If you've outgrown Squarespace Commerce, you're not alone. Most of my Shopify migration clients hit the same wall — Squarespace is beautiful, but once you're doing serious ecommerce volume, the limits start to bite: clunky inventory, weak shipping logic, no real apps ecosystem, and checkout you can't properly customise.
Migrating to Shopify is the right move for most growing brands. Doing it without tanking your Google rankings or losing customers takes care. Here's the playbook I use for every [Shopify migration](/services/shopify) I run.
When to migrate (and when not to)
You should migrate to Shopify if:
- You're doing £50k+/year in ecommerce revenue
- You need real shipping logic, multi-warehouse, or international tax
- You want subscriptions, B2B, wholesale, or POS in one stack
- You're hitting Squarespace's product variant or inventory limits
- You want a real apps ecosystem (reviews, loyalty, email, finance integrations)
You should stay on Squarespace if:
- You're under £30k/year and growing slowly
- Your site is mostly content + a small shop
- You don't have the budget for a proper migration + Shopify Basic (~£29/month minimum)
The 10-step migration playbook
1. Audit your current Squarespace site
Before you touch anything, export and document:
- Every product (SKU, title, description, price, variants, images)
- Every collection / category
- Every blog post and CMS page
- Every customer (if you allow accounts)
- Every active discount code
- Your top 20 organic URLs (use Google Search Console → Performance → Pages)
That last one is the most important — those are the URLs you must redirect, or you'll lose the rankings you spent years earning.
2. Set up Shopify properly from day one
Don't reuse the default theme demo content. Start clean:
- Pick a fast, modern theme (I usually use Dawn-based custom themes or Sense)
- Set up your tax rates, shipping zones, and payment providers first
- Configure your store currency, weight unit, and order numbering
- Set the storefront password until launch day
3. Migrate products (properly)
You have three options:
- **Manual** — fine for under 50 products, gives you a chance to rewrite descriptions
- **CSV export/import** — Squarespace exports a basic product CSV; Shopify accepts a richer one. Expect 30–60 mins to map columns
- **Migration apps** — Matrixify (formerly Excelify) is the gold standard for anything over 200 SKUs
Rewrite product descriptions as you go — Squarespace product copy is usually short and SEO-thin. This is your chance to add proper [ecommerce SEO](/blog/ecommerce-website-design-uk-2026).
4. Rebuild collections and navigation
Shopify "Collections" replace Squarespace "Categories". Rebuild them deliberately — automated collections (by tag, type, vendor) are far more powerful than manual ones, but only if your product taxonomy is tidy.
5. Migrate blog and CMS content
Squarespace blog posts export as a WordPress-compatible XML file. Shopify accepts that via the Blog Importer app. Re-check formatting on every post — bullet lists, image alt text, internal links.
While you're in there, update internal links to point at the new Shopify URLs (more on URL structure below).
6. Plan your URL structure BEFORE launch
This is where most migrations go wrong. Shopify URLs are opinionated:
- Products: `/products/{handle}`
- Collections: `/collections/{handle}`
- Blog: `/blogs/{blog-handle}/{post-handle}`
- Pages: `/pages/{handle}`
Squarespace uses different patterns. Every changed URL needs a 301 redirect. Build the redirect map in a spreadsheet:
| Old Squarespace URL | New Shopify URL |
| --- | --- |
| /shop/blue-linen-dress | /products/blue-linen-dress |
| /store/category/dresses | /collections/dresses |
| /blog/summer-styling-guide | /blogs/news/summer-styling-guide |
7. Implement 301 redirects
Shopify has a built-in URL redirects tool (Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects). Bulk-import your CSV. Every. Single. URL. that had traffic or backlinks needs a redirect.
Skip this step and you will lose 30–60% of your organic traffic for 3–6 months. I've seen it happen to brands who thought "Google will figure it out." Google does not figure it out.
8. SEO hygiene on the new store
- Set page titles and meta descriptions on every collection, product, and page
- Add proper Open Graph + Twitter card metadata
- Submit a new sitemap.xml to Google Search Console (Shopify generates it at `/sitemap.xml` automatically)
- Add Product, Organization, and BreadcrumbList schema (Dawn-based themes ship most of this; custom themes need it added)
- Verify the new domain in GSC as a separate property
- Re-claim and re-verify your Google Business Profile URL
9. Customer & order migration
- Customers can be imported via CSV (no passwords — they'll need to reset)
- Historical orders typically don't migrate cleanly. If you need them, use Matrixify
- Email your customer list 2 weeks before launch warning them about the password reset
10. Launch day checklist
- [ ] DNS cutover (point your domain at Shopify)
- [ ] Remove storefront password
- [ ] Test checkout end-to-end with a real card
- [ ] Submit new sitemap to Google Search Console
- [ ] Re-verify Bing Webmaster Tools
- [ ] Update Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, Facebook, all socials
- [ ] Email customers announcing the new store + password reset
- [ ] Monitor GSC Coverage report daily for the first 2 weeks
- [ ] Watch Shopify analytics for any unusual cart abandonment
How long does a Squarespace → Shopify migration take?
For a typical small business store (50–300 products):
- DIY: 4–6 weekends of work, plus 3–6 months of SEO recovery if you skip redirects
- Done properly with an agency: 4–6 weeks end-to-end, zero SEO loss
What does a proper migration cost?
I charge from £3,500 for a clean Squarespace → Shopify migration including theme setup, product migration, redirect map, SEO preservation, and launch support. Larger catalogues (1,000+ SKUs) or B2B/subscription requirements push that to £6,000–£12,000.
See full [pricing](/pricing) or read my [Shopify build guide](/services/shopify).
How I can help
I'm a Shopify Partner based in Windsor, working with ecommerce brands across [London](/london) and [the UK](/seo/shopify-agency-uk). I've migrated stores from Squarespace, Wix, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce — without anyone losing their Google rankings.
[Book a free 20-minute migration audit](https://calendly.com/webkatie) and I'll tell you exactly what your migration would involve, what it would cost, and whether it's the right move right now.
You might also like my guides on [Wix vs Shopify](/blog/wix-vs-shopify-uk-2026), [ecommerce website design](/blog/ecommerce-website-design-uk-2026), and [web design pricing](/blog/web-design-pricing-uk-2026).
