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A WooCommerce to Shopify migration is the process of transferring your products, customers, orders, and store configuration from a WordPress/WooCommerce setup to Shopify — a hosted commerce platform built for ecommerce growth without the server maintenance, plugin conflicts, and security patching that WordPress demands. Shopify is the platform most SA operators are choosing when WooCommerce starts creating friction rather than revenue. If your store is slowing down rather than scaling, the platform move question is practical, not theoretical.
The data transfer itself is straightforward. What catches SA operators off guard is the work that follows: reconfiguring PayFast, Peach Payments or Ozow to accept transactions again; reconnecting The Courier Guy or Aramex for fulfilment; mapping every old WordPress URL to its new Shopify equivalent before Google indexes the change; and handling the POPIA obligations that apply when customer records move to Shopify's US-based infrastructure. Whether you are switching from WooCommerce to Shopify yourself or working with a partner, this guide covers it all — with the project-planning detail a generic checklist skips.
Quick Answer
A WooCommerce to Shopify migration moves your products, customers, and content to Shopify's hosted platform. Most data transfers via CSV or a migration app; product reviews, customer passwords, and custom plugin logic do not transfer and need manual handling. For SA stores, the post-migration priorities are reconnecting local payment gateways (combined card fees run 3.8–5.2% depending on your Shopify plan), reconfiguring SA courier integrations, and completing 301 redirects for every WooCommerce URL. A small store (under 500 products) typically takes 2–4 weeks; mid-size stores 4–8 weeks.
In This Guide
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Get a Free Platform AssessmentWhat Data Migrates from WooCommerce to Shopify — and What Doesn't
WooCommerce product catalogues, customer records, and blog content transfer to Shopify; passwords, product reviews, custom plugin logic, and theme design do not — each non-transferable item requires a separate plan before go-live. Surprises here add weeks to a migration and can mean live revenue is lost.
| Data Type | Migrates to Shopify? | Method | SA Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products (titles, descriptions, prices, SKUs, variants) | ✓ Yes | CSV export → edit to Shopify template → import, or Store Migration app | Rand pricing carries over; verify VAT-inclusive vs exclusive settings post-import |
| Product images | ✓ Yes (with limitation) | CSV or migration app | Image alt text lives in WordPress's wp_postmeta table and is not included in the standard WooCommerce CSV export — must be re-added manually in Shopify |
| Customer records (name, email, address) | ✓ Yes | WooCommerce → Customers → select all → Export (CSV) on WooCommerce 8+; on older installs, use a dedicated export plugin (e.g., Customer/Order/Coupon Export) | Triggers POPIA s72 obligations — see SA Setup section below |
| Customer passwords | ✗ No | Cannot transfer — WordPress password hashing is not compatible with Shopify | Customers must reset passwords on first login; communicate this before go-live |
| Order history | ⚠ Partial | Third-party migration app required (Shopify's native CSV import does not handle orders) | Critical for SARS record-keeping; verify imported orders match your accounting records |
| Product reviews | ✗ Not natively | Manual re-import via third-party review app (e.g., Judge.me, Okendo) | Losing review social proof damages conversion — plan for this before launch day |
| Blog posts and pages | ✓ Yes | Manual copy-paste or migration app | Internal links to old WooCommerce URLs inside posts must be updated to Shopify URLs |
| Custom fields / ACF data | ⚠ Partial | Must be mapped manually to Shopify metafields | See Shopify metafields guide for the right structure |
| WooCommerce plugin logic | ✗ No | Replace with Shopify apps or native Shopify features | Average WooCommerce store runs 30–50 plugins; audit each before migration |
| WooCommerce theme / design | ✗ No | Choose and customise a Shopify theme | Treat this as a redesign opportunity, not a like-for-like rebuild |
Key Takeaway
The product catalogue, customer records, and blog content transfer cleanly. Passwords, reviews, custom plugin logic, and design do not. Plan for password resets, a review re-import campaign, and a plugin-to-app audit before you set a go-live date.
How to Complete a WooCommerce to Shopify Migration: Step by Step
A structured WooCommerce to Shopify migration follows a specific sequence — products first, then customers, then orders — because Shopify's data relationships depend on that order. Rushing or skipping pre-migration preparation is the single most common cause of post-launch revenue loss.
Phase 1: Pre-Migration Audit (Week 1)
Back up everything before touching a single setting. Use your host's backup tool or a WordPress plugin like UpdraftPlus to take a full snapshot of your WooCommerce database, files, and media library. This is your safety net.
- Catalogue your plugins. List every active plugin and identify its function. For each one, find the Shopify equivalent app or confirm that Shopify handles it natively. Common WooCommerce functions — subscriptions, product bundles, gift cards — have direct Shopify counterparts.
- Export your top URLs. In Google Search Console, export your top landing pages for the past 90 days. These are the URLs with the most traffic and backlink equity — every one needs a 301 redirect to its Shopify equivalent.
- Set up a Shopify trial. Start with Shopify's 3-day free trial (then $1/month for three months) to test the import process before committing to a paid plan.
- Choose your migration method. Small stores (under 100 products) can use manual CSV. Mid-size stores benefit from a third-party migration app. Complex stores — custom post types, bookings, subscriptions — should work with a Shopify Partner.
Phase 2: Export Data from WooCommerce
Products: In WooCommerce, go to Products → Export, select "All Products", and download the CSV. Open it and clean the data: check for HTML-heavy descriptions, inconsistent SKUs, and missing image URLs. The WooCommerce CSV column headers do not match Shopify's template — you must remap them before import.
Customers: In WooCommerce 8+, go to WooCommerce → Customers, select all records, and click Export to download the CSV. On older WooCommerce installs, use a dedicated export plugin (e.g., Customer/Order/Coupon Export) — WordPress's native Tools → Export produces XML, not the CSV Shopify requires.
Orders: Historical orders require a third-party migration app because Shopify's native CSV import does not handle order data. Apps like Cart2Cart or LitExtension are common choices. Verify the imported data against your accounting records — SARS requires accurate order records once you reach compulsory VAT registration thresholds.
Phase 3: Import to Shopify
Products first. In Shopify Admin, go to Products → Import, upload your cleaned CSV, and review the preview carefully — check titles, descriptions, prices, SKUs, variants, inventory quantities, and product images before confirming. Re-add image alt text after import (it does not survive the CSV journey from WooCommerce).
Then customers. Import your cleaned customer CSV. Notify customers before launch that they will need to reset their passwords — WordPress password hashes cannot be transferred.
Then orders (if your plan is to carry historical order data). Run the third-party migration app and verify the output against your WooCommerce records.
Phase 4: SA-Specific Configuration
This is where most SA-specific migration guides stop too early. See the full section below.
Official Migration Resource
Shopify maintains an official step-by-step migration guide for WooCommerce merchants at Shopify Help: Migrating from WooCommerce. It covers the Store Migration app (early access), CSV templates, and verification checklists. Use it alongside this SA-specific guide.
SA-Specific Setup After Migration
After importing data, SA merchants must manually reconfigure their payment gateway (PayFast, Peach Payments or Ozow), rebuild courier rates in Bob Go, set the applicable VAT rate in Shopify's tax settings, and execute Shopify's Data Processing Agreement before accepting a single order. Payment gateways, couriers, VAT, and POPIA compliance all need to be addressed before you go live.
Payment Gateway Reconfiguration
Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa as of mid-2026. Every SA Shopify merchant uses a third-party payment gateway — and Shopify charges a transaction fee on top of the gateway's own fee. The combined cost varies by Shopify plan.
| Shopify Plan | Monthly Price (billed annually) | Shopify 3PG Fee | PayFast Card (3.2% + R2) | Combined Card Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29/mo | 2.0% | 3.2% + R2.00 | 5.2% + R2.00 |
| Grow | $79/mo | 1.0% | 3.2% + R2.00 | 4.2% + R2.00 |
| Advanced | $299/mo | 0.6% | 3.2% + R2.00 | 3.8% + R2.00 |
The right plan depends on your monthly revenue. As order volume grows, the saving on Shopify's transaction fee at the Grow or Advanced tier often offsets the higher plan cost. PayFast's full fee schedule is published at payfast.io/fees. See the full SA payment gateway comparison for a side-by-side breakdown of PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow, and Yoco.
After migration, reinstall your chosen gateway's Shopify app and reconnect your merchant account. Run a test transaction before going live — WooCommerce and Shopify handle the payment flow differently, and gateway settings do not carry over.
Courier and Fulfilment Reconnection
Your WooCommerce shipping configuration — zones, rates, carrier accounts — does not transfer to Shopify. You will need to rebuild it. For most SA stores, Bob Go is the recommended starting point: it connects The Courier Guy, Aramex, RAM, PostNet, and Skynet under one Shopify app and supports live rate-shopping at checkout. ScrubBill is an alternative that integrates with 30+ SA couriers.
If you use The Courier Guy or Aramex directly, both have dedicated Shopify integration options. Reconfigure your collection addresses, parcel dimensions, and weight brackets before launch — courier rates in Shopify are calculated at checkout and wrong defaults mean either overcharging customers or absorbing the difference yourself.
VAT and Tax Configuration
Shopify's tax engine does not automatically apply South African VAT. Configure your applicable VAT rate in Settings → Taxes before your first order goes through. Check current SARS thresholds for compulsory and voluntary registration — both changed in April 2026. A WooCommerce setup that had VAT configured does not port this to Shopify; the tax settings must be rebuilt manually.
POPIA Compliance for Customer Data
Moving customer records from your WooCommerce server to Shopify's infrastructure (US-based data centres) is a cross-border data transfer under POPIA section 72. This is permitted when the recipient platform provides adequate protection substantially similar to POPIA's eight processing conditions. Shopify offers a Data Processing Agreement that addresses these requirements — download and execute it before you import customer data.
Your existing privacy policy likely covers this transfer under contractual necessity (you are processing customer data for the same purpose — fulfilling orders), but review it and update the hosting location reference if it names a specific server location.
Key Takeaway
SA-specific setup — payment gateways, couriers, VAT, POPIA — is not covered by Shopify's standard migration guide. Budget a full week for this phase, and test every SA-specific integration before going live.
Search Ranking Continuity: Redirects and the Recrawl Plan
The biggest SEO risk in a WooCommerce to Shopify migration is URL structure mismatch — every single WooCommerce product and category URL changes format, and if you skip the 301 redirects, Google can no longer associate the ranking signals from your old URLs with your new pages — and that association does not rebuild automatically.
The URL Structure Problem
| Page Type | WooCommerce URL | Shopify URL | Required Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product page | /product/blue-sneakers/ | /products/blue-sneakers | 301 redirect: old → new |
| Category / collection | /product-category/shoes/ | /collections/shoes | 301 redirect: old → new |
| Blog post | /blog/how-to-clean-sneakers/ | /blogs/news/how-to-clean-sneakers | 301 redirect: old → new |
| Shop homepage | /shop/ | / (homepage) or /collections/all | 301 redirect to /collections/all, not homepage |
Never redirect a group of product URLs to the homepage. Google treats a homepage redirect from a product URL as a soft 404 — it drops the page from the index and the equity is lost. Every redirect must point to a genuine equivalent page.
For stores with fewer than 250 redirects, use Shopify's built-in URL redirects tool (Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects). For larger catalogues, use a redirect app like Easy Redirects and upload a bulk CSV. Your priority order is: highest-traffic URLs first (use your Search Console export from Phase 1), then pages with backlinks, then the rest.
For a comprehensive SEO checklist covering canonical tags, structured data, and Search Console resubmission after a platform move, see the full SEO guide for SA ecommerce platform switches.
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Get a Migration SEO AssessmentPlatform Switch Timeline: What to Expect by Store Size
Migration timelines scale with store complexity, not just product count. The data import itself typically takes a day or two; the surrounding work — plugin audits, redirect mapping, SA-specific configuration, theme customisation, and testing — is where weeks disappear.
| Store Size | Products | Typical Timeline | What Adds Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Under 500 | 2–4 weeks | Custom post types, review migration, password reset comms |
| Mid-size | 500–5,000 | 4–8 weeks | Plugin audit (30–50 plugins on average WooCommerce store), subscription or booking logic |
| Large / complex | 5,000+ | 8–16 weeks | Custom PHP logic, B2B pricing tiers, multi-warehouse fulfilment, large redirect lists |
WooCommerce migrations run longer than Wix or Squarespace migrations because of plugin dependency. A typical WooCommerce store has 30–50 active plugins; finding the Shopify equivalent for each, or deciding to rebuild the functionality natively, takes time that has nothing to do with data volume.
Realistic staging approach: Keep your WooCommerce store live and taking orders throughout the migration. Build and test the Shopify store in parallel. Cut over on a low-traffic day (a Tuesday morning, not Black Friday weekend), and only then disable WooCommerce. Customers experience zero downtime and you can roll back if a critical issue appears in the first 24 hours.
Common mistake: Closing the WooCommerce store the day the Shopify data import is complete, before payment gateways, couriers, VAT, and redirects have been tested. The gap between "data imported" and "store ready to trade in SA" involves substantial configuration work — gateways, couriers, VAT, and redirects each need setup and testing before a single order can complete.
Why South African Businesses Choose Growth Pulse Media for Shopify Migrations
Growth Pulse Media handles WooCommerce-to-Shopify migrations in-house — including PayFast/Peach/Ozow gateway setup, Bob Go courier integration, 301-redirect mapping, and POPIA-compliant customer data transfer — without offshore handoffs or junior teams on critical cutover steps. For a Shopify migration South Africa operators trust for complex handovers — whether that means a standard WooCommerce move, a complex custom-built store, or a multi-warehouse rebuild — the agency brings the operator background of someone who ran a large South African ecommerce business before founding GPM. Courier API failures at 6am are a business problem there, not a development ticket. SA-specific integrations (PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow; The Courier Guy, Aramex, Bob Go) are treated as requirements, not afterthoughts.
Migrations are handled in-house with a limited client load — there are no offshore handoffs and no junior teams running the redirect mapping on your store. If a question comes up at midnight during the cutover window, the same person who designed the migration answers it.
If you are researching a WooCommerce Shopify migration South Africa operators rely on and want to understand what the investment looks like for your specific revenue tier, visit the Growth Pulse Media Shopify marketing and migration service page for details on what is included and how engagements are scoped.
Who This Migration Is NOT Right For
Stores on tight margins with high order volumes on Basic plan. The 2% third-party gateway fee on Shopify's Basic plan (2026), stacked on top of PayFast's 3.2% card rate, means 5.2% + R2.00 per card transaction. If your average order value is low and margins are thin, that combined rate needs to be modelled against your Shopify plan upgrade cost before you commit.
WooCommerce stores with deep custom PHP functionality. Subscription billing built in custom PHP, multi-step configurators, or complex B2B pricing tiers built directly into WordPress will not transfer to Shopify and must be rebuilt. If the custom logic is the product — not the store — this is a software rebuild, not a migration.
Operators who want to move immediately without a parallel-run period. A WooCommerce to Shopify migration done without a staging period and cutover testing risks a live store that cannot accept payments from South African customers. SA-specific gateway configurations cannot be tested in minutes.
Stores that are primarily content-driven with minimal ecommerce volume. If your WordPress site's main value is its editorial content, blog architecture, and WordPress plugin ecosystem — and ecommerce is a minor add-on — a full migration to Shopify may create more disruption than the ecommerce benefits justify. A hybrid approach (WordPress for content, Shopify Buy Button for products) may be the better route.
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Get a Migration Scope AssessmentFrequently Asked Questions
How long does a WooCommerce to Shopify migration take?
Most WooCommerce to Shopify migrations take 2–12 weeks depending on store size and complexity. Small stores with fewer than 500 products typically take 2–4 weeks; mid-size stores with 500–5,000 products take 4–8 weeks; large or complex stores can take 8–16 weeks. The data import itself takes one to two days — the rest of the timeline is plugin auditing, redirect mapping, SA payment gateway configuration, courier reconnection, and theme setup.
Will I lose my Google rankings when I migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify?
Not if you set up 301 redirects correctly. WooCommerce uses /product/ and /product-category/ URL patterns; Shopify uses /products/ and /collections/. Every old URL needs a 301 redirect pointing to the exact Shopify equivalent — never to the homepage. Stores that complete redirect mapping before going live and resubmit their sitemap in Google Search Console give Google the clearest possible signal to recrawl and re-rank the new URLs. Stores that skip redirects can lose significant traffic permanently.
What happens to my customer passwords during the migration?
Customer passwords cannot be migrated from WooCommerce to Shopify. WordPress uses its own password hashing that is not compatible with Shopify's system. All existing customers will need to reset their passwords on their first post-migration login. Plan your customer communications — email, SMS, or WhatsApp — for this before launch day to reduce support load and abandoned sessions.
Which payment gateways work with Shopify in South Africa?
Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa. SA merchants use third-party gateways: PayFast (widest local payment method coverage including instant EFT, SnapScan, Mobicred, and BNPL options), Peach Payments (best for high-volume stores with next-day settlement), Ozow (instant EFT specialist), and Yoco (suited to stores that only need straightforward card payments). Each requires a separate Shopify app installation and merchant account setup after migration.
Can I migrate my WooCommerce product reviews to Shopify?
Not natively. WooCommerce reviews cannot be directly exported to Shopify's review system. You can use a third-party review app (Judge.me and Okendo are popular Shopify options) that allows CSV import of historical reviews. Plan this as a separate task in your migration timeline — losing accumulated review social proof affects conversion rates, so it is worth the effort to migrate reviews rather than starting from zero.
Do I need to worry about POPIA when moving customer data to Shopify?
Yes, in a limited but practical way. Moving customer records from your South African server to Shopify's US infrastructure is a cross-border data transfer under POPIA section 72. Shopify provides a Data Processing Agreement that establishes adequate protection substantially similar to POPIA's conditions. Execute this agreement before importing customer data, and update your privacy policy to reflect the new hosting location. The transfer itself is lawful under contractual necessity — you are processing customer data for the same purpose as before.
Ready to Move to Shopify?
Growth Pulse Media is a Registered Shopify Partner in Johannesburg. We handle WooCommerce to Shopify migrations in-house — product data, redirect mapping, PayFast/Peach/Ozow gateway setup, Bob Go courier integration, POPIA-compliant customer data transfer, and SEO preservation — with senior attention from first brief to go-live. No obligation — we'll get back to you within 24 hours.
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