Step-By-Step WooCommerce to Shopify Migration Checklist: Everything You Must Do Before, During & After Migration

Migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify isn’t just a technical project; it’s a complete transformation of how your store operates. From product data and customer records to design, apps, and SEO, every piece of your eCommerce ecosystem is touched during the move.

Handled correctly, you’ll gain a faster, more reliable, and growth-ready storefront that reduces technical headaches and scales with your business.

Handled poorly, you risk data mismatches, lost search rankings, and broken customer trust that can take months to recover from.

That’s exactly why we built this step-by-step WooCommerce to Shopify migration checklist, so you know exactly what to do at each phase. From pre-migration planning and data backups to redirects, testing, launch, and long-term optimization, this guide keeps you organized and on track.

Use this free checklist to assign tasks, monitor progress, and ensure nothing slips through the cracks while you transition to Shopify.

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Here’s how to migrate smoothly, without losing performance, rankings, or customers.

WooCommerce to Shopify Migration Checklist: 7-Phase Action Plan

This step-by-step checklist simplifies the WooCommerce to Shopify migration into 9 clear phases, making sure every important detail is covered so you avoid costly mistakes that could affect your sales, customers, or search visibility.

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Planning

Before touching any code or exporting data, proper planning saves months of headaches later. This phase typically takes 1-2 weeks, but is absolutely critical for success.

Audit Your Current WooCommerce Store

Start by conducting a thorough inventory of your existing store. This isn't just about counting products; you need to understand every component that makes your store function.

Create a detailed spreadsheet that includes:

• All products, categories, and variants (including hidden or draft items)
• Custom fields and attributes that your products use
• Every plugin and extension currently active on your site
• Theme customizations, especially any custom code modifications
• Customer data structure and any custom registration fields
• Digital assets like product images, videos, and downloadable files

Important note: Don't skip documenting your current workflows. Note how your team processes orders, manages inventory, and handles customer service; you'll need to replicate these processes in Shopify.

Choose Your Shopify Plan

Selecting the right Shopify plan impacts both your migration complexity and ongoing costs. Here's what you need to consider:

• Basic Shopify ($39/month) works for stores with under 100 orders per month, simple product catalogs, and basic reporting needs.
• Grow Shopify ($105/month) is ideal for growing businesses with moderate complexity, a need for professional reports, and gift card functionality requirements.
• Advanced Shopify ($399/month) suits stores requiring an advanced report builder, third-party calculated shipping rates, and lower transaction fees for high-volume sales.
• Shopify Plus (starts at $2,300/month) becomes cost-effective for enterprise-level businesses, complex B2B requirements, custom checkout experiences, and advanced automation needs.

Calculate your true costs by factoring in transaction fees. If you process $50,000+ monthly, higher-tier plans often pay for themselves through reduced transaction fees alone.

Set Up Your Migration Timeline

Time planning prevents disasters. Most migrations follow this timeline:

• Small stores (under 500 products): 2-3 weeks
• Medium stores (500-2,000 products): 4-6 weeks
• Large/complex stores (2,000+ products): 6-8+ weeks

Schedule your migration during low-traffic periods, typically mid-week, avoiding holidays, sales events, or seasonal peaks. Monday launches are risky because if issues arise, you're troubleshooting during your busiest day.

Create a detailed project timeline with these key milestones:

• Week 1: Planning and auditing
• Week 2-3: Data preparation and theme setup
• Week 4-5: Migration and testing
• Week 6: Final testing and launch preparation
• Week 7: Launch and immediate monitoring

Notify all stakeholders at least 2 weeks in advance. This includes your team, key customers (for B2B stores), and any third-party service providers.

Backup Everything

This cannot be overstated: Create multiple backups before starting any migration work. A single corrupted file can cost you days of work.

Your backup checklist must include:

• Complete WordPress/WooCommerce database export
• Full file system backup (themes, plugins, wp-content folder)
• Separate export of all customer data in multiple formats
• Documentation of current payment gateway settings and API keys
• Screenshot documentation of your current SEO settings, Google Analytics setup, and Search Console configuration

Store backups in multiple locations - your hosting provider, cloud storage, and local drives. Test your backups by actually restoring them to a staging environment.

Phase 2: Data Migration Process

This phase requires meticulous attention to detail. Data corruption during migration is one of the most common reasons migrations fail or require expensive fixes.

Product Migration

Start with a clean product export from WooCommerce. Use the built-in export tool or a plugin like WP All Export for more control over data formatting.

Critical steps for product migration:

• Export your complete product catalog, ensuring all variants and custom fields are included
• Clean and standardize your data before importing; fix inconsistent categories, remove HTML from descriptions, and standardize image names
• Choose your import method: Shopify's CSV importer for simple catalogs or migration apps like Cart2Cart for complex stores
• Verify every product variant and option transfers correctly; this is where most errors occur
• Cross-reference inventory levels and SKUs to prevent overselling
• Optimize product images for Shopify's requirements (recommended size: 2048x2048 pixels)

Common mistake: Rushing the product import. Take time to verify a small batch first, then scale up once you're confident in your process.

Customer Data Transfer

Preserving customer relationships is paramount. Lost customer data can severely impact your business reputation and sales.

Your customer migration must include:

• Complete customer information export, including addresses, preferences, and custom fields
• Proper formatting for Shopify's customer import requirements
• Password migration (note: customers will need to reset passwords in most cases)
• Transfer of customer groups, tags, and segmentation data
• Historical order data to maintain customer service continuity

Important: Email customers about the migration 1-2 weeks in advance, explaining they may need to reset passwords and that their order history will be preserved.

Order History Migration

Maintaining order history is crucial for customer service, analytics, and financial reporting.

Essential order migration steps:

• Export complete historical order data with all associated metadata
• Import orders to Shopify for reporting continuity (may require Shopify Plus)
• Verify order statuses, fulfillment data, and shipping information transfer correctly
• Ensure refund and return information remains accessible
• Test your ability to process returns and exchanges for pre-migration orders

Content Migration

Don't neglect your content; it's often crucial for SEO and customer trust.

Content migration checklist:

• Transfer all blog posts with proper formatting and images
• Migrate static pages: About Us, Contact, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy
• Move and optimize all media files for Shopify's CDN
• Update all internal links to point to new Shopify URLs
• Ensure legal pages comply with Shopify's requirements

Phase 3: Technical Setup

The technical foundation of your new Shopify store determines its performance, security, and scalability.

Domain and SSL Configuration

Proper domain setup prevents SEO disasters and ensures customers can find your store.

Domain setup process:

• Configure your domain to point to Shopify servers
• Set up an SSL certificate (included with Shopify plans)
• Create comprehensive redirect rules from old URLs to new ones
• Test domain propagation across multiple locations and devices

Critical: Don't change DNS until you've thoroughly tested everything. Use Shopify's preview URL for all testing phases.

Theme Setup and Customization

Your theme directly impacts conversion rates; choose wisely and customize thoughtfully.

Theme selection criteria:

• Mobile responsiveness and loading speed
• Compatibility with your product types (especially for complex variants)
• Customization options that match your brand
• Developer support and regular updates

Customization best practices:

• Match your existing brand guidelines exactly
• Optimize navigation for improved user experience
• Ensure footer and header elements support your business needs
• Test all custom CSS/HTML across different devices and browsers

Payment Gateway Configuration

Payment processing setup requires careful testing; errors here directly impact revenue.

Payment configuration steps:

• Set up Shopify Payments or configure third-party gateways
• Configure all payment methods your customers expect
• Test processing with small transactions before going live
• Set up accurate tax calculations for all jurisdictions you serve
• Configure shipping rates and zones with real-world testing

App Installation and Configuration

Shopify apps replace WooCommerce plugins; choose apps that enhance rather than complicate your store.

Essential app categories:

• SEO optimization apps (SEO Manager, TinyIMG)
• Analytics and reporting tools beyond Shopify's built-in options
• Marketing automation (Klaviyo, Mailchimp)
• Customer service tools (live chat, help desk integration)

App selection tip: Start minimal - install only essential apps initially, then add others after your migration stabilizes.

Phase 4: SEO and URL Management

Protecting your search rankings during migration requires strategic planning and careful execution.

URL Redirect Strategy

Every important URL from your old site needs a redirect; missing redirects cause 404 errors and lost rankings.

Redirect mapping process:

• Create a comprehensive list of all URLs from your WooCommerce site
• Map each old URL to its corresponding Shopify URL
• Set up 301 redirects for all products, categories, and content pages
• Implement blog post redirects if URL structures change
• Test redirects thoroughly before launch

SEO Configuration

Shopify's SEO capabilities differ from WordPress; optimize accordingly.

SEO setup checklist:

• Configure meta titles and descriptions for all pages
• Set up Google Analytics and Search Console with proper tracking
• Install and configure SEO apps to replace Yoast functionality
• Create and submit XML sitemaps
• Configure the robots.txt file appropriately
• Optimize page loading speeds using Shopify's built-in tools and CDN

Phase 5: Testing and Quality Assurance

Thorough testing prevents launch-day disasters and ensures customer satisfaction.

Functionality Testing

Test every user journey your customers might take.

Critical test scenarios:

• Complete user registration and login processes
• Full checkout process with multiple payment methods
• Search functionality and filtering
• Mobile responsiveness across different devices
• Contact forms and automated email notifications
• Shipping calculation accuracy for various scenarios

Data Integrity Verification

Data accuracy directly impacts customer trust and business operations.

Verification checklist:

• Cross-check product information against your original WooCommerce store
• Verify customer account data completeness and accuracy
• Confirm order history transfers correctly
• Validate inventory levels match your actual stock
• Test all discount codes and promotions work properly

Performance Testing

Site speed affects both user experience and SEO rankings.

Performance test areas:

• Page loading speeds across different connection types
• Mobile site performance and usability
• CDN functionality and global loading times
• Site behavior under traffic load (use tools like GTmetrix)

Phase 6: Go-Live Preparation

Launch day coordination prevents chaos and ensures smooth transitions.

Final Pre-Launch Checks

These final checks are your last chance to catch critical issues.

Pre-launch essentials:

• Complete one final backup of your WooCommerce site
• Verify all redirects work correctly
• Test all critical customer journeys one more time
• Prepare a detailed rollback plan in case issues arise
• Schedule and communicate any necessary downtime

Launch Coordination

Smooth launches require coordination and immediate monitoring.

Launch day process:

• Switch DNS to point to Shopify during low-traffic hours
• Monitor the site immediately for any critical issues
• Test core functionality within the first hour post-launch
• Verify Google Analytics tracking is working
• Confirm email notifications are being sent properly

Phase 7: Post-Migration Tasks

Your work isn't done after launch; post-migration optimization ensures long-term success.

Immediate Post-Launch (First 48 Hours)

Monitor intensively during the first two days.

Critical monitoring areas:

• Site performance and uptime tracking
• Check for broken links and missing pages
• Verify search engines can crawl and index your site
• Test all forms and customer-facing functionality
• Monitor customer support channels for migration-related issues

Long-term Optimization (First 30 Days)

Optimization continues well after your successful launch.

Ongoing optimization tasks:

• Fine-tune SEO for Shopify-specific ranking factors
• Set up advanced analytics tracking and custom reports
• Configure abandoned cart recovery campaigns
• Implement A/B tests for conversion optimization
• Plan ongoing maintenance schedules and update procedures

Remember: A successful migration is measured not just by launch completion, but by maintained performance, customer satisfaction, and business growth in the months following your switch to Shopify.

This checklist provides your roadmap to migration success. Take it step-by-step, don't rush critical phases, and remember that thorough preparation prevents most migration problems before they occur.

Keep Customers Happy With a Seamless Transition

A smooth migration goes beyond moving data; it’s about protecting revenue, search visibility, and customer trust. When handled carefully, a WooCommerce to Shopify migration can unlock faster performance, stronger scalability, and an overall better shopping experience. 

By planning thoroughly, testing every detail, and addressing SEO, you ensure customers enjoy a transition without disruption.

If you’d rather focus on growth while experts manage the process, Velt2 delivers stress-free Shopify migrations that safeguard your data, protect your rankings, and prepare your store for long-term success.