What will you learn from the article?
- What are the benefits of migrating from WordPress to Shopify?
- What features and apps does Shopify offer that can improve eCommerce store management?
- What steps should I take to migrate from WordPress to Shopify?
- What's worth knowing about choosing a plan and theme on Shopify?
- What are the methods for exporting data such as products, customers, texts, or SEO during migration?
- What apps can help you migrate from WordPress to Shopify?
- What tests should be performed after migration to ensure the store is working properly?
WordPress (and its eCommerce offshoot, WooCommerce) is one of the most popular platforms in Poland. It's also an engine that's often transformed as businesses grow into more efficient, feature-rich, and flexible solutions. This WordPress to Shopify migration guide will answer questions like why it's worth switching from WordPress to Shopify and what a step-by-step WordPress to Shopify migration should look like (we'll focus on topics like choosing a Shopify plan, migrating features, Shopify migration apps, transferring data via CSV files, exporting products, and configuring Shopify).
Why move from WordPress to Shopify?
The first question you should definitely ask yourself is, why is it worth switching from WordPress to Shopify? Many customers Shopify Polska , but of course also global entrepreneurs, indicate that the key aspects that convinced them to migrate from WordPress to Shopify include:
-> scalability
Everything about Shopify is about eCommerce – features, integrations, updates, apps, and plugins are all focused on e-commerce. This makes Shopify incredibly scalable and grows with your business (both in terms of store components and features, as well as the ease of opening up new sales markets, for example).
-> ease of use
One of Shopify's advantages is its highly intuitive, user-friendly admin panel. Managing the store is simple, and even those without extensive e-commerce knowledge can easily manage it.
-> technical support
When we think about the comparison SaaS vs. Open Source Technical support is often key. Shopify provides its customers with 24/7 support via chat, phone, or email (depending on the plan the store is on). It's also worth noting the knowledge base resources, which also convince many e-businesses to switch from WordPress to Shopify. Shopify provides hosting as part of the license, eliminating the need to worry about the server, its performance, and its efficiency.
-> security
Shopify places great importance on ensuring maximum security for its users, both in terms of the purchasing process and data storage. When choosing Shopify, customers receive a free SSL certificate.
-> number of applications
When considering moving from WordPress to Shopify, it's also worth remembering the sheer number of native apps and integrations Shopify offers. The Shopify App Store includes several thousand apps across various categories (including store management, upselling, cross-selling, email marketing, search engine, marketing, and reviews).
-> responsiveness
The official Shopify Theme Store offers hundreds of themes designed with a mobile-first approach. While it's now common knowledge that a store should be optimized for mobile devices, choosing Shopify ensures that even a free theme will perform well across a variety of screen resolutions.
-> extensive functionalities
Shopify is renowned for its built-in engine, which includes dozens of features that make selling simpler and more effective. It's also worth noting that many additional features are also included in templates, and setting them up takes literally seconds. Shopify allows for integration with various sales channels (including marketplaces) and external systems.
Migrating from WordPress to Shopify step by step
What should a step-by-step migration from WordPress to Shopify look like? Migration preparation and planning are key elements of the entire migration project. Selecting a Shopify plan, selecting a Shopify template, migrating features, transferring data via CSV files, exporting products, exporting customers, exporting other data, text migration, SEO migration, Shopify configuration, and testing are all steps along the way.
Preparing for migration
Before starting the migration, it's worth making sure you have a backup of your WordPress data (including files, graphics, and content). It's also crucial to define your current situation and answer the question: What don't I like about my current store? What elements do I want to change? What isn't working properly? What do I want to optimize during the migration from WordPress to Shopify? What functionalities do I want to replicate? Do the eCommerce processes in my store meet my needs?
By ensuring proper preparation for migration, the entire process will undoubtedly be more organized. It's crucial to define the migration goals.
Migration plan
A migration plan and its development are crucial. The entire migration process should be clearly defined. It's also crucial that each person involved in the WordPress to Shopify transition has a clearly defined role and responsibilities – this builds a sense of ownership for the migration. The migration plan should also include a clear timeline and acceptance criteria.
Choosing a Shopify plan
Choosing a Shopify plan is one of the most important decisions to make. Shopify offers several plans (with varying features that naturally impact the license price).
Here are some key points to consider when choosing a Shopify plan in a comparison table:
| Basic | Shopify | Advanced | |
| Number of products | No limit | No limit | No limit |
| Number of user accounts | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Number of warehouses | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Reports and analytics | Standard reports | Standard reports | Custom, bespoke reports |
| Support | Live chat | Live chat | Extensive live chat |
| Shopify custom markets | 3 | 3 | 3 + $59/mo for the next ones |
| Headless Storefront | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Shopify Commission | 2% | 1% | 0.6% |
| Price | 24 EUR/month if you pay for a year in advance or 32 USD if you pay monthly) | 69 EUR/month if you pay for a year in advance or 92 USD if you pay monthly) | 299 EUR/month if you pay for a year in advance or 399 USD if you pay monthly) |
*due to the fact that Shopify Payment is not supported in Poland (as of September 2024)
About functionalities Shopify Plus , which is also one of the options, we wrote in this article.
Choosing a Shopify Theme
Choosing a Shopify theme from the Shopify Theme Store is also crucial. Currently (as of September 2024), the official store offers 201 paid themes and 13 free ones.
Each template can be tested for functionality in a demo, links to which are provided with each theme. Customers often choose a template based on its category – it's worth remembering that a template for the restaurant industry will have different specifications than one for, say, the medical or construction industry.
Functionality migration
If specific functionalities were implemented in the WordPress store that should be replicated in the new store, you should carefully verify all the mechanisms of operation and either use native Shopify functionalities to implement them, find an application that meets the specified conditions, or plan work on a dedicated solution.
Such a migration of functionality may concern, for example, the wish list, search engine, or customer panel.
Export of products
Product export is, of course, a key part of the entire WordPress to Shopify transition process. There are several migration options available for this purpose:
- manual transfer of products (recommended only for a small product database)
- data transfer using CSV files
- use of the application
When exporting products, it is worth remembering (in addition to all the most important and obvious elements) about issues such as ALT attributes of product photos.
Customer export
Many store owners place a lot of emphasis on customer export. This database is especially important when, for example, a store has many registered customers. It's also crucial for its relative analytical capabilities. An application will be helpful in migrating the database (more on this in the last section of this article).
Text migration
Text migration is particularly important because it also influences the effectiveness and efficiency of SEO migration. In this regard, it's important to consider static pages (e.g., 'About Us', 'FAQ'), regulatory pages, blog posts, and accompanying content, such as product pages.
SEO Migration
SEO migration is undoubtedly the most important aspect of the entire transition from WordPress to Shopify. It's unacceptable for a store to lose its Google ranking during the migration, something that, in many cases, has taken years to achieve.
During SEO migration, a 301 redirect map is prepared. It is worth remembering that in Shopify it is not possible to change the base URL structure.
The key is, of course, updating your sitemap in Google Search Console.
Shopify setup
Configuring Shopify is a unique process for each store. The most important components that require configuration include:
- main domain (and possibly subdomains)
- payments
- delivery
- taxes
- basic data (main store email address, time zone and currency)
When configuring Shopify, we can't forget about apps, but the scope depends on the additional elements we use. Standard apps that are definitely present in most stores include those responsible for cookies, store compliance with the Omnibus directive, displaying Instagram posts on the home page, and chat.
Tests
Tests should be well-thought-out and structured. Elements that should be tested include:
- responsiveness
- eCommerce processes (including the entire purchasing process including product returns)
- application operation
- template
- applications used
- native functionalities
Based on the tests we have conducted, we are confident that during the transition from WordPress to Shopify, all elements meet expectations and have been accepted.
Shopify Migration Apps
There are several ready-made solutions and applications that can be used to migrate from WordPress to Shopify, making the entire process much easier. Below are the most important Shopify migration applications:
- Cart2Cart
- transferring products, categories, customers, orders, blog entries, opinions, discounts
- moving URL, Meta Title and Meta Description
- moving tags
- the price depends on the scope of data transferred (for example, the cost of the application with 1,000 products, 10,000 customers and 5,000 orders is USD 199)
- Matrixify
- transferring products, categories, customers, orders, coupons
- works using API
- price depends on the chosen plan (from free to 20, 50 and 200 USD/month)
- LitExtension
- transferring products, categories, customers, orders, blog entries, opinions, discounts
- the price depends on the scope and size of the transferred data (for example, the cost of the application with 1,000 products, 10,000 customers and 5,000 orders is USD 199 – as in the case of Cart2Cart)
Summary
- Advantages of migrating from WordPress to Shopify – Shopify offers scalability, ease of use, 24/7 technical support, high security (including SSL certificate), a large number of applications and responsive stores.
- Preparing for migration – Key steps include backing up your data, defining your migration goals, selecting a Shopify plan and template, and developing a migration plan with clear roles.
- Function and data migration – Migration includes export of products, customers, texts and SEO data, including the appropriate 301 redirect map to maintain search engine rankings.
- Configuration and testing – Key store elements, such as payments, shipping, taxes, and domains, should be configured. Testing should include responsiveness and e-commerce processes.
- Migration Apps – There are many migration support applications such as Cart2Cart, Matrixify, and LitExtension that make it easy to transfer products, orders, customers, and other data.
