WooCommerce to Shopify. 47-step checklist.
Pre-launch audit, data migration, theme rebuild, app replacement, SEO preservation, and 30-day post-launch monitoring — the sequenced checklist that runs a migration without a traffic cliff.
47 steps. Six phases. No traffic cliff.
A successful WooCommerce to Shopify migration runs 47 sequenced steps across six phases: pre-launch audit (12 steps), data migration (9), theme rebuild (7), app replacement (6), SEO preservation (8), post-launch monitoring (5). The checklist below is the actual order we work them in. Skipping the audit phase is the single most common cause of budget blowouts. Skipping the SEO preservation phase is the single most common cause of post-launch traffic loss. Both phases compress badly; they take as long as they take.
Six phases. 47 steps in order.
- Export full URL inventory from Google Search Console
- Export top-500 ranking keywords with position data
- Audit all active plugins; catalog purpose and Shopify equivalent
- Inventory custom fields (ACF, WooCommerce meta)
- Document every custom theme modification
- Export product attributes, taxonomies, categories
- Benchmark Core Web Vitals on current site
- Document checkout flow + all payment gateways
- Map third-party integrations (Klaviyo, ShipStation, ERP)
- Pull customer + order + subscription record counts
- Write scoped requirements document
- Get sign-off on scope before build starts
- Export WooCommerce products via Matrixify or CSV
- Map custom fields to Shopify metafields
- Transform variable products to Shopify variant schema
- Import product images with alt text preserved
- Migrate categories to Shopify collections
- Import customer records (minus passwords)
- Import historical order data (for reporting continuity)
- Spot-check 50 random SKUs against source
- Run full data integrity audit report
- Pick base theme (Dawn, Impulse, or custom)
- Rebuild homepage with preserved H1 and on-page SEO
- Rebuild product template with metafield bindings
- Rebuild collection template with filtering
- Rebuild cart, checkout, thank-you page
- Rebuild blog and content templates
- Apply brand system (type, color, spacing)
- Build 301 redirect map for every URL change
- Carry title tags + meta descriptions forward verbatim
- Carry H1 tags forward on every ranking page
- Rebuild internal linking graph for PageRank preservation
- Deploy Shopify site with redirects LIVE on day 0
- Submit new sitemap to Google Search Console
- Submit URL change in GSC Change of Address tool (if apex changes)
- Verify every 301 is hitting with curl spot-checks
- Daily rank monitoring on top-100 keywords
- GSC error + indexation alerts configured
- Weekly performance review (CWV, CVR, revenue)
- Day-30 recovery review + any remaining redirect tuning
- Day-90 written recovery report
Five answers.
How long does a WooCommerce to Shopify migration take?
6 to 14 weeks depending on scope. Small store (under 500 SKUs, design-as-is): 6 to 8 weeks. Mid-market (2,000 to 10,000 SKUs, custom theme): 10 to 14 weeks. The checklist above lists 47 discrete steps; 12 of those are pre-launch audits that determine whether the migration takes 6 weeks or 14 weeks. Skipping the audit is the single most common cause of timeline blowouts.
Can I migrate products with variants and custom fields?
Yes, with mapping work. WooCommerce variable products map to Shopify variants cleanly when variant counts stay under Shopify's 100-variant per-product limit. Above 100 variants you need a metafield approach or a product-split strategy. Custom fields (ACF, WooCommerce Custom Fields, or theme-specific meta) require explicit mapping to Shopify metafields during data migration; this is usually the most time-consuming single task in the migration.
Will my SEO rankings survive the migration?
Yes, with proper preparation. The checklist includes a full URL inventory from Google Search Console, a 301 redirect map for every changed URL, title-tag and meta-description carry-forward for every ranking page, and post-launch rank monitoring for 90 days. Teams that skip or shortcut these steps typically see 30 to 60 percent organic traffic loss that takes 6 to 12 months to recover. Teams that follow the full sequence usually see small week-1 dips (2 to 5 percent) that recover within 30 days.
Which WooCommerce plugins have no Shopify equivalent?
Most common plugin types have at least one Shopify app equivalent, but feature parity is rarely 1:1. Plugin classes that frequently force custom work: advanced WooCommerce Subscriptions configurations that exceed Recharge or Skio capabilities, highly-customized product-bundle plugins, deeply-integrated CRM or ERP extensions, plugins that leverage WordPress's taxonomy system in ways Shopify's collection/tag model cannot match. Step 14 of the checklist is a full plugin audit; plan 3 to 8 hours of engineering per plugin that needs custom replacement.
Do I migrate customer accounts and passwords?
Customer records migrate (name, email, addresses, order history). Passwords do not migrate because WooCommerce and Shopify use different password hashing; forcing Shopify to accept WooCommerce hashes is not supported. The standard approach: migrate accounts with an invitation email asking customers to reset. This causes a short-term friction moment but is the supported path. Some migration tools claim to preserve login but rely on legacy approaches we do not recommend in 2026.