If you have an e-commerce store, then you would have probably realized that Shopify is the best eCommerce store. The plans, features, and other options available make Shopify the best platform for entrepreneurs to start an eCommerce store.

If you have an eCommerce store on a platform like WooCommerce and want to shift over to Shopify, it is easy to do so. We tell you in this step by step guide how to do so. This article is useful for those who already have a WooCommerce store and want to shift it to Shopify.

Transferring your store to Shopify is easy and gives you many benefits.

Getting A Shopify Domain

When you shift to Shopify, your store will have a web address that looks like storename.shopify.com. You can complete the domain registration so your new store is ready and then shift it over from WooCommerce. You can continue with your existing store while the shifting is on.

Once you sign up for Shopify, you can then shift your store. Shopify allows the entire process of domain registration and transfer to be done seamlessly.

Easy Import

When you create a new Shopify store and complete the domain registration process, you will be asked if you are transferring your store from another platform. When you select WooCommerce as your option, you will get an option to easily import your entire store seamlessly.

Building Redirects

You need to build redirects, so that any of your customers who visit your old store on WooCommerce will be directed to Shopify. Select the option Online Store -> Navigation -> URL redirect. You can use this option to redirect all URLs from your existing store through this option. It’s important that you do this for every product in your store, so that customers are redirected easily.

While redirecting, each URL should have an URL with a separate Shopify page. Each product in Shopify would have a URL like storename.shopify.com/products/productname. Make sure you have this structure while naming. Once you are done, do test all the page URLs.

Apart from ensuring your customer faces no problem, redirecting also helps you retain your Google rankings. This allows you to retain your old traffic even after shifting.

Go Live

If you don’t have a domain from Shopify, then you need to point your domain to Shopify. You need to visit the domain registrar page with whom you had registered the website. There you need to edit the settings and change the A record to point to Shopify’s IP address, which is 23.227.38.65. The CNAME record should be changed and should read shops.myshopify.com. If you take a domain on Shopify, then the entire process of going live becomes easy and very convenient.

It takes a little time for the DNS settings to be updated. Once this is done, your new Shopify store is live and you can start operations. Whenever any customer visits your old URL, they will be automatically redirected. Since you have imported the store, data of all your products and customers would be readily available on your Shopify store.

There are some issues to be considered during the shifting process. They are:

• Since the change in DNS settings takes some time, your customers may experience glitches during the transition time. You can try and get this done at night or at a time when customers don’t use your site much.

• Schedule the transition during the period and time when traffic to your site as at the lowest. Weekend late nights are an ideal time.

• Generally, maintenance is scheduled for websites. That time can be used to make the switchover and all customers informed, so they don’t try to transact on the website during this time.

• You can keep the old site running until the transaction is complete as a backup. You can ideally keep the old site running for at least 30 days, so that the shift over would have progressed smoothly.

Shut Down The Old Site

Once your new Shopify e-commerce site is up and running, it is time to shut down your old site. Remember that you are paying for the old site, so you would not like to pay more than a month extra. Make sure there is no data left in the old site that has not been imported. Once you verify this, cancel the subscription. That’s it! The old site is now shut down and your new Shopify e-commerce site is up and running.