Shopify to WooCommerce Migration: Complete Guide

E-commerce Platform Migration Checklist to Avoid SEO & Operational Disasters

Migrating from Shopify to WooCommerce offers flexibility, control, and long-term cost advantages  but only when executed with structured planning, precise data handling, and flawless SEO continuity. The framework below provides a comprehensive migration audit covering pre-migration planning, data integrity, URL/SEO preservation, operational continuity, and post-launch validation.

1. Pre-Migration Planning

Migration success depends on clarity of intent, proper resources, and a structured environment.

Strategic Assessment

• Identify the primary reasons for migrating (cost reduction, customization, ownership, integrations, checkout control, SEO flexibility).

   

• Assess store size and complexity: number of products, variants, SKUs, custom fields, metafields, orders, customer records, installed apps, third-party integrations.

   

• Confirm access to all Shopify data exports:

   

• Products + variants

   

• Collection/category metadata

   

• Customers

   

• Order history

   

• Discounts

   

• Tax/shipping settings

   

• Theme files (reference only)

   

• Image assets

   

Infrastructure & Environment

• Select suitable WooCommerce hosting (high-performance WordPress hosting with PHP optimization, database capacity, automatic backups, and SSL).

   

• Confirm you can manage ongoing maintenance: plugin updates, theme updates, WordPress security, backup schedules, and server monitoring.

   

• Document plugins needed to replicate Shopify functionality (filters, subscriptions, multi-currency, wishlist, reviews, etc.).

   

• Define your staging environment for test migrations.

   

Operational Output: a complete pre-migration strategy document + hosting readiness checklist.

2. Data Migration Questions

Data accuracy determines customer trust, operational continuity, and SEO stability.

Export & Transform Requirements

• Validate that all product data and variants can be exported: SKUs, pricing, stock, descriptions, metafields, categories/collections, tags, and all image URLs.

   

• Confirm how Shopify metafields will map to WooCommerce custom fields or plugins.

   

• Identify which Shopify data cannot be migrated directly:

   

• Customer passwords (users must reset passwords after migration).

   

• Certain app data or proprietary configuration fields.

   

Order & Customer Data

• Determine how much order history can migrate and what limitations exist (gateway tokens, partial refunds, some financial data).

   

• Validate that discount codes, shipping rules, and tax settings will import correctly  or document manual recreation steps.

   

Testing Process

• Perform a full test migration on a staging site.

   

• Validate data integrity across:

   

• Product variants

   

• SKU structure

   

• Images mapped correctly

   

• Category and tag hierarchies

   

• Customer details

   

• Order records (accurate dates, totals, statuses)

   

Operational Output: data verification report with mismatches, missing fields, and reconciliation steps.

3. SEO & URL Management

SEO risk is the #1 migration failure point. URL mismatches and missing redirects cause catastrophic ranking losses.

URL Structure Planning

• Compare Shopify URL formats (/products/, /collections/, /pages/) with WooCommerce format (/product/, /product-category/, custom slugs).

   

• Prepare a complete URL mapping spreadsheet:

   

• Old Shopify URL → New WooCommerce URL

   

• One-to-one mapping required for every product, category, blog, and page.

   

Redirects & Reindexing

• Implement 301 redirects for all old URLs to new URLs (no exceptions).

   

• Validate redirect functionality across staging and production.

   

• Submit updated XML sitemap to Google Search Console post-migration.

   

• Monitor for indexing errors, coverage warnings, or URL removal notifications.

   

• Track 404 logs daily for the first 30–90 days.

   

Operational Output: redirect map + updated sitemap + 404 monitoring dashboard.

4. Functionality & Theme

Shopify features are app-driven; WooCommerce requires plugins and theme compatibility.

Functionality Replication

• Confirm WooCommerce plugins exist to replicate Shopify functionality:

   

• Filters and faceted search

   

• Multi-currency / multilingual

   

• Subscriptions

   

• Product recommendations

   

• Abandoned cart recovery

   

• Advanced shipping rules

   

• Validate theme-selection based on speed, responsiveness, and plugin compatibility.

   

Performance & QA

• Test for plugin conflicts and ensure PHP version compatibility.

   

• Ensure mobile optimization of all templates (product pages, cart, checkout).

   

• Validate checkout workflows, payment gateways, tax rules, and shipping rules.

   

• Confirm transactional emails (order confirmation, shipping, password reset) are configured and styled.

   

Operational Output: functional parity report + theme and plugin QA checklist.

5. Customer & Operational Continuity

Migration must not disrupt customers, orders, or backend operations.

Customer Impact

• Customer passwords cannot be migrated; prepare a password reset communication plan.

   

• For pending orders pre-migration, decide whether to fulfill on Shopify or recreate in WooCommerce.

   

• Prepare customer communication regarding upcoming changes or downtime.

   

Integrations & Operations

• Confirm CRM, ESP (email marketing), analytics, warehouse, and ERP integrations support WooCommerce.

   

• Validate API connections and webhook behavior.

   

• Ensure customer notifications, tracking emails, and automated flows continue post-migration.

   

Operational Output: continuity plan covering passwords, communications, and integration handover.

6. Post-Migration Audit

Post-launch checks catch issues before they affect customers or search engines.

Product & Data Verification

• Audit all products, variants, images, pricing, stock levels, categories, and metadata.

   

• Validate product schema (structured data) is present and accurate.

   

SEO Audit

• Validate:

   

• Meta titles and descriptions

   

• Canonical tags

   

• Schema markup

   

• Redirects (301s triggering correctly)

   

• Open Graph tags

   

• Sitemap indexing

   

• Check speed optimization, SSL, caching, and plugin performance.

   

• Review logs for 404s, broken links, missing images, or incorrect URLs.

   

Analytics & Sales Monitoring

• Monitor user behavior (bounce rate, session duration, conversion rate).

   

• Track sales performance and funnel metrics.

   

• Validate checkout completion, payment success, and abandoned-cart tracking.

   

Contingency

• Prepare rollback plan or partial reversion workflow if critical issues occur.

   

Operational Output: post-migration QA report + SEO audit + performance baseline.

7. Risk & Tradeoff Awareness

Shopify → WooCommerce migration introduces new responsibilities.

Risk Awareness

• Migration requires significant time, technical experience, and QA resources.

   

• Some Shopify features or app functionalities may not have exact WooCommerce equivalents.

   

• WooCommerce requires ongoing security, plugin updates, hosting maintenance, performance tuning.

   

• WooCommerce offers more flexibility and long-term cost advantages, but demands operational discipline.

   

Operational Output: risk mitigation plan + required resource list.

8. Practical Checklist Questions

Final Pre-Launch Checklist

• Full Shopify backup completed (products, customers, orders, themes, files).

   

• WooCommerce staging site set up and tested.

   

• Migration plugin/tool selected (or manual CSV process prepared).

   

• Full URL mapping and 301 redirect plan completed.

   

• Post-migration QA checklist prepared:

   

• Products

   

• Orders

   

• Checkout + payments

   

• Mobile performance

   

• Analytics and conversion tracking

   

• Customer communication prepared for password resets or downtime.

   

Post-Launch Monitoring

• SEO and traffic monitored daily for 30–90 days.

   

• 404 logs reviewed and redirect gaps patched.

   

• Sales funnel performance compared to Shopify baselines.

   

• Plugin, theme, and server health monitored regularly.

   

Operational Output: master migration checklist + monitoring calendar.