end-to-end test. Place test orders. Confirm tax, shipping, checkout, and fulfillment. Don’t launch until the backend workflow matches your business needs.

Trap 4: Ignoring Redirects and SEO

Many store owners forget about old links once they’ve moved to a shiny new platform.

What Goes Wrong: 

Existing traffic drops. Top-ranking pages disappear from Google. Inbound links point to 404s.

How To Avoid It: 

Audit your top pages using Google Search Console or Ahrefs. Create 301 redirects in Shopify. Submit your new sitemap after migration.

Ready to Make the Move?

Once you’re done with a WordPress/WooCommerce to Shopify migration, this move gives you:

• A faster, more reliable storefront
• Better tools to scale your business
• Less time spent on maintenance and updates

Plus, you don’t have to migrate everything at once or have to perfect every design detail on day one. 

For now, you have a step-by-step framework to guide the entire process, backed by the same best practices professionals use.

But if you’d rather skip the headaches and stay focused on growing your store, let the pros at Uptek handle your migration.

Your Questions, Our Answers:

1. Can I migrate my WooCommerce store to Shopify without using a paid app?

Yes, if your store isn’t too complex.

Shopify allows manual CSV imports for products and customers, and you can rebuild your theme, pages, and settings manually. However, if your store has 500+ SKUs, advanced product types, or large order history, using a migration app (like Matrixify or LitExtension) can save time and reduce the risk of errors.

2. Will I lose my SEO rankings after the migration?

Not if you plan correctly. Shopify allows you to set up 301 redirects for your old WooCommerce URLs. 

This tells Google where the new pages live, preserving rankings and referral traffic. Also be sure to re-upload metadata, submit a new sitemap, and monitor indexing in Google Search Console after launch.

3. Do I need to cancel my WordPress hosting after switching to Shopify?

Only after you’re sure everything has been transferred and is working correctly. Keep your WordPress hosting active until:

• All data has been migrated and verified
• All old URLs have been redirected
• Your custom domain is connected to Shopify
• Your new store is live and stable

Once that’s confirmed, you can safely cancel WordPress hosting.

4. Is the process the same for WordPress blogs without WooCommerce?

Yes. If you’re doing a Shopify migration from WordPress without an eCommerce plugin, you’ll still need to manually export your content, recreate pages, and adjust SEO settings. 

The product and order data steps won’t apply, but the theme and SEO process is similar.