Shopify to WooCommerce Migration: Data, Checkout and Launch Checklist
Do not start by canceling Shopify. Start by agreeing what must work in the replacement, how live orders will be reconciled and who can roll the move back. A successful import is one part of a store migration.
Documentation checked October 5, 2026. Provider facts are linked to official sources; recommendations and worked examples are HRL analysis. No hands-on store, migration or performance test is claimed.
Define the destination before buying hosting
WooCommerce publishes a Shopify migration guide covering a WordPress/WooCommerce destination, product mapping and separate customer/order migration routes. This HRL checklist focuses on acceptance and cutover; it does not endorse an untested migration app.
Confirm the chosen host supports the current WooCommerce environment requirements. Then document the catalogue, selling functions, payment gateway, customer-account model and extensions the destination needs. Use our WooCommerce budget worksheet and hosting shortlist for the purchase decision.
Inventory records and functions separately
| Item | Transfer / rebuild question | Acceptance evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Products / variants | How are options, SKUs and stock mapped? | Counts and representative variants match. |
| Customers | What account and access process replaces the old one? | Test customer can sign in or complete recovery. |
| Orders / refunds | Which history is imported and which is archived? | Selected records reconcile to source totals. |
| Apps / subscriptions | What replaces each function and payment authority? | Documented destination workflow passes. |
| Media / pages | Are files copied and pages rebuilt where needed? | Images and downloads work independently. |
| URLs / email | What changes, and what must stay the same? | Redirect, mailbox and notification checks pass. |
Assign an owner and an export/import method to every row. Record unsupported fields rather than quietly dropping them. Recurring billing, gift cards and customer consent need explicit mapping before they are treated as migrated.
Rehearse with exports before the final transfer
Shopify provides product export instructions. WooCommerce’s product CSV importer uses its own schema. Map the fields on a small destination test catalogue before a full import. A CSV extension alone does not establish compatibility.
Shopify separately documents customer exports. Define the destination login process and test it; a copied customer record is not proof that existing account access works.
Take the sample from your actual catalogue: a simple product, a variant-heavy product, a sale item and any specialist product type. Check visible price, stock behavior, images and shipping eligibility. Decide how duplicate imports will be detected before re-running the transfer.
Test a purchase and its downstream work
- Check cart totals, discounts, tax configuration and shipping choices for representative destinations.
- Use the processor’s documented test settings to exercise successful and failed payments.
- Confirm order creation, stock movement, staff notifications and customer messages.
- Rehearse the intended refund, cancellation and fulfilment workflow.
- Test customer access, downloads and recurring-purchase workflows if used.
- Verify recovery on the new host and agree how newer orders will be reconciled.
These are HRL acceptance recommendations, not a claim that a particular tool supports every function. Read the order-recovery guide before approving a restore procedure.
Preserve important URLs and search signals
Create an old-to-new URL map covering products, collections, pages and valuable editorial content. Google’s site-move guidance explains mapping, redirects, canonical updates and post-move monitoring. Keep useful URLs where practical and test direct redirects to relevant replacements. Expect search visibility to fluctuate while Google processes changes; this checklist cannot guarantee rankings.
Check internal links, destination canonicals and indexability before launch. Remove temporary staging exclusions only from the intended public destination. Keep the private test installation separate. Use our staging guide for that distinction.
Plan the last orders before changing DNS
Agree a controlled cutover window and where new orders can be accepted. Define the last source export, destination reconciliation and the person authorizing the switch. Keep a record of orders, inventory changes and refunds after the rehearsal snapshot. Avoid two stores accepting sales against stock that is not synchronized.
Use domain transfer vs. DNS change to identify the required action. Preserve mailbox records and test inbound mail, replies and store notifications. Our Shopify domain/email guide covers separate ownership and renewal questions.
Reconcile the final transfer interval
Keep a cutover ledger for orders, refunds, stock changes and customer updates created after the rehearsal export. Assign each record a source reference and a confirmed destination result before closing the move. A product-count match does not prove that every order or variant relationship survived. Coordinate this ledger with URL mapping and the final payment and fulfilment checks.
Cancel only after destination acceptance
Shopify’s deactivation documentation notes outstanding charges, externally billed apps and separate domain renewals. Resolve the store’s remaining obligations and keep the records needed to serve earlier customers before closing it.
Record a rollback decision, support contact and post-launch checks. Compare the expected savings with the one-time move and ongoing maintenance cost using Shopify vs. WooCommerce. Moving is worthwhile only when the replacement meets the business requirements.
Read our research methodology and affiliate disclosure. Official Shopify and WooCommerce links on this page are ordinary source links.