Wix to Shopify and Squarespace to Shopify: a migration guide

Moving from Wix to Shopify, or from Squarespace to Shopify, is usually the simplest kind of migration: smaller catalogs, fewer integrations and fewer custom features. The main risks are losing Google rankings to missing redirects, and underestimating product options and member or booking features that were built into the old platform. This guide covers the steps and the parts people miss.

What moves easily

• Products with images, prices and simple options, via export and Shopify's CSV import or a migration app.
• Customers: names, emails and addresses.
• Blog posts and pages: copy them, or use an import tool. Check formatting and images.
• Orders, if you want history. Many small stores start fresh and keep an export for reference.

The parts people miss

Product options and personalisation

Both platforms let you add options and custom text fields to products. On Shopify, options that create separate stock items are variants. Free-text personalisation, such as a name to engrave, is a line item property, collected by the theme or an options app.

Built-in features that aren't store features

Wix and Squarespace bundle things like bookings, member areas, forms, events and scheduling. On Shopify these become apps, or stay on a separate tool. List every feature you actually use before you migrate, so nothing disappears at launch.

Redirects

Wix and Squarespace URLs differ from Shopify's fixed /products/, /collections/, /pages/ and /blogs/ paths. For every page that gets traffic or has backlinks:

1. Export the old URLs from your sitemap and from Search Console.
2. Map each one to its new Shopify URL.
3. Import the list as URL redirects in Shopify before the domain switch.

Customer accounts

Passwords can't be migrated. Shopify's current customer accounts use email and a one-time code, so existing customers can sign in without a new password. A short email before launch avoids confusion.

Payments, tax and shipping

These are set up fresh in Shopify, not migrated. Recreate shipping zones and rates, check tax settings for each country you sell to, and place a test order for each payment method.

When you need a developer

Most Wix and Squarespace moves don't need custom development. You might need one if:

• you have a large or complex catalog, with many options or custom fields that should become metafields;
• a feature you relied on has no suitable app;
• you need an integration with accounting, inventory or a marketplace (see integrations);
• you want the old site's design recreated as a theme. That is theme work, which I don't do, so you'd want a theme developer for it.

Mapping your content to Shopify

Details that trip people up

• Image quality. Exported image URLs sometimes point to resized versions. Check a few products at full size after import, and re-upload originals where needed.
• Product descriptions. Formatting from the old editor can import as messy HTML. Clean the top sellers by hand.
• Outstanding gift card balances. Issue equivalent Shopify gift cards for balances that are still open, and tell the holders.
• Discount codes printed in flyers or in email automations must be recreated with the same codes.
• Email automations and newsletter lists usually live in the old platform's marketing tools. Export subscribers with their consent status and set up the flows again.
• Redirect coverage. Blog posts and image URLs often carry more backlinks than product pages. Don't redirect only products.

After launch

For the first few weeks, check Search Console's page indexing and "not found" reports weekly and add redirects for anything you missed. Watch organic traffic on your top pages. A short dip while Google re-crawls is normal, but a sustained drop on specific pages usually means a missing or wrong redirect.

Step-by-step plan

1. List products, pages, posts, features and every URL.
2. Set up Shopify: theme, markets, payments, shipping, tax.
3. Import products and customers. Check options and images.
4. Recreate pages and blog posts.
5. Replace built-in features with apps where needed.
6. Import redirects.
7. Place test orders.
8. Connect the domain and submit the new sitemap.

Pre-launch checklist

• Every old URL with traffic redirects to the right Shopify page.
• Product options and personalisation fields work and appear on orders.
• Test orders succeed for each payment method and shipping zone.
• Contact forms, newsletter sign-up and any booking replacement work.
• Analytics and ad pixels are installed.
• Email on your domain still works after the DNS change.