Switching from Wix to Shopify can open up new opportunities for growing your online store. While Wix is a great platform for building simple websites, Shopify offers more advanced eCommerce tools designed to scale your business. Whether you’re moving for better eCommerce features, improved scalability, or better performance, knowing how to transfer your site from Wix to Shopify smoothly is essential.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to migrate from Wix to Shopify without losing any valuable content, products, or search engine optimization (SEO) rankings.
Why Move from Wix to Shopify?
Before we dive into the steps, let’s look at why switching from Wix to Shopify makes sense for many online business owners:
- Advanced eCommerce Features: Shopify is a dedicated e-commerce platform, offering advanced tools like inventory management, shipping options, multi-channel selling, and a wider range of payment gateways.
- Scalability: If your store is growing or you plan to expand your product range, Shopify can handle larger inventories and higher traffic volumes more effectively.
- Better Customization Options: Shopify’s themes and customization capabilities are more flexible and tailored to eCommerce needs.
- Superior SEO and Performance: Shopify’s robust SEO tools and faster site performance are ideal for boosting your search rankings and improving customer experience.
If these benefits align with your business goals, let’s get started with the migration process!
Set Up Your Shopify Store
The first step is to create your Shopify account and set up your store. If you haven’t done this yet, visit the Wix to Shopify website and sign up for a new account. Shopify offers a 14-day free trial, giving you time to explore its features before committing.
Once you’ve registered, follow these initial steps to set up your store:
- Choose a Store Name: Pick a name that represents your brand. Make sure it’s unique and aligns with your business identity.
- Select a Plan: While you can start with the free trial, choose a plan that suits your needs once the trial ends. The basic plan is a good starting point for small businesses.
- Set Up Store Preferences: Add details like your business address, tax settings, and other preferences.
With your store set up, you’re ready to start transferring content from Wix.
Export Content from Wix
Unfortunately, Wix doesn’t offer a direct way to export all your site data in one go. You’ll need to manually extract the different elements of your site. Here’s how:
Export Product Data
- Log into Wix and go to your dashboard.
- Navigate to Store Products.
- Click More Actions and choose Export Products.
- This will generate a CSV file containing your product details, which you’ll use to import into Shopify.
Save Important Content
For pages, blog posts, and images, you’ll have to copy and paste the content manually:
- Copy the text content from each page and save it in a document.
- Download any images or media files you wish to use in your new Shopify store.
While this process can be time-consuming, organizing your content now will make the setup easier once you start building your Shopify site.
Import Products to Shopify
Now that you have your product data from Wix, it’s time to import it into Shopify. Follow these steps:
- Log in to your Shopify account.
- Go to Products and click on Import.
- Choose the CSV file that you exported from Wix.
- Review the product data and make sure everything looks correct.
- Click Start Import.
This will transfer your product titles, descriptions, prices, and other details into your new Shopify store. Make sure to review the imported data and fix any errors that might have occurred during the process.
Recreate Your Website Pages
Shopify’s drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to recreate your Wix pages. Here’s what to do:
- Navigate to Online Store > Pages in your Shopify dashboard.
- Click Add Page and enter the page title and content.
- Use Shopify’s page builder to format the text, add images, and set up your design.
- Repeat this process for each page from your Wix site.
If you have a lot of pages or want to maintain the exact design, consider using a Shopify Expert or a third-party migration tool like Cart2Cart to help speed up the process.
Set Up Navigation and Menus
Once your pages are created, it’s time to set up your navigation so that customers can easily browse your store:
- Go to Online Store > Navigation in Shopify.
- Edit the Main Menu and add links to your newly created pages, products, and collections.
- Make sure your navigation is intuitive and user-friendly.
Configure Payment and Shipping Settings
Shopify supports a wide range of payment gateways, so choose the one that best fits your needs:
- Go to Settings > Payments in your Shopify dashboard.
- Set up Shopify Payments, PayPal, or add another preferred gateway.
- Next, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery and configure your shipping options based on your business model (free shipping, flat rate, or calculated shipping).
Configuring these options correctly ensures a smooth checkout experience for your customers.
Review and Optimize SEO Settings
Maintaining your SEO rankings is crucial when switching platforms. Follow these steps:
- Match URLs: Try to keep the same URLs for your products and pages if possible. This will help retain your current SEO ranking.
- 301 Redirects: If your Shopify URLs differ, set up 301 redirects to guide search engines and users from old Wix URLs to new Shopify URLs.
- Optimize Meta Tags: Review your product titles, meta descriptions, and alt text for images to ensure they are optimized for search engines.
Test Your Store Before Launch
Before you go live, thoroughly test your new Shopify store:
- Check All Links and Pages: Make sure every link works correctly and pages display as expected.
- Test Checkout Process: Complete a test order to ensure the checkout and payment gateways are functioning.
- Review Product Listings: Verify that product details, images, and prices are accurate.
Connect Your Domain to Shopify
If you’re using a custom domain from Wix, you’ll need to connect it to Shopify:
- Go to Settings > Domains in your Shopify dashboard.
- Click Connect Existing Domain and enter your domain name.
- Follow the prompts to update your domain’s DNS settings.
This step ensures that your customers can find your new store at the same web address.
Launch Your Shopify Store
After testing and fine-tuning, it’s time to launch! Disable the password protection in your Shopify settings, and your store will be live for customers to explore.
By following these steps, you can transfer your site from Wix to Shopify with minimal disruption, ensuring your business continues to thrive on a platform that better supports your long-term growth.
