How to Migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify in 3 Steps with LitExtension?

WooCommerce to Shopify Migration: An Overview

Migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify means transferring your online store information and structure from WooCommerce to the Shopify platform.

This process includes moving store data such as product details, customer information, order history, and more from your WooCommerce system to your new Shopify system.

Data migration between e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify is a technical process that requires careful handling. It involves extracting data from your current WooCommerce store and preparing it for import into Shopify. This ensures that your store’s information remains intact and functional in the new system.

Migrate data from WooCommerce to Shopify with LitExtension expert

 

Benefits When Migrating WooCommerce to Shopify

WooCommerce offers incredible flexibility and customization, Shopify often emerges as the go-to solution for streamlined scalability and dedicated support. If your business is experiencing rapid growth or you’re seeking a more hands-off approach to platform management, migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify might be the strategic move you need.

We have 5 reason why you should migrate your store from WooCommerce to Shopify:

1. Shopify is a fully hosted platform, meaning you don’t have to worry about managing web hosting or server maintenance.
2. Shopify has a simple and user-friendly interface. As a result, you can quickly manage and configure your store without extensive technical knowledge.
3. Shopify provides comprehensive security for your online store through SSL certificates, regular data backups, and automatic security patches, ensuring a protected environment for both you and your customers.
4. The platform’s mobile-responsive themes guarantee that your store displays and performs flawlessly across all devices, from desktop computers to smartphones
5. The built-in inventory management system streamlines your operations without requiring external plugins, making store administration more efficient and straightforward.

Want to switch from WooCommerce to Shopify effortlessly? Trust LitExtension to deliver a smooth, reliable migration experience. We’ll transfer all your store data while ensuring it remains fully functional and operational. The step-by-step WooCommerce to Shopify migration process includes the following:

• Stage 1: Prepare for WooCommerce to Shopify Migration
• Stage 2: Perform full migration from WooCommerce to Shopify
• Stage 3: Follow a go-live checklist after data migration

Migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify: Preparation

We’ve created a comprehensive flow chart outlining each step of the migration process to make your transition smooth and efficient.

1. Backup database of WooCommerce store

When transferring your data with LitExtension, you don’t have to worry about data distortions because we will not alter anything on your WordPress WooCommerce Source Store. Thus, it is unnecessary to back up your WooCommerce source store data before migration. In case you still want to backup your data, here is how to do it:

• Go to your WooCommerce store back-end, and navigate to Tools > Export.
• From there, you can export your site content, such as your posts, pages, comments, custom fields, etc. to XML files. If you, on the other hand, don’t want to export all of your content, you can just choose the specific fields you want to export.
• Hit “Download Export File” to get XML files.

This default function will compress your data to XML files. If you want to do more, for example, exporting products with images, some WooCommerce plugins (free and paid versions) will help you deal with that.

2. Set up a new Shopify store

After successfully backing up your files, it’s time to create a new Shopify home and begin your migration!

• The first step is to sign up a Shopify account at this address.
• After that, Shopify may ask you for information about your new store, or you can skip all the questions and start your journey on Shopify.
• Now, you’re on the Shopify dashboard and can get down to migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify.

The migration process involves only 3 simple steps, and no technical skill is required. To better understand our service, you can check out our WooCommerce migration to Shopify tutorial video. Now, let me walk you through a step-by-step guide to migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify with LitExtension.

Step 1: Register an LitExtension account

You can register an account on the LitExtension if you haven’t had one. You may quickly log in using your Facebook or Google account.

Step 2: Set up WooCommerce as Source Cart and Shopify as Target Cart

Once logged in to the LitExtension site, click “Create new migration” to move from WooCommerce to Shopify. Then, you can enter your Source’s and Target Cart’s information. First, choose WooCommerce as your Source Cart from the drop-down menu. Then enter your store URL.

• Download & set up the “le_connector” file. This connector has only one function, which is to create a bridge between your WooCommerce database with LitExtension.
• Then, you can extract the LitExtension zip file and upload the Connector folder to the root folder of WooCommerce.
• Once finished, a notification will appear on your screen “Connection was successfully installed“.

Next, moving on to Target Cart setup.

• After you have chosen Shopify as your Target Cart from the menu, enter your store URL and the API password into the blank space.
• Regarding Shopify API, LitExtension will migrate your data using API. If you’re using LitExtension on Shopify App Store, the Shopify API is automatically connected.

After finishing the cart setup, click “Next” to the following stage of the migration. If you’re not getting the idea of how to get an API password from your Shopify store, please refer to the below video.  

Step 3: Select entities to migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify

Now, you choose the entities to migrate WooCommerce to Shopify. In this case, we support migrating products, customers, pages, blog posts, and coupons. You can choose to migrate only a few, for example, only import products from WooCommerce to Shopify or click “Select all” to migrate all of them.

To help you extend your WooCommerce to Shopify migration possibilities, we also offer some Additional Options, such as:

1. Clear current data on Target Store before Migration

If you choose this option, all data on your Target Store before the migration process (if any) will be deleted. Therefore, the data duplication risk when moving from WooCommerce to Shopify can be avoided.

2. Create the 301 redirects on your Target Store after migration

301 redirect is a procedure of pointing URLs from one site to another. In other words, when your customers click on your old WooCommerce website links, they will be redirected immediately to the corresponding page on your new Shopify store.

Don’t forget to map your order status and language so that your data can appear appropriately on your Shopify source store.

Step 4: Perform full migration from WooCommerce to Shopify

Now you are switching from WooCommerce to Shopify. We highly recommend you run the demo migration first to see how LitExtension will carry out the migration process (learn more about LitExtension demo migration). Or, you can skip the Demo migration and run the full migration! Once the migration begins, it will proceed smoothly on the server. As a result, you don’t have to keep your PC running while the data is transferred. It is entirely safe to turn it off!

You will be notified through email when the WooCommerce to Shopify migration process is complete.

You may have some extensions installed on your WooCommerce site to support your business, and you don’t want to lose these extended functionalities. To do this, look for and install Shopify apps with purposes that are related to those of your WooCommerce store (you can refer to our list of best Shopify apps). Due to the peculiarity of Shopify apps and WooCommerce plugins, LitExtension will examine whether we can assist you in migrating your data to the new apps you choose. If feasible, we will facilitate the migration of data from your WooCommerce plugins to  the corresponding apps in Shopify. It’s important to note that this additional service may incur extra costs. During the whole migration process, LitExtension still keeps your old WooCommerce store running normally. Accordingly, you will still receive new orders and customers as usual while decorating your new Shopify store. That is how our further migration services come in handy! Recent Data Migration allows you to import all newly appearing entities to Shopify. Smart Update updates changes you have made to data in the old store, along with all the newly appearing entities. Re-migration service enables you to migrate your data all over again. All these three options are FREE if you have performed full migration with LitExtension within 3 months before and the total number of additional entities is less than 10% of the total entities in the first migration.

WooCommerce to Shopify Migration: Post Migration

After the migration, you might want to take some extra steps to set up your new Shopify store. Here is a list of some post-migration activities that we recommend.

• Check migration result
• Change DNS and switch domain
• Set up your shipping
• Choose the payment method
• Try placing some orders

How LitExtension Troubleshoot WooCommerce to Shopify Migration

Potential issues may arise during the migration process, and here are LitExtension solutions to these.

1. Data mapping and compatibility

• Problem: Data from WooCommerce may not have a direct equivalent in Shopify
• Solution: You will have a consultation with LitExtension support team if you encounter any compatibility issues before migration to minimize all the upcoming issues.

2. Custom functionality and plugins

• Problem: WooCommerce may have custom functionality or plugins that don’t have direct equivalents in Shopify.
• Solution: We can assist in identifying the custom functionality or plugins in WooCommerce and explore Shopify’s app store for alternatives.

3. Design and theme migration

• Problem: WooCommerce themes may not be compatible or transferrable to Shopify.
• Solution: LitExtension experts can select and recommend a new Shopify theme for you. If you want to customize a new theme that fits the look and feel of your old store, we can assist you with our Shopify Development Services.

4. Product variants and attributes

• Problem: WooCommerce and Shopify may have different ways of managing product variants and attributes, leading to potential discrepancies.
• Solution: With LitExtension Additional Option, you may “Migrate Source Store categories into Shopify Smart Collections”. You can find out more here.

5. SEO and URL redirection

• Problem: Changing platforms may result in different URL structures, potentially impacting SEO and causing broken links.
• Solution: LitExtension Additional Option can support you with proper URL redirection from old WooCommerce URLs to corresponding Shopify URLs. Please refer to this document for more insights.

6. Downtime and impact on live store

• Problem: The migration process may require temporary downtime, impacting your live store’s availability.
• Solution: LitExtension ensures that your store will run smoothly during the migration and receive new orders. There will be downtime when transferring the domain, but it will not take long.

With LitExtension, you can minimize and simplify the migration process!