Why stores leave Shopify
Typical reasons are recurring app costs that add up, transaction fees on third-party gateways, a checkout that is hard to customise, and the wish to run commerce and content on one WordPress installation. WooCommerce has no platform fee and stores the whole database on your own server, which matters to merchants with strict data-residency needs or heavy B2B customisation. The other side of the ledger is operational: you or your agency now own hosting performance, backups, plugin updates and PCI scope.
Products, variants and metafields
Shopify products with up to three option dimensions map cleanly to WooCommerce variable products with attributes and variations. Metafields are the exception: WooCommerce has no built-in equivalent, so each metafield is mapped to a product attribute, a custom field, or a specific plugin's data structure. Collections become product categories or tags depending on how they were used; smart collections based on rules need to be recreated as categories with manual assignment or a filtering plugin. Images, SKUs, weights and inventory move through the CSV importer or a direct API-to-database process.
Customers, orders and content
Customers can be imported with addresses and marketing consent; passwords are hashed differently on both platforms and never transfer. Order history is imported for reporting and customer service, with statuses mapped to WooCommerce equivalents. Shopify pages and blog posts become WordPress pages and posts, which is usually an upgrade in editing flexibility. Discount codes and gift cards need a review, because WooCommerce coupons and gift-card plugins do not mirror Shopify's rules exactly.
URLs, redirects and launch
Shopify enforces /products/, /collections/ and /pages/ prefixes; WordPress lets you set permalinks freely, which is a chance to design a cleaner structure. Every indexed Shopify URL must map to a WooCommerce URL through a 301 redirect served by the new site before the domain moves. We test the redirect map, page speed and checkout on a staging server, then switch DNS with the Shopify store left open for a short overlap. Redirects preserve URL continuity and reduce risk; rankings cannot be guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions
Can Shopify metafields be migrated to WooCommerce?
Yes, but not automatically. Each metafield is mapped to a WooCommerce attribute, a custom field or a plugin structure that your theme can display.
Do customers keep their passwords after moving to WooCommerce?
No. Password hashes are platform-specific. Customers receive a reset link on the new store, ideally sent as part of the launch announcement.
What hosting does WooCommerce need after leaving Shopify?
Managed WordPress hosting with PHP 8, object caching and daily backups is the practical minimum for a store that was previously on Shopify's infrastructure.
Will I lose SEO by leaving Shopify?
URL patterns change, so a complete 301 redirect map is mandatory. With redirects, canonical tags and a resubmitted sitemap the risk is reduced, but no migration guarantees unchanged rankings.