How to Migrate From Wix to Shopify [2022]

When figuring out how to migrate Wix to Shopify, the “why” driving your decision must be solid. In the ultimate battle for eCommerce supremacy, both platforms sit pretty at the top of the food chain. However, if your sales volumes are on an upward trajectory, Shopify would be a better fit. With a massive 29 percent market share translating to more than 3.9 million websites worldwide, Shopify powers stores like Kylie Cosmetics, KKW Beauty, Gymshark, and several other well-known global brands. Yours could be next. This guide dives deep into how to migrate from Wix to Shopify.

How to Migrate From Wix to Shopify

When choosing the best migration method, the most important factor to consider is how safe your data is as far as potential loss is concerned. Anything that doesn’t guarantee data protection during transfer should be eliminated.

You also need to consider whether you have the technical expertise to do the migration process yourself. If the answer is “no,” then an automated migration would be your best bet.

Watch our video tutorial to see how easy it is to automatically migrate from WIX to Shopify with the help of the Cart2Cart migration tool:

Cart2Cart is a popular automated migration tool that meets both criteria. Here’s how to make migrating from Wix to Shopify in a few easy steps using the tool:

1. Launch the app and link your source cart (Wix) to your target cart (Shopify)
2. Choose the data entities you want to migrate and all other relevant migration options
3. Select the Free Demo option to test out the process and get a feel for how it works
4. Initialize Full Migration to move the data in your Wix website to your new Shopify store

What is Wix to Shopify migration?

Wix to Shopify migration is the process of transferring website data (e.g., products, customers, orders, etc.) from the Wix platform to Shopify. An automated tool like Cart2Cart will help you do it quickly and with no coding knowledge needed.

See also: Complete Wix to WooCommerce Migration Checklist.

Wix vs Shopify: Why Choose Shopify Over Wix

While each eCommerce platform has its fair share of pros and cons, the choice of one over the other comes down to the size of your existing business and whether or not you have plans to scale in the future. Here are a few reasons why migrating from Wix to Shopify might be better for your enterprise.

Platform Overview:

• Wix — It is a fully-hosted, paid eCommerce solution marketed toward startups, small businesses, individual sellers, and freelancers.
• Shopify — It is a fully-hosted, paid solution designed for larger businesses with plans to scale in the future.

Ease of Use:

• Wix — The platform is extremely easy-to-use and comes with a built-in drag-and-drop website builder to get your store up and running.
• Shopify —Shopify’s learning curve is steeper than Wix’s, although this can be attributed to its powerful built-in functionalities.

Themes:

• Wix —Wix offers 100+ online store templates, all free to use.
• Shopify — The platform comes with 70+ free and premium professionally-designed website templates.

Apps and Add-Ons:

• Wix — The Wix App Marketplace has 100+ integrations for online sales, marketing, content & media, events & services, communication, design, analytics, etc.
• Shopify — The Shopify App Store has 6,000+ apps for marketing, conversion, store design, store management, merchandising, fulfillment, shipping & delivery, etc.

Payment Processing:

• Wix — It supports 50+ payment gateways, including PayPal, Square, Stripe, Wix Payments, etc. Wix Payments does not impose any transaction fees.
• Shopify — It supports 100+ payment gateways, including PayPal, Apple Pay, Stripe, Amazon Pay, Shopify Payments, etc. Unlike Wix Payments, Shopify does impose a fee for every transaction.

Customer Support:

• Wix —Wix has an impressive Help Center with hundreds of video tutorials and articles. There’s also 24/7 support available via live chat.
• Shopify —Shopify provides 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, email, and social media. The Help Center is also chockfull of resources and video tutorials. You can also ask other users on the community forum.

From the side-by-side comparison above, it is clear that the performance of both platforms is at par as far as built-in capabilities go. The main edge Shopify has over Wix is the scalability factor. It is the better option if you’re running a bigger store that transacts larger volumes. Wix is more suited to smaller, brand-conscious businesses

Wix to Shopify Migration Checklist

Once you’ve weighed all your options and decided that you want to migrate Wix to Shopify, there are three ways to approach it. The method you choose comes down to how much work you’re willing to do and whether you possess the technical expertise to do it. Here’s a detailed overview of each.

Manual Migration

As the name suggests, manual migration relies on manual methods to transfer data from your existing Wix website to your new Shopify store. As you would expect with all-things manual, this method is the most error-prone and tedious option of all three. It involves copying each store data set and pasting it onto the new platform.

While a copy-pasting process sounds relatively easy to do, you need to keep in mind that it’s not just about transferring the product data. You also need to migrate all the underlying details at the core of your store’s functionality.

You need to migrate payment information, available stock, customer reviews, ongoing and closed orders, and every other piece of information that will guarantee a smooth transition when you transfer Wix to Shopify.

You can immediately see how quickly this process can turn messy, especially if you have no prior knowledge or experience in web development. Sure, you could do it if you have 20 products or less listed on your online store, but what happens if you have 50+ products? That’s where the problem lies.

Now, that is not to say a manual migration is impossible. We’re simply saying there’s a good chance you’ll need to engage an expert to do it for you, which can be quite expensive, particularly if you’re working with a tight budget.

Assisted Migration

An assisted migration is essentially a manual one, only that in this case, you would retain the expertise of a web developer to help you convert Wix to Shopify. You would grant them access to the backend of your online store and let them handle the store-to-store migration process.

They will migrate all your store data, including product images, product descriptions, and underlying data like order, payment, and customer-related information. Your new Shopify store can be up and running with minimal disruption to your retail operations.

Now, while this migration method may sound like a no-brainer, especially if you don’t possess the technical know-how to do a manual migration yourself, the downside is — it is a time-consuming and labor-intensive affair. Even if you have an expert handling the entire end-to-end migration process, the risk of data loss when switching from Wix to Shopify is still a looming threat to your enterprise.

The bottom line is this: An assisted migration might be the natural choice for you if you don’t have web development experience to carry out the migration yourself. However, the reality is that it will cost you a lot — both financially and in terms of potential data loss.

Automated Migration

This method relies on sophisticated applications to migrate store data from one eCommerce platform to another in a few simple clicks. They do the hard part, so you don’t have to. You don’t even need any prior web development experience to carry out an automated migration. The best part is — they eliminate any risk of potential data loss.

Cart2Cart is arguably one of the most popular automated data migration tools on the market. It is remarkably easy to use and doesn’t require store owners to have any specialized skills to convert Wix to Shopify. Simply follow the displayed prompts, and you’ll have your new online store up and running in no time.

One of Cart2Cart’s major selling points is its uncanny ability to run quietly on the backend without interfering with the retail operations of your online store. Customers will still be able to make purchases without their shopping experience being affected.

Some of the data that will be migrated from your old Wix website to your new Shopify store include:

• Supplier and manufacturer details
• Products
• Product categories
• Order details
• Multistore details
• Customer reviews
• Customer details
• Coupons
• CMS pages

The automated migration takes between a few minutes to a couple of hours to complete. The exact duration it takes comes down to the amount of data you need to migrate. Since the entire process relies on an app, it is the most accurate and cost-effective method of all the three options outlined.

See also: Complete Shopify to Wix Migration Checklist.

What Migration Method to Choose

With that information in mind, the question becomes: Which migration method should you choose when switching from Wix to Shopify? Below is a list of six key considerations to keep in mind when making your decision.

1. Cost: What budget are you working with, and can your business afford it?
2. Data protection: Will all the data you had in your previous store be transferred in its entirety to your new store?
3. Downtime: How long will the migration run for, and will your customers still be able to complete orders during this period?
4. Customization: Will customers recognize your new store, and will it retain its previous customizations?
5. Integrations: Will the extensions you had previously installed on your Wix store work on your new Shopify website?
6. Themes: Will you be able to retain the same theme and layout your old store had once you migrate to the new platform?

Based on these factors, it becomes immediately apparent that manual and assisted migration would not fit the bill as far as cost, data protection, and downtime go. The only option that meets all criteria is an automated migration. Here’s why:

• Customization— The layout and functionality of your old Wix store will be retained after migrating to the new platform.
• Integrations — All integrations and apps that were previously installed on your old store will automatically be installed on your new site.
• Themes— Cart2Cart retains the same familiar interface you had on your old Wix website once you transfer to Shopify.

How to Prepare for Wix to Shopify Migration

You’ve likely already figured out that an automated migration using Cart2Cart is your best bet as far as switching from Wix to Shopify goes. That said, there are a few critical things you need to do to prepare so that the migration process goes off seamlessly.

1. Manage Your Wix Store

Before migrating to a new eCommerce platform, you need to ensure that all is well with your existing store. Here’s an overview of some of the tasks you need to do beforehand.

Back-Up Store Data

Anytime you’re involved in a data transfer, the first thing you need to do is backup your site data. You can do this in three ways:

• A database backup: This method involves backing up the data in the database only.
• A database and media backup: This method backs up the database and media folder information.
• A full system backup: This method backs up the information contained within the database, media folder, and the complete file system.

Perform a Data Audit

Migrating from an old online store to a new platform doesn’t mean you need to transfer every bit of information. Review the data held in fields like Product Name, Product Descriptions, Contact Information, Customer Details, etc., and identify what to retain and what to delete.

Validate the Access Credentials

The last thing you need to do is create a strong connection between your Wix website and what’s about to be your new Shopify store. To do this, you’ll need to validate the access credentials of your existing store. This includes things like the URL and the FTP/SSH. Once you do, the target cart (Shopify) will be able to seamlessly communicate with the source cart (Wix) before the migration can commence.

2. Prepare Your Shopify Store

Now that you’ve sufficiently prepared your Wix website for migration, the next step involves preparing your new Shopify store. Here’s what you need to do:

Set Up Your Shopify Site

Shopify gives users three subscription plans to choose from. The bouquet you pick depends on the size of your store and the functionalities you require. The higher up the tier hierarchy you go, the more features you get.

You can always upgrade the plan you’re currently on if it no longer meets your business requirements.

Pick a Theme

While there’s nothing wrong with completely revamping your website and changing the theme your old store had, it’s always a good idea to maintain some elements. That way, customers can identify your brand even after you completely migrate to the new Shopify platform.

Hold off on customization until you have fully migrated to your new site. Once you do, you can then pick a new Shopify theme from the dozens of professionally-designed website templates.

Install the Necessary Apps

The final step is to install the apps and plugins you had in your old Wix store. Cart2Cart automatically downloads and installs all the apps and integrations present in your previous store. All you would then have to do is sign in to continue with the existing subscriptions you might have. This functionality isn’t readily available on all automated migration tools.

How to Migrate Wix to Shopify in 5 Steps

Once you’ve done everything you need to prepare your Wix website and Shopify store for the migration, you’re now ready to proceed. Here’s how to start moving Wix to Shopify using Cart2Cart.

1. Connect Your Shopping Carts

The first step involves connecting your source cart to your target cart. To do this, you’ll need to:

• Go to Source Cart Setup
• In the Source Cart field, expand the drop-down menu and select Wix
• Then, download the Connection Bridge plugin and install it to enable the source cart and target cart to communicate
• Go to the newly-downloaded file and unpack the folder labeled connection_bridge.zip
• Extract the bridge2cart folder and import it to your Wix store’s root catalog using an FTP client
• Confirm that the connection to your source cart has been enabled

The second step of the process involves setting up your Shopify cart. To do this, you’ll need to:

• Go to Target Cart Setup
• In the Target Cart field, expand the drop-down menu and select Shopify
• Click Install Plugin to download the integration labeled Migration for Shopify
• Once it downloads, install it to activate the connection to your Shopify store

2. Select Data for Migration

Once your source and target carts have successfully connected, the next step involves choosing the specific data entities you want to migrate to the new platform. To do this, select Choose Entities and pick the data categories you want to be transferred. To migrate everything, pick Select All. If you would rather pick individual entities, check the specific data classes you want to migrate.

Here’s a list of the data entities available for migration through Cart2Cart:

• Product data, including description, price, and images
• Product visuals including shape, color, and size
• Apps and integrations
• Purchased items list, payment information, and price
• SEO configurations and site redirects
• Static site pages such as About Us and Contact Us

3. Specify the Additional Migration Options

Next, you’ll need to choose the custom migration options you want to integrate into your new online store. Some of these include:

• Migrating the categories in your Wix website to the Automated Collections in Shopify
• Maintaining the functionality of the URLs in your old store by creating 301 redirects in your new Shopify site
• Preserving the ranking of your new store on Google and other search engines by keeping their link structures and migration SEO URLs

4. Map Customer Groups and Order Statuses

At this point, it’s important to mention that the respective statuses of the orders you had and the customer classes in your old Wix store will not be automatically migrated to your new website. Instead, you’ll need to match them with the newly created ones on the Shopify platforms. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Stores Mapping Window on Cart2Cart and pick the Wix data category you would like mapped onto your new Shopify store.
2. Next, pick the corresponding categories in your newly created Shopify website.
3. If the categories you need are not available in the target store, you can create them by clicking on the relevant buttons.

5. Run Free Demo / Launch Full Migration

The last phase in this five-step process is the actual migration. On the one hand, you can run the Free Demo to test the Cart2Cart tool and get a feel for how it works. Once you do, you can hop onto a paid plan to launch the Full Migration if you want to migrate all your store data from Wix to Shopify. The Free Demo online migrates a limited number of entities.

Keep the browser window open throughout the migration process until it concludes. To find out whether all your store data has been successfully transferred, you can view the results on the Demo Result page. Download the Product IDs file and compare the list there against the entries on your newly-launched Shopify store.

See also: What Makes Shopify Such a Great Platform.

How to Migrate Products From Wix to Shopify

Before launching the migration, you first need to select the relevant products you want to be transferred. These will be displayed on the Cart2Cart wizard. Some of the product options include:

• Name, Product Description, Image Description, Manufacturer, SKU
• Meta Description, Meta Title
• Base Image, Additional Images
• Actual Price, Discounted Price
• Variations (Images, Weight, Discounted Price, SKU, etc.)
• Status, Quantity, Manage Stock
• URL

Alternatively, there’s the option to export the products into a CSV file from your old store and then upload them to your new Shopify store.

How to Export Orders From Wix to Shopify

To export orders using Cart2Cart, all you need to do is check the Order box when you’re configuring the wizard. This should be done before you launch the migration. Some of the order data you can export includes:

• Product details, including the ID, Quantity, Status, and Price
• Shipping address details, including the First Name, Last Name, and Billing/Physical Address
• Customer details including the First Name, Last name, Billing/Physical Address, and Phone Number

Wix to Shopify Migration Checklist: What Should You Do Once the Migration Is Complete

By this point, you should have successfully migrated your store from Wix to Shopify. All that’s left to do is verify that your new store is working properly. Here’s how to do it:

1. Test Your New Shopify Store

This point is as good a time as any to carry out a post-migration audit. It is the final stage involved in getting your new Shopify store ready for launch. That way, you can identify any issues that could potentially affect your site’s functionality or impede your customers’ shopping experience.

Below is a list of questions you need to ask when conducting the audit:

• Is the domain name live and active?
• Are all the navigation links working as they should?
• Are all the products in each catalog visible?
• Is the onsite search function working properly?
• Are the links in the headers, footers, site pages, and menus correct?

As soon as you’ve identified all the answers to these critical questions, there’s no harm in doing a dry run by making a few test purchases to check that everything is working.

2. Install the Apps You Need

Cart2Cart automatically installs any integrations you might have had running on your old Wix store to your new Shopify website. That said, the Shopify App Marketplace is chockfull of apps and plugins that can enhance the functionality of your store. Whether you need apps for merchandising, marketing, conversion, fulfillment, shipping, delivery, store management –you name it, you’ll find it all there.

3. Invite Customers to Reactivate Their Accounts

Last but not least, you’ll need to let your customers know you’ve migrated your store to a new platform. Send out a bulk invite and request them to reactivate their accounts. The best way to troubleshoot issues they may encounter while using the platform would be to incorporate a feedback form. That way, they can communicate any problems they run into while using your new Shopify site.

Wix to Shopify Migration. FAQs

How to Migrate Wix to Shopify

To transfer Wix to Shopify using Cart2Cart, follow the steps below.

1. Enter your Wix site’s URL and then download and install the Connection Bridge Plugin to link your source cart to your target cart
2. Select the site data you want to transfer to your new Shopify store
3. Choose any additional migration options you might want your new store to have from the list displayed
4. Map the order statuses and customer categories in your Wix store onto the newly created classes in your Shopify store
5. Launch the Cart2Cart Free Demo and then run the Full Migration afterward

How to Migrate Products From Wix to Shopify

On the one hand, you can use Cart2Cart, which is an automated migration tool. Once you launch it, you can select the data entities you wish to transfer from Wix to Shopify, and your old store will automatically be migrated to your new one.

On the other hand, you could export all the existing products in your Wix store into a CSV file after which you can upload them to your newly created Shopify store. Keep in mind that this process can be a little tedious compared to using an automated migration tool.

Why Migrate From Wix to Shopify

While Wix and Shopify are both robust eCommerce platforms with outstanding capabilities as far as functionality goes, Wix is designed for startups and small businesses run by brand-conscious store owners.

As your business grows and your sales volumes increase, Shopify would be a better option to consider. It is more scalable, built for larger stores, and comes with powerful features that Wix may not support.

Conclusion

There you have it — how to migrate Wix to Shopify. Both platforms are solid options as far as functionality goes. However, Shopify has a slight edge over Wix when it comes to scalability. Use this Cart2Cart migration guide to help you make the switch, and sign up today for a Free Demo.