WooCommerce to Shopify: What Data Moves, What Doesn't, What to Rebuild

Most WooCommerce stores don't move to Shopify because WooCommerce stopped working. They move because keeping it working became a job in itself: plugin updates that break checkout, hosting worries during big sales, security patches, and a growing list of add-ons nobody fully remembers installing.

The move itself is very doable. But it isn't a copy and paste. WooCommerce and Shopify store data in different ways, and some of what made your old store work lives in plugins and custom code that simply don't come along.

This guide sorts everything into three buckets: what moves cleanly, what needs extra work, and what you'll need to rebuild. If you know which bucket each part of your store falls into, you can plan the move without surprises.

The Short Answer

Products, customers, orders, categories, and pages can all be moved from WooCommerce to Shopify, usually with a migration app or CSV import. Complex variations, custom fields, reviews, and gift cards need extra mapping. Customer passwords, plugins, custom PHP code, and your exact URL structure don't transfer, so those parts need to be rebuilt or redirected.

How WooCommerce and Shopify Differ Under the Hood

Understanding a few structural differences explains almost every migration challenge.

The last few rows are where most of the planning goes. Shopify's limits on product options, its flat collections, and its fixed URL structure all shape how your WooCommerce data needs to be reshaped on the way in.

Shopify confirmed the 2,048-variant limit in its announcement, while the limit of three options per product stays in place.

What Moves Cleanly

The core of your store transfers well, especially with a dedicated migration app. Several apps in the Shopify App Store connect directly to a WooCommerce store and move products, customers, orders, and pages in one guided process.

Shopify's migration guide recommends importing in this order: products first, then customers, then historical orders, so every order links to the right products and customer.

One small tip from the same guide: turn off staff order notifications before importing historical orders, or your team will receive an email for every single one.

What Needs Extra Work

These parts of your store can come across, but they need planning and usually some manual mapping.

Variable Products With Many Attributes

WooCommerce lets you build variations from lots of attributes. Shopify allows up to three options per product, such as Size, Color, and Material. If some of your products use four or more attributes, you'll need to decide how to handle the extra ones:

• Move non-essential attributes into metafields (for display, not selection)

• Split one product into several (for example, one product per style)

• Use a product options app for personalization fields like engraving text

Check your most complex products first. They shape the decision for everything else.

Nested Categories

WooCommerce categories can sit inside each other. Shopify collections are flat. You can recreate the browsing experience with menus and smart collections (built from tags or product types), but plan the structure before you import.

Custom Fields

Specifications, size charts, ingredients, and other extra details are often stored in WooCommerce custom fields, frequently added by plugins. On Shopify, these belong in metafields. Each field needs to be mapped and your theme set up to display it.

Product Reviews

Reviews usually live in WooCommerce itself or a reviews plugin. Most Shopify review apps can import reviews from a file, so export them before you switch off the old store.

Gift Cards and Store Credit

Gift card balances need to be moved carefully, and Shopify's guide suggests doing it right before launch so balances are current. If your gift cards came from a WooCommerce plugin, check what export options it offers.

Coupons

Active discount codes can be recreated in Shopify's discounts section. It's a good moment to retire old codes nobody uses.

What Doesn't Move at All

Some things simply can't be transferred. Knowing this upfront avoids unpleasant surprises.

Customer Passwords

Passwords are stored encrypted in WordPress, so they can't be moved. Customers will need to set up access again on your Shopify store. Send a friendly email around launch explaining why, so it doesn't look like a security problem.

Plugins

WordPress plugins don't run on Shopify. Every plugin's job needs a new home: a built-in Shopify feature, a Shopify app, or custom development. The next section covers the most common ones.

Custom PHP Code and Theme Changes

Anything built into your WordPress theme or added through code snippets (custom checkout fields, pricing rules, special shipping logic) needs to be rebuilt the Shopify way. Your WordPress theme doesn't come with you either; you'll need a new Shopify theme.

Your Exact URL Structure

Shopify uses fixed URL prefixes, so /product/blue-mug/ on WooCommerce becomes /products/blue-mug on Shopify. You can keep the last part (the handle) the same, but every old URL still needs a 301 redirect. Our guide on [protecting SEO when migrating to Shopify](BLOG #7 URL) covers redirects in detail.

Hosting, Email, and Domain Setups

If your WordPress host also handled your business email or other services, plan where those will live once WooCommerce is switched off. Shopify hosts your store, not your email inbox.

Plugin by Plugin: What to Rebuild and How

Make a list of every active plugin on your WooCommerce store, then sort each into one of these rows. You'll find that several plugins aren't needed at all on Shopify.

If a plugin's job is unusual, or several plugins work together to create one feature, that's usually where custom development comes in. Our guide to [choosing between a public app, a custom app, or theme code](BLOG #9 URL) can help you decide.

What About Your WordPress Content?

This is the decision that's unique to WooCommerce stores. Because WooCommerce runs on WordPress, your store and your content site are usually one and the same. When the store moves, you have to decide what happens to the content.

Option 1: Move Everything to Shopify

Blog posts and pages move into Shopify's built-in blog and pages. This works well if your content is mostly product-related articles, guides, and store pages.

Things to plan for:

• Shopify's blog is simpler than WordPress. Complex layouts, shortcodes, and page-builder content need to be cleaned up or rebuilt.

• Images inside posts need to come across too, not just the text.

• Every post URL changes (to /blogs/blog-name/post-handle), so each one needs a redirect.

Option 2: Keep WordPress for Content Only

Some brands with large content libraries keep WordPress running for the blog, often on a subdomain or separate path, and move only the store to Shopify. This keeps the publishing tools your team knows, but means maintaining two systems and planning how they link together.

Which One Is Right?

If your blog is modest and mostly supports your products, moving it to Shopify keeps things simple. If content is a major traffic and revenue driver with a dedicated team, it's worth weighing up carefully, ideally with your SEO data in hand.

A Practical Migration Order for WooCommerce Stores

1. List every plugin and custom feature, and sort each into "not needed," "built in," "app," or "custom."

2. Audit your products. Find products with more than three attributes, custom fields, and nested categories. Decide how each will work in Shopify.

3. Export your SEO baseline, including every URL, page title, and meta description.

4. Decide what happens to your WordPress content.

5. Set up the Shopify store and theme, including metafields for custom product data.

6. Run a test migration of a sample of products, customers, and orders, then check the results closely.

7. Run the full migration: products, then customers, then orders.

8. Rebuild features with apps or custom development.

9. Set up redirects for every old product, category, page, and post URL.

10. Test everything, then migrate gift cards and recent orders right before launch.

11. Launch, email customers about setting up their accounts, and monitor sales, search traffic, and errors closely.

For the full launch process, including testing and the first 30 days, see our [Shopify migration checklist](BLOG #3 URL).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I migrate my WooCommerce store to Shopify without losing data?

Yes, for the core data. Products, customers, orders, categories, and pages can all be moved. Some things, such as customer passwords, plugins, and custom code, can't be transferred and need to be rebuilt or replaced.

Will my customers' passwords transfer from WooCommerce?

No. Passwords are stored encrypted in WordPress, so they can't be moved. Customers will need to set up access again on Shopify, so plan a clear email around launch.

What happens to my WooCommerce plugins?

They don't run on Shopify. Some aren't needed because Shopify handles hosting, security, and SEO basics. Others are replaced by Shopify features, apps, or custom development.

How do WooCommerce variations work in Shopify?

Shopify supports up to three options and up to 2,048 variants per product. Products with more than three attributes need to be restructured, for example by moving some details into metafields or splitting them into separate products.

Can I move my WordPress blog to Shopify?

Yes. Posts and pages can be moved into Shopify's built-in blog and pages. Complex layouts may need cleaning up, and every old URL needs a redirect.

Will I lose my Google rankings moving from WooCommerce to Shopify?

Not if you plan for it. Map every old URL to its new Shopify URL, set up 301 redirects, and carry over your page titles, meta descriptions, and content.

Moving From WooCommerce to Shopify?

CodeVibez is a Shopify Plus Preferred Partner that has supported more than 1,000 Shopify stores. Our WooCommerce to Shopify migration service covers your products, customers, orders, content, and redirects, and we'll help you replace each plugin with the right Shopify feature, app, or custom build.

You can also ask about a trial migration, so you can see how your data looks in Shopify before you commit.

Schedule a free call or contact our team.