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To migrate WooCommerce to Shopify, export your products from WooCommerce as a CSV file, reformat it to Shopify's template and import it. Customers and orders need an export plugin and, for orders, a migration app. Then replace your plugins with Shopify apps, rebuild your design, set up URL redirects, test, and move your domain last.
Last updated: October 2026
Key takeaways
- WooCommerce exports products on its own. Customers and orders need an export plugin first.
- Customer passwords and reviews don't transfer. Customers set a new password, and reviews go into a reviews app.
- Audit your WordPress plugins before you start. Each one you rely on needs a Shopify app or built-in feature to replace it.
- WooCommerce URLs such as /product/ and /product-category/ change on Shopify, so redirects are what protect your Google rankings.
- Keep WooCommerce live until Shopify is fully tested, then move the domain.
What moves from WooCommerce to Shopify, and how?
Products move easily. Almost everything else needs an extra step. This table is based on Shopify's WooCommerce migration guide.
| Data | Can it move? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Products and images | Yes | WooCommerce product CSV, reformatted, then Shopify product import. Or the Store Migration app if it's offered to you |
| Customers | Yes | Export with a plugin such as Import Export Suite, reformat, then Shopify customer import |
| Customer passwords | No | Customers set a new password the first time they log in to Shopify |
| Past orders | Yes, with an app | Shopify points to LitExtension, Matrixify or Ablestar WooCommerce Importer |
| Product reviews | Not by export | Re-import into a reviews app such as Judge.me, Loox or Yotpo |
| Pages and blog posts | Rebuild or use an app | Copy into Shopify pages and a Shopify blog |
| Design and theme | No | Choose a Shopify theme and rebuild the look |
| Plugins | No | Replace each one with a Shopify app or a built-in feature |
| Google rankings | Protected by redirects | Redirect every old URL to its new Shopify URL |
Step 1: Audit your WooCommerce store and plugins
Before you export anything, write down what your store actually does. WooCommerce stores often rely on a stack of WordPress plugins, and none of them move to Shopify.
Make a simple list with three columns: the plugin, what it does for your customers, and what will replace it on Shopify. Common examples:
| What the plugin does | On Shopify |
|---|---|
| Payments (Stripe, PayPal plugins) | Shopify Payments, plus PayPal and other providers in Settings |
| Abandoned cart emails | Built in: abandoned checkout recovery |
| Email marketing and signup forms | Built in: Shopify's email campaigns and customer segments, or your existing email tool's Shopify app |
| Product reviews | A reviews app |
| Subscriptions, bundles, wholesale | An app from the Shopify App Store |
| SEO plugin (titles, meta descriptions, sitemap) | Built in: editable titles and descriptions, automatic sitemap |
| Caching and speed plugins | Not needed: Shopify handles hosting |
Anything on your list that has no clear replacement is your biggest migration risk. Sort it out before you go any further.
Step 2: Set up your Shopify store and preview it
Create your Shopify store while WooCommerce stays live. During sign-up, choose that you're already selling online and select WooCommerce as your platform.
Shopify's guide describes two useful extras here. You can enter your WooCommerce store URL to generate a starting theme based on your current storefront, built on Shopify's Dawn theme. And you may be offered the Store Migration app, which imports your WooCommerce product CSV without you editing it. The app is in early access, works on desktop only, isn't available for every store, and doesn't bring across products with more than three options.
You can start a free Shopify trial to do all of this before you pay for a plan.
Step 3: Export your data from WooCommerce
Download everything, even what you don't plan to import, so you have a backup.
- Products: in WordPress, go to Products > All Products, click Export, choose your columns and categories, and click Generate CSV.
- Customers: WooCommerce doesn't export customers on its own. Shopify's guide uses the Import Export Suite plugin: choose User/Customer, and decide whether to include guest customers.
- Orders: use the same plugin and choose Orders.
Also save your page text, blog posts, policies and original product images. Then export a list of every URL on your site, from your sitemap or Google Search Console. You'll need it for redirects in Step 8.
Step 4: Reformat your files for Shopify
WooCommerce and Shopify use different column names, so the files need tidying. Download Shopify's product and customer CSV templates and paste your data into them. The main changes:
- Name becomes Title, and Description becomes Body (HTML).
- Attribute 1 name and value(s) become Option1 Name and Option1 Value. Each option value needs its own row.
- Weight (lbs) becomes Variant Grams. Multiply pounds by 453.6.
- Regular price becomes Variant Price, Stock becomes Variant Inventory Qty, and Images becomes Image Src.
- For customers, use two-letter country and state codes, and match Shopify's column headings exactly. The customer import has no column mapping, so any mismatch fails.
Keep each product's handle, the last part of its URL, the same as on WooCommerce. It makes your redirects much simpler later.
Step 5: Import products, customers and orders
- Go to Products > Import, add your CSV, and untick Publish new products to all sales channels so nothing goes live before you've checked it.
- Click Upload and preview, check the preview, then import.
- Go to Customers > Import and import your customer file.
- If you want past orders, install one of the order migration apps and follow its steps. Most run a test import first.
- Open ten random products and compare them with WooCommerce: title, price, variants, images, weight and stock.
Shopify notes that products with a missing variant option won't import. Add any that fail by hand.
Step 6: Rebuild your design and pages
Your WordPress theme doesn't transfer, so use the move to fix what wasn't working. Pick a theme, add your logo and colors, then rebuild your homepage, About, Contact and FAQ pages, and your shipping, refund and privacy policies.
If your WordPress site also runs a blog, move the posts that bring in search traffic into a Shopify blog. Keeping the shop and the blog on one platform is simpler to manage and keeps your links in one place. Our guide to Shopify product page best practices will help you make product pages better than they were before.
Step 7: Set up payments, shipping and taxes
In Settings, turn on Shopify Payments if it's available in your country, and add PayPal if your customers use it. On the Basic plan, using a provider other than Shopify Payments adds a 2% third-party transaction fee, according to Shopify's pricing page.
Then recreate your shipping zones and rates, set up taxes, and turn on your abandoned checkout email. Place a test order on your phone, including shipping and tax, and refund it.
Step 8: Set up URL redirects
Redirects send old WooCommerce links, including those in Google, to the matching Shopify page. Skip them and old links break, which is how stores lose rankings after a move.
| Page type | Typical WooCommerce URL | Typical Shopify URL |
|---|---|---|
| Product | /product/blue-mug/ | /products/blue-mug |
| Category | /product-category/mugs/ | /collections/mugs |
| Shop page | /shop/ | /collections/all |
| Page | /about/ | /pages/about |
| Blog post | /your-post-name/ (varies by WordPress settings) | /blogs/news/your-post-name |
Your WordPress permalink settings may differ, so check your own URLs. In Shopify, go to Content > Menus, open URL Redirects, and add each one, or import them all with a CSV file. Point every old page to its closest new page, never all to the homepage. Our guide on keeping your Google rankings during a platform move walks through building the redirect map step by step.
Step 9: Test, then move your domain
Only switch the domain once Shopify is complete and tested. Check that every product has images and the right price, shipping covers every country you sell to, and pages load quickly on mobile.
To move the domain, update its DNS records to point to Shopify, or transfer it. Shopify's guide recommends disconnecting the domain from your old setup first to avoid SSL certificate errors. If your email runs through your WordPress host, set up email forwarding or a new email provider before you switch.
After launch, remove the store password, submit your Shopify sitemap in Google Search Console, and click through your most-visited old URLs to check they redirect. Then email your customers to let them know the store has moved and that they'll set a new password next time they log in.
How long does a WooCommerce to Shopify migration take?
It depends on the size of your catalog and how many plugins you need to replace. As a rough guide:
| Store | Typical DIY time |
|---|---|
| Under 50 products, few plugins | A weekend to a week |
| 50 to 500 products, variants, a blog, a handful of plugins | Two to three weeks of evenings |
| 500+ products, subscriptions, custom code, order history | Usually worth getting help |
If you're in the UK, EU or Australia
Check that prices import with VAT or GST handled the same way they were on WooCommerce. In Shopify, decide in your tax settings whether prices include tax, and set up your currency and markets before you import, so prices don't change by mistake. If you used a local payment plugin, check that the same payment methods are available in Shopify before you switch.
Do it yourself or have it done for you
Do it yourself: a small WooCommerce store with few plugins can be moved in a weekend or two with the steps above. Start a free trial and import a test file before you commit.
Have it done for you: Komrex, a Shopify store design agency, handles WooCommerce migrations, including plugin replacements, redirects and the domain switch. Our team has built 900+ Shopify stores. See our migration service, or our Scale & Brand package, which includes migration and a new brand look.
Frequently asked questions
Can I migrate WooCommerce to Shopify for free?
Products and customers can be moved for free using CSV files: WooCommerce exports products on its own, and a free or paid export plugin handles customers. Shopify's Store Migration app is also free if it's offered to your store. Moving past orders usually needs a paid migration app. You'll also pay for your Shopify plan after the trial.
Will my customers need new passwords after moving to Shopify?
Yes. Passwords can't be transferred between platforms, so imported customers keep their details and order history but set a new password the first time they log in. Email your customers when you launch to explain that the store has moved, and give them a direct link to your new login page.
Can I move my WooCommerce product reviews to Shopify?
Not through Shopify's own import. Shopify's guide says reviews can't be exported or migrated directly, and recommends importing them with a reviews app such as Judge.me, Loox or Yotpo. Only move reviews that real customers left, and keep their original wording, names and dates.
Will I lose SEO moving from WooCommerce to Shopify?
Not if you plan for it. Your URLs will change, for example from /product/ to /products/, so set up a redirect from every old URL that gets traffic to its matching Shopify page before you move the domain. Keep page titles and content the same at first, and expect a few weeks of ranking movement while Google recrawls.
Should I keep WordPress for my blog after moving to Shopify?
For most small stores, no. Running two platforms means two logins, two bills and links split across two sites. Moving blog posts that get traffic into a Shopify blog, with redirects from the old URLs, keeps everything in one place. Keep WordPress only if your blog is large and complex and you have someone to maintain it.
Start with your plugin list today. It's the quickest way to see how big your move really is.
