Moving from WooCommerce to Shopify means exporting products, customers and orders, rebuilding the theme, mapping every old URL to a new one with 301 redirects, then switching the domain. Plan 2 to 6 weeks. Our migration work starts from AED 2,250 for up to about 500 products, excluding 5% VAT. Real downtime can be close to zero.
Your WooCommerce store works, mostly. But every plugin update feels like a gamble, the checkout is slow on phones, and the person who set it all up left two years ago. You are thinking about Shopify and you have one fear: that you will lose your orders, your customers or your Google traffic on the way over.
First, should you move at all?
Moving platforms is work, and it is not always worth it. If your WooCommerce store is fast, your team is happy with it and your hosting bill is small, stay. Our honest view is that WooCommerce is a good tool in the right hands. The trade-off is covered in WordPress vs Shopify in Dubai.
Owners usually move for four reasons. Updates keep breaking things. The site is slow and nobody can say why. Too many plugins from different authors have piled up. Or the business wants to stop looking after servers and focus on selling. If none of these sounds like you, you may be better off fixing what you have.
What a migration plan looks like
A good plan has the same six steps every time. The order matters, because the domain switch comes last. If you want the full service description, see our Shopify migration service in Dubai.
- Audit the old store: product count, variants, customers, orders, plugins, payment methods and the pages that bring Google traffic.
- Decide what moves, what is rebuilt and what is dropped.
- Build the new Shopify store on a private link while the old store keeps selling.
- Import products, customers and, where useful, orders. Check a sample by hand.
- Build and test the redirect map and test checkout with every payment method.
- Switch the domain on a quiet day and watch for errors for two weeks.
What moves and what does not
Data moves well. Design and plugins do not. A Shopify theme is a fresh build, not a copy of your WooCommerce theme, and each plugin is replaced by a Shopify app, a built-in feature or custom work.
| Item | Moves over? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Products, prices, images, variants | Yes | Via CSV or a migration tool. Clean the data first. |
| Categories | Yes, as collections | Check nested categories; Shopify collections are flat. |
| Customer records | Yes | Passwords cannot move. Customers set a new one by email. |
| Past orders | Yes, as history | Imported as records for reference, not as live orders. |
| Product reviews | Usually | Depends on the review plugin and the app you choose next. |
| Blog posts and pages | Yes | Content moves; layout is rebuilt in the new theme. |
| Theme and design | No | Rebuilt on Shopify. This is where most of the work is. |
| WooCommerce plugins | No | Each one is replaced by an app, a built-in feature or custom code. |
| Subscriptions and bookings | Needs a decision | Check Shopify app support before you commit. |
| Discount codes | Rebuilt | Recreated in Shopify; old stacking rules may differ. |
Customers and passwords
For security reasons, customer passwords cannot be copied across. After launch, customers get an email to set a new password, or they use a one-time code. Tell them in advance with a short email so they do not think it is a scam. Check that you have the right to keep contacting them under your own privacy policy, and confirm any PDPL question with your accountant or lawyer.
Orders
Old orders are useful for returns, repeat-customer history and accounting. They arrive as records, not as live orders to fulfil. Your accounting system should stay your source of truth for VAT. Keep an export of the WooCommerce database as a backup anyway.
Reviews
Reviews build trust, so losing them hurts. Most review plugins can export to a file that the new review app can import. Ask for this early, because some plugins make export hard. Never invent or rewrite reviews to fill a gap.
The redirect map is where rankings are kept or lost
Shopify uses fixed URL patterns: /products/, /collections/ and /pages/. Your WooCommerce URLs look different, so every old address needs a 301 redirect (a permanent forward) to its closest new page. Without that, Google sees broken links and customers see errors.
| WooCommerce URL | Shopify URL | Note |
|---|---|---|
| /product/oud-perfume/ | /products/oud-perfume | Keep the handle the same where possible |
| /product-category/abayas/ | /collections/abayas | One to one for each category |
| /shop/ | /collections/all | Shop page becomes the all-products collection |
| /my-account/ | /account | Login page; no SEO value |
| /?p=1234 | Closest page | Old ID links from emails and ads |
| Discontinued product | Closest collection | Never the home page |
We keep the map in a spreadsheet with a status for each line. The full launch routine is in our Shopify migration SEO checklist. Even a clean move usually causes a short dip while Google re-reads the site, and anyone who promises zero change is guessing.
Downtime: closer to zero than you think
Your old store keeps selling while the new one is built. The only gap is the domain switch. DNS (the address book of the internet) can take from minutes to a few hours to update everywhere. We pick a quiet day, freeze product edits on the old store the day before, and take a final export of new orders just before the switch.
- Avoid Ramadan sales, White Friday and campaign launches.
- Keep the old store running in read-only mode for a few weeks as a reference.
- Test a real payment on each method on launch day.
- Watch for 404 errors and fix them with extra redirects as they appear.
Payments and UAE specifics
Your payment gateway, Tabby or Tamara need to be set up again on Shopify. Gateway approval can take longer than the build, so apply early. Our guide to Tabby and Tamara on Shopify covers the steps. Arabic pages, if you have them, need to be rebuilt too; see Shopify Arabic store.
What it costs
Our migration work starts from AED 2,250 for up to about 500 products, excluding 5% VAT. Larger catalogues are quoted after a short audit. A migration usually takes 2 to 6 weeks. The price does not include a new design. If you also want a new theme, that is a build, and the price depends on the tier.
| Scope | Our price (AED, excl. VAT) | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Migration, up to about 500 products | From 2,250 | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Larger catalogue or custom data | Quoted after audit | Depends on the audit |
| New design on top (setup package, premium theme) | From 3,450 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| New design on top (custom theme) | From 14,500 | 6 to 8 weeks |
These are our own prices and are not a quote. Typical totals are on the pricing page. On top of that you pay Shopify itself: a monthly plan plus app subscriptions. See Shopify fees in the UAE for the detail.
✓ Shopify's plan prices and Shopify Payments availability change. Checked October 2026. Confirm on Shopify's own pricing page before you buy.
What delays a migration
- Messy product data: missing images, duplicate SKUs, inconsistent variant names.
- A plugin with no good Shopify replacement, such as a custom booking or wholesale feature.
- Slow payment gateway approval.
- Late approvals of the new design.
- Arabic content that is not ready or not reviewed by a native speaker.
Most delays are on the data side, not the technical side. Clean your product list before the project starts and the time shrinks.
A checklist before you start
Do these jobs yourself before the project begins. They are quick and they remove most surprises.
- Export your current products, customers and orders from WooCommerce and keep the files safe.
- List every plugin and write one line on what it does for you.
- Note which pages bring Google traffic, using Search Console or analytics.
- Gather logins: domain registrar, hosting, payment gateway, email service and analytics.
- Ask your payment provider and Tabby or Tamara what they need for a new store.
- Pick a launch window that avoids your busiest weeks.
With these in hand an audit takes days, not weeks, and the quote is firmer. You also own your accounts, code and domain throughout. After launch there is a 30-day fix window for anything that does not work as agreed.
When we would say do not move
Be careful if your store relies on heavy custom WooCommerce logic, such as complex bookings, B2B price lists per customer or a deep link to an ERP. Some of this can be done on Shopify, but it can cost more than it saves. In that case we would suggest an audit first, or cleaning up your current site. If the site is mainly a brochure with a few products, a WordPress business site may fit better.
If you are comparing agencies, ask each one to show a redirect map and a data check before they quote. If they cannot, that is your answer.
Questions
Some movement is common, but big losses are mostly caused by missing redirects. A complete 301 redirect map, carried-over page titles and a post-launch check keep most of the value. Nobody can promise zero change.
No, their records move over, but passwords cannot. Customers set a new password by email the first time they log in. Warn them before launch so the email is expected.
Our migration work starts from AED 2,250 for up to about 500 products, excluding 5% VAT. Larger catalogues, custom data or a new design cost more and are quoted after an audit.
Your old store keeps selling while the new one is built. The only gap is the domain switch, which usually takes minutes to a few hours to update. We schedule it on a quiet day.
No. Plugins are WordPress software and do not run on Shopify. Each one is replaced by a Shopify app, a built-in feature or custom work, and we list these in the audit.
Orders move as history records and most reviews can be exported and imported, depending on your review plugin. Ask for the export early.