The WooCommerce to Shopify migration checklist.

1. Audit what you have

You cannot plan a migration you have not measured. The free readiness scanner covers the public half of this phase in about 20 seconds.

• Count products, variations, categories, tags, posts and pagesThese numbers set the effort, the redirect count and the price.
• Count customers, orders and active couponsDecide how many years of order history you really need on Shopify.
• List every active plugin and what it does for revenueMark each as built into Shopify, replaced by an app, or not needed.
• Export the full URL listUse your XML sitemaps plus a crawl. Every URL that has traffic or backlinks needs a redirect.
• Export top landing pages from Google Search Console and analyticsThese are the pages you test first after launch.
• Record baseline Core Web Vitals and conversion rateYou need a before number to prove the after.

2. Map WooCommerce data to Shopify

• Find products with more than 3 variation attributesMerge two attributes into one option, move non-stock choices to line item properties, or split the product. See the variations guide.
• Map product typesSimple and variable map directly. Grouped, bundle, composite and subscription products need a plan per type.
• Map custom fields to metafield and metaobject definitionsACF groups, specification tables and repeaters each need a definition before import.
• Turn the category tree into collections and menusKeep the hierarchy in navigation; use smart collections where tags already carry the logic.
• Clean page-builder shortcodes out of descriptionsElementor and WPBakery markup renders as raw text on Shopify.
• Decide how to handle active subscriptionsThey move only if your payment provider can migrate stored payment tokens.
• Map customer marketing consentCarry email and SMS consent status per customer, never assume opt-in.
• Plan gift card and store credit balancesRecreate outstanding balances as Shopify gift cards with the same codes where possible.

3. Build the Shopify store

Build in a client transfer store or a paused trial so nothing goes live before you are ready.

• Import products, images and inventoryKeep SKUs identical so orders, feeds and warehouse systems still match.
• Import customers and addressesKeep tags that drive pricing, wholesale or loyalty.
• Import pages and blog posts with authors and datesUpdate internal links that still point to old WordPress URLs.
• Set up paymentsShopify Payments where available, plus PayPal and local methods your customers use today.
• Recreate shipping zones, rates and delivery profilesCompare checkout totals for 5 real past orders against WooCommerce.
• Configure taxes and marketsCurrencies, languages and duties per market.
• Install replacement apps for plugins you keepReviews, subscriptions, loyalty, email. Install only what earns its place.
• Set up the theme with your brandLogo, colours, typography, homepage sections and product page layout.
• Recreate legal pages and policiesRefund, privacy, terms and shipping policies in Shopify's policy settings.

4. Preserve SEO

• Build the old-to-new URL map for every product, category, tag, post and pageMap one-to-one. Redirecting everything to the homepage throws away rankings.
• Import the redirects into ShopifyMerge existing redirects from the Redirection plugin so you do not create chains.
• Migrate SEO titles and meta descriptionsCopy Yoast or Rank Math fields, not the auto-generated defaults.
• Keep image alt textIt travels with each product image if you import it.
• Check structured data on product pagesPrice, availability and review markup should validate in Google's Rich Results Test.
• Keep handles identical where you canA product slug that stays the same only needs its path prefix redirected.

5. Test before anyone sees it

• Compare record counts source vs ShopifyProducts, variants, customers, orders, collections, pages, posts and redirects.
• Spot-check 20 products at randomPrices, compare-at prices, stock, weights, images, options and descriptions.
• Place test orders for every shipping and payment combinationInclude a discount code and a gift card.
• Test the top 50 redirects from your analytics exportEach should return a single 301 to the right page.
• Test customer account invitations and transactional emailsOrder confirmation, shipping and account emails carry your branding.
• Run Lighthouse on home, collection and product pagesCompare against the baseline you recorded in step 1.

6. Launch day

• Freeze catalog edits on WooCommerceTell the team the cutover window.
• Run the final sync of orders, customers and stockEverything that changed since the initial import.
• Lower DNS TTL a day before, then connect the domainKeep the WooCommerce site reachable on a subdomain for reference.
• Remove the storefront password and pick a planA transferred store starts billing when the plan is chosen.
• Submit the new sitemap in Google Search ConsoleKeep the old property to watch the redirects being processed.
• Reconnect Google, Meta and email marketing channelsProduct IDs change, so feeds must be resubmitted.

7. The first 30 days

• Watch 404s daily for two weeksAdd a redirect for every URL that still receives traffic.
• Track rankings and organic sessions for top landing pagesA short dip is normal; a lasting drop points to a missing redirect.
• Send the customer account invitation campaignExplain why customers set a new password.
• Compare conversion rate and speed with your baselineCheck again at 30 days, once traffic has settled.
• Cancel WooCommerce hosting and plugin licencesOnly after a full billing cycle without issues.
• Archive a full WooCommerce database backupKeep it for tax and legal record periods.
• Remove apps you installed but do not useEvery app script costs page speed.