Shopify migration SEO checklist
Everything to check before, during and after moving to Shopify so you keep the rankings and traffic you already earned.
Before the move
- Export every indexed URL: from Search Console, your sitemap and a crawl of the site
- Note your top pages by clicks and by backlinks, these must not break
- Save current titles, meta descriptions and headings for important pages
- Record rankings for your main keywords as a baseline
- List structured data you use (product, reviews, FAQ, breadcrumbs)
- Check how your current site handles languages, if you have more than one
Map every old URL to a new one
Shopify uses fixed URL patterns: /products/ for products, /collections/ for categories, /pages/ for pages and /blogs/ for posts. Your old URLs will change. Build a spreadsheet with old URL in one column and the best matching new URL in the other. Match product to product and category to collection, not everything to the homepage.
| Old platform | Typical old product URL | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | /product-page/name | /products/name |
| WooCommerce | /product/name/ | /products/name |
| Squarespace | /shop/p/name | /products/name |
| BigCommerce | /name/ | /products/name |
During the build
- Keep product handles close to old slugs where possible
- Carry over titles and meta descriptions that perform well
- Write missing ones, unique per page
- Add alt text to product images
- Keep category descriptions, they often rank
- Check the theme outputs product structured data correctly
- Make sure only one version of each page is indexable (watch filters and tags)
Launch day
- Import redirects with Shopify's URL redirect tool (it accepts a CSV)
- Point the domain and confirm HTTPS works
- Verify the domain in Search Console and submit the Shopify sitemap
- Test a sample of old URLs, including ones with backlinks
- Check robots settings are not blocking the new site
- Place a test order
The weeks after
- Watch Search Console for 404 errors and add redirects
- Watch the Pages report for pages that are not indexed and why
- Compare clicks for your top pages against the baseline
- Update important backlinks to the new URLs where you can
- Expect some movement, and investigate drops that last more than a few weeks
Multilingual stores
If you sell in two languages, decide how URLs work for each language before launch, and make sure each translation is a real, complete page. Half translated pages and duplicate language URLs are a common cause of indexing problems after a move.
Want us to handle it? See our Shopify migration service.
Questions, answered
Will I lose rankings when I move to Shopify?
Some movement is normal. With complete redirects and preserved content, most stores recover within weeks. Missing redirects cause the lasting losses.
Can Shopify change the /products/ URL structure?
No. Shopify's URL structure is fixed, which is why redirects are essential.
Should I redirect deleted products?
Redirect them to the closest relevant product or collection. If nothing is relevant, letting the URL return a 404 is acceptable.
Keep reading
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