WooCommerce to Shopify Migration: Complete Timeline and Cost Breakdown

Tier 1: The “Lift and Shift” (Basic)

• Profile: < 500 SKUs, Standard Design, No ERP.
• Goal: Move data to a clean Shopify theme (e.g., Dawn) with minimal customization.
• Estimated Cost: $5,000 – $8,000
• Timeline: 2-3 Weeks.
• Breakdown:
  • Data Migration (Products/Customers): $2,000
  • Theme Setup (No Code): $2,000
  • SEO Redirects: $1,000

Tier 2: The “Growth” Migration (Standard)

• Profile: 1,000 – 5,000 SKUs, Custom Branding, Email/Reviews Integration.
• Goal: A branded experience that matches your current identity but cleaner.
• Estimated Cost: $15,000 – $25,000
• Timeline: 4-6 Weeks.
• Breakdown:
  • Data Migration (Complex variants): $4,000
  • Custom Design (Homepage/PDP): $8,000
  • App Integration (Klaviyo/Yotpo): $3,000
  • Technical SEO (Deep Audit): $5,000

Tier 3: The “Enterprise” Replatform (Complex)

• Profile: > 10,000 SKUs, NetSuite/Dynamics ERP, Custom Checkout logic, High Traffic.
• Goal: A zero-downtime switchover with full back-office synchronization.
• Estimated Cost: $30,000 – $60,000+
• Timeline: 8-12 Weeks.
• Breakdown:
  • Data Engineering (Cleaning dirty data): $8,000
  • Custom Theme Development: $15,000
  • ERP/Middleware Integration: $10,000
  • QA & Load Testing: $5,000
  • Project Management: $5,000

The Hidden Costs of “going Cheap”

Why not hire a $500 freelancer on Upwork?

1. The “SEO Tax”: Cheap migrations skip the 301 redirects. If you lose 40% of your traffic, that “cheap” migration costs you $20,000/month in lost sales.
2. The “Data Clean-up” Bill: If they import products incorrectly (e.g., losing variants), you will spend 100 hours manually fixing them. At $50/hour admin cost, that’s $5,000.
3. The “Downtime” Penalty: A professional team launches with zero downtime. An amateur often takes the site offline for 48 hours to “fix things.”

The Migration Timeline: Week by Week

Here is the exact schedule for a standardized Tier 2 (Growth) migration.

Week 1: Discovery & Data Foundation

• Days 1-2: Technical Audit of WooCommerce (Plugins, Data Health).
• Days 3-5: Initial Data Export & Cleaning. Setting up the Shopify Dev environment.
• Deliverable: A “Sandbox” store with your raw products imported for review.

Week 2: Design & Theme Configuration

• Days 6-8: Configuring the Theme Settings (Colors, Typography). Building the Homepage sections.
• Days 9-10: Building the Product Detail Page (PDP) and Collection filtering.
• Deliverable: A clickable, branded store preview (with placeholder images).

Week 3: Integrations & Functionality

• Days 11-13: Installing and configuring key apps (Klaviyo, Reviews, Search).
• Days 14-15: Migrating Customer Order History. Mapping 301 Redirects.
• Deliverable: A fully functional store where you can place a test order.

Week 4: QA & Launch

• Days 16-18: User Acceptance Testing (Mobile, Desktop, Tablet). Verifying Tax and Shipping rates.
• Day 19: “The Freeze” (Stop editing Woo). Delta Migration of recent orders.
• Day 20 (Launch): DNS Switchover. Post-launch sanity check.

Agency vs. DIY Cost Comparison

Let’s look at the P&L impact over 12 months.

Option A: DIY / Cheap Freelancer

• Upfront Cost: $1,500
• Plugin Costs (Shopify Apps to fix holes): $500/mo ($6,000/yr)
• Lost Revenue (SEO dip): $20,000
• Total First Year Cost: $27,500

Option B: Professional Agency (Presta)

• Upfront Cost: $20,000
• Plugin Costs (Optimized Native): $200/mo ($2,400/yr)
• Revenue Gain (Conversion Lift): +$30,000
• Total First Year Impact: +$7,600 (Profit)

The Verdict: A professional migration pays for itself. A cheap migration is a liability.

How to Budget for “Post-Launch”

Migration is just the start. You should budget for:

1. Shopify Subscription:
   • Basic: $39/mo
   • Shopify: $105/mo
   • Advanced: $399/mo (Required for custom reports)
   • Plus: $2,500/mo (For B2B and Checkout scripts)
2. App Fees: Budget roughly $300-$500/month for a solid stack (Klaviyo + Yotpo + Search).
3. Retainer: You no longer need a “Maintenance Retainer” ($2,000/mo) for security updates. You might shift this budget to “Growth Retainer” (CRO/Ads).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you charge per SKU?

No. We charge based on complexity. Migrating 10,000 clean SKUs is easier than migrating 500 messy variable products.

Can we pay in installments?

Yes. Standard agency terms are 50% upfront, 25% upon design approval, 25% upon launch.

What if the timeline slips?

If *we* cause the delay, we eat the cost. If *you* cause the delay (e.g., delaying design feedback), the timeline extends.

Sources

• Shopify Pricing Plans
• Clutch: Average App Development Costs