Commercial disclosure: this page may mention Rank Math, Shopify. Recommendations should be weighed against the stated testing status and native Shopify alternatives.

Desk Researched. Last reviewed 2026-05-01. Funnel stage: consideration.

Export before changing plugins

Pull SEO titles, descriptions, canonical rules, redirects, schema settings, noindex rules and sitemap behaviour before the old site changes.

Identify ranking content

Match SEO settings against organic landing pages so valuable content is not treated the same as low-value legacy URLs.

Bridge the decision

Rank Math can be relevant before migration, but the final Shopify setup needs its own SEO governance.

Red flag

Do not uninstall or disable SEO plugins before exporting the evidence they contain.

The safest Shopify migrations start with a WordPress evidence export. SEO plugins and page builders often hold the information that protects rankings: custom titles, descriptions, canonical rules, redirects, noindex settings and schema. If those settings disappear before they are documented, the Shopify build loses its map.

Export Metadata

Export or record:

  • SEO title and meta description for important URLs;
  • canonical URL settings;
  • Open Graph titles and descriptions where they matter;
  • schema settings;
  • breadcrumb settings;
  • noindex and nofollow rules;
  • sitemap inclusion rules.

If Rank Math is installed, use its export options where available and keep screenshots of key global settings. The export should be stored with the migration documents, not left inside the old WordPress admin.

Export Redirects

Pull existing redirect rules before changing plugins, permalink settings or hosting. Some redirects may already protect old campaigns, product URLs, category changes or discontinued content. Decide whether each redirect should be preserved, replaced or retired in Shopify.

Do not chain redirects if you can avoid it. Old URL to intermediate WordPress URL to Shopify URL is weaker and harder to debug than old URL directly to final Shopify URL.

Identify Valuable URLs

Match settings against performance. Use Search Console and analytics to identify:

  • URLs with organic clicks;
  • URLs with impressions but weak click-through;
  • URLs with backlinks;
  • URLs that support important collections or products;
  • old posts that still bring qualified traffic.

These pages deserve more care than low-value archives, tags or duplicate content.

Check Page Builder Content

Elementor and other builders can hide important copy, internal links and metadata-like content inside layout blocks. Crawl the rendered site and review high-value pages manually. Make sure key content is moved, rewritten or redirected intentionally.

Decide Shopify Equivalents

For each valuable WordPress URL, choose one of four outcomes:

  • move to equivalent Shopify page;
  • redirect to a stronger Shopify collection, product or guide;
  • consolidate with related content;
  • retire if it has no search or user value.

This decision should happen before launch, not during a traffic drop.

Final Pre-Migration Pack

The final pack should include the crawl, metadata export, redirect export, URL mapping sheet, sitemap snapshot, top landing pages, backlink targets and post-launch QA checklist. With that pack in place, Shopify migration becomes a controlled change rather than a leap of faith.