WooCommerce Importer FAQs
Ablestar WooCommerce Importer allows you to easily migrate your data, products, orders, customers and reviews from WooCommerce to Shopify. Here are some of our most common questions:
Why are my WooCommerce API credentials wrong?
Between different versions of WooCommerce or WordPress, different extensions installed, and some run on different hosting providers. We have worked hard to make the app compatible for all WooCommerce sites, however occasionally, there might be an outlier site with an issue. If your API credentials are not working or you run into errors, please get in touch so we can help.
How does the migration handle the WooCommerce ‘Description’ and ‘Short Description’ fields?
WooCommerce has a description and short description field for each product, but Shopify only has one description field. Depending on the WooCommerce theme, either of the WooCommerce fields may contain the data you want to import.
If data is present in both WooCommerce fields, our app will combine both during migration and display in the Shopify product description field.
Does the app copy the HTML in product descriptions?
Yes, the app will copy all the HTML content, as-is from your WooCommerce store to your Shopify store.
This means that if your WooCommerce product descriptions have hyperlinks to other pages, those same links will stay present during the migration. Consider whether any redirects will need to be applied on your product description hyperlinks before you migrate your data.
How do multi-level categories work in Shopify?
Unfortunately, Shopify does not support multi-level categories (for example, Men -> Shirts -> Dress Shirts), but there are several ways you can accomplish a similar feel on your Shopify page:
- You can filter collections by product tag, which can give the impression of a collection with a sub-collection. Unfortunately, this workaround oonly support two levels.
- You can create pages on your Shopify site that hold links to all the sub-collections
- You can use third-party apps to use a 'mega menu' on your Shopify store, which will show collections in a nested fashion.
How does the migration handle 'draft' products?
The app will import all WooCommerce products that are in the draft state. After a draft product is imported, it will be visible in the Shopify admin, but it will not be publicly viewable on your store until you choose to publish it.
Can I import only some products from my WooCommerce site?
The app can only import all products currently on your WooCommerce site. To workaround this, we recommend importing all the products first and then deleting products as needed.
If you find yourself in this situation, please let us know before completing the export so we can discount the products deleted and make sure you only pay for the products that you need.
Can I pay for Ablestar WooCommerce Importer outside of Shopify?
Unfortunately, we can only accept in-app payments for the app. This is a requirement from Shopify for apps listed in the Shopify App store.
Why didn't my product attribute table transfer to Shopify?
If you have a table of product attributes on your WooCommerce site, it might not transfer initially because Shopify is unable to support product attributes in the same way. You can, however, add the table with a small modification to your theme files.
Why is my migration missing products on import?
Over 99% of products transfer without problem from WooCommerce to Shopify. However, there are two rare cases where the product will not migrate:
- Product description is too long: Shopify imposes a limit on how long a product description can be. If your description in WooCommerce is over 65,535 characters long, you can trim the description so they are accepted.
- Too many attributes: Shopify only supports three attributes for variations (i.e., size, color, and style). Edit the number of attributes to fit the migration.
Get in touch if you are having issues editing these elements - we could have ideas to help you!
Why are customers and orders missing from the migration?
In some cases, you may notice a discrepancy in the number of customers or orders you have on your WooCommerce site after the migration to Shopify. There are a couple of different reasons this may happen.
- User records not imported: The Ablestar WooCommerce Importer app only imports customers that have placed orders. We do not import user records without orders. If this is the case, contact us and we can show you how to export a list of WordPress users, and then we can import that list of users for you.
- Invalid emails: Shopify is more strict than WooCommerce about customer/order data and will not accept invalid emails the way WooCommerce does. We can provide you with a list of the orders and customer data that did not officially import and then help you correct the information and re-import those customers and orders.
Can I only import orders from a given date?
We do allow order imports from a given date which helps to save time if you have a large number of orders.
Some users import all the orders first so they can test the system, and then do another re-import right before they go live with the new Shopify site.
Running a complete reimport ensures that any refunds or exchanges that may have happened are accounted for.
Will the app make any changes to my WooCommerce site?
No, the app will not make any changes to your WooCommerce site. The only thing it will do is read data from the WooCommerce API to retrieve product and order information. No data on your WooCommerce site will be modified.
How can I contact support and get help?
Ablestar has a profound belief in simplicity and for that reason, we want to make sure that your experience with our product is simple, efficient and fast. We currently are unable to offer phone support however, we are happy to offer the following options to help guide you:
- Help Center: Try searching our Knowledge Base for keywords like “delete duplicates” or “error” to find relevant help articles
- Email: You can email us here for 24/7 support within a few hours
- Live Chat: Our chat icon is viewable from any Ablestar app view in Shopify, where you can search through knowledge base articles by keyword or click to email our support team
💡For faster resolution, make sure to specify the URL of your store and add screenshots to explain what view you are having trouble with.