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Migrating from Shopify to WooCommerce

If your Shopify store was suspended or terminated due to Shopify's ban on vapor and CBD products, this guide walks you through how to migrate to WooCommerce and carry over your existing Real ID setup with minimal disruption.

Overview​

In June 2026, Shopify banned all vape and electronic nicotine delivery products from its platform following pressure from a coalition of U.S. state attorneys general. Merchants were given until July 8, 2026 to remove all affected products or face store termination.

WooCommerce is the most popular alternative for vapor and CBD merchants. Because it runs on your own WordPress hosting, you are not subject to platform-level product restrictions.

Migration Steps​

Step 1: Install the Real ID WooCommerce Plugin​

Install the Real ID plugin on your new WordPress site from the WordPress plugin directory.

Once installed, the plugin starts in test mode automatically. You can configure your verification rules and test the full ID check flow before going live — no account required.

Step 2: Configure Your Verification Settings​

Set up your verification rules to match what you had on Shopify: which products require ID, age thresholds, what happens on a failed check, etc.

Don't want to redo this manually? Contact us and we can copy your existing Real ID settings directly from your Shopify store to your new WooCommerce installation. Reach out via the Real ID dashboard or the contact page.

Step 3: Create a Real ID Account​

When you're ready to go live, sign up for a Real ID account at dashboard.getverdict.com. Your dashboard is where you manage your subscription, review ID check results, and monitor activity.

Step 4: Subscribe and Activate the Plugin​

From your dashboard, subscribe to a plan that fits your store's volume. Once subscribed, copy your license key and enter it in the plugin under Settings → Billing. Your store is now live with full ID verification.

See Billing & Activation for detailed instructions.

Step 5: Import Your Shopify Customers into WooCommerce​

Before going live, export your customer list from Shopify (admin → Customers → Export) and import it into WooCommerce. This is a required step — without it, returning customers won't have accounts on your new store and will have no order history when they arrive on launch day.

WooCommerce's built-in customer importer accepts a CSV; you'll need to map a few field names from Shopify's export format during the import.

Step 6: Point Your DNS to WooCommerce​

Once your customers are imported and everything is configured, update your DNS records to point your existing domain to your new WooCommerce host. Your customers will land on the same URL they've always used.

Most hosting providers (WP Engine, SiteGround, Kinsta, etc.) provide step-by-step DNS migration guides. Your domain registrar's nameservers just need to point to your new host's IP.

Migrating Existing Customers and ID Checks​

Customer import is not enough

Importing your customers into WooCommerce gets them accounts on the new store — but it does not tell Real ID that they've already been verified. Without a mapping step, every returning customer will be asked to re-verify their identity on their first order.

Once you've imported your Shopify customers into WooCommerce, contact us and we'll map your existing Real ID verification records to their new WooCommerce accounts. Returning customers will be recognized as already verified from day one, with no re-verification required.

Migrating Historic Shopify Orders (Optional)​

Importing past Shopify orders into WooCommerce is optional — most merchants skip it to keep the migration simple. However, if you want your order history carried over for reporting or compliance purposes, we can also map your historic Real ID checks to those imported orders.

Let us know before your launch date and we'll determine the right level of data migration for your store.

Summary Checklist​

  1. ✅ Install the Real ID WooCommerce plugin
  2. ✅ Configure verification rules — or ask us to copy them from your Shopify store
  3. ✅ Sign up at dashboard.getverdict.com
  4. ✅ Subscribe, copy your license key, and activate the plugin
  5. ✅ Export customers from Shopify and import them into WooCommerce
  6. ✅ Contact us to map your verified customers (and optionally historic orders) to their new WooCommerce accounts
  7. ✅ Update DNS to point your domain to your new WooCommerce store

Need Help?​

We work with vapor and CBD merchants regularly and understand the compliance requirements you're navigating. If you need assistance at any point, contact our support team.