WordPress to Shopify Migration

Full WordPress to Shopify Migration Walkthrough

The following walkthrough expands on the three-step process above and explains how LitExtension experts manage each stage of an All-in-One WordPress to Shopify migration.

Step 1: Consultation and Migration Planning

We begin by reviewing how your current WordPress website is built. This includes its content structure, active plugins, custom fields, data volume, and any eCommerce system used to manage products, customers, or orders.

This review helps us separate standard WordPress content, such as blog posts, CMS pages, and images, from commerce data generated by WooCommerce or another plugin. We then confirm which entities can be transferred to Shopify and identify any data that requires custom mapping, transformation, or a compatible Shopify app.

During this stage, we work with you to define:

• The content and store data included in the migration.
• Additional options and custom migration requirements.
• The target Shopify setup and any required apps.
• The expected timeline, deliverables, and validation criteria.

Once the scope is agreed upon, our team prepares the migration plan and confirms the information or access needed to begin the project.

Step 2: Data Mapping and Demo Migration

Our team prepares the source WordPress website and target Shopify store for migration. You authorize the connection to Shopify through the LitExtension Store Migration app, while our experts configure the migration environment and review the selected data.

We map supported WordPress content and eCommerce data to Shopify’s corresponding structures. Depending on your setup, this may include mapping blog posts, CMS pages, products, variants, categories, customers, orders, coupons, reviews, metadata, custom fields, and embedded images.

Because WordPress plugins and Shopify may organize the same information differently, this stage may also involve:

• Mapping product categories to Shopify collections.
• Converting supported product options into Shopify variants.
• Assigning custom data to suitable Shopify fields or metafields.
• Preparing URL redirects where the source and target URL structures differ.
• Confirming how unsupported or plugin-specific data should be handled.

We then run a Demo Migration using sample data from the agreed scope. The demo allows our team and your team to review data mapping, formatting, images, relationships, and display results in Shopify before the full migration begins. If an issue is identified, we adjust the configuration and confirm the expected result with you.

Step 3: Full Migration and Result Validation

After the Demo Migration is reviewed and approved, LitExtension transfers the remaining data based on the confirmed configuration. The migration runs in the background, and your current WordPress website can remain available while the data is being transferred.

Once the Full Migration is complete, our team validates the results against the agreed project scope. The checks may include:

• Entity counts and selected data fields.
• Product variants, images, inventory, and category relationships.
• Customer details and order history where supported.
• Blog posts, CMS pages, formatting, and embedded images.
• Metadata, custom fields, and configured URL redirects.

If we identify migration-related discrepancies, our experts investigate and resolve them before final delivery. You can then review the migrated Shopify store and provide feedback based on the validation criteria confirmed during the planning stage. If new products, customers, orders, or content were added to the WordPress website during the project, eligible post-migration services can be used to transfer or update that data.

Manually Transfer Data from WordPress to Shopify

You can manually migrate a WordPress site to Shopify, but the process varies by data type and by how the source website is built. WordPress content, eCommerce records, website design, and plugin functionality cannot all be transferred through a single export and import process.

Manual migration is more suitable for smaller websites and users who are comfortable preparing CSV files, rebuilding content, and checking the results themselves.

Step 1: Back Up and Review Your WordPress Data

Create a complete backup of your WordPress files and database before making any changes. Then inventory the content and store data you want to retain, including posts, pages, images, products, customers, orders, reviews, metadata, and existing URLs.

The available export method depends on where each type of data is stored:

• WordPress posts and pages: The built-in WordPress export tool creates an XML file containing selected website content. Shopify does not natively convert this file into Shopify pages or blog posts.
• Products and other store data: If your website uses WooCommerce or another eCommerce plugin, export the data using the plugin’s available tools. The exported fields and formats will vary by plugin.
• Images and media: Keep the source media files and URLs accessible until the Shopify website has been reviewed.
• Custom fields and plugin data: Document where this information should appear in Shopify and whether a compatible field, metafield, or app is required.

Record your existing WordPress URLs at this stage. You will need them later to create redirects to the corresponding Shopify pages.

Step 2: Prepare and Import Data into Shopify

Create the required structures in Shopify before importing your data. This may include product collections, customer metafields, blogs, pages, and any apps needed to receive reviews or plugin-specific information.

Use an appropriate transfer method for each data type:

• Blog posts and CMS pages: Recreate smaller amounts of content manually or use a compatible import app or API for larger websites. Review headings, links, formatting, and embedded images after import.
• Products: Map the exported product fields to Shopify’s product CSV format. Check titles, descriptions, SKUs, prices, inventory, variants, images, tags, and collection assignments before importing the file.
• Customers: Prepare a customer CSV that follows Shopify’s required structure. Customer passwords cannot be transferred through a standard CSV import, so customers may need to activate their accounts or create new passwords.
• Orders, reviews, and plugin-specific data: These records may require a compatible Shopify app, API-based import, or custom migration process because Shopify’s standard import tools do not cover every data type.

Test a small sample before importing the complete dataset. Correct any field-mapping, formatting, encoding, or image issues found in the sample.

Step 3: Rebuild and Validate the Shopify Website

A WordPress theme cannot be installed directly on Shopify because the two platforms use different theme systems. Select or build a Shopify theme, recreate the required page layouts, and replace WordPress plugin functionality with Shopify features or compatible apps.

After importing the data, review the Shopify store carefully:

• Compare the number of imported records with the source data.
• Check products, variants, prices, inventory, images, and collections.
• Review customer details and any imported order history.
• Test blog posts, pages, menus, internal links, and mobile display.
• Configure payments, shipping, taxes, notifications, and checkout settings.
• Create 301 redirects from old WordPress URLs to the relevant Shopify URLs.
• Place test orders before connecting the final domain.

Keep the WordPress website and its backup available until the Shopify store has been fully reviewed. For larger datasets, custom fields, complex product structures, or historical orders, an automated tool or expert-managed migration may be more practical than a fully manual transfer.

WordPress to Shopify Migration Checklist

Use this checklist to prepare the source website, review the migrated data, and reduce disruption when launching the new Shopify store.

• Back up the WordPress website: Keep a complete copy of the website files, database, media library, and exported store data until the Shopify migration has been fully validated.
• Inventory the data and functionality: List the posts, pages, products, customers, orders, forms, memberships, subscriptions, custom fields, and plugin features that must be retained or replaced.
• Record important URLs: Export indexable WordPress URLs and map them to the most relevant Shopify destinations. Prioritize pages that receive organic traffic or backlinks when preparing 301 redirects.
• Prepare the Shopify environment: Configure the required plan, theme, apps, markets, shipping, taxes, payments, policies, and user permissions before the final launch.
• Review a sample before the full transfer: Check representative products, customers, orders, blog posts, pages, images, metadata, and custom fields during the Demo Migration.
• Validate the complete Shopify store: Compare entity counts and inspect navigation, internal links, redirects, mobile display, product variants, inventory, checkout, notifications, and test orders.
• Plan the final data update: Record data created on WordPress after the Full Migration and transfer eligible recent records before directing customers to Shopify.
• Keep WordPress available temporarily: Do not delete the source website or backup immediately after launch. Retain access until the Shopify store and redirects have been monitored and confirmed.

Point the domain to Shopify only after the migrated data, storefront settings, redirects, and purchase flow have been reviewed.