WooCommerce to Shopify Migration in the UK: VAT, Payments, Delivery and SEO (2026)

WooCommerce is one of the most common ways UK businesses sell online, and many outgrow it the same way: plugin updates that break things, hosting that struggles on busy days, and developer bills that keep growing. Moving to Shopify solves most of that, but a UK store also has to get the local details right: VAT, the payment and delivery options UK shoppers expect, and the marketing consent of your customer list. This guide covers each one, using Shopify's, GOV.UK's and the ICO's own pages.

The short answer: a WooCommerce to Shopify migration usually takes 4–8 weeks for a small store, 6–10 weeks for a mid-size store and 3–6 months for an enterprise or B2B store. Every plugin needs a replacement, every URL needs a redirect, and active subscriptions need careful planning. For a UK store, also plan VAT set-up in Shopify, UK payment options, Royal Mail and Evri delivery, and moving your customers' marketing consent across exactly.

Why UK WooCommerce stores move to Shopify

• Fewer moving parts. WooCommerce runs on WordPress, your hosting, your theme and every plugin you add. Each needs updating and can conflict with the others. Shopify runs and updates the platform for you.
• Busy days. Black Friday traffic on shared or under-sized hosting is a common reason stores go down at the worst moment. Hosting and scaling are included with Shopify.
• Security and payments. Shopify handles platform security and PCI compliance for its checkout, which takes a job off your list.
• Developer time. Time spent fixing updates and plugin clashes can go into improving the store instead.

WooCommerce can still be the better fit for a very small store run by someone comfortable with WordPress. Our WooCommerce vs Shopify comparison covers both sides.

What Shopify costs in the UK

Plan	Billed monthly	Billed yearly
Basic	£25/month	£19/month
Grow	£65/month	£49/month
Advanced	£344/month	£259/month
Shopify Plus	From £1,950/month (1-year term)	From £1,800/month (3-year term)

Sources: Shopify UK pricing and the Shopify Help Center. Hosting, security and platform updates are included, so they come off your WooCommerce bills. Apps, card processing and any agency work are extra. For Plus card fees and when the upgrade pays for itself, see Shopify Plus pricing in the UK.

What moves from WooCommerce to Shopify

WooCommerce	Shopify
Simple and variable products	Products with variants; extra attributes as metafields
Product categories and tags	Collections and tags
Customers and addresses	Customers
Order history	Orders, for reporting and customer accounts
Coupons	Discounts
WordPress posts and pages	Blog posts and pages
Product reviews	A Shopify reviews app
WooCommerce Subscriptions	A Shopify subscription app

Passwords can't move between platforms, but Shopify's current customer accounts sign people in with a one-time email code, so nobody needs to reset a password. See migrating customer accounts to Shopify.

Subscriptions need the most care. Active subscribers, their renewal dates and their saved payment methods have to keep working after the switch, so the subscription app and payment provider are chosen early and tested with real renewals before launch.

Your WordPress blog often holds years of posts that bring in Google traffic. Every post, image and internal link moves across, and each old URL gets a redirect.

Replacing your plugins

List every active plugin and decide what replaces it. Many are covered by Shopify itself:

• Built into Shopify: discounts, shipping rates, abandoned checkout emails, basic reports, gift cards, multiple currencies with Shopify Markets, and B2B on every main plan.
• Shopify apps: reviews, subscriptions, loyalty, product options, search and filters.
• Small custom apps: for anything specific to your business that no app covers.

This is usually where the biggest savings come from: fewer plugins to update, and fewer clashes.

The UK set-up checklist

VAT

• Registration: UK businesses must register once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a 12-month period. Businesses based outside the UK must register regardless of turnover if they sell goods to the UK (GOV.UK).
• In Shopify: you add your VAT number under Settings > Taxes and duties, then choose whether prices include VAT and whether VAT applies to shipping. New UK stores use Shopify Tax or manual settings, because the older Basic Tax option is only available to stores already collecting UK tax before 13 May 2026 (Shopify Help Center).
• Reduced and zero rates: if you sell products at different VAT rates, such as children's clothes or books, set them up per product and check them on test orders.
• Check before launch: compare VAT on test orders against the same orders on WooCommerce, and confirm the settings with your accountant.

Payments

• Shop Pay Instalments launched for UK Shopify merchants in December 2025, powered by Affirm (Affirm).
• Klarna, Clearpay and PayPal are widely used in the UK and connect to Shopify through their own integrations.
• Saved cards stored with your WooCommerce payment provider don't usually move to Shopify Payments, so plan how subscribers and regular customers will re-enter their details.

Delivery

• Royal Mail Tracked 24, Tracked 48 and Local Collect labels can be bought in Shopify Shipping from a UK location, for UK deliveries (Shopify Help Center).
• Evri labels are also available in Shopify Shipping for UK deliveries (Shopify Help Center).
• Northern Ireland: since 1 May 2025, labels for orders shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland can't be bought through Shopify's carrier accounts, so plan another route for those orders.
• DPD, parcel shops and 3PLs connect through carrier and warehouse apps.

Marketing consent

Under the UK's electronic marketing rules (PECR), you need consent or a "soft opt-in" to send marketing emails to individuals, and the ICO says you should keep a record of who consented, when and how (ICO). In a migration:

• Move each customer's subscribed or unsubscribed status across exactly, and don't subscribe anyone by default.
• Keep an export of your WooCommerce and email platform consent records.
• Check the sign-up boxes on your new Shopify store aren't pre-ticked.

Protecting your Google rankings

WooCommerce URLs usually look like /product/blue-jumper/ and /product-category/knitwear/, and blog posts often sit at the root of the site. Shopify uses fixed paths such as /products/, /collections/ and /blogs/, so most URLs change. Before launch:

• Crawl every URL, including products, categories, tags, blog posts and pages that still get visits or links.
• Map each one to its new Shopify address and add a 301 redirect.
• Keep your titles and descriptions, so Google sees the same pages at their new addresses.
• Test the redirects before the domain switch, then watch Search Console in the first weeks.

Our Shopify migration SEO guide has the full process.

When to launch

UK online trade peaks from Black Friday through Christmas and the Boxing Day sales. Aim to go live by late October at the latest, or plan the launch for after the January sales. If you run subscriptions, choose a launch date away from your busiest renewal days.

How much it costs

The cost depends on your plugins, integrations, design and data, not on being in the UK. Our WooCommerce to Shopify migration cost guide sets out typical ranges by store size, and our packages and pricing page shows our starting prices. UK clients receive a fixed quote in pounds after a free audit.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a WooCommerce to Shopify migration take? Usually 4–8 weeks for a small store, 6–10 weeks for a mid-size store and 3–6 months for an enterprise or B2B store.

Can I move my WooCommerce subscriptions to Shopify? Yes, into a Shopify subscription app. Plan renewal dates and saved payment methods carefully, and test real renewals before launch.

Will I lose my Google rankings? Not with a full redirect plan. Every old URL needs a 301 redirect to its new Shopify address, tested before launch.

Does Shopify handle UK VAT? Yes. You add your VAT registration in Shopify's tax settings and choose whether prices include VAT. New UK stores use Shopify Tax or manual settings. Confirm the set-up with your accountant.

Can I keep my WordPress blog? Yes. Posts, images and internal links move to Shopify's blog, with a redirect from each old URL.

Will my customers need new passwords? No. Passwords can't move between platforms, but Shopify's customer accounts sign people in with a one-time email code.

Planning a move from WooCommerce?

We move UK brands from WooCommerce to Shopify and Shopify Plus, with VAT, payments, delivery and redirects set up for launch. See our WooCommerce to Shopify migration service, our Shopify Plus agency for the UK, or book a free consultation.