When should you move from Wix or Squarespace to Shopify?
A Wix to Shopify migration makes sense once your store has outgrown a website builder: more SKUs, more channels, more apps and more staff. Squarespace merchants hit the same ceiling, usually around inventory, checkout flexibility and integrations.
Wix and Squarespace are excellent for launching quickly. The limits appear as you scale. Variant counts get tight, wholesale pricing needs workarounds, marketplace syncing is basic and checkout customization is restricted. Shopify is built around commerce first, with deep inventory, multi-location fulfillment, Shopify Markets and thousands of apps.
Common triggers we see:
- Catalog growth that strains variant and option limits.
- Selling on Amazon, TikTok Shop or Meta from one inventory pool.
- Needing subscriptions, B2B pricing or international currencies.
- Slow product pages that hurt Core Web Vitals and ad performance.
What data moves in a Wix to Shopify migration?
We move products, customers, orders, blog posts, pages and URLs, whether the source is Wix or Squarespace. The scope table shows how each data type is handled.
| Data | Wix / Squarespace source | How it maps in Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Products | Products, options, variants, images, descriptions, inventory, SEO titles | Products with variants; extra fields stored as metafields |
| Collections | Wix categories or Squarespace store pages and tags | Manual or automated Shopify collections |
| Customers | Contacts, addresses, member accounts, email consent | Customers with tags; passwords cannot transfer, so we send account invites |
| Orders | Historical orders, line items, totals and dates | Imported orders for history, reporting and customer accounts |
| Content | Blog posts, static pages, FAQs, image galleries | Blog articles, pages and metaobjects |
| URLs | /product-page/ (Wix) and /shop/p/ or /store/ (Squarespace) paths | 301 redirects to /products/, /collections/ and /pages/ |
Wix and Squarespace exports are limited, so we combine CSV exports, platform APIs and careful scraping where needed. Every import is reconciled against the source by product count, variant count and order totals.
Gift cards, subscriptions and member-only content need special handling. We plan those during the audit so nothing is discovered on launch day.
Wix vs Squarespace vs Shopify: what changes after you migrate?
The biggest change is that commerce becomes the core of the platform instead of an add-on. Day-to-day editing stays simple, but you gain far more control over products, inventory and checkout.
On Wix and Squarespace, the store sits inside a website builder, so design is drag-and-drop and commerce features are capped by what the builder offers. Shopify flips that model. Your theme is built with Online Store 2.0 sections your team can still edit visually, while products, collections, metafields and markets are managed in a dedicated commerce admin.
- Inventory: multi-location stock, transfers and purchase orders instead of a single stock count.
- Checkout: Shop Pay, accelerated wallets and, on Shopify Plus, checkout extensibility.
- Apps: a much larger ecosystem for subscriptions, reviews, loyalty and wholesale.
- Channels: native selling on Google, Meta, TikTok and marketplaces from one catalog.
- Speed: leaner themes that make Core Web Vitals targets easier to reach.
Your team will need a short training session on the Shopify admin, which we include before launch.
How do we protect SEO when moving from Wix or Squarespace to Shopify?
We protect SEO by redirecting every indexed URL, carrying over metadata and rebuilding structured data. URL structures change on Shopify, so the redirect map does most of the work.
- Full crawl: capture every live product, category, page and blog URL, plus image URLs that rank.
- Traffic priority: rank URLs using Search Console and analytics so high-value pages get closest-match redirects.
- Metadata carry-over: migrate titles, meta descriptions and alt text instead of letting Shopify regenerate them.
- Schema rebuild: Product, Breadcrumb and Article markup in the new theme.
- Launch checks: redirect testing, a fresh XML sitemap and Search Console resubmission.
The full list lives in our ecommerce migration SEO checklist, which applies to builder-to-Shopify moves too.
Our step-by-step Wix to Shopify migration process
Our Wix to Shopify migration runs in seven clear steps. Smaller stores often go live in 6–8 weeks, while larger catalogs with custom design and integrations fall within our standard 8–16 week range.
- Audit: review products, apps, forms, bookings, integrations and top URLs on Wix or Squarespace.
- Plan: choose the Shopify plan, apps and data model, including metafields and collections.
- Design: build a conversion-focused theme with our custom Shopify theme development team.
- Test migration: import a full data set and reconcile products, variants and customers.
- Integrations: connect payments, shipping, email, reviews and marketplaces.
- QA: test checkout, redirects, mobile speed and WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility.
- Delta sync and launch: move new orders, switch the domain and monitor rankings and sales.
Wix and Squarespace to Shopify migration risks
The biggest risks are lost URLs, missing customer data and features that relied on builder-specific widgets. Each has a known fix.
- Builder-only features: bookings, forms and member areas are matched to Shopify apps or custom sections.
- Domain and email: DNS changes are planned so business email on the domain keeps working.
- Password resets: customer invite emails are timed and branded to recover returning buyers.
- Thin exports: missing fields are rebuilt from APIs or the live site before import.
- Short-term ranking dips: daily monitoring after launch catches broken redirects quickly.
How much does it cost to migrate Wix or Squarespace to Shopify?
Most builder-to-Shopify moves start around $15,000, covering data migration, redirects and a custom theme. Stores with large catalogs, custom features or multiple integrations typically land in the $25,000–$60,000 band.
All work is fixed-price by milestone, and you own the theme code. See how this fits our wider ecommerce migration services, or explore ongoing Shopify development services after launch.
Get a free Wix to Shopify migration estimate
If your Wix or Squarespace store is holding back growth, we can map out the move in one conversation. Book a free 30-minute strategy call with our Houston team, or try the ecommerce website cost calculator first. You will get a Wix to Shopify migration plan and free estimate within 24 hours.
