Shopify Insights for Smarter Ecommerce Growth
Explore actionable ecommerce tips, Shopify how-to guides, industry trends, and proven strategies built around the challenges merchants face every day.
10 Min • 12 November 2026
Shopify for Handmade Goods: How to Sell Craft Items in 2026
You make things by hand. Now you want a place to sell them where the brand, the customers, and the profit stay with you. Shopify for handmade goods does that well, whether you pour soy candles or stitch leather wallets. As a Shopify agency, we’ve worked with merchants who now run successful businesses. Many of them started by selling handmade goods from home. Shopify even has a dedicated page for selling handcrafts. But is it worth it? For most makers who want their own brand and customer list, yes. Here’s why, and how to set it up. Can You Sell Handmade Items on Shopify? Yes. Shopify has no rule that limits handmade products. You can sell one-of-a-kind pieces, small batches, personalized orders, craft kits, and even digital patterns from the same store. Shopify is a store builder, so there's no handmade review process at all. You can mix handmade pieces with supplies or printed merch if it fits your brand. A few limits still apply. Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy bans certain products in every store. Some handmade categories also carry their own rules where you sell. Cosmetics, candles, food, and children's items often need specific labels, safety testing, or permits. Check your local rules before launch. Our guide to laws and regulations every Shopify seller should know is a good starting checklist. Why Shopify for Handmade Goods Works in 2026 Shopify works for handmade goods because you keep control of your brand, your margins, and your buyers. You pay a monthly plan and card processing. Use Shopify Payments, and there's no extra transaction fee on top. Demand is there too. IMARC Group puts the US handicrafts market at USD 372.05 billion in 2026. They credit part of that growth to shoppers who want unique, handmade, and artisan products. Here's what makes the platform practical for makers right now: Shopify now allows up to 2,048 variants per product for every merchant. Size, color, finish, and engraving combos can all live on one product page. Shopify POS lets you sell at craft fairs and pop-up markets using the same stock count as your website. Since March 2026, Shopify's Agentic Storefronts can show products from eligible stores inside ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google's AI Mode. You manage it all from your Shopify admin. Every buyer's email belongs to you. Repeat orders don't depend on a marketplace algorithm. Does Shopify Make Products for You? No. Shopify doesn't make, stock, or ship products. It runs your storefront, checkout, payments, and orders. Making the product is on you or a production partner you choose. You have three practical routes: Make everything yourself. Every piece is truly handmade, and your brand story rests on it. Add print on demand for extras. Apps like Printify and Printful print and ship items such as totes or mugs after an order comes in. Shopify itself doesn't print or ship them. Keep these separate from your handmade line so buyers know what they're getting. Stock other brands with Shopify Collective. If you're eligible, you can sell products from other Shopify brands. Someone else still makes them. A merchant who wanted to open a handmade Shopify store A year ago, a merchant came to us who cut and stitched leather wallets by hand in a spare room after work. He'd sold a few to friends and had a small Etsy shop. His first question on our call was simple: "Does Shopify make the wallets, or do I?" We told him Shopify would run the store and he'd keep doing the making. Next, we looked at his plan. He wanted to launch with 30 designs in six leather colors. Making 180 combinations by hand would have meant months of work before his first sale. So we suggested a leaner launch: Five core designs. Initials embossing as a paid option on each product page. A clear "made to order, ships in 5 to 7 days" note near the Add to Cart button. We kept his Etsy shop open for discovery and connected it to Shopify with a sync app. For the branded totes he wanted at local markets, we pointed him to a print-on-demand partner. His launch was smaller than he first pictured. But it was also a store he could run alone, with promises he could keep to his customers. How to Start Selling Handmade Items on Shopify Start small, price for your time, and build product pages that show how each piece is made. The six steps below follow the order we use when we set up a handmade store for a client. 1. Pick a focused first collection Launch with a handful of pieces you can make well and repeat. A tight catalog is easier to photograph, price, and restock. Add new designs once you know what sells. 2. Price for your time, not just materials Add up materials, packaging, and your hours at a fair hourly rate. On top of that, add overhead, platform fees, and your profit margin. Many new makers skip the labor time and end up working for free. If the final price feels high for the customers, your photos and story need to show why it's worth it. 3. Choose your Shopify plan Most makers start on the Basic plan. In the US, it's $29 a month billed yearly or $39 billed monthly, and prices vary by country. Upgrade later when your sales justify lower card rates. Read our guide to Shopify pricing plans, which breaks down each tier. 4. Pick a theme built for a craft store A Shopify craft store needs room for stories, close-up photos, and process shots. Shopify's free Craft theme was made for this, with sections designed to bring craftsmanship to life. Here's our walkthrough of the Shopify Craft theme. Horizon, Shopify's newer free theme, is a solid pick if you want a more modern base. 5. Write product pages that show the making Handmade buyers want to see the hands behind the product. Show the process, the materials, the exact size, and care instructions. Say upfront that each piece varies slightly. Natural light and a plain background go a long way. Use the words buyers actually search for in product titles and descriptions. "Hand-thrown ceramic mug" is much better than "Homemade Mug" every time. Our Shopify SEO guide walks through the rest. 6. Set up personalization and made-to-order Add custom text fields, swatches, or file uploads so buyers can personalize their order. Our guide on adding product personalization in Shopify compares Shopify's own options with apps. If you make in batches, set up preorders on Shopify and show the production time on every product page. Adding clear lead times stops most "where's my order?" emails from customers. One last thing before launch. Weigh each item packed, not bare, so your shipping rates come out right. A handwritten thank-you note costs almost nothing and makes the order feel personal. Shopify vs Etsy for Handmade Sellers Etsy gives you instant traffic. Shopify gives you ownership. Most growing makers end up using both. Etsy's reach is real. The marketplace reported about 88 million active buyers in its Q3 2026 shareholder letter. You pay for that reach on every order, though. In the US, Etsy charges a 6.5% transaction fee, a $0.20 listing fee, and payment processing of 3% plus $0.25. Shopify and Etsy Fee at a Glance FeeEtsyShopify (Basic plan)Monthly planNone$29 billed yearly or $39 monthlyListing fee$0.20 per listingNoneTransaction fee6.5% of the order totalNone with Shopify PaymentsPayment processing3% plus $0.25Card rate set by your plan On Shopify, you pay a plan fee plus card processing. The tradeoff is that you bring your own traffic through search, social, email, and in-person sales. Read more about the Etsy vs. Shopify comparison to choose between the two. Our guide on how to integrate Etsy with Shopify also covers how to sync both platforms. 3 Handmade Shopify Stores to Learn From These three handmade Shopify stores sell very different crafts, and each one does something worth copying. Popov Leather: handmade leather goods Popov Leather makes belts, wallets, and bags by hand in its workshop in Nelson, British Columbia. It started as a basement hobby with early sales on Etsy. Today, a full workshop team sells through its own Shopify store. Most wallets can be laser-engraved with a name or initials. Every piece carries a lifetime guarantee, and customer photo reviews back up the quality. East Fork: handmade pottery East Fork makes pottery in Asheville, North Carolina, with regional materials. Their pottery is made by humans and reduction-fired in Asheville. Their product pages help buyers know exactly where each item comes from. The company always sells its standard colors but releases limited-edition seasonal colors to keep customers coming back for more. Pura Vida Bracelets: artisan-made jewelry Pura Vida Bracelets began in 2010, when two friends met bracelet makers in Costa Rica and chose to partner with them. Handmade string bracelets are still the heart of the brand, which moved from Magento to Shopify Plus as it grew. The strategy that works for them is the monthly Bracelet Club subscription, which turns one-time buyers into repeat customers. Getting Your Handmade Business Live on Shopify Shopify for handmade goods works best when you treat your store as a home base. Etsy, markets, and social media can feed it, but your store holds the brand and the customer list. Start with a small collection, price for your time, and let your product pages tell the story. Rather spend your hours making than configuring? Talk to our experts who can handle the Shopify store setup while you focus on the craft. FAQs 1. Is Shopify good for handmade goods? Yes. Shopify suits makers who want their own brand, customer data, and pricing control. It doesn't bring built-in traffic like Etsy, so plan how you'll market the store from day one. 2. How much does it cost to start a handmade Shopify store? The Basic plan costs $29 a month billed yearly or $39 monthly in the US. Also budget for a domain, card processing on each sale, packaging, and any paid apps you add. 3. Can I sell on Shopify and Etsy at the same time? Yes, and many makers do. Use a third-party sync app to keep inventory and orders aligned, since Shopify's Marketplace Connect no longer takes new Etsy connections. 4. Do I need a business license to sell handmade items on Shopify? It depends on where you live and what you sell. Shopify lets individuals open a store, but your city, state, or country may require a license or tax registration. Food, cosmetics, and children's products usually have extra rules. 5. Can you sell handmade items on Shopify? Yes. Shopify has no rules that limit handmade products. You can sell one-of-a-kind pieces, small batches, personalized orders, and craft kits from your own store. There’s no handmade review process like the one on Etsy, but it's always better to check your local rules before you launch. 6. Does Shopify make products for you? No. Shopify runs your storefront, checkout, payments, and orders. It doesn’t make, stock, or ship products. As a handmade seller, you make your own pieces. For extras like printed totes or mugs, a print-on-demand app such as Printify or Printful can make and ship them after each order.
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9 Min • 2 November 2026
Hydrogen Shopify Theme vs Shopify’s New Theme Architecture: What to Build in 2027
Shopify's Fall '26 Edition went live on October 28, 2026. Its Storefronts section puts two big updates side by side: a new theme architecture for Liquid and a rebuilt Hydrogen. We have been building both headless stores and customized themes for merchants for almost 10 years. This new update does make the choice between the two difficult. So let’s break down how both theme storefront architectures fare in 2027. What Shopify Changed for Themes and Hydrogen in Fall '26 Edition Fall '26 gave Liquid themes a new way to build pages. It also turned Hydrogen into a toolkit that works with any JavaScript framework. Neither one replaces the other. On the theme side, developers can now compose pages directly in Liquid with blocks. Markdown files guide AI agents, and Tailwind styling is built in. Canvas, Shopify’s new Sidekick design surface, runs on this architecture. Sidekick made more than 25 million theme edits in the first half of 2026, according to Shopify's Canvas announcement. On the headless side, the new Hydrogen became available on October 14. The Edition highlights customer accounts, predictive search, agent skills, and one-click deployments to Vercel. Both paths also get the same agent tools. Shopify's developer update says every Liquid and Hydrogen storefront now has WebMCP tools. Browser agents can search products, update the cart, and check out once the buyer approves. Agent readiness is no longer a reason to pick one over the other. For everything else in the release, read our Shopify Editions Fall 2026 breakdown. What Is a Shopify Hydrogen? When merchants say "Hydrogen theme," they usually mean a starter template. Shopify Hydrogen isn't a theme in the Theme Store sense. A theme is Liquid code that Shopify hosts and renders, and your team edits it in the theme editor. Hydrogen is a toolkit developers use to build and host a separate storefront app. Shopify's Hydrogen docs say it doesn't ship a component library. Your app owns the UI, routing, data loading, images, and SEO. Checkout stays on Shopify either way. How the Shopify Hydrogen Framework Works Now Until recently, Hydrogen was a framework built on React Router. Since October 2026, it works as a library that adds Shopify commerce to the stack you already use. In the earlier versions, you needed to build your whole storefront on Hydrogen to use its cart or analytics. The new version plugs into your existing app instead. Hydrogen handles the cart, variants, Market pricing, Shop Pay, customer accounts, and analytics that respect shopper consent. Your framework handles routing, data loading, and rendering. Shopify lists Next.js, React Router, Nuxt, Astro, and SvelteKit as supported. Packaged bindings cover React and Vue. Hosting is flexible too. Oxygen, Shopify's own hosting, stays free on paid plans. Shopify's Oxygen docs allow one public environment on Starter through Advanced and 25 on Shopify Plus. Here's how that fits into Shopify Plus vs Advanced if you run several brands or regions. Existing Hydrogen stores keep working. Shopify now labels versions from April 2026 and earlier as legacy and recommends migrating. Adoption is small but growing fast. StoreLeads counted 5,216 stores running Hydrogen in its October 2026 report, up 118.5% year over year. Hydrogen vs Shopify Theme: Side by Side A Liquid theme gives you a faster launch, built-in hosting, and full app support. Hydrogen gives you full control of the frontend, and your team carries everything that comes with it. Liquid themeHydrogen storefrontWhat you getA theme Shopify hosts and rendersA frontend app your team builds and hostsContent editingTheme editor, Canvas, and SidekickWhatever CMS or tools you set upStorefront appsApp blocks and app embeds workWidgets need custom integrationHostingIncluded with ShopifyOxygen, Vercel, or another hostSEO basicsHandled by the themeBuilt and maintained by your teamSkills neededLiquid, HTML, CSSA JavaScript framework and the Storefront APIUpkeepTheme and app updatesFramework, dependency, and API upgradesAI agent toolsWebMCP includedWebMCP included Shopify's own headless guide is direct about cost. It suggests going headless only when themes and apps can't meet the store's needs, because headless costs more to build and run. Apps are the row most owners underestimate. Hydrogen now uses the same standard storefront events as Liquid themes, which helps apps that listen for cart changes. The visible widget still has to be built into your app. Is There a Free Hydrogen Shopify Theme? Hydrogen itself is free, and Shopify's docs list two free starter templates. The build and the upkeep are where the money goes. The first is a React Router template that deploys to Oxygen. The second is Vercel Shop, an open-source Next.js template built on the new Hydrogen SDK. Both give developers a starting point, not a finished storefront like a Theme Store theme. If a third-party template calls itself a free Hydrogen theme, check which Hydrogen version it targets first. On the Liquid side, free really means free. Shopify's performance guide says the Horizon family and Shopify's Online Store 2.0 themes are free and optimized for performance. Featured paid themes on the Theme Store ranged from $170 to $500 when our team checked on 30, 2026. Starting with a free theme? Our guides to Shopify Horizon themes and the best free Shopify themes are good next reads. Does Hydrogen Make a Store Faster Than a Theme? Not by default. Most measured Shopify stores already pass Core Web Vitals, and slow stores usually suffer from apps, scripts, and images. An October 2026 HTTP Archive analysis covered 716,063 Shopify storefronts. Among stores with enough Chrome traffic to measure, 83% passed all three mobile Core Web Vitals. The same study found that 43% of Dawn stores run a version more than two years old. Shopify's performance guide points the same way. Every app, image, and script you add can slow a store down. Apps can't create script tags since October 1, 2026, and Shopify stops loading them on March 1, 2027. Hydrogen raises the ceiling for interactive experiences. It also hands your team every performance decision. Our Shopify speed optimization service starts with an audit before anyone talks about a rebuild. How One Store Owner Chose Between Hydrogen and a Theme A cosmetics brand came to the Identixweb team with a Hydrogen proposal from another vendor. The owner's brief was short. The store felt slow, and the product page looked like every other theme. The team asked for the app list before talking about frameworks. Reviews, subscriptions, loyalty points, and a cart upsell all added their widgets through app blocks. On Hydrogen, each one would need an API integration or a replacement. A speed audit came next. Most of the weight sat in an outdated theme version and uncompressed hero images. Script tags from apps the store had already removed were still loading too. The owner chose a theme rebuild with custom theme blocks for the product page. Those blocks also hold their value. Shopify's tag renders the same theme blocks stores use today, so the work carries into the new architecture. The owner didn’t rule out Hydrogen completely. The brand plans to add a product finder later, where shoppers answer a few questions and get matched to products. A feature like that needs more custom interaction than a theme handles well. So the plan is to build only the product finder with Hydrogen and keep the rest of the store on the theme. When to Choose Hydrogen and When to Choose a Theme Most stores should start with a theme. Hydrogen earns its cost when one specific requirement can't be met inside a theme. Choose a Liquid theme when: Your marketing team edits pages every week without a developer. Revenue depends on storefront apps like reviews, upsells, or subscriptions. Your speed problems trace back to apps, images, or an old theme version. You want Sidekick and Canvas to edit the store. Choose Hydrogen when: You need an experience a theme can't deliver, like a 3D configurator. Content and commerce live in separate systems, such as a headless CMS. Your team already works in Next.js or React Router and can own a frontend for years. You're on Plus and need several custom storefronts. Still weighing a custom build against a theme? Here's our take on buying a theme vs hiring a theme developer. Get a Free Theme and Architecture Review The choice between a Hydrogen Shopify theme and a Liquid theme comes down to your apps and your team. It also depends on what your current theme actually blocks. Identixweb offers a free theme and architecture review. The team checks your theme version, app blocks, script tags, speed bottlenecks, and Canvas readiness. You get a clear call: refresh the theme, rebuild on blocks, or plan a Hydrogen build. > Book your free theme and architecture review FAQs 1. Is Shopify Hydrogen a theme? No. The Shopify Hydrogen framework is a toolkit for building a custom storefront app outside Shopify's theme system. Themes are Liquid files that Shopify hosts and renders. 2. Can you get a Hydrogen Shopify theme for free? Yes. The Hydrogen library and its starter templates are free, and Oxygen hosting costs nothing extra on paid plans. You still pay for development and ongoing maintenance. 3. Which Shopify plans support Hydrogen on Oxygen? Oxygen comes at no extra charge on Starter, Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus. Starter plan through Advanced get one public environment, and Plus gets 25. Development stores and trial plans can deploy too, but their URLs need a store login. 4. Is Hydrogen better for SEO than a Liquid theme? Not automatically. Both can rank well. A theme comes with Shopify's built-in sitemap and SEO fields. On Hydrogen, your app owns SEO, so your developers build metadata, structured data, and redirect themselves. 5. Can I use Canvas with a Hydrogen storefront? No. Canvas edits Liquid themes. At launch, it supports themes made by Shopify and custom themes, not third-party Theme Store themes. 6. Do Shopify apps work with Hydrogen? Backend apps work the same way. Apps that add widgets through app blocks or app embeds don't show up on Hydrogen automatically. They need an API integration or a replacement.
10 Min • 27 August 2026
How to Set Up Shopify Shipping Profiles (Products, Locations, & More)
To set up a custom shipping profile in Shopify, go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Shipping and delivery → Shipping profiles → Add custom profile. Add the required products or variants, assign fulfillment locations, create shipping zones, and configure shipping rates based on your requirements. Custom shipping profiles help merchants manage different shipping rules for products like fragile, heavy, oversized, or region-specific items without affecting their entire catalog. Shipping gets complicated when you can't treat every product the same way. A T-shirt, glass vase, and 20-pound bag of pet food might all sit in the same Shopify store. But charging the same shipping rate for each can hurt your margins. Shopify shipping profiles solve this by grouping products with similar shipping needs. It controls where they ship from, where they can ship to, and what customers pay. This guide covers products, variants, fulfillment locations, shipping zones, rates, multiple warehouses, and the checkout issues merchants should test before going live. What Are Shopify Shipping Profiles? Shopify defines a shipping profile as a set of shipping rules for specific products and locations. Stores get a General shipping profile by default, while custom profiles handle products that need different rates. Shipping profileBest forWhat happensGeneral shipping profileProducts using the same shipping ratesProducts stay here unless moved to a custom profileCustom shipping profileFragile, oversized, heavy, or other special productsSelected products or variants get their own locations, zones, and rates Shopify currently allows up to 99 custom shipping profiles for stores using the shipping-profile system. A product or variant can belong to only one profile at a time. Adding it to another profile automatically removes it from the previous one. When do you need a custom shipping profile? You need a custom shipping profile when certain products need different shipping rules from the rest of your catalog. I will explain this better with a few examples below: Furniture or oversized products: Use a separate profile when these products need higher flat rates or special delivery charges. Fragile items: Create one when products such as glassware require extra packaging and higher shipping costs. Heavy products: Use a separate profile if shipping charges need to be calculated differently based on weight. Products sold only in selected regions: Use a separate profile when certain items should ship only to specific countries, states, or regions. Products with free shipping: Create a profile when only selected products should qualify for a $0 shipping rate. Products needing carrier-calculated rates: Use a separate profile when only certain products need live carrier rates instead of your standard flat rates. If most products follow the same shipping rules, keep them in the General shipping profile and create custom profiles only where there is a real difference in cost, location, or delivery requirement. What to prepare before setting up a shipping profile Before creating a profile, I normally map these four things. 1. Products Decide which products or variants genuinely need different shipping treatment. For example, a home decor store will keep cushions and small accessories in the General profile. They move large mirrors into a custom profile because they require protective packaging and higher shipping charges. 2. Fulfillment locations Check where the products are stocked and fulfilled. Locations can represent warehouses, retail stores, fulfillment partners, and other order origins. When a shipping profile is created, eligible online-fulfillment locations are added to it. Locations can share one location group when they use the same zones and rates, or be separated when shipping rules differ. 3. Shipping zones A shipping zone is a group of countries or regions that share shipping rates. You might create zones such as Domestic, Canada, Europe, or selected international countries. Want to sell internationally? Here’s my breakdown of international shipping on Shopify for merchants in 2026. 4. Shipping rates Shopify supports flat rates, order-value-based rates, weight-based rates, carrier or app-calculated rates, and free shipping. Shipping in Shopify can be complicated. Here are my top Shopify shipping strategies to increase sales in 2026. How to create a Shopify shipping profile step by step Step 1: Open Shipping and Delivery From the Shopify admin, go to: Settings > Shipping and delivery Under Shipping profiles, you will see the General profile and any existing custom profiles. Step 2: Create a custom shipping profile Click Add custom profile and enter a clear name, such as: Heavy Products Fragile Items Furniture Free Shipping Products US Warehouse Products Step 3: Add products or variants You can also see the Products section just below the Profile name section. A product or variant can belong to only one shipping profile at a time. This becomes especially useful when only certain variants need different shipping rules, while the rest of the product can stay in the General profile. For example, a merchant selling framed prints might keep the standard-size variants in the General profile. They will move only the oversized frame variant into a custom profile if it needs higher shipping charges, different packaging, or a different fulfillment method. Step 4: Configure fulfillment locations Review Fulfillment locations. If several warehouses should use the same zones and prices, keep them in the same location group. If one warehouse needs different rules, separate it. For example: New York: United States Each location group can have its own zones and rates. Step 5: Create shipping zones For each location group, click Add zone, name it, select the countries or regions, and click Done. For example, a US merchant may create a West Coast zone for California, Oregon, and Washington with a lower shipping rate. They may place Alaska and Hawaii in a separate zone because delivery there costs more. Separate zones help merchants charge rates that better reflect the actual cost of shipping to different regions. Build zones around actual delivery coverage and cost. If certain regions are significantly more expensive to serve, separate rates will be more practical. Step 6: Add shipping rates Inside each zone, click Add shipping option and choose the rate type. Flat rate: Charge one fixed amount, such as $7 for Standard Shipping. This works well when shipping costs are predictable. Order amount-based rate: Change shipping by cart value. A store could charge $8 below $50, $5 from $50 to $99.99, and offer free shipping from $100. Weight-based rate: Charge according to shipment weight. This suits food, hardware, liquids, bulk goods, and similar products. Make sure product weights are accurate, and your tiers cover the full expected weight range. Carrier or app-calculated rate: Let an eligible carrier or app calculate shipping from information such as weight, destination, and package details. Step 7: Save and test Click Save, then place test orders using realistic combinations: A product from the General profile A product from a custom profile Products from two profiles Products fulfilled from different locations Different domestic or international addresses Orders above and below free-shipping thresholds Free shipping can be a great tool to increase conversions. Here’s my complete guide to Shopify free shipping strategies for merchants. Need Help Configuring Your Shopify Shipping Settings? As product catalogs, fulfillment locations, shipping zones, and rate rules grow, managing everything accurately can become difficult. For example, a merchant may sell standard products from one warehouse, oversized items from another, and charge different rates for Alaska and Hawaii. If these rules are not configured properly, customers may see the wrong rate, duplicate charges, or no suitable shipping option at checkout. That’s where Identixweb can help. Our Shopify Store Settings Configuration service helps merchants configure complex shipping, payment, tax, and checkout settings so everything works correctly together. What happens when products come from different profiles? I get this question a lot. Under the current shipping-profile system, Shopify can combine shipping rates when an order contains products from different profiles or requires different location groups. Example: ProductProfile shipping rateT-shirt$4Fragile mug$7Possible combined charge$11 In this case, the customer may see an $11 shipping charge at checkout because Shopify is combining the applicable rates from both profiles. The setup may be technically correct, but the final charge can still feel high to the customer. That’s why merchants should test mixed-profile orders before going live, especially when customers commonly buy products from different profiles together. This helps confirm that the final shipping cost is reasonable and avoids unexpected checkout charges. Common Shopify shipping profile mistakes I see #1 Creating too many profiles This is the most common mistake I encounter with merchants. More profiles do not automatically improve shipping. Start with the General profile and add a custom profile only when a real cost, destination, or fulfillment difference exists. #2 Ignoring mixed-cart costs A rate that looks reasonable for one item but when the customer adds another item with a different profile, the shipping rates increase. Always test mixed carts before creating a profile. #3 Using inaccurate weights Weight-based and calculated rates depend on accurate product data. Incorrect weights can lead to inaccurate checkout charges. #4 Creating zones without checking markets A country appearing in a shipping zone is not enough if that country is not in an active market. Set up Shopify shipping profiles the right way A well-planned Shopify shipping profile helps merchants charge more accurate shipping rates without making fulfillment unnecessarily complicated. The key is to group products only when their shipping costs, destinations, or fulfillment requirements are genuinely different. Start simple, test mixed-product carts, review location-based rates, and update profiles whenever products, warehouses, or shipping costs change. A clean setup makes checkout easier for customers and shipping easier to manage as the store grows. FAQs 1. How to add products to a shipping profile in your Shopify store? Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Shipping profiles, open or create a custom profile, and select the products you want to add from the Products section. A product or variant can belong to only one shipping profile at a time, so adding it to a custom profile automatically removes it from its previous profile. 2. What is the difference between a general and custom shipping profile? The General shipping profile is Shopify's default profile and automatically applies to products that aren't assigned to a custom profile. A custom shipping profile is used when certain products need different shipping rates, zones, or fulfillment rules, such as fragile, heavy, or oversized items. 3. Can I offer free shipping for any selected products? Yes. To offer free shipping only on selected products, add those products to a custom shipping profile and create a flat shipping rate with the price set to $0 or enable free shipping for that rate. 4. Does shipping increase when customers buy two products in different shipping profiles? Yes. When products from different shipping profiles are purchased together, Shopify combines their applicable shipping rates and displays one total rate at checkout, which will make the final shipping charge higher. 5. Should I use flat or carrier-calculated shipping rates in Shopify? Use flat rates when shipping costs are predictable, and you want a simple, consistent checkout experience. Use carrier-calculated rates when costs vary significantly by destination, package weight, dimensions, or delivery speed.
12 Min • 14 September 2026
How to Migrate From Wix to Shopify: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
A Wix to Shopify migration can be handled manually with CSV files, through a migration app, or by hiring a Shopify expert. Before migrating, audit and back up your Wix store, choose the right migration method, and prepare products, customers, content, and URLs. After migration, rebuild store settings, set up 301 redirects, connect your domain, test checkout and tracking, and monitor SEO performance after launch. I've walked a lot of store owners through a Wix to Shopify migration. People expect the hard part to be moving products. It's not. The hard part is the stuff nobody warns you about: The image links that break The orders that won't import The redirects that decide whether you keep your Google rankings and much more. Get those right, and the move feels easy. Here's how to migrate from Wix to Shopify the way I do it on real projects. What actually transfers from Wix to Shopify (and what doesn't) Store data/featureTransfers to Shopify?What happensProductsYesMove through CSV or a migration appVariants, prices & SKUsYesCan be included with product dataCustomersYesNames, emails, addresses, and tags can be exported and importedProduct imagesPartlyWix exports image URLs, so images should be moved and re-hosted on ShopifyCollectionsNo, not directlyRecreate them in ShopifyOrder historyNot nativelyUse a migration app to import historical ordersTheme & designNoRebuild the storefront using a Shopify themeCustom codeNoRebuild or adapt it for ShopifyWix apps & settingsNoReplace them with Shopify apps or native featuresDiscount codesNoRecreate them in ShopifyProduct reviewsNot directlyMove them using a compatible reviews app such as Judge.me, Loox, or Yotpo Choosing your migration method: Manual, app, or expert Manual CSV migration This is free and gives you full control. You export from Wix, reformat the files to match Shopify's exact column headers, save them as UTF-8, and import. It works well for small catalogs, roughly under 500 products, if you're comfortable with a spreadsheet. A migration app Apps like Matrixify are the ones I choose for bulk work because they handle messy field mapping and let you catch errors before they hit your live store. For order history specifically, tools like LitExtension can automate what the CSV method can't. Hiring a migration agency This is an ideal choice for large or complex stores, or when downtime and lost rankings would cost you more than the project fee. A specialist maps URLs you didn't know were indexed and tests things you'd never think to check. If you'd rather hand it off, that's exactly what our Shopify store setup and migration service is for. Our developers handle the technical details carefully, making sure your store is moved and set up without disrupting how your business operates. How to migrate from Wix to Shopify step by step Step 1: Audit and back up your Wix store Before you move anything, take stock of what is currently on your Wix store. List your products, collections, customers, orders, pages, blog posts, reviews, apps, custom code, and any URLs that already get organic traffic or backlinks. Export copies of your products, contacts, and order data from Wix. I also recommend saving a list of your important URLs, page titles, meta descriptions, and other SEO data so you have something to compare against after migration. Step 2: Set up your Shopify account Build your Shopify store before you start moving data from Wix. Add your basic business information and familiarize yourself with the Shopify admin. Keep your existing Wix store live while you build and test the new store. Build your Shopify store in parallel so customers can continue shopping on Wix until the products, settings, redirects, and checkout are ready. Step 3: Choose your Wix to Shopify migration method The right migration method depends on how much data you have and how complicated your store is. For a smaller catalog, you can migrate Wix to Shopify manually using CSV files, while larger stores may be easier to handle with a migration app or a Shopify migration expert. Step 4: Migrate your products and images Export your products from Wix and prepare the CSV according to Shopify’s product format. Before importing, check how your product options are structured. Wix allows up to 6 product options, while Shopify allows up to 3 option types per product. Shopify supports up to 2,048 variants per product, so the bigger issue is usually how those variants are organized. If a product uses more than three options, you may need to restructure it or move supporting information into Shopify metafields. Product images also need extra attention. A few months ago, I was on a call with a home and kitchen store owner who had already moved her products from Wix and built her new Shopify store over the weekend. Everything looked ready, and she was about to take the Wix site offline. I asked her to check the product images first. The images looked fine, but Shopify was still importing them using URLs hosted through Wix. Taking the old store down too early could have interrupted that process. We kept Wix live until the images had been fully imported and checked the main product pages again before switching over. Since then, I’ve followed one simple rule: don’t take your Wix store offline until you’ve confirmed that your products and images have been successfully imported into Shopify. Before moving on, verify prices, SKUs, variants, inventory, descriptions, and images across a sample of your products. Step 5: Migrate customers and order history Export your customer data from Wix, reformat it using Shopify’s customer CSV template, and import it into the Customers section of your Shopify admin. Check names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, tags, and marketing consent carefully before importing. Wix and Shopify structure customer data differently, so even a small formatting issue can create incomplete records. Customer passwords won’t move to Shopify. This is less of a problem now because Shopify deprecated legacy customer accounts in 2026 in favor of passwordless customer accounts. Customers can sign in using a one-time code sent to their email, with additional options such as Shop and passkeys where available. Historical orders need a separate migration method. They don’t come across through Shopify’s standard customer CSV, so if you need old Wix orders inside Shopify, use a migration app such as Matrixify or a dedicated migration service. Step 6: Move pages, blogs, reviews, and other content Once your products and customer data are in place, move the content outside your catalog. For a smaller Wix site, pages and blog posts can often be recreated manually. If you have a large content library, a migration app can make the process faster. Don’t copy only the visible text. Re-upload any images that were hosted on Wix, update internal links so they point to the new Shopify URLs, and recreate important SEO elements such as meta titles, meta descriptions, headings, and image alt text. Reviews also need separate attention because they don’t move through Shopify’s standard product import. Check whether the Shopify review app you plan to use supports importing your existing Wix reviews before launch. Step 7: Build your Shopify theme and configure Store settings Your Wix design does not transfer directly to Shopify, so the storefront needs to be rebuilt using a Shopify theme. Then configure the settings that don't simply come across with your store data. Set up your payment provider, shipping methods and rates, taxes, policies, notifications, and any Shopify apps you need before opening the store to customers. Step 8: Set up Wix-to-Shopify 301 redirects Wix and Shopify use different URL structures, which means many of your existing URLs will change during migration. Create a URL plan that matches each important Wix page with the most relevant new Shopify page instead of sending everything to the homepage. In Shopify, you can create redirects under Content > Menus > View URL Redirects, or import redirects in bulk using a CSV file. Step 9: Connect or transfer your domain Once the Shopify store is ready, connect your existing domain so customers can continue using the same website address. If your domain is managed through Wix, you can update its DNS settings to point it to Shopify while continuing to manage the domain through Wix. You can also transfer an eligible domain to Shopify if you want to manage the domain, billing, and renewal from Shopify instead. Step 10: Test your Shopify store and go live Before launch, place test orders and go through the store exactly as a customer would. Check product pages, navigation, search, checkout, payments, shipping rates, taxes, inventory, discount codes, email notifications, mobile pages, and your most important 301 redirects. Important Wix to Shopify Migration issues 1. Data can change during migration If customers are still ordering from Wix while Shopify is being built, run a final check before launch so recent orders, customers, and inventory changes aren't missed. 2. Wix apps don't transfer Review features such as reviews, subscriptions, forms, loyalty programs, personalization, and marketing tools, then find Shopify replacements where necessary. 3. Protect your SEO Keep your important URLs, set up 301 redirects, update internal links, and make sure valuable pages haven't disappeared during the move. 4. Check your tracking Verify Google Analytics, Search Console, advertising pixels, conversion tracking, and other integrations after launch. Finally, don't delete your Wix store or migration files immediately. Keep access to the old data until you've confirmed that Shopify has everything you need. Protecting your SEO during a Wix to Shopify migration Wix and Shopify use completely different URL structures. Every indexed link breaks the moment you switch unless you redirect it. Here's how the URLs change. Wix products live at yourstore.com/product-page/product-name and Wix blog posts at yourstore.com/post/post-slug. Shopify forces its own prefixes. For example, products sit under /products/ and collections under /collections/. A page with the same name and identical content still gets a brand-new URL on Shopify. So before you go live, build a full map from every old Wix URL to its closest new Shopify URL. Set up a 301 redirect for each important page in your Shopify admin under Content > Menus > View URL Redirects. For a big catalog, upload them in bulk with a spreadsheet through Matrixify. A few rules I hold to on every project: Use 301 redirects, never 302s, because Shopify only supports permanent redirects here, and that's what passes your ranking signal. Avoid redirect chains, where an old URL points to a second URL that points to a third. Point every old URL straight to its final destination. Pay special attention to your blog. Blog posts are often the pages with the most backlinks pointing at them. Once you're live, carry over your title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt text, submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console, and watch for crawl errors for the first month. My full Shopify SEO migration guide covers the redirect and metadata workflow in more depth if you want the complete playbook. What it costs to migrate from Wix to Shopify The cost of moving from Wix to Shopify depends on how much data and custom work your store has. A simple DIY migration may only cost your Shopify subscription and your time. If your store has a large catalog, years of orders, custom features, or important SEO traffic, the cost can be higher because you may need a migration app or professional help. Migration is only one part of the total budget. Read my guide to how much it costs to build a Shopify website in 2026 for a broader cost breakdown. Planning your Wix to Shopify migration? A Wix to Shopify migration is easy once you have a plan. Build your Shopify store fully in parallel, re-host your images before you touch the Wix domain, and treat your 301 redirect as the most important task. If you'd rather not manage every step yourself, that's what a Shopify migration agency is for. Either way, do it in the right order, test everything, and you'll come out with a faster store and your rankings intact. FAQs 1. Is Wix cheaper than Shopify? Wix can be cheaper for smaller websites and basic online stores. Shopify is built specifically for ecommerce and includes more advanced selling features. Your actual cost on Shopify depends on the plan, apps, payment processing, and features your store needs. 2. Why do store owners move from Wix to Shopify? Many store owners move from Wix to Shopify when their ecommerce needs become more complex. Shopify is built specifically for commerce, with a dedicated checkout, Shop Pay, support for major payment methods, a large app ecosystem, and built-in tools for selling across channels such as Instagram, TikTok, Google, and Amazon. 3. Is Shopify like Wix? Shopify and Wix both let you build websites and sell online, but their primary focus is different. Wix is a website builder with basic ecommerce features, while Shopify is a dedicated commerce platform designed for businesses that want to sell and scale, both online and offline. 4. How to migrate from Wix to Shopify? You can migrate from Wix to Shopify by exporting your products and customers from Wix and importing them into Shopify using CSV files, Shopify’s Store Migration app where available, or a third-party migration app. For historical orders, Shopify recommends using apps such as LitExtension, Cart2Cart, EZ Importer, or MigrationPro, then rebuilding your storefront, setting up redirects, and testing products, checkout, shipping, payments, and SEO before making the Shopify store live. 5. Can you use Shopify with Wix? Yes. Shopify lets you create a Buy Button or product collection and embed it on a Wix website using Wix's HTML code element, allowing customers to purchase Shopify products from your Wix site.
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