Thinking about switching your website to Shopify? Whether you're coming from WordPress/WooCommerce, Wix, or Squarespace, you're not alone. More and more product-based business owners are moving to Shopify for its ease of use, reliable infrastructure, and built-in advanced e-commerce tools that actually help you grow.

I've worked with many clients over the years to move them from another platform to Shopify. And I've helped members of my course Shop School with the process too.

Last year I migrated my own Wordpress site to Shopify. I'll explain more on the why behind my move in the next section. It's been such a tech upgrade.

I've been through this process a lot, and it's not as daunting as it may seem.

In this guide, I'll walk you through what migration really means, what you need to know depending on your current platform, and how to make the move without losing your mind (or your SEO).

Why Migrate to Shopify?

Shopify is built specifically for selling products. Unlike general website builders or blogging platforms, Shopify gives you:

• A powerful, secure checkout

• Built-in inventory and shipping tools

• Access to top-tier apps and integrations - the app store gives you the ability to add way more to your store than you can on any other platform

If you're struggling with plugin conflicts, frustrated with lack of features, or spending too much time on tech instead of selling, it's time to consider the switch.

I switched to Shopify from Wordpress because I sell multiple digital products and I didn't have an actual shopping cart on my website. I was using individual landing pages to sell my courses which wasn't a great customer experience and also was harder for me to maintain. I was already tired of dealing with the security aspects of a Wordpress site, so moving to Shopify made sense.

Plus, Shopify makes it easy to sell. Whether you're selling at markets, running an online-only shop, or growing into wholesale, Shopify can support you every step of the way. With built-in support for POS, abandoned cart recovery, and multi-channel selling (like Instagram, TikTok, and Amazon), it’s a true growth partner.

Migration Basics: What It Involves

Migrating to Shopify typically means:

• Moving your products and collections

• Transferring your customer and order data

• Setting up new templates on your Shopify theme (rebuilding pages and templates from your current site)

• Redirecting your URLs to preserve SEO

• Replacing apps or plugins with Shopify equivalents

It’s also a great opportunity to audit your current site and simplify. Many shop owners find that when they move to Shopify, they can streamline their product listings, clean up outdated content, and improve their site’s user experience.

Depending on where you're coming from, this can be smooth or a bit more involved. Let’s break it down by platform.

How to redirect your URLs

One of the most important (and most overlooked) steps in any website migration is setting up URL redirects—and I can’t stress this enough: do not skip this step if you care about your SEO, traffic, or customer experience.

When you move from another platform to Shopify, your page and product URLs will change. If you don’t set up redirects, anyone who clicks an old link—whether it’s from Google search results, Pinterest, social media, someone’s blog post, or even an email you sent months ago—will land on a 404 error page.

That’s frustrating for your customers, and it's a big red flag for Google. Broken links and 404s can hurt your search rankings, lower your domain authority, and interrupt the flow of traffic you’ve worked hard to build.

Redirects tell search engines and browsers, “Hey, this page has moved—here’s the new link.” It’s like forwarding your mail when you move to a new house. Without it, you risk losing valuable SEO equity and confusing both people and bots.

The good news? Shopify makes it easy to set up 301 redirects (the SEO-friendly kind). You can add them manually under Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects, or use an app to bulk import redirects if you have a lot.

Setting up redirects protects the SEO you've already earned and keeps your customer experience seamless during your transition to Shopify.

I'm not using a bulk importer or a cart migration tool to assist me with redirects, here's how I do it:

Download Shopify's URL csv template (this link will send you directly to the file download). 

Open the file in Google Sheets.

It's a simple two column file, on the left you'll put your old URL and on the right the new Shopify structure.

For instance, if you have this url:

https://launchparty.live/shop-school

And it's now a product on Shopify, it'll look like this:

https://launchparty.live/products/shop-school

Here's what that looks like on the CSV file:

After you finish your file, download it as a CSV and upload it to Shopify. Go to Content > Menus and click URL redirects.

Rebuilding your site on Shopify

I’m often asked how to transfer or migrate page content—like your homepage, About page, or FAQs—to Shopify. The short answer? You really can’t. Even if you’re using a migration tool, those tools typically focus on products and customer data. Your designed pages and layouts won’t transfer over cleanly (or at all), especially when you're moving from platforms like Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress.

The truth is: you’ll be rebuilding and redesigning your pages and templates from scratch on Shopify.

But that’s not a bad thing. 

In fact, it’s a great opportunity to refresh your design, re-evaluate your navigation, and refine your brand story. Think of it like moving into a new home—yes, you’ll need to unpack and rearrange everything, but you also get to leave behind the clutter and create a space that works even better for you now.

Shopify uses themes to control the design of your store, so you’ll choose a new theme and set up templates for products, collections and pages like your homepage, About, Contact, and more. You’ll also need to recreate your content manually, which gives you the perfect chance to update your copy, improve your visuals, and ensure everything aligns with where your brand is headed—not just where it’s been.

If your site is a few years old (or hasn’t been touched since you first launched), this rebuild process can actually be the exact thing your business needs to level up.

Migrating from WordPress/WooCommerce to Shopify

WooCommerce is popular, especially for WordPress users, but it's not always the most stable or seller-friendly option. Here's what to consider:

What You Can Migrate:

• Products 

• Customers

• Orders

• Reviews

Watch Out For:

• Plugin conflicts that may have affected how data is stored

• Recreating your blog and content pages

• Setting up shipping and taxes (which might have been done via Woo plugins)

Tips:

• To automate much of this process, you can use a store importer app like Cart2Cart

• Plan ahead for SEO redirects (especially if you used custom permalinks)

• Take the opportunity to simplify your product structure if needed

Migrating from Wix to Shopify

Wix is user-friendly, but it wasn’t built with e-commerce at its core. If you’re growing and feeling the limitations, Shopify is a smart platform to switch to.

What You Can Migrate:

• Products

• Customer lists (exported as CSVs)

• Reviews (manually)

Tips:

• Export what you can (Wix doesn’t allow full data exports)

• Rebuild key pages in Shopify using its theme customizer

Migrating from Squarespace to Shopify

Squarespace is a favorite among designers and creatives, but it can be limiting when it comes to product-focused features.

What You Can Migrate:

• Products 

• Customer data (manually)

Tips:

• Add a review app to your Shopify store since you'll be able to do that now!

Common Questions About Migrating to Shopify

Will I lose my SEO?
Not if you do it right. Use redirects, keep product titles and meta descriptions consistent, and submit a new sitemap to Google once your Shopify site is live. Shopify also allows you to edit SEO settings per page and product, which is helpful for keeping search performance strong.

Can I keep my domain name?
Yes! You can transfer or point your domain to Shopify. Most domain providers (like GoDaddy or Namecheap) make it easy to update DNS settings. Shopify also offers domain registration if you'd prefer to manage everything in one place.

Do I need to hire a developer?
Not necessarily. Shopify is very DIY-friendly. But if you're short on time, want a completely custom look, or need help with technical setup like redirects and integrations, Launch Party is here for that.

What if I sell both physical and digital products?
No problem! Shopify supports both, and with the right apps or built-in settings, you can automate delivery for digital downloads and streamline fulfillment for physical goods.

Will my site be down during migration?
No, it doesn't have to be. You can leave your current site up and work on migration in the background. Sign up for Shopify (affiliate link) and build your Shopify store. Set up all of your settings and your redirects. When you're ready for it to go live, you'll either transfer the domain to Shopify or point it to Shopify. During the domain transition, there will be some down time of usually 2-3 hours, though this varies and it can be longer.

What I love about moving to Shopify: I mentioned a tech upgrade, and it really is! I love having the Shopify app on my phone, where I can see everything going on with my site. I can even update my theme if I need to on my phone (not ideal, but great when in a pinch.) 

 

I love having access to the Shopify app store. I moved my course platform to a Shopify app called Tevello, so now when you join a course, you're instantly enrolled and have access on my site to it. It's seamless and such a great customer experience. Also easier for me to manage everything.

Ready to Migrate?

If you're overwhelmed or unsure where to start, I can help. I’ve helped many product-based business owners make a smooth, strategic move to Shopify—without losing sales or search rankings in the process. In fact, just the opposite. We usually see an increase in sales and conversion rate!

I don’t just copy-paste your old site—I help you improve it.

Let’s make your shop work harder (and look better) on Shopify. Learn about working together here.  | Migrating is also covered in Shop School, get personalized support there.

More Shopify setup advice: check out my guide to starting a Shopify store in 2025 .