Moving from Wix or Squarespace to Shopify: a step-by-step guide
Wix and Squarespace are great places to start. Many shops outgrow them. Here’s how to tell when it’s time, and how to move without the drama.
Arthur, ELMFOLD · Southampton · · 8 min read
Signs you’ve outgrown your builder
- You need product options, bundles or subscriptions the builder can’t do well.
- You’re adding workarounds and apps for things that should be simple.
- Checkout, shipping or tax rules don’t fit how you actually sell.
- You want to sell in more than one country or currency.
- Pages are slow on phones and there’s little you can do about it.
What moves, and what doesn’t
| Moves across | Needs rebuilding | |
|---|---|---|
| Products and prices | Yes, by export and import | Descriptions often rewritten |
| Customers | Yes, as a list | Passwords don’t transfer; customers set new ones |
| Past orders | Usually, with an import tool | |
| Design and pages | No | Built again, ideally better |
| Blog posts | Yes, with care | Images re-linked |
| Search rankings | Yes, with redirects | Every old address mapped |
Your Wix or Squarespace design can’t be moved to Shopify. That’s a feature: it’s the moment to fix what wasn’t working.
Check what your site carries todayFree, automatic, about a minute→The steps, in order
- Export everything you can: products, customers, orders, blog posts and a list of every page address.
- Plan the new store around what sells, not around the old menu.
- Design and write the key pages first: home, collections, product, about.
- Import products and customers, then check every product by hand.
- Set up payments, shipping and tax, then place real test orders.
- Build the redirect map from every old address to its new one.
- Switch the domain, test redirects, submit the new sitemap.
- Keep the old site’s export somewhere safe for a few months.
Time the switch for a quiet sales week, and tell your email list the day before. A short heads-up avoids confused customers.
Questions people ask
Can I keep my domain when moving to Shopify?
Yes. The domain points to Shopify instead of Wix or Squarespace; you keep the same address.
Will customers need new passwords?
Usually yes. Passwords can’t be exported, so customers are invited to set a new one.
How long does a migration take?
With me, a rebuild with a platform move typically takes three to five weeks, depending on the number of products and pages.
Want me to look at yours?The free project plan takes about four minutes and gives you a written plan with a fixed price. You keep it whether or not we work together.
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