Complete Guide: Migrate Products, Customers & Orders from Shopify to WooCommerce

Thinking about switching from Shopify to WooCommerce? You’re not alone. As businesses grow, many seek more flexibility, ownership, and control — and WooCommerce delivers just that. However, migrating your store isn’t as simple as copying and pasting data. It involves carefully exporting your products, customers, and order history, formatting everything correctly, and importing it into WooCommerce without losing valuable information or disrupting your customer experience.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through every step of the migration process, including handling Shopify’s unique CSV formats, importing data into WooCommerce using the right tools, and troubleshooting common issues. By the end, you’ll have a fully migrated WooCommerce store with your entire catalog, customer base, and purchase history intact — and compliant with data protection laws like GDPR.

 Pre-Migration Planning

1.  Assess Current Shopify Setup:

Ensure you have full access to your Shopify admin dashboard. This is essential for managing your store, exporting necessary data, and generating credentials (like API keys) required for a smooth migration to WooCommerce. Without full access, you may face limitations when retrieving critical data or setting up integrations.

API Key: A unique code allowing different applications (like WooCommerce) to securely access and interact with your Shopify store data. It’s like a password that ensures only authorized applications can make changes or retrieve information.

2. Choose a Hosting Provider:

 Before moving forward, review the WooCommerce Hosting Requirements to ensure compatibility. Choose a provider that offers scalability, regular backups, and WooCommerce-friendly support.

3. Domain and SSL Considerations:

Decide whether you’ll transfer your domain or just update the DNS settings to point to the new WooCommerce site.

Next, an SSL certificate will be set up to enable HTTPS and secure customer data, protecting sensitive information during transactions and improving SEO.

 Refer to the WooCommerce SSL Setup Guide for configuration steps.

Domain: A domain is the web address where your store is accessible, such as yourstore.com. It is essentially the “name” of your website that people type into their browser to access your site. During migration, you may need to point your domain to your new WooCommerce store’s hosting provider.

SSL Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer Certificate): An SSL certificate ensures that all data transferred between your website and users is encrypted and secure. It’s essential for protecting customer information during transactions and is a must-have for any ecommerce store. Most web hosting providers offer SSL certificates, and modern browsers display a padlock symbol to indicate that a website is secure with an SSL certificate. Install and activate an SSL certificate on your WooCommerce store before going live to ensure data security and build customer trust.

DNS (Domain Name System): A system that translates human-friendly domain names (like yourstore.com) into machine-readable IP addresses. It’s essential for routing traffic to the correct server during and after migration.

      4.   Backup Your Shopify Data:

1.  Export Product Data

From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Export, then choose the products you want to export (all, selected, current page, or filtered). Select a CSV format compatible with spreadsheet editors like Excel or Google Sheets.

• Why It’s Useful: This CSV backup contains product titles, descriptions, variants, prices, and inventory. It’s helpful if products are not accidentally deleted when editing in bulk offline or importing them into another platform.
  
• Best Practices: Since product images are not embedded in the CSV and are instead referenced by URL, ensure that these image URLS remain accessible online. Regularly save the CSV in UTF-8 format to preserve characters and store it on cloud storage with version history or encrypted local drives for security.
  

 CSV (Comma-Separated Values): A file format commonly used to export and import data. It organizes information (like products or customer data) in a table format, where each line represents a data record and commas separate each value.     

Check Shopify documentation for more information:

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/import-export/using-csv

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/import-export

B. Save Customer and Order Data:

• Customer Data: Go to Customers > Export your selection (all, current page, selected, or filtered). This CSV includes names, emails, addresses, and tags.
  
• Order Data: Navigate to Orders > Export your desired range (all orders, orders by date, or selected). Order CSVs can include transaction histories and may be emailed if the volume is large.
  
• Why It’s Useful: These backups preserve your buyer history, which is helpful for sales analysis or importing into CRMs. However, due to security rules, passwords can’t be exported.
  
• Best Practices: Use the UTF-8 format to preserve special characters. Store these files on secure, access-controlled cloud drives. Update your backups regularly to reflect new orders and customers.

UTF-8 Format: UTF-8 (Unicode Transformation Format) is a character encoding standard that allows you to store and display a wide variety of characters from different languages and scripts. It’s widely used in web applications, databases, and file formats (including CSV) to ensure that text is accurately interpreted across different platforms and languages. During migration, ensure that any exported data, such as product names, descriptions, and customer details, is encoded in UTF-8 to prevent character issues, like garbled text, when importing it into WooCommerce.

C. Backup theme files and media:

Theme Files:

In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes, locate your active theme, click “Actions” > “Download theme file,” and save the resulting zip file.

• This ZIP contains template files, JavaScript, CSS, layout settings, and liquid templates. It’s your store’s complete design code, allowing you to restore or migrate the look and feel of your site.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): CSS is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation (look and feel) of a document written in HTML or XML, such as the pages of your website. It controls the layout, colors, fonts, and overall design of your store. CSS defines how your web pages should appear across different devices, ensuring a responsive design. When migrating, you may need to adjust or reapply your existing CSS styles to your WooCommerce theme to maintain the visual consistency of your store.

JavaScript: JavaScript is a programming language used to create interactive effects within web browsers. It enables dynamic features like product sliders, form validation, pop-ups, and user interactions on your site. When migrating to WooCommerce, you may need to update or reimplement custom JavaScript scripts to ensure they function correctly with your new WooCommerce store, especially if JavaScript is used for features like product filters or pop-up modals that were powered by certain Shopify features.

Media Files:

Shopify doesn’t bundle media (like product images, banners, or blog images) in its exports. You must:

• Manually download media from:
  
  • Product pages (image URLs in the CSV)
    
  • Content > Files section in the Shopify admin
    
• Or use third-party tools or browser extensions to download image assets from URLs in batches.
  

Why It’s Useful & Best Practices:

• These backups are essential for rebuilding your storefront, especially if files are corrupted or deleted during migration.
  
• Identify and securely store:
  
  • Product images
    
  • Banner images
    
  • Logo and favicon
    
  • Blog images
    
  • Uploaded files in content/files
    
• Storage tips:
  
  • Organize backups into folders by type, such as theme, media, products, etc.
    
  • Use cloud storage with access control (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox Business)
    
  • Optionally, keep a local encrypted copy on a secure external drive for redundancy.

Check Shopify documentation for more information:

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/managing-themes/downloading-themes

Data Migration Process

Migrate Products:

You can check the Product CSV Importer and Exporter documentation for detailed instructions and guidance.

Manual migration allows you to export data from Shopify, edit it in a spreadsheet, and then import it into WooCommerce. This method gives you complete control and is ideal for customizing data. Below, we detail the steps with sample CSV files for a simple product (a “Ceramic Coffee Mug”) and a variable product (a “Cotton T-Shirt” with size and color variations).

Before proceeding with any critical actions, make sure to follow these two essential best practices:

1. Back up your WooCommerce database before starting any import process.
   
2. Run a test import with a small file to verify everything works correctly before importing the full dataset.

1. Export Products from Shopify:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin.

2. Go to Products > Export.

3. Select all products or filter by category (e.g., “Mugs” or “Apparel”).

4. Choose CSV for Excel, Numbers, or other spreadsheet programs.

5. Click Export products and download the file (e.g., products_export.csv).

2. Edit the CSV File:

When moving from Shopify to WooCommerce, your product data is the backbone of the transition. Shopify’s structured export provides a wealth of fields, while WooCommerce’s flexible framework lets you refine and expand them. Let’s break down the process using sample Shopify data and show how it transforms in WooCommerce.

Shopify Product Data Overview

Shopify: Example Export File

Shopify’s product export includes extensive columns, such as:

• Handle: A unique URL slug (e.g., coffee-mug).
• Title: Product name (e.g., coffee mug).
• Body (HTML): Description with formatting (e.g., <p>Crafted from high-quality materials…</p>).
• Vendor: Supplier or brand (e.g., My Store).
• Product Category: Taxonomy (e.g., Home & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Tableware > Drinkware > Mugs).
• Variant SKU: is a stock-keeping unit (e.g., CCM001 for a coffee mug).
• Variant Price: Price per variant (e.g., 15.99).
• Variant Inventory Qty: Stock level (e.g., 95).
• Image Src: Image URL (e.g., https://cdn.shopify.com/…/coffee.jpg).
• Option1 Name/Value: Variant options (e.g., Color/white for a T-shirt).
• SEO Title/Description: Search engine fields for optimization.

For variable products (e.g., the “Cotton T-Shirt”), Shopify repeats the product row for each variant, linking options like size and color to metafields. This structure is detailed but rigid, tied to Shopify’s ecosystem.

Transitioning to WooCommerce

WooCommerce organizes products differently, using a parent-child model for variables and a streamlined set of core columns. Here’s how the Shopify columns map to WooCommerce equivalents:

New WooCommerce Columns

Recommended WooCommerce Structure:

Based on the sample data, your WooCommerce product import might look like this:

For a variable product:

Shopify’s exhaustive column list offers a solid starting point, but its rigidity limits customization. WooCommerce simplifies the structure while adding flexibility—attributes replace repetitive rows, and custom fields (e.g., for vendor) unlock new possibilities. Migrating involves exporting Shopify data as a CSV file, reformatting it to match WooCommerce’s structure, and setting up WooCommerce to meet your store’s specific needs. This shift empowers you to manage inventory, tailor categories, and optimize SEO without platform constraints, making it ideal for scaling your business.

Below are two examples:

Simple Product Example: Ceramic Coffee Mug

A simple product has no variations. Here’s how its CSV might look after editing: Simple Products.

Variable Product Example: Cotton T-Shirt

A variable product has attributes, such as size and color. You’ll need one row for the parent product and additional rows for each variation:
variable product

By copying the variable and straightforward product files, we can merge the two tables into a new file called “All Products”, allowing us to import all the products simultaneously.

All Products

Tips:

• Remove Shopify-specific columns, such as “Handle” or “Vendor”.
• Use ‘simple’ for single products and ‘variable’ or ‘variation’ for products with options.
• Map attributes (e.g., Size) and their values (e.g., S, M, L) for variable products—this will be explained later.
• Save the file as products.csv.
• Ensure that the images you entered have valid image URLs.

3. Import Products into WooCommerce:

Check the WooCommerce Product CSV importer and exporter documentation

1. In WordPress, go to WooCommerce > Products.
2. Click Import at the top.

3. Upload products.csv.

5. Map columns: Match the fields from your CSV to WooCommerce product fields (e.g., “Name” to “Product Title”, “Regular Price” to “Price”).

What is Mapping?

Mapping is the process of matching fields (columns) from your Shopify export file to the corresponding fields in WooCommerce. Since the two platforms use different database structures, direct column-to-column mapping isn’t always possible. You need to understand the structures of both systems and adapt the data accordingly.

Step-by-Step Mapping Process

1. Understand Shopify’s Data Structure

Shopify exports data using its structure, while WooCommerce requires different fields or data formats. Let’s start by looking at key Shopify fields and how they correspond to WooCommerce fields:

Shopify Product Data Mapping:

Mapping Variable Products:

For variable products (e.g., a T-shirt with size and color options), Shopify exports data in a more complex format:

2. Shopify to WooCommerce Column Mapping

Here’s a more detailed look at mapping the Shopify fields to WooCommerce:

Mapping Strategy:

• Map ID to the product’s unique identifier in the system.
• Map Type to the product type field.
• Map SKU to an inventory-tracking field.
• Map Name to the title field.
• Set Visibility in the Catalog based on whether the product is public or private.
• Map the Description and Short Description fields to the corresponding product description fields in your store.
• Map the ‘Date Sale Price Starts’ and ‘Date Sale Price Ends’ fields to the product’s pricing schedule to control when sale prices become active and expire.
• Assign Tax Status and Tax Class based on location-specific tax rules.
• Map Stock fields to the inventory management system.
• Assign dimensions and weight for accurate shipping calculations.
• Enable or Disable Customer Reviews based on settings.
• Map Regular Price and Sale Price to the pricing database.
• Organize Categories and Tags for easy navigation.
• Store Shipping Class for proper shipping calculations.
• Link Images via URLs to product media.
• Associate Upsells and Cross-sells with recommendation logic to suggest relevant products to customers based on their preferences and purchasing behavior..
• Use an External URL for affiliate or external product listings.
• Map the Attribute Name and Values to variation logic to define product options, such as size, color, or material, for each variation.
• Ensure Attribute Visibility is enabled if you want the attribute to be displayed on the front end.
• Use Global Attribute for predefined attribute sets.
• Set a Default Attribute for predefined selections to automatically apply a specific option, such as size or color, when a customer views the product.

6. Click “Run the Importer” and wait for the process to complete.

    Note: You’ll receive a message and link to the log if an error occurs.

7. Visit Products to verify that the mug and T-shirt appear accurately.

Migrating Customers and Orders: Two Options

When it comes to migrating customers and orders in WooCommerce, there are two main approaches to consider:

1. Manual Migration Using Free Plugins
   This method involves using plugins available in the WordPress repository. These tools are free and can handle exporting and importing customer and order data. However, they may require more manual configuration and have some limitations depending on your specific use case.
   
2. Premium WooCommerce Extension
   WooCommerce also offers a premium extension called Customer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite. This tool provides advanced import features and better handling of complex data structures. You can learn more about how it works in their official documentation.
   

We will continue by exploring the free plugin method, guiding you through the steps to perform a manual migration using tools from the WordPress plugin repository.

Migrate Customer Data:

1. Export Customers from Shopify

1. In your Shopify admin, navigate to “Customers” and select “Export”.

2. Select ‘All customers’ to ensure that all of your customer data is exported.

3. Choose CSV for Excel, Numbers, or other spreadsheet programs.

4. Click Export customers and download the file.

2. Edit the CSV File

Shopify Customer Sample: Shopify – Customers

Adjust the file to match WooCommerce’s customer import format. Here’s an example:

Tips:

• Ensure each customer’s email is unique. To display unique emails, use the formula =UNIQUE(D:D), replacing D with the appropriate column letter. For more information, check the UNIQUE function documentation.
• Save as customers.csv.

3.  Import Customers into WooCommerce

1. Install a plugin like Import Users from CSV (available in the WordPress plugin directory).

2. Go to Users > Import from CSV.

3. Upload customers.csv.

4. Click “Import” and select “Users” to confirm that Jane and John have been added.

Migrate Order Data:

1. Export Orders from Shopify

1. In the Shopify admin, go to “Orders“> “Export”.

2. Select all orders or a date range.

3. Choose CSV for Excel, Numbers, or other spreadsheet programs.

4. Click Export orders and download the file.

2.  Import Orders into WooCommerce

1. Install a plugin like Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce.

2. Go to the plugin’s import section (e.g., WebToffee Import Export (Basic) > Import).

3. Choose Order and click Select import method

4. On the upload screen, you’ll find a sample CSV file for import. You can format your Shopify export file to match this example.

5. Upload orders.csv, then click Map import Columns

6. Map fields (e.g., Order ID to “order_id”).

7. Run the import by clicking Advanced Options/Batch Import

8. Click import

And all done

 Limitations of CSV Imports (Customers & Orders):

While CSV files offer a basic way to migrate data from Shopify to WooCommerce, they have significant limitations, especially for handling sensitive information and complex relationships. Here’s what you need to know when using CSV for both customers and orders:

 Customer Data Limitations:

• Passwords are not migrated. WooCommerce cannot import hashed passwords from Shopify, so customers will need to reset their passwords after migration.
  
• User roles and metadata may not match unless they are mapped carefully.
  
• Email must be unique for each customer. Duplicate emails will cause the import to fail or overwrite data.
  
• Account creation dates and purchase histories are not retained unless you use a more advanced tool.
  

Order Data Limitations:

• Payment information (e.g., transaction ID, method) is not transferred due to privacy and security restrictions.
  
• Shipping methods, tax details, and coupon data might not map accurately or may be omitted.
  
• Relationships between orders and customers may break if customer IDs are mismatched or missing.
  
• Line items with variations, custom options, or refunds might import inaccurately or be dropped altogether.
  

Recommended for Simple Use Cases:

CSV imports are okay for:

• Basic data migration for small stores.
  
• Initial testing or trial runs.
  
• Sites that don’t rely on complete historical data.
  

Recommended Extension for Accurate Migrations

For a seamless and complete migration, especially for large stores with many customers and orders, we highly recommend using this extension:

Migrate & Import Shopify to WooCommerce

Why use it?

• Customer passwords are preserved through account invites or secure login flows, ensuring a smooth and safe transition.
  
• Accurately maps products, variations, orders, and metadata.
  
• Maintains the relationship between customers and their order history to ensure continuity and accurate record-keeping.
  
• Dramatically reduces the risk of data loss or corruption.
  
• This extension saves hours of manual post-migration cleanup by automating key steps and preserving essential data.

Content Migration from Shopify to WooCommerce

Exporting Blog Posts and Pages

Shopify doesn’t offer a native way to export blog posts and pages in bulk. You’ll need to either:

• Manually copy content from Shopify’s admin editor
• Use third-party tools like LitExtension or CMS2CMS to automate the process
• For blog posts: Focus on keeping the original publication dates, author names, and categories intact

Handling Image URLs and Media Libraries

• Shopify stores images on their CDN and links them via URLs
• When migrating content, update image links to point to media uploaded to the WooCommerce Media Library
• Use a plugin like Auto Upload Images or re-upload manually to avoid broken images

Manual Copying vs. Automated Tools

• Manual Copying offers precision but takes time
• Automated Tools can bulk transfer blog content, tags, categories, and even comments
• Always validate formatting and structure after migration, regardless of method

Maintaining SEO Meta Titles and Descriptions

• SEO settings on Shopify won’t carry over
• Use an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to add meta titles, descriptions, and canonical URLs
• Migrate these manually or use migration tools with SEO metadata support

Redirect Strategy to Avoid Broken Links

• Shopify URLs typically follow a different structure (e.g., /blogs/news/title vs. /blog/title in WordPress)
• Set up 301 redirects using Redirection plugin or .htaccess rules
• Map all old URLs to their WooCommerce equivalents to retain SEO rankings and avoid 404 errors

Rebuilding Navigation and Menus

• Recreate your main menu, footer, and other navigation areas manually in Appearance > Menus
• Ensure that all internal links reflect the new URL structure
• Test mobile and desktop navigation for consistency

Troubleshooting and Common Fixes

Issue: Product images not appearing

Fix: Confirm URLs are publicly accessible

Issue: Character encoding issues (e.g., weird symbols)

Fix: Save all CSVs in UTF-8 format

Issue: Missing customer passwords

Fix: Customers will need to reset passwords

Post-Migration Checklist

 Data Validation

• Test all product listings, images, variations, and inventory.
• Confirm customer data accuracy (names, emails, billing/shipping addresses).
• Verify order history, statuses, and dates.

Plugin & Integration Setup

• Reconnect and test payment gateways (e.g., Stripe, PayPal).
• Configure and test shipping methods and tax rules.
• Reinstall and configure third-party integrations (e.g., marketing, CRM, analytics).

 SEO & Redirects

• Set up 301 redirects from old Shopify URLs to WooCommerce URLs to retain SEO ranking.
• Submit updated XML sitemap to search engines (Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools).
• Check for broken links and fix any 404 errors.

 Final Touches

• Optimize store performance (caching, image optimization, database cleanup).
• Test mobile and desktop responsiveness.
• Enable security features (firewall, backups, brute force protection).

 Go Live Checklist

• Do a final round of testing (user flows, checkout process, emails).
• Announce the migration to your users and provide password reset guidance if needed.
• Monitor analytics and sales in the first few days.

Need help with Migration? 

If you need help with the migration, setup, or choosing the right platform for your business

📞 Contact us anytime:
🌐 https://webw.us/contact/

We offer expert WooCommerce and Shopify consulting and can guide you through the migration process from start to finish.