Thinking about switching from Shopify to WordPress (or the other way around) but don’t want to lose your beautiful website design? You’re not alone. This is one of the most common questions we hear from business owners considering a platform change.
The short answer? You can’t directly migrate themes between Shopify and WordPress. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to start completely from scratch either.
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Why Direct Theme Migration Isn’t Possible
Shopify and WordPress are built completely differently, and your theme files just won’t work if you move them over.
Think of Shopify like getting a fully furnished apartment. Everything you need is already there. Your shopping cart, checkout process, inventory management—it’s all built in. Your theme just decides how everything looks.
WordPress is more like buying an empty house. You start with the basics and add what you need as you go. It’s flexible and customizable, but you’re responsible for putting all the pieces together yourself.
So when your Shopify theme is expecting to find Shopify’s built-in store features and you try to use it on WordPress, it can’t find what it’s looking for. Same thing happens the other way around.
Recreating Your Theme in the New Platform
Good news, though. You can absolutely get the same look on your new platform. It just means rebuilding instead of copying.
A custom web design company will look at your current site and document everything that makes it yours: your colors, your fonts, how your pages are laid out, where your buttons go. They create a complete blueprint of your design.
Then they rebuild it using your new platform’s tools. If you’re moving to WordPress, experienced WordPress web designers might use page builders to recreate your layouts. If you’re switching to Shopify, Shopify web design services will use platform-specific tools to match your current look.
The whole process takes longer than just moving files around, but there’s actually an upside. While they’re rebuilding, professional web design services can fix things that weren’t working great on your old site. Maybe your pages will load faster, or your checkout process will be smoother.
Moving Your Content and Features
While a custom web design company is recreating your site’s look, your actual business content can transfer directly. All your product listings, blog posts, photos, and customer information can move from one platform to the other.
If you’re switching from Shopify to WordPress, there are tools that handle most of the heavy lifting. Your products, customer data, and order history can usually be moved over automatically. Your blog posts come along too, and WordPress actually gives you more flexibility with your content.
Going from WordPress to Shopify works similarly. Shopify has tools to import your products and customer information. Your blog content can move over, though Shopify’s blogging features are more basic than what you might be used to with WordPress.
As for all those plugins and apps you’ve been using? You’ll need to find new ones that do the same job on your new platform. Both Shopify and WordPress have tons of options available. An experienced web design firm will know which tools work best and can help you get everything set up.
Making Changes During Site Migration
When the web design agency is migrating your site, they’ll likely ask you whether you want to make any tweaks while they’re building everything fresh. Use this opportunity to improve things that weren’t working well before.
For example, if you’re moving to Shopify and your current product pages look cluttered or confuse visitors, this is the perfect time to streamline them. Shopify’s strength is making it easy for people to buy, so your designer might suggest showcasing your products more clearly or simplifying your checkout process.
If you’re switching to WordPress and you’ve always wanted better blog features or more ways to capture leads, now’s the time to add those. WordPress gives you much more flexibility with content, so you can finally set up that newsletter signup or resource library you’ve been thinking about.
Your brand identity stays exactly the same. Your colors, logo, fonts, and overall message don’t change. But you can organize everything better to work with your new platform’s strengths.
How to Choose the Right Web Design Agency
Not all web design companies handle platform migrations the same way. Since this process affects your brand, your search rankings, and how well your site works for customers, you want to find an agency that really knows what they’re doing.
Look for a web design firm that has experience with both platforms. They should be able to show you examples of successful migrations they’ve completed and explain their process clearly. You don’t want to work with someone who’s figuring it out as they go.
Here’s what to look for when choosing a Shopify or WordPress web design firm:
- Portfolio of platform migrations—Ask to see before and after examples of sites they’ve moved between Shopify and WordPress.
- SEO preservation experience—They should understand how to protect your search rankings during the transition.
- Clear timeline and process—A good agency will walk you through exactly what happens and when.
- Expertise on both platforms—Make sure design firm candidates are equally comfortable with Shopify and WordPress, not just one or the other.
Theme Migration Isn’t Plug-and-Play, but That’s Okay
You can’t directly migrate themes between Shopify and WordPress, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a great website on your new platform. Your brand can look exactly the same while working better for your business goals.
The key is working with the right web design agency. They’ll document everything that makes your current site unique, migrate all your important content, and rebuild your design using your new platform’s tools. Your customers will recognize your brand, but everything will work smoother behind the scenes.
Don’t think of platform migration as starting over. Think of it as upgrading. You’re getting the same look with better performance.