Migrating from WooCommerce to PrestaShop covers the data, the store’s features and the URLs at which customers find your offer. A product import alone isn’t enough. You need to decide how accounts, order history, variants and content will be moved, rebuild the integrations and prepare the sales switchover. First, though, it is worth checking whether changing platforms will solve the problem that prompted the migration.
Is the migration really needed
A slow store doesn’t necessarily need a new platform. The cause may be inefficient queries, unsuitable hosting or a specific plugin. Outdated stock levels may come from the integration, and wrong prices from inconsistent data. Moving the same rules and data to another system will keep the source of the trouble.
Write the problems down as observable situations. For example: an import blocks work in the admin panel, a price update takes too long, staff manually correct the data of every order. Then compare the cost of fixing the current solution with a migration. In both options there should be a defined outcome and a way of checking it.
A migration is justified if the target system handles the necessary processes better and the benefit outweighs the cost of moving and of later maintenance. Check this with a demonstration of the hardest scenario. The PrestaShop vs WooCommerce comparison will also help you put the criteria in order.
What needs to be inventoried
First create a register of data and features. For each item, state the source, the destination, the transfer method and how it will be checked. Note whether the data is still being changed in the live store. This lets you separate the initial catalogue load from topping up orders and customers just before the switchover.
- Products, variants, SKU and EAN identifiers, prices, stock and relationships between items.
- Categories, brands, attributes, images, attachments and descriptions in each language.
- Customer accounts, addresses, groups and consent information, with its context.
- Orders, line items, discounts, payments, statuses and document numbers.
- Reviews, information pages, blog articles and downloadable materials.
- Coupons, gift cards, loyalty points and extension data, if they are used.
WooCommerce has a built-in CSV product export, described in the importer and exporter documentation. Such a file is a source of product data, not a complete functional copy of the store. Order, customer and extension data need a separate solution and mapping to the PrestaShop structure.
Automate repetitive data transfer, but agree the mapping of fields and exceptions by hand. Check a sample that also includes unusual records: a product without an image, a multi-variant bundle, a customer with several addresses or a partially refunded order. A matching record count doesn’t prove that their meaning has been preserved.
Order history and documents
Decide whether the full history should go into the new admin panel or whether part of it will stay in a secured archive. Either option must let staff find an earlier purchase and resolve a customer’s request. If the old system stays in read-only mode, agree who will maintain it, secure it and give authorised employees access.
Don’t recalculate historical orders using new price lists and current tax rules. The migrated history should keep the values recorded at the time of purchase. Check totals, discounts, delivery costs and links to payments. The order number in the new system may differ from the old one, so you need a permanent mapping between the identifiers.
Documents issued in the previous system should not be treated as new orders to be invoiced again. Agree how the originals can be accessed and the scope of migration with the people responsible for accounting and customer service. Also check that importing the history won’t trigger emails, automations or an export to the ERP again.
URLs and Google visibility
Before the move, collect URLs from the sitemap, analytics tools, Search Console and logs. For every important URL, define its new equivalent. Don’t limit yourself to products: traffic may lead to categories, guides and older campaign pages. The list should be ready before the old store stops being available.
Google recommends mapping URLs and using permanent redirects to the corresponding new pages. Redirecting everything to the home page in bulk may be treated as a soft 404. Internal links, canonical tags and sitemaps also need updating. These principles are described in Google’s site move documentation.
Assess filters and pagination separately. Not every technically accessible URL should become a separate landing page. Check which views have content and meaning for the user and which merely duplicate the catalogue. Make indexing decisions deliberately instead of automatically recreating all the old parameters.
Before launch, check a sample and an automated response report for the whole prepared map. A redirect should lead to the right, working page without an unnecessary chain. When URLs change, visibility may fluctuate for a while; there is no guarantee of identical rankings. It is worth limiting simultaneous changes to content and structure so the effects of the move are easier to assess.
Differences an import won’t handle
A product variant must keep its own identifier, stock, price and link to images where they are separate. The name “size” in two systems doesn’t guarantee that the whole structure matches. Also check units, bundles and personalised products. A configuration built with a plugin may need a separate module or a rebuild.
Compare taxes, discounts and delivery costs on the same carts. Pay attention to rounding and the order in which promotions are applied. A matching price for a single product isn’t enough if the discrepancy only appears with several items and a coupon covering part of the order.
Customer accounts and passwords are two different tasks. Moving the email address doesn’t mean the new system will correctly verify the old password hash. Check the actual authentication mechanism of both installations. If a compatible password migration isn’t available, prepare a secure way to set a new password and clear communication. Never export or send passwords in plain text.
The blog can stay on WordPress or be moved to an agreed tool. This decision affects URLs, menus, search and the editorial team’s work. Don’t assume that the store’s target platform will automatically reproduce every feature of the current site.
Sales switchover plan
- Launch a secured target environment and isolate its payments, email and integrations.
- Run a trial migration, keeping an error report and an identifier map.
- Check the data and complete processes together with the people who run the store.
- Repeat the trial on fresh data and measure the time needed for the final operations.
- Set the moment when changes and orders are paused, and how payments in progress will be handled.
- Transfer the remaining data, enable the redirects and run a production test.
- Confirm that monitoring works and that the team is ready to handle reports.
The rollback plan must state the point up to which a simple return is possible. Once the new store starts taking orders, restoring the old database without reconciling the data may lose them. Agree who will make the decision and how transactions accepted after the switchover will be secured.
The first two weeks after migration
Check payments, order handover, stock updates and customer reports every day. A transaction error needs an immediate response. Don’t wait for a bigger data sample if the provider takes the money and the store doesn’t save the confirmation.
Also watch 404 errors, indexing and traffic on important pages. When comparing conversion, take into account whether the analytics is correct and the traffic sources. A drop in recorded purchases may come from a measurement error, but that has to be confirmed with order data. Keep observations separate from hypotheses and record the fixes you make.
Appoint one person to collect reports after launch. For each one, record the URL, the action, the expected result and the order number if the problem concerns one. With a shared list, customer service and developers won’t be investigating the same case in parallel across several channels.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my Google rankings?
Unchanged rankings can’t be guaranteed. A URL map, proper redirects and indexing checks reduce the risk of technical errors. Changes to content or structure need an additional assessment.
Will customers keep their accounts and passwords?
Accounts can be moved once the data mapping is agreed. Keeping passwords depends on the compatibility of the mechanisms and the chosen migration solution. If they aren’t compatible, plan for customers to set new passwords.
How long does a store migration take?
It depends on the data, integrations and functional differences. The timeline should include a trial migration, fixes and testing by staff. The import itself is only one stage.
Does the store have to be offline the whole time?
No. Preparation and most of the trials run in parallel with sales. At the end you need to agree a short period of controlled switchover and a consistent transfer of changes.
Before getting a quote, prepare a list of data, integrations and your hardest orders. It will help define the real scope of the store migration and check whether changing platforms pays off.