Shopify is an attractive tool for e-commerce beginners looking to launch their first online store. However, as your business grows and you gain experience, other more robust e-commerce platforms such as WooCommerce become more attractive. WordPress based WooCommerce stores allow users to free themselves from many of Shopify’s limitations and reduce the cost of running an online store. In this post, we’ll give you a complete guide on how to migrate your Shopify Store to WooCommerce on a WordPress website.
Struggling with Shopify? Check out this guide on Shopify to WooCommerce, the widely loved shopping cart for WordPress, migration. Share on XIs WooCommerce The Best Choice For You?
Shopify and WooCommerce are among the most popular e-commerce solutions. Currently, over one million businesses use Shopify for their online stores and there are over 5 million WooCommerce active downloads. Undoubtedly, both of these platforms have a lot to offer, but when it comes to platform flexibility Shopify does have some shortcomings.
First-time online store creators are drawn to Shopify because it is one of the most user-friendly tools you can use. All you need to do to set up your e-shop is to create an account, choose a theme, and directly purchase a domain through their platform. On the other hand, initial set-up for a WooCommerce site requires finding hosting, purchasing a domain, setting up a WordPress site, and configuring the WooCommerce plugin. Additionally, when you run a WooCommerce store on a WordPress site you are directly responsible for site maintenance and protection.
As time goes by and your business grows, Shopify can become increasingly expensive, with advanced features being priced at $299 dollars a month. Additionally, Shopify charges a commission for all external payment gateways and allows for only limited product variations. Not handling your own hosting, while simpler, also comes at a price, since your online store data is controlled by Shopify servers.
WooCommerce, on the other hand, runs on WordPress, giving you total control over your website and online store. Website theme options and plugins are abundant allowing you to add countless features and fully customize your website to your needs. WooCommerce sites can be scaled immensely without requiring you to move up to a more expensive monthly plan for advanced features.
Overall, if you can get over the higher learning curve and learn how to set up a WordPress site, WooCommerce has many advantages for any online business. You can easily change the design of your site, add new functions with plugins, and use a wide range of electronic payment gateways. Additionally, with a WordPress site, you can build up your site to include many other useful customer pages such as forums and blog posts. The flexibility, scalability, and growth you can achieve with WooCommerce are unparalleled.
Preparing For Shopify To WooCommerce Migration
Backing up data
The first thing you need to do to migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce is to back up all your online store data. For data backups, you can export different types of store information including products, customers, orders, gift card codes, discount codes, and financial data in CSV file format. This step is extremely important if you are planning on a manual WooCommerce migration, but it is also useful to help you safely store data throughout the entire process.
To export your Shopify store products, follow these instructions:
- From your Shopify admin, go to Products
- Click on Export
- Choose which products you want to export. If you want to export all product data