Shopify Migration & Switching Guide 2026
Shopify migrates a catalog in with guides, CSV and APIs, but images aren't in the CSV export and the Liquid storefront is Shopify-locked. Data exports per type.
Shopify Migration verdict
Shopify is built to migrate into and partly locked once you arrive.
Per-platform guides, a Store Migration app, CSV import and APIs make moving a catalog in straightforward, as long as you import products before customers and orders and set redirects up first.
Shopify suits merchants moving a store onto it who want guided per-platform imports and a clean data path in. It is less ideal if you expect a full-site export later, since the storefront design is a hosted Liquid theme, and only your data, not the site, comes out.
- Import order matters: products first, then customers, then historical orders, and redirects must be set up in advance because URL paths change.
- Product images are not in the CSV export, so the old store must stay live until images are re-fetched, or they are lost. There is no full-site HTML export, and data exports per type as CSV, covering products, customers, redirects and inventory.
- Theme code is Liquid and portable only to other Shopify stores, not to other platforms.
- Import
- Guides + app + CSV/API
- Import order
- Products, then customers, orders
- 301 redirects
- CSV (100K / 20M Plus)
- Image export
- Not in CSV
- Full-site export
- None (data CSV only)
This page covers importing into Shopify and switching away. SEO output and pricing live on their own pages.
What moves into Shopify, and can you leave?
Pick what you are bringing to Shopify, and see exactly what transfers.
- Products: via CSV or API, CSV (UTF-8), Store Migration app, or API; import first.
- Customers: via CSV or API, CSV/app/API; import after products.
- Historical orders: via CSV or API, no CSV; migration app or Order API.
- Old URLs / redirects: via CSV or API, CSV redirect import; set up before launch.
- Theme / storefront design: manual rebuild, rebuilt as a Liquid theme.
- 1Install Store Migration app or prep CSVs, per-platform guides.
- 2Import products, then customers, then orders, order matters.
- 3Build URL redirects (CSV), paths change; source must 404.
- 4Keep old store live for images, images re-fetched from public URLs.
- 5Connect domain (A + CNAME), up to 48h.
Every row is a documented import/export capability from Shopify and the source platforms, not an effort estimate.
Shopify migration configuration
Import products under Products, Import with a UTF-8 CSV. Images are not in the CSV: Shopify re-fetches them only if they are still viewable on a public URL, so keep the old store live during the move. SEO Title and SEO Description columns export blank unless you had customized them.
Handle,Title,Body (HTML),Vendor,Variant Price,Image Src,SEO Title,SEO Description
organic-tee,Organic Tee,<p>Soft cotton</p>,Acme,29.00,https://old-store.com/img/tee.jpg,,
# UTF-8 only; Image Src must stay publicly viewable until import finishes;
# SEO Title/Description are blank unless previously customizedBring your old URLs over under Content, Menus, URL redirects, Import. Two columns: Redirect from (the old path, which must 404) and Redirect to (the new Shopify path). Ceiling is 100,000, or 20,000,000 on Plus.
Redirect from,Redirect to
/product/old-tee,/products/organic-tee
/category/shirts,/collections/shirts
/about,/pages/about
# source must 404; cannot redirect /products, /collections/all, /cart, /checkoutTo connect an external domain, point the apex A record at Shopify's IP and the www subdomain at the Shopify CNAME, using your provider's default nameservers. You can have only one A record and one www CNAME. Propagation usually finishes within two hours and can take up to 48.
; Set at your current domain host (keep its default nameservers)
@ A 23.227.38.65
www CNAME shops.myshopify.com
; optional IPv6: @ AAAA 2620:0127:f00f:5::
; only ONE A record and ONE www CNAME; up to 48h to propagateWhat imports cleanly into Shopify
| Content | Into Shopify | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products | CSV / app / API | Bulk import by CSV, the Store Migration app, or the Shopify API | — |
| Customers | CSV / app / API | Import after products; CSV, app or Customer API | — |
| Historical orders | App / Order API | Not via CSV; use a migration app or the Order API | — |
| Pages, blogs, gift cards | App / API | Pages via Page API, blogs via app/API, gift cards via app/API | — |
| Per-platform guides | 10+ sources | Dedicated guides for Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Square, Squarespace, Wix, WooCommerce and more | — |
| URL structure | Changes (plan redirects) | Shopify paths differ from your old service; set up redirects in advance | — |
Source-to-Shopify mapping
| Element | Lands in Shopify as | Caveat | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product catalog | Products (CSV) | UTF-8 CSV is the only accepted format | — |
| Product images | Re-fetched from live URL | Not in the CSV; generated only if still viewable on a public site | — |
| Customers | Customers (CSV/API) | Import after products | — |
| Historical orders | Orders (app/API) | No CSV path; app or Order API | — |
| Old URLs | URL redirects (CSV) | Set up before launch; source must 404 | — |
| Theme / design | Rebuilt (Liquid theme) | Storefront is a Liquid theme; not imported from another platform | — |
Shopify migration timeline and rollout
| Phase | What happens | Effort | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Set up migration | Install Store Migration app or prep CSVs | Low; guided per-platform | — |
| 2. Import products | CSV / app / API (first) | Medium; products before all else | — |
| 3. Import customers & orders | Customers then historical orders | Medium; orders via app/API | — |
| 4. Build redirects | CSV URL redirects (paths change) | Medium; high ceiling, source must 404 | — |
| 5. Connect domain | A record + www CNAME to Shopify | Low; up to 48h to propagate | — |
What to verify before you commit to Shopify
- Product images are not in the CSV export and are re-fetched only if they remain viewable on a public website, so you must keep the old store online until the migration finishes or you lose the images
- There is no native full-site HTML export; data exports per type as CSV (products, customers, redirects, inventory) and the storefront itself is a hosted Liquid theme, so you cannot download the rendered site
- SEO Title and SEO Description fields export blank unless you customized them, so an export does not necessarily carry your metadata to the next platform
- Theme code is Liquid and portable only to other Shopify stores, not to other platforms, so the storefront design and logic are effectively Shopify-locked even though the data is exportable
Shopify Migration FAQ
How do I migrate a store to Shopify?
Shopify has dedicated guides for the major platforms, including Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Square, Squarespace, Wix and WooCommerce. It adds a Store Migration app, CSV import for products and customers, and APIs for orders, blogs and pages. The key rule is order: import products first, then customers, then historical orders, and set up URL redirects in advance because the path structure changes.
Do product images migrate with the CSV?
No, and this is the trap. Product images are not included in the CSV export, and on import Shopify re-fetches them only if they are still viewable on a publicly accessible website. You must keep the old store online until the migration finishes, or the images will not come across.
Can I export my whole Shopify site?
Only the data, not the site. You can export products, customers, URL redirects and inventory as UTF-8 CSV, but there is no native full-site HTML export. The storefront is a hosted Liquid theme, so the rendered site itself cannot be downloaded the way Webflow's code export works.
Will my SEO metadata export from Shopify?
Only if you set it. The SEO Title and SEO Description columns in a product CSV export are populated only when you manually customized them, and otherwise they are blank. So an export does not automatically carry the theme-generated default metadata to your next platform.
Is Shopify hard to leave?
Your data is portable, your design is not. Products, customers, redirects and inventory all export as CSV, but the storefront is a Liquid theme that only ports to other Shopify stores, and product images live outside the CSV. Plan to keep the old store live during a move and to rebuild the storefront elsewhere.
Sources & verification
| Source | What was checked | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Official | Official product page | July 10, 2026 |
| Shopify Support | Manual Migrating To Shopify | July 10, 2026 |
| Shopify Support | Import Export Export Products | July 10, 2026 |
| Shopify Support | Seo Seo Overview | July 10, 2026 |
| Shopify Support | Connecting Domains Connect Domain Manual | July 10, 2026 |
| Shopify Support | Menus And Links Url Redirect | July 10, 2026 |
Every fact on this Shopify page is tied to a named source and a verification date. Freshness-sensitive figures trace to the sources above; verify against the vendor before relying on them.
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