How to migrate from WordPress to Shopify: Step-by-step guide

Thinking About Switching from WordPress to Shopify? Here’s Your Stress-Free Migration Guide

Let’s cut to the chase: WordPress is a powerhouse for blogging, but when it comes to scaling an online store? It’s like trying to race a bicycle on a Formula 1 track. Sure, WooCommerce works—until it doesn’t.

Here’s what I’ve learned after migrating 50+ stores to Shopify:

1. Ditch the Plugin Nightmare

WordPress relies on plugins for everything—SEO, security, cart recovery. But one incompatible update, and suddenly your site’s down during peak sales. Shopify’s built-in tools (think abandoned cart recovery, multi-channel selling, and fraud analysis) work out of the box. No plugin roulette.

2. Speed = Sales

Shopify stores load 30% faster on average than WooCommerce sites. Why? Because Shopify’s servers are fine-tuned for eCommerce. No more customers bouncing because your product gallery takes 8 seconds to load.

3. Support That Doesn’t Ghost You

Ever spent hours Googling “WooCommerce white screen of death” at 2 AM? Shopify’s 24/7 support team has your back—whether you’re troubleshooting a payment gateway or just need design tweaks.

4. Scale Without the Headaches

Black Friday traffic spikes? Shopify handles it. Want to sell on Instagram, TikTok, or Amazon? Two clicks. Need a custom discount rule for VIP customers? Done.

Bottom line: If you’re serious about growth, Shopify lets you focus on selling, not sysadmin work.




Step 1: Back Up EVERYTHING 

• Do this first: Use All-in-One WP Migration or UpdraftPlus to create a full backup.

• Pro Tip: Store copies in three places (cloud, hard drive, email). I’ve seen too many “Oops, my hosting deleted it” disasters.
  
  

Step 2: Claim Your Shopify Real Estate

• Start a free trial (no credit card needed).

• Password-protect your store under Online Store > Preferences so customers don’t stumble onto your “Under Construction” mess.
  
  

Step 3: Steal Your Own Brand’s Look (Ethically)

• Shopify won’t let you port your WordPress theme, but you can:

  • Hire a designer to clone it (worth it if your branding is ultra-unique).

  • Or, pick a Shopify theme (like Dawn or Prestige) and tweak colors/fonts to match your vibe.
    
    

Step 4: Export Data Like a Pro

• Products/Customers: Use WP All Export for clean CSV files.

• Blogs/Pages: Export via WordPress’s native tool (Tools > Export).

• Images: Zip your wp-content/uploads folder. Missing one product image? That’s 10 confused customer service calls later.
  
  

Step 5: Import Without Tears

• Small stores: Use Shopify’s CSV importer (Products > Import).

• Complex stores: LitExtension ($79) automates 90% of this. Worth every penny to avoid manually fixing 500 SKUs.
  
  

Step 6: Rebuild Your Content Empire

• Blogs: Manually copy-paste posts into Shopify’s Blogs section.

• Pro Hack: Use the Excelify app to bulk-import posts with images and metadata.

• Pages: Recreate About Us, FAQs, etc., in Shopify’s Pages section. Match URLs to old ones for SEO!
  
  

Step 7: Become a Category Whisperer

• Collections > Manual lets you handpick products (good for seasonal launches).

• Collections > Automated uses rules like “Product tag = summer-sale”.
  
  

Step 8: Set Up Payments That Don’t Hate You

• Skip PayPal’s rage-inducing hold times: Activate Shopify Payments (if available in your country).

• TaxJar app = automatic sales tax calculations. Because nobody got into eComm to do math.
  
  

Step 9: Redirects = SEO Lifelines

• Broken links kill rankings: Use Shopify’s URL Redirects tool to map every old WordPress URL (e.g., /product/blue-shoes) to its new Shopify path (/products/blue-sneakers).

• Pro Tool: Screaming Frog crawls your old site to generate a redirect list.
  
  

Step 10: Test Like a Paranoid Perfectionist

• Checkout test: Enable “Bogus Gateway” in Shopify settings. Does the thank-you page trigger your email automation?

• Mobile test: 60% of traffic comes from phones. Does your “Add to Cart” button hide behind a giant cookie banner?

• Speed test: Run your new site through GTmetrix. Aim for <3-second load time.
  
  

Landmines to Avoid (From Someone Who Stepped on Them)

1. “Where’d My Customers’ Passwords Go?!”
Shopify can’t import WordPress passwords. Fix: Email customers a “Welcome to our new home!” note with a password reset link. Sweeten the deal with a 10% off coupon.

2. SEO Freefall

• Mistake: Forgetting 301 redirects for blogs/category pages.

• Fix: Use the Link Whisper app to track internal links.
  
  

3. The “But We Always Did It This Way” Feature

• Example: WordPress had a custom wishlist plugin.

• Fix: Shopify’s Wishlist Plus app. Test it before migration.
  
  

4. Image Alt Text Ghost Town

• Mistake: Forgetting to re-add alt text during import.

• Fix: Use Excelify to bulk-edit image metadata.