How To Migrate From WooCommerce To Shopify: Complete Guide

Being a ecommerce store owner, you need to focus on running your business, apart from technical implementation. With the growth and expansion of your eCommerce business,if you are considering migrating from Woocommerce to Shopify then this guide will help you achieve this.

WooCommerce – A Quick Review

An open-source plugin for WordPress, WooCommerce, is well-recognized as one of the highly ranked, free eCommerce platforms we have today. This makes it exceptionally popular among the top online retailers.

Shopify – A Quick Review

The globe’s leading, subscription-based eCommerce solution, Shopify exhibits the next step that the store owners may take amidst the expansion of their online business.

To know the pros and cons of these eCommerce platforms, and why and how you should migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify, keep reading!

Let’s Compare: WooCommerce vs. Shopify

Benefits of Migrating to Shopify

1. Shopify Is Convenient To Use Even Without Any Technical Proficiency

Shopify comes with security as well as hosting. Also, you are not required to use any code to develop a fully-fledged online store. Fairly quick and easy, Shopify is easy to get familiar with. Widely-known as a comprehensive tool, Shopify, is comfortable in handling payments, products, inventory, and more. Moreover, it provides a seamless drag-drop menu to manage everything smoothly.

Not beginner-friendly, WooCommerce demands coding knowledge, if you lack it, you will struggle when developing an online store on WooCommerce. Furthermore, being a website owner, you will be required to look for all the activities manually from the website hosting to its security. However, 50 thousand and more plugins are available that meet your needed purpose, but will eventually add up to your installation cost.

2. Shopify Offers Easy To Customize Themes

Well, design and themes are a matter of concern, but besides that, ease of customization is also important. Shopify comes with 70+ free and paid themes from which you can pick as per your taste and business needs. When we talk about the variety, it just crosses the figure of 100. Being a dedicated eCommerce platform, Shopify offers polished themes that assist you in selling better. You can even customize its themes easily.

WooCommerce themes rank one less as compared to Shopify, the themes of which are more polished and sleeker. WooCommerce also permits limitless customization, but it will ask for technical skills for the same.

3. Shopify Makes Check Out Smooth & Prevents Abandoned Cart

Shopify comes with easy checkout as it allows its customers to complete their order with no need to filling-up the details repeatedly. Also, it sends a gentle reminder via email to invite the customers for completing their orders. This Abandoned Cart Recovery feature looks like a fixer, which mends a leaking pipe so that the sales just can’t slip-off.

4. Shopify Stores Make Shipping A Smooth Experience

A smooth shipping experience just adds to your brand recognition. Both the eCommerce platforms, WooCommerce and Shopify permit you to provide free shipping and worldwide selling, but here Shopify goes an extra mile. It arrives with its linked partners UPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, and USPS that leads to save your effort and time that you invest in your courier service.

 5. No Need To Pay Extra Due To Built-In eCommerce Tools

Shopify brings along various built-in eCommerce tools, just you need to sign-up for its basic version, and you will get various fascinating features that will support you for better selling. Let’s know some – unlimited products, discount codes, 100+ payment options, website and blog, etc.

Most features that are included as standard in Shopify, may charge you when you choose WooCommerce. For example, extensions for accepting payment, etc.

6. Shopify Helps In Multichannel Selling

Multichannel selling is allowed in Shopify that facilitates you to integrate your store with various channels, like Pinterest, Facebook, and more. This attracts a new online audience towards your store, and also with no extra charges.

On the contrary, with WooCommerce, you can integrate your store with various social media channels, but at an applicable cost.

7. Security Features To Keep Your Shopify Store Safe

Well, Shopify takes care of your store when it comes to security as it is a hosted eCommerce platform, so it is responsible for handling the security breaches and ensures that your website is safe.

Moreover, Shopify has an in-built SSL that you can notice by its tiny padlock icon that appears ahead of your URL. SSL certification comes with various benefits, like secure processing of customer details and payments, support in store’s SEO as Google favors sites with SSL, ensures users that their website is safe to browse, which makes sales more likely, etc.

Apart from that, again Shopify is PCI-DSS compliant. You are not required to set up or do anything to process debit and credit card payments. You can start with it from the first day only.

On the opposite end, WooCommerce integrates with WordPress, that’s why it is self-hosted. Its in-built security doesn’t include the exact plugin that is required, so all types of security options demand your involvement or need the assistance of your hosting provider to handle it perfectly.

In fact, SSL is present when it comes to WooCommerce, because it is a part of WordPress that is an open-source platform. You will need to source your SSL certificate yourself.

8. Easily Scale Your Online Store

With your business expansion, your struggle also increases like process handling and streamlining. Among these two eCommerce platforms, Shopify and WooCommerce, the former one manages everything relevant to technical aspects, comfortably. It takes care of your stores’ upgrades, security improvements, backups, and more factors, automatically and hassle-free.

On the other hand, WooCommerce becomes heavy as it starts demanding manual changes, like handling increased traffic, improving cache, web-hosting plans upgrades, content management system, and more.

9. Quick Customer Support To Resolve Your Issues

Shopify offers round-the-clock customer support over email, live chat, and phone. The helpful guides, a setup wizard, and a community forum of Shopify do more than enough for you.

On the contrary, WooCommerce seeks help from its web hosting brands (paid) to achieve customer support access. Or you may install a plugin for complete security. However, it comes with 24-7 live chat, and phone support, and has a big knowledge center well-equipped with useful information.

10. Set-Up Your eStore Quickly

While starting from scratch, you begin with limited technical skills, and for this phase, Shopify proves to be the best. Making your store ‘live’ is easier and quicker with Shopify. Everything is just a tap away to offer your store a captivating look and feel, be it is a theme or customization.

Coming to WooCommerce, you will find it more suitable for the one who is not looking for immediate sales. Developing stores with WooCommerce would demand various creative controls that will lead to a perfectly customized website as per your needs. For your scratch requirement, you should turn to Shopify as it offers a quicker set-up.

WooCommerce Migration Checklist – Handy Tips to Ensure Successful Migration

As you will next start with the migration process, for a smooth transition, you may consider the following checklist.

1. Before Migration, Take A Full Backup Of Your Current Store

It is recommended to have a backup of your store before you start with migration to Shopify. This will help you if anything, unfortunately, goes wrong amidst the process.

2. Migrate Your Content & Products In Required Languages

If you have a multilingual store, you should be sure about migrating the entire translated content to your new store so that it may not ask for re-working.

3. Import Complete Supplier & Media Information

Be sure that you export complete data that is related to your seller’s details and media along with your products and variations and ahead of that, import it to your Target store.

4. Preserve SEO Rankings By Creating 301 Redirects

On migrating to your new store, your old traffic and SEO rankings, experience a major fall. This is what you can’t afford. It took years to build such a strong reputation, so don’t allow it to go waste. Despite deleting your old store completely, set up 301 redirects from the old pages to your new ones to maintain your original status.

5. Export Products Along With Products Variants

Most of the time, we export the products but miss the product variations. This states that you need to create them again completely on the new store. So, while exporting your data, be sure that you select the products and product variants as the XML files.

6. Preserve Order IDs Post-Migration

After exporting data, to keep your product IDs consistent, you should track all the products and variants perfectly. This way you will ensure that all your products are migrated successfully. If you miss this, you will end up with lots of confusion.

7. Ensure Smooth Transition By Migrating Your Users’ Password

When you are migrating your products, be sure that you export user data also, among which the account details and passwords are a must. Don’t push your users into trouble leaving them setting their new accounts or creating their new passwords again.

Hire Shopify Developers To Migrate Your Woocommerce Store To Shopify

Data We Can Migrate From WooCommerce To Shopify

• Products: Manufacturer, Name, Status, Full Description, SKU, Meta Title, Meta Description, Product Tags, Additional Images, Manage Stock
• Variants: (Quantity, SKU, Weight, Price, Special Price).
• Product Categories: Name, Description, Meta Title, Meta Description, Image
• Customers: First Name, Email, Last Name.
• Billing Address: (Company, First Name, Last Name, Address 1, Address 2, Telephone, City, State, Country, Zip Code).
• Shipping Address: (Company, First Name, Last Name, Address 1, Address 2, City, State, Country, Zip Code).
• Orders: Order Date, Order Products, Order Status: (Name, SKU, Option), Quantity, Product Price, Tax Price, Discount Price, Shipping Price, Order Comments.
• Customer Name, Billing Address, Email: (First Name, Last Name, Company, Address 1, Address 2, Telephone, City, Zip Code, State, Country).
• Shipping Address: (Company, First Name, Last Name, Address 1, Address 2, City, State, Country, Zip Code).
• Coupons: Coupon Date, Coupon Code, Coupon Expire Date.
• Reviews: Created Date, Comment, Rate.
• CMS Pages: Title, Descriptions.
• Blogs: Title, Full Description.
• Manufacturers: Name

Approaches To Migrate From WooCommerce To Shopify – Migrate Your Way

Well, there exist the top 3 ways to migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify. Here, we will discuss all three and put forward complete details to help you choose the best and beneficial approach for your business.

#1. Manual Data Migration

However, the manual migration seems to be a time-consuming approach, but let you know that it is free and straightforward comparatively.

Let’s Check out the steps:

Step 1: Export Data From WooCommerce

First, export your data including your products, customers, and orders.

On the WordPress admin panel, Go to the Products section.

A new window will appear from which you can choose columns, specific categories, or product type, that you want to filter for the export. If you want to migrate the entire data then, just leave the fields empty. Besides, you can also include your custom data for the export through a given field.

Then, click on the Generate CSV button.

The CSV file will get downloaded to your computer.

Step 2: Import Products To Shopify

Go to All Products, and click on the Import button.

Go to Shopify admin and start importing your CSV file.

Choose the CSV file, and click the Start Import button.

You need to pick the CSV file you have downloaded from WooCommerce. Next, Shopify Importer will start adding the products from the CSV file to your online store and will take a while. After the completion of the import, you can find your products that are listed on your Shopify store.

After performing manual export through a CSV file, the product images will not get migrated. So, for that, you can upload the product images to file pages of Shopify and the URLs will get generated for all the images automatically. You can also add these URLs to the CSV file and get the uploaded images on Shopify. If you need to add multiple images, you are required to add the URLs in separate lines.

After importing products, you can follow the same for importing your customers and orders data. The order of the data you want to migrate is important. So, you should follow it positively.

Limitations Of Manual Migration From WooCommerce To Shopify

• The product images will not be imported and you will need to manually add them later, and that would not be a convenient way.
• The products that you import may not have the dimensions that you will be required to add in the description of the product separately.
• Some products or customers will be skipped. If the personal details of a customer repeats, the latest entry will only be imported.
• In the file, the digital products will stay in unpublished status. Here, you will be needed to install a free application that comes with a digital download feature on Shopify.
• With WooCommerce, the bundled products will not be imported as they are. You will be required to manually build the bundled products on Shopify or may take the help of an app to develop those.
• From the import, the variable products may get skipped if a value of an attribute is missing from a product variation. In such a case, a manual addition of the variable product to Shopify will be required.

Well, if an approach holds even a single limitation, it may not prove to be a smooth migration process for you. In such a case, we will move ahead to present before you some more approaches that you may choose.

#2. Automated Migration By Using An Import App

The second approach through which you can migrate your data is an import app. Certain widely-chosen apps will assist you in getting your migration job done. Below, we will discuss a widely-used app with a high rating that you may pick to migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify. So, let’s start.

Store Importer App – Directly Move Your Store Data To Shopify

With the Store Importer app, you can perform the migration from your store to Shopify with no technical skills. At first attempt only, this app moves the data perfectly ensuring everything is correct. The Store Importer app assists you in making your store up and running to make sales and craft customer loyalty. With this app, you can migrate your important business data, like your products, customers, and more into Shopify quickly. Well, depending on your current eCommerce platform, the Store Importer can move your entire data. Just, before using this app, you need to add your details to a CSV template.

• Cost: Free
• Rating: 5

Step 1. Export Your Store Data From WooCommerce.

Before importing your source store data, you are required to export your data from your WooCommerce store. After completing the export, your computer will download an XML file storing your WooCommerce data that you can use for importing that data to Shopify.

• Go to WooCommerce admin, click on the Tools -> Export.
• Select All content.
• Click on Download Export File.

Step 2: Import Your Data To Shopify
After you complete your data export from your WooCommerce store. Now you need to import it to Shopify.

Note: Well, with the Store Importer app, the All content via XML file is only compatible. If you don’t have this, then you can use a 3rd-party import app or may import your data manually using CSV files.

• On your Shopify admin, click on Apps – > Store Importer.
• On the page, Import your data into Shopify, choose WooCommerce from the drop-down menu.
• Under the Upload Files, click the Add File and select your exported files.

You can select as many CSV files you want. For importing products, you are required to add that exported files for the Default and Bulk Edit templates, both, to import data properly.

• Click Continue Import -> Import.

Note: If you are unable to find your store’s platform on the Store Importer page, then you need to scroll down, come to the bottom of the page, and click the Select a Different Platform. There you will find WooCommerce in the drop-down menu, you need to select it.

Also Read: How To Migrate from Magento to Shopify: Complete Guide

Step 3: Review & Update Your Imported Data

After you complete your data import successfully, you will find your customer and product data available in your Shopify admin. If some of your data fails to get imported, then you can try adding them manually. After you import your data, you can add a customer or add a product manually.

So, if you want to try this easy migration process you may follow the steps given above to complete it successfully. So, get your business ‘live’ and ‘perfectly running’ with the import apps that are available for free. Such apps just copy your data to your Shopify store and will never delete or change any data without your permission.

The Store Importer app works accurately with various platforms, like to import from Big Cartel, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Big Commerce, Shopkeep, Mailchimp, Lightspeed, and Squarespace. It is fast and reliable, safe and secure, and above all, available at free of cost.

Other Shopify Apps To Help You With WooCommerce To Shopify Migration

Ablestar WooCommerce Importer

Today, thousands of Shopify users are using Woocommerce Importer Ablestar to migrate a million products and more to Shopify.

• Cost: Starts at $49.99 ($4.99 for Upto 50 products & $9.99 for Upto 100 orders)
• Rating: 4.4

LitExtension – Shopping Cart Migration Expert

Litextension migration app comes with the most optimal migration solution to migrate from Woocommerce to Shopify. With its assistance, you can transfer your entire data including products, customers, orders, etc., automatically, securely, and accurately.

• Cost: Starts at $89 ( for Upto 1000 products, 500 orders, and 500 customers )
• Rating: 4.7

Cart2Cart – Automated Shopping Cart Migration

Cart2Cart a top-rated eCommerce migration tool that assists in importing the data to Shopify in minutes.

• Cost: Starts at $69 ( for Upto 1000 products, 500 orders, and 500 customers )
• Rating: 4.2

#3. Hire A Shopify Migration Expert

The easiest and the safest approach to migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify is to get in touch with Shopify migration specialist. This option comes with various advantages. Let’s check out a few:

• By hiring a Shopify migration expert, you will be stress-free as your store would be in safer hands.
• You can rely completely on your technical assistance, for any sort of advice and more.
• You can trust the experts as they have the complete knowledge to migrate your data successfully.
• They will complete their job within the required time frame and as per your expectation.
• Besides exporting your data, the migration expert will help you keep up your new store, setup SEO redirects, and more.

However, hiring an expert for your data migration would cost you an amount and time, but the reliability and knowledge are worth it. If you will waste your time trying to migrate yourself, you would end up with a lot of mess and will find yourself seeking help. So, it’s better to approach a skilled migration professional directly from the start.

Wrapping Up

Choosing between managed WooCommerce hosting and migrating to Shopify requires understanding their distinct approaches to managing online stores. Both platforms offer robust solutions for businesses of all sizes, but both the platforms have various basic differences in the way they manage the technical aspects of the site.

WooCommerce is more than a DIY tool that will prove to be good for tech-savvy users.

On the contrary, Shopify is perfect for those who just need to target their business aspects having no technical knowledge.

Obviously, Shopify offers a great user experience with an additional expense. But, if you really care about the best and expected business results, then you are advised to pick Shopify over WooCommerce. And for technical assistance you can hire Shopify developers with experience & required skills.

Frequently Asked Questions