Daily ArchivesApril 7, 2022

If you’re on Shopify but ready to leave, don’t worry. You have many choices for your ecommerce platform. There are many websites like Shopify — but without the restrictions. One of those options is WooCommerce, the open source ecommerce platform.

Keep reading to learn why you’d want to migrate to WooCommerce. And get step by step instructions on how to migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce in this blog.

Why Migrate to WooCommerce?

You may be wondering, why use WooCommerce? One of the main benefits of using WooCommerce for your online store is the cost. This open source, customizable platform is completely free to use.

You do, however, need to consider the fixed costs needed to run this platform, such as:

• Your host
• Your domain
• Payment gateway costs

Depending on what features you select, you may also want to purchase additional items to customize your store, including:

• Premium themes
• Premium plugins

Keep in mind that WordPress plugins may only be a one-time purchase, while Shopify apps may result in a recurring monthly payment. You can learn more about the differences in our article, WooCommerce vs Shopify: Key Differences.

How to Migrate From Shopify to WooCommerce

Now let’s get into the details on how to migrate to WooCommerce. The first thing to do is to set up a Woocommerce plan.

Set Up WooCommerce

Before migrating from Shopify to WooCommerce, WooCommerce needs to be set up. WooCommerce is free to download and use, but you’ll need to find a host for your new site.

There are a number of different hosting solutions available to merchants and freelancers. However, we recommend opting for a WooCommerce cloud solution. Start by visiting our WooCommerce managed hosting page, and selecting the right size solution for your needs.

Not sure what size is right for your store? Talk it over with a member of the Hostdedi team. We’ll provide advice on sizing, integrations, and anything else you need to know.

Once you’ve completed this stage, you’ll be able to log into your Client Portal and access your WooCommerce admin panel.

Make sure the WooCommerce plugin is enabled. Review our WooCommerce tutorial for more step-by-step instructions on setting up your WooCommerce store.

Manually Import/Export Products

Although it may seem a little time-consuming, manually migrating your products is free and relatively straightforward.

1. Export and Download Product Data from Shopify

Log into your Shopify account and navigate to your products in Shopify Account. Then click on export. You can export your products into a CSV file to help with several tasks.

2. Import Products to WooCommerce

In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to WooCommerce → Products.

Select Import at the top. There, you’ll find a built-in product CSV importer that will make the process easier. Click Choose File and select the CSV file that you want to import.

Click Continue and you’ll see the Column Mapping screen, where WooCommerce automatically attempts to match the column name of your Shopify CSV file to WooCommerce product fields. You may need to map some of these on your own — do so using the dropdown menus to the right of each row.

Select Run the Importer and wait until the import process is finished. Then you should have the products migrated from Shopify to WooCommerce.

How to Migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce Using Plugins

Unfortunately, Shopify does not provide an easy way to export data to a WordPress-supported format. We will need to use a few plugins to migrate Shopify to WooCommerce. Let’s take a look at how you can move Shopify to WooCommerce without an expensive migration service.

1. Download Your Shopify Data

Shopify to WooCommerce migrations were not a reliable process in the past. There was no free tool to export your store data from Shopify into WooCommerce. However, the creation of the Shopify to WooCommerce Exporter has made migration easy.

First, visit the Shopify to WooCommerce website. From here, you need to enter your Shopify website URL and provide an email address.

Click the submit button to continue. It will take you to your store’s Shopify admin section, where you can download the app to automatically create a Shopify account API key for data migration. Simply click on the Install App button at the bottom to continue.

On the next screen, the app will show you the data it will export using the Shopify API. Currently, it exports all your product data, product categories, customer data, and orders.

Note: Currently, the app does not export your Shopify pages or blog posts. You’ll need to manually import them into WordPress. You’ll need to provide an email address where you’ll receive a link to download the export file.

You can go ahead and download the export file to your computer.

2. Import Shopify Data in WooCommerce

You have now exported your Shopify data. Next, you need to import it to your WooCommerce store. To do so, you need to switch to the admin area of your WordPress website.

You need to install and activate the Import Shopify To WP plugin. From there, select the Choose File button to select and export the file you want to import.

Click on the Upload button to continue. Next, you’ll see a list of exported products found in your upload file. Simply click on the Start Import button to begin importing them into your WooCommerce store.

The plugin will now start importing your data. You’ll be able to see the progress of your upload on the screen. Click on the continue button to move forward.

The plugin will now start importing your data. You’ll be able to see the progress of your upload on the screen.

4. Customizing Your WooCommerce Store

Now that you’ve successfully migrated your products, orders, and other shop data from Shopify to WooCommerce, it’s time to finish setting up your WooCommerce store.

This includes choosing a design, installing add-ons for additional options and functionality, and choosing tools to grow your WordPress website.

You will have to choose the correct theme and plugin according to your site. Once you confirm everything you migrated is in place, you can go live with your store.

Power Your Store With Fully Managed WooCommerce Hosting

Now you know how to migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce.

With WooCommerce, you get maximum customization options if you are comfortable being more hands-on. If the benefits of WooCommerce appeal to you, but you’d like to make setting up your store easier, you have options.

Check out StoreBuilder, which lets you create a unique online store powered by WooCommerce, with no coding required. It also comes with fully managed WooCommerce hosting, so you can just focus on what you do best — selling.

Check out StoreBuilder and fully managed WooCommerce hosting to get started today.

This blog was originally published in May 2020. It has since been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Looking to launch a lucrative business online? If so, chances are you’ve heard about membership sites— or maybe even encountered one while browsing the web.

Sometimes referred to as subscription sites, membership sites offer exclusive content that’s “gated” or exists behind a paywall. This means that only website subscribers or paying members have access to it.

If you’re unsure whether or not a membership website model is right for your online business, this guide is here to help you learn the ins and outs. Keep reading to discover just how a membership site works, its pros and cons, and to explore a few real-world examples of successful membership sites on the web.

How Do Membership Websites Work?

When subscribing to a membership site, each user is given their own unique credentials to login and view exclusive content that non-members are unable to view. Membership sites can offer access to different types of content based on a user’s subscription, which could include free, paid, and/or tiered subscription levels. User subscriptions can also be set to different lengths for exclusive content access, such as one-time, annual, or lifetime access.

Is a Membership Site a Good Fit for My Business?

Typically, users who sign up for access to content on a membership site do so because they are highly interested in a specific niche or community, or hold a high level of respect for the quality and credibility of content the site produces.

This means that business owners who want to launch a successful membership site must create and publish exclusive high-quality content (content that offers something more than free content found elsewhere on the web) on a regular basis for their members to consume.

Common types of membership sites include content like:

• Blogs
• Podcasts
• Vlogs
• News
• Community forums
• Books or ebooks
• Listicles
• Webinars or tutorials
• Online courses
• White papers
• Downloadable content

If you’re interested in creating and publishing informative, engaging content that you can build an online community around, launching a membership site is likely a good fit for your business.

Why Do I Need a Membership Site?

Membership websites can be highly profitable — but a key factor in making a profit is convincing users to subscribe to your site in the first place. To ensure your site can start to earn money via membership fees, you must first have a solid understanding of who your target audience is and where you can find them, as well as a strong foundation of unique evergreen content relevant to your niche.

Once you’re equipped with this information and have valuable content on your membership website ready to share, you can deploy membership marketing plans—such as through search engine-optimized (SEO) blogs, ads published on social media platforms or search engines, or email marketing campaigns—to draw users into your site. In the beginning, you can attract new subscribers by offering teasers to gated content, free membership trials, or discounted memberships for the first month.

The main goal of running a membership site is to gain, maintain, and grow a loyal following that wants to pay for the content you produce on a regular basis. Once this following is well established, membership sites can generate a steady stream of income. For example, if your site has 150 subscribers who have signed up to receive exclusive content for 12 months at $10 per month, you’ll earn $18,000.

Pros of Membership Sites

There are several pros to launching a membership site for your online business, including:

Earn a steady stream of income: Profitable membership sites require subscribers to pay a monthly or annual fee, which allows business owners or entrepreneurs to earn a steady income stream. Membership sites can be a great way to diversify your income streams for your business, or even become a full-fledged business in their own right.

Help those in your community or niche: While running a membership site can earn you money, it also allows you to use your knowledge or expertise to help those in your online community or niche. Users who choose to sign up for your membership site are likely just as passionate about your niche as you are, and they are looking for you to find answers to their questions and gain knowledge to advance their own skills.

Build a loyal following: When a membership site provides accurate, useful, and unique content for its subscribers on a regular basis, those members are more likely to be loyal and not seek information or advice elsewhere. You are also more likely to develop strong relationships with your subscribers, many of which could lead to new business opportunities down the road.

Build your authority: People in your community want to consume content that provides actionable insights, answers their most pressing questions, and helps them grow as individuals. When your membership site content provides comprehensive insights and unique perspectives based on your niche, you are actively demonstrating your authority. This authority could lead to your content being ranked higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), website traffic growth, and more customers that trust your vision in the long run.

Grow your business with reduced overhead: Successful membership sites have the potential to scale quickly, which means your business could grow faster. In addition, membership sites typically don’t require business owners to design and manufacture physical products or deal with inventory management, which reduces overhead.

Cons of Membership Sites

If done incorrectly, launching a membership site can also have a few disadvantages, including:

Slow growth: Membership sites typically sell subscriptions at low price points, which means several subscriptions are necessary to grow. New membership sites are especially prone to slow growth, especially if a business owner or entrepreneur needs to build their content, authority, and audience outreach campaigns from scratch.

Lack of authority: The key to a successful membership site is subject matter authority, as most users likely will not pay for content from an individual or website they are unfamiliar with. It can be a challenge for new business owners or entrepreneurs to build their authority from ground zero, as they will need to establish a proven track record to gain the trust of users in their niche or community.

Longer time commitment: Running a membership site requires a lengthy time commitment, as site subscribers will want to consume new content on a regular basis. At its core, a membership site must continuously prove to its subscribers that the investment is worthwhile, which means new content production will need to be in progress at all times.

3 Examples of Successful Membership Websites

Curious what a high-quality membership site looks like? Here are a few examples of successful membership sites.

1. MasterClass

MasterClass is an online learning platform that offers in-depth lessons delivered by masters who are recognized in their craft. Starting at $15 a month (billed annually), subscribers to MasterClass gain unlimited access to lessons from more than 100 instructors — including professional chefs, actors, photographers, and scientists — with new lessons being uploaded monthly.

2. BassBuzz

BassBuzz is a great example of a membership site that targets a specific niche. This site provides step-by-step instructions for beginners to learn how to play the bass guitar.

While BassBuzz offers free lessons, they also offer more comprehensive instruction in their Beginner to Badass course (with both online and DVD course options) for paying subscribers. BassBuzz offers different one-time price points for their online and DVD course options, but they also provide payment plans for their customers.

3. Play On Purpose

Play On Purpose is a membership site that provides virtual games and exercises to get large groups of people connected with each other and engaged. Members of Play On Purpose — those who pay a one-time fee of $199 for a Lifetime Membership — gain access to over 80 games, as well as tools for facilitating engaging exercises online through Zoom and a curated Spotify playlist. Members also get exclusive invitations, special offers, and discounts to events.

Begin Creating Your Own Membership Site Today

Launching a membership site can be lucrative for business owners or entrepreneurs who have a unique perspective in their niche and engaging, credible content to share.

If you’re interested in learning how to start a membership site, WPQuickStart by Hostdedi is here to make it easy. Powered by Hostdedi’ Fully Managed WordPress Hosting, WPQuickStart provides an easy-to-use set-up wizard, built-in payment integrations, and perfect plugins and themes from Restrict Content Pro — enabling you to build a membership site in a fraction of the time.

Discover the most streamlined and wallet-friendly way to build a membership site on WordPress with WPQuickStart today.