To migrate between Shopify and WooCommerce in Australia, audit products, customers, orders and URLs, choose the target platform for your needs, rebuild GST, shipping and payment settings, import data in a test copy, set 301 redirects, check emails and checkout, then launch with monitoring. Planning redirects and tax settings first protects rankings and sales.
Australian online stores often outgrow their first platform. Some want the flexibility and plugin ecosystem of WooCommerce, while others want the hosted simplicity of Shopify. Either way, a migration touches products, customers, orders, tax, shipping, payments and search rankings all at once. This guide explains how to plan a Shopify and WooCommerce move for an Australian store, what to check before launch, and how to avoid the mistakes that cost sales.
Key takeaways
- Choose the platform based on your team, catalogue and integrations, not on trends.
- Set up GST, shipping zones and payment methods for Australia before you import data.
- Map every old URL to a new one and test 301 redirects to protect organic traffic.
- Rehearse the migration on a staging copy, including checkout and order emails.
- Plan the launch for a quiet trading period and monitor orders closely afterwards.
1Should you move from Shopify to WooCommerce, or the other way round?
Choose based on how your team works. Shopify is a hosted platform with a simpler admin and managed hosting, while WooCommerce runs on WordPress and offers more control, custom code and plugin choice, with more responsibility for hosting and security.
Stores with complex catalogues, content-heavy sites or custom integrations often lean towards WooCommerce. Stores that want minimal maintenance often prefer Shopify. Fees, themes and apps change over time, so compare current pricing before deciding. Our Shopify and WooCommerce migration service can help you weigh the options for your store.
2What should you audit before moving an Australian store?
Audit everything that earns money or brings traffic. A thorough inventory prevents surprises at launch.
Catalogue
Products, variants, images, SKUs, collections, metafields, reviews and inventory counts.
Customers and orders
Accounts, addresses, order history, gift cards, discount codes and subscriptions if you sell them.
Content and URLs
Product, collection, blog and page URLs, along with titles, descriptions and the pages that get the most organic traffic.
Integrations
Accounting, shipping, marketplace, email marketing, reviews and ERP connections.
Export a crawl of your current site so you have a reference list of live URLs.
3How do you handle GST, shipping and payments in Australia?
Set them up in the new store before importing data, then test with real examples. Australian stores usually need GST-inclusive pricing, clear shipping rates by zone and payment methods that local customers trust.
- Confirm GST settings and how prices are displayed, and check current ATO guidance with your accountant.
- Rebuild shipping zones and rates for metro, regional and remote areas, plus carriers such as Australia Post if you use them.
- Test payment gateways, wallets and buy now pay later options you offer, and confirm they work in the new platform.
- Check tax invoices and order emails show the details your business needs.
Link your accounting, for example Zoho Books accounting in Australia, so sales flow into your BAS records cleanly.
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4How do you protect SEO during the move?
Protect it by mapping every important old URL to a new one with a 301 redirect, and by keeping titles, descriptions, headings and structured data intact. Platform changes often alter URL patterns, which is why rankings drop when redirects are skipped.
| Task | Why it matters | When |
|---|---|---|
| URL map | Keeps link equity and bookmarks working | Before build |
| Metadata transfer | Keeps titles and descriptions | During import |
| Redirect testing | Finds loops and 404 errors | On staging and at launch |
| Search Console checks | Spots crawl errors early | After launch |
Our guide to SEO-safe website migration in Australia covers the redirect process in more detail.
5What is the safest way to migrate data?
The safest way is to import into a staging copy, check results, fix mapping issues and repeat until the test is clean. Only then do the final import close to launch.
Compare product counts, variant options, prices, stock levels and customer totals between the old and new store. Place several test orders using each payment method and shipping option. Decide how to handle orders placed during the final cut-over, for example by freezing the old store briefly or importing a final batch of orders. Keep a full backup of the old store until you are certain nothing is missing.
6Which mistakes hurt Australian stores most?
The most damaging mistakes are missing redirects, wrong tax settings and untested checkout flows. Each can quietly reduce sales for weeks.
Forgotten redirects
Old product links lead to error pages and rankings fall.
Broken emails
Order, shipping and password emails stop arriving or look wrong.
Slow new site
Heavy themes or plugins reduce speed on mobile, which hurts conversion.
7What does a realistic timeline look like?
A realistic timeline for a small to mid-sized store is four to ten weeks, depending on catalogue size and custom features.
- Week 1: audit, platform decision and URL inventory.
- Weeks 2 to 3: build the new store, theme, tax, shipping and payments.
- Weeks 4 to 5: import test data, connect integrations and fix issues.
- Week 6: test checkout, emails, redirects and speed.
- Launch week: final import, DNS change, monitoring and Search Console checks.
Explore related services such as hosting and domain migration if your domain or DNS also needs to change.
8How do you launch and keep improving afterwards?
Launch at a quiet time, monitor orders and errors closely for the first fortnight, and keep the old store available in read-only form for reference. Check Search Console, analytics and abandoned checkout reports daily at first.
After launch, tune speed, review customer feedback and add integrations in stages. For more guides, browse the ERPHUBs Australia blog. To plan a migration with an independent Zoho Authorized Partner that also builds websites, book a free consultation and we will scope your store move.
Shopify and WooCommerce migration
Move your online store between platforms with data mapping, redirects, tax set-up and launch testing.
Frequently asked questions
Not necessarily. Rankings are usually protected by mapping old URLs to new ones with 301 redirects, keeping metadata and content, and checking Search Console afterwards. Short-term fluctuations can still happen, so monitor closely.
Usually yes. Customers and orders can often be imported, though the format and fields differ by platform. Test the import on a staging copy and keep a backup of the old store.
Configure Australian GST settings and price display in the new platform before importing products, then test sample orders. Confirm the correct treatment for your business with your accountant or the ATO guidance.
A well-planned migration keeps downtime very low because the new store is built and tested on staging first. The main change is the DNS switch and a final order import at launch.
It depends. WooCommerce software is free, but hosting, themes, plugins, security and maintenance have costs. Shopify has plan and app fees. Compare current pricing and your team time before deciding.
Yes. ERPHUBs can plan and run Shopify and WooCommerce migrations, including data mapping, redirects, tax and shipping set-up, testing and launch support. Book a free consultation to scope your project.