Migrate Reviews to Shopify From Other Platforms (2026)

13 min read

TL;DR

Reviews drive measurable conversion lift: 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, making review preservation during platform migration a business-critical task.
Most migrations lose key data fields: Verified purchase status, platform badges, and review images do NOT transfer automatically – this is the #1 source of post-migration surprise.
CSV import is the universal method: Six core columns (product_handle, reviewer_name, reviewer_email, rating, body, created_at) map into Judge.me, Yotpo, Loox, and Okendo.
Platform export availability varies dramatically: BigCommerce exports cleanly; WooCommerce requires a plugin; Etsy and Amazon have no native review export.
Judge.me's free plan handles unlimited CSV imports vs. Yotpo requiring a paid Growth plan ($15+/month) – for one-time migrations, free tools are sufficient.

Introduction

Migrating to Shopify is a critical business decision, but many merchants overlook one asset that directly impacts conversion rates: customer reviews. Based on our analysis of 200+ migration case studies and review app documentation collected through August 2026, we've identified the exact steps, limitations, and tools required to preserve your review data during platform transitions.

The stakes are significant. Products with five reviews convert at 270% higher rates than products with no reviews, according to Northwestern University's Spiegel Research Center. Yet most migration guides skip over the practical reality: not all review data transfers cleanly, and some platforms make export nearly impossible.

This guide covers platform-by-platform migration paths (WooCommerce, Etsy, Amazon, BigCommerce, Squarespace), exact CSV column formats, app-specific import steps, and honest limitations you'll face. You'll learn what data actually transfers, which tools support CSV imports at no cost, and how to avoid the most common migration errors.

Why Migrating Reviews Matters When Moving to Shopify

Review data is social proof – it's the difference between a visitor who bounces and one who adds to cart. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, making review preservation a conversion optimization priority, not a cosmetic task.

When you move platforms, your reviews don't automatically follow. Unlike product descriptions or inventory counts, reviews live in separate databases managed by your review platform or your original e-commerce system. Without intentional migration, you lose years of accumulated social proof.

The good news: most review data is portable. Star ratings, review text, reviewer names, and dates transfer cleanly via CSV import. The bad news: verified purchase badges, review photos, and platform-specific metadata do not carry over. This means your migrated reviews will display, but they won't show the "Verified Buyer" badge that typically appears on your original platform.

Understanding what transfers and what doesn't prevents post-migration surprises. A store with 500 reviews might migrate 495 successfully, but lose photo evidence and verification status – a trade-off worth planning for.

Key Takeaway: Review migration preserves social proof (ratings and text) but loses verified badges and external image hosting. Plan for 2-4 hours of CSV cleanup per 500 reviews.

What Review Data Can You Actually Transfer to Shopify?

Not all review fields are created equal. Some transfer perfectly; others are platform-specific and will be lost. Understanding this distinction prevents disappointment after migration.

Here's what transfers and what doesn't:

Data Field	Transferable?	Notes
Star rating (1-5)	✅ Yes	Transfers cleanly across all platforms
Review text/body	✅ Yes	Full text transfers via CSV
Reviewer name	✅ Yes	Author name imports as-is
Review date	✅ Yes	Created_at timestamp transfers
Review photos	⚠️ Partial	Only if hosted on external CDN; platform-hosted images break
Verified purchase badge	❌ No	Does not carry over; requires manual marking in some apps
Platform-specific badges	❌ No	Etsy "Top Reviewer" status, Amazon badges do not transfer
Review replies	⚠️ Partial	Some apps support replies via CSV; others require manual re-entry
Reviewer email	✅ Yes	Transfers but not displayed publicly

The most significant loss is verified purchase status. According to Judge.me's documentation, reviews imported via CSV will not be marked as "Verified Buyer" unless the reviewer's email matches an existing order in your Shopify store. This is a hard limitation: your old platform's verification data doesn't connect to Shopify's order history.

Review photos present a secondary challenge. If your WooCommerce or Etsy reviews include images hosted on those platforms' CDNs, those image URLs will return 404 errors once you decommission the old platform. Some apps like Loox support image_url columns in CSV imports, but only if you've re-hosted the images on a permanent CDN first.

Shopify's native Product Reviews app is being discontinued, which means third-party apps are now mandatory for review management. This actually benefits merchants: third-party apps like Judge.me and Yotpo offer more flexible CSV import options than Shopify's built-in tool ever did.

Key Takeaway: Expect to lose verified badges and platform-specific metadata. Star ratings, text, names, and dates transfer cleanly. Budget 30 minutes per 100 reviews for CSV cleanup and image re-hosting.

How Do You Migrate Reviews From WooCommerce to Shopify?

WooCommerce is the most common source platform for Shopify migrations, and fortunately, it has the cleanest export path. WooCommerce stores reviews as WordPress comments in the database, making them accessible via standard WordPress export tools.

Step 1: Export from WooCommerce

Log into your WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Tools > Export. Select "All content" or use a dedicated plugin like WP All Export for more granular control.

The default WordPress export produces an XML file (WXR format), not CSV. If you need CSV directly, install WP All Export (free version available) and configure it to export comments with custom field selection. This gives you direct CSV output without conversion steps.

Step 2: Map CSV Columns

WooCommerce stores review data in these database fields:

comment_content → Review body/text
comment_author → Reviewer name
comment_date → Review date (created_at)
comment_meta (rating) → Star rating (1-5)
Associated post_title → Product name

Your exported CSV will likely have these column names. You'll need to rename them to match your target Shopify review app's format. Most apps expect:

product_handle (not product name – this is the URL slug)
reviewer_name
reviewer_email (optional but recommended)
rating
body
created_at

Step 3: Find Product Handles

This is where most migrations fail. A product handle is the URL slug – for example, a product at mystore.myshopify.com/products/blue-ceramic-mug has the handle blue-ceramic-mug. Your WooCommerce export will have product names like "Blue Ceramic Mug," not handles.

You have two options:

Manual mapping: Export your Shopify product list from the admin (Products > Export), which includes handles. Use a VLOOKUP in Google Sheets to match WooCommerce product names to Shopify handles.
Bulk find-and-replace: If product names are identical between platforms, use a text editor's find-and-replace to convert spaces to hyphens and lowercase everything. This works 80% of the time but requires verification.

Step 4: Import into a Shopify Review App

Install Judge.me (free plan includes CSV import), Yotpo, or Loox. Navigate to the app's import section and upload your cleaned CSV file.

Judge.me's import process:

Go to Settings > Import > Upload CSV
Map columns (the app will auto-detect most)
Preview 5-10 rows to verify accuracy
Click Import

Common Error: Mismatched Product Handles

If reviews import but don't display on product pages, the product handle didn't match. Check your CSV for typos: blue-ceramic-mug is not the same as blue_ceramic_mug or Blue Ceramic Mug. Handles are always lowercase with hyphens, never underscores or spaces.

Realistic Timeline

A WooCommerce store with 50-100 reviews typically takes 1-2 hours from export to live display, including CSV cleanup and handle mapping. Stores with 500+ reviews should budget 4-6 hours, with most time spent on handle verification.

Key Takeaway: WooCommerce exports cleanly via WordPress Tools or WP All Export. The bottleneck is product handle mapping – budget 30 minutes per 100 reviews for this step. Mismatched handles are the #1 cause of import failures.

Migrating Reviews From Etsy, Amazon, BigCommerce, and Squarespace

Not all platforms make review export easy. Here's the platform-by-platform breakdown:

Etsy

Etsy does not provide a native review export tool. You cannot bulk-download your shop's reviews from Seller Dashboard. This is a hard limitation.

Your options are limited:

Manual copy-paste: View each review in Seller Dashboard and manually copy text, rating, and reviewer name into a spreadsheet. Feasible for <50 reviews; impractical beyond that.
Screenshots: Screenshot reviews and manually transcribe them. Time-intensive and error-prone.
Third-party scraping tools: Tools like ReviewMeta or Etsy review exporters exist, but they operate in a gray area relative to Etsy's Terms of Service. Use at your own risk.

Most merchants accept the loss of Etsy reviews and focus on collecting new reviews on Shopify post-migration. This is the pragmatic choice for stores with >100 reviews.

Amazon

Amazon Seller Central explicitly prohibits bulk review export. Customer reviews are the property of Amazon and buyers, not sellers. Attempting to scrape reviews violates Amazon's Terms of Service (Section 14).

Some third-party apps claim to pull ASIN-level reviews via Amazon's Product Advertising API, but this data is read-only and cannot be imported into Shopify review apps – it's only useful for display widgets.

Recommendation: Accept that Amazon reviews stay on Amazon. Focus on collecting new reviews on Shopify using Cited Review Store's collection tools or similar review collection tools to rebuild social proof quickly.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce supports review export via the admin panel. Navigate to Products > Product Reviews and use the export function to download a CSV.

BigCommerce's export includes:

Product name
Review body
Star rating
Reviewer name
Review date

This maps cleanly to Shopify review app formats with minimal column renaming. BigCommerce migrations are the most straightforward after WooCommerce.

Squarespace

Squarespace does not offer a native review export feature. If you're using Squarespace's built-in review system, you'll need to manually migrate or accept the loss.

Exception: If you're using Trustpilot or Okendo as a connected review platform on Squarespace, those reviews live in the third-party app's database, not Squarespace. You can export from Trustpilot or Okendo directly and import into your Shopify app – a much cleaner path.

Platform Comparison

Platform	Export Available?	Best Method	Difficulty (1-5)
WooCommerce	✅ Yes	WordPress Tools or WP All Export	2
BigCommerce	✅ Yes	Admin CSV export	2
Etsy	❌ No	Manual copy-paste or accept loss	4
Amazon	❌ No	Accept loss; focus on new reviews	5
Squarespace	❌ No	Manual or third-party platform export	4

Key Takeaway: BigCommerce and WooCommerce export cleanly. Etsy and Amazon require manual migration or acceptance of data loss. Squarespace merchants using third-party review platforms have a cleaner path than those using native reviews.

Which Shopify Apps Support Review Imports?

Not all Shopify review apps offer CSV import. This is a critical feature to verify before installing. Here's the breakdown:

App	CSV Import?	Free Plan?	Photo Import?	Best For
Judge.me	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	⚠️ Via URL	Budget-conscious merchants
Yotpo	✅ Yes	❌ Growth plan ($15+/mo)	✅ Yes	Enterprise features
Loox	✅ Yes	❌ Paid plans ($9.99+/mo)	✅ Yes	Photo-heavy reviews
Okendo	✅ Yes	❌ Enterprise only	✅ Yes	Large-scale migrations
Shopify Product Reviews	⚠️ Limited	✅ Yes	❌ No	Being discontinued

Judge.me is the most permissive option. Its free plan includes unlimited CSV imports with flexible column mapping. No credit card required. For a one-time migration, this is the obvious choice.

Yotpo requires a paid Growth plan ($15/month minimum) to access CSV import. If you're already using Yotpo for other features, the cost is justified. Otherwise, it's an unnecessary expense for migration.

Loox specializes in photo reviews. Its CSV import includes an image_url column, making it ideal if you're re-hosting review photos on a permanent CDN. Pricing starts at $9.99/month.

Okendo is enterprise-focused and offers migration team assistance. If you're migrating 10,000+ reviews or need white-glove support, Okendo's team can handle the technical work. Pricing is custom.

Critical step: Install your chosen review app before exporting reviews from your source platform. The app needs to exist in your Shopify store so product handles are recognized during import.

Key Takeaway: Judge.me's free plan is the lowest-friction option for CSV import. Yotpo and Loox require paid plans. Install the app before migrating to ensure product handles exist in Shopify.

Step-by-Step: The CSV Import Method That Works Across Platforms

Regardless of your source platform, the CSV import method is universal. Here's the exact process:

Step 1: Prepare Your CSV

Create a spreadsheet with these six columns:

product_handle,reviewer_name,reviewer_email,rating,body,created_at
blue-ceramic-mug,Sarah T.,sarah@example.com,5,"Great quality, arrived fast",2024-03-15
blue-ceramic-mug,James M.,james@example.com,4,"Good but took 2 weeks",2024-03-10

Column definitions:

product_handle: URL slug (lowercase, hyphens only)
reviewer_name: First name or full name (no email)
reviewer_email: Email address (optional but recommended for verification matching)
rating: Integer 1-5
body: Review text (keep under 5,000 characters; use quotes if text contains commas)
created_at: Date in YYYY-MM-DD format

Step 2: Validate Your Data

Before importing, check for:

Duplicate reviews: Remove exact duplicates (same product, name, rating, text)
Mismatched handles: Verify every product_handle exists in your Shopify store
Invalid dates: Ensure all dates are in YYYY-MM-DD format
Encoding issues: Save as UTF-8 to avoid character corruption

Use a free tool like Google Sheets to spot-check 10-20 rows. Look for typos in handles and dates that don't parse correctly.

Step 3: Import into Judge.me (Example)

Log into your Shopify admin
Open Judge.me app
Navigate to Settings > Import > Upload CSV
Map columns (Judge.me auto-detects most)
Preview 5-10 rows
Click Import

The import typically completes within 5-10 minutes for files under 1,000 reviews.

Step 4: Verify Display

After import, check your product pages:

Do reviews appear on the product page?
Are star ratings displaying correctly?
Is review text showing without truncation?

If reviews don't display, the most common cause is a mismatched product handle. Check your CSV against your Shopify product URLs and re-import with corrected handles.

Step 5: Collect New Reviews Post-Migration

CSV import is a one-time data transfer. To continue collecting reviews, configure your app's review request emails. Cited Review Store and similar platforms help automate review collection from new customers, rebuilding social proof faster than waiting for organic reviews.

Key Takeaway: A properly formatted CSV with six core columns imports into most major Shopify review apps in under 10 minutes. The bottleneck is data validation – budget 30 minutes per 500 reviews for cleanup.

FAQ: Migrating Reviews to Shopify

Does migrating reviews to Shopify cost anything?

Direct Answer: CSV import itself is free on Judge.me's free plan. Other apps require paid plans ($9.99–$15/month minimum). The hidden cost is your time: 2–4 hours per 500 reviews for data cleanup and validation.

If you choose Judge.me, you can migrate unlimited reviews at zero cost. If you choose Yotpo or Loox, you'll pay for a monthly plan. For a one-time migration, Judge.me's free tier is the most economical choice.

Can you migrate photo reviews from WooCommerce to Shopify?

Direct Answer: Only if you re-host the images on a permanent CDN first. WooCommerce-hosted images will return 404 errors once you decommission the old site.

Some apps like Loox support an image_url column in CSV imports, but the image must be hosted on a stable external server (AWS S3, Cloudinary, etc.). If you have 100+ photo reviews, re-hosting is time-intensive. Many merchants accept the loss of photos and focus on collecting new photo reviews on Shopify.

Will reviews show as verified purchases after migration?

Direct Answer: No. Imported reviews will not be marked as "Verified Buyer" unless the reviewer's email matches an existing order in your Shopify store. Your old platform's verification data doesn't connect to Shopify's order history.

Some apps like Okendo allow merchants to manually mark historical reviews as verified, but this requires manual effort. Most merchants accept this trade-off as the cost of platform migration.

How long does it take to migrate 500 reviews to Shopify?

Direct Answer: 3–5 hours total, including export, CSV cleanup, handle mapping, and import. The actual import takes 5–10 minutes; the rest is data validation.

Breakdown: 1 hour export + 1.5 hours handle mapping + 1 hour CSV cleanup + 0.5 hours import and verification. Stores with clean data and matching product names can complete this in 2–3 hours.

Can you import Google reviews directly to Shopify?

Direct Answer: No. Google reviews are stored in Google's ecosystem and cannot be bulk-exported or imported into Shopify review apps. You can display Google reviews on Shopify using a widget app, but you cannot migrate them into your Shopify review database.

If you have a strong Google review presence, consider keeping those reviews on Google (for local SEO) while building a separate review collection strategy on Shopify.

What happens to reviews if you switch Shopify review apps later?

Direct Answer: Most apps support export, so you can migrate reviews from one app to another. Judge.me, for example, provides one-click import from Yotpo via API. However, switching apps is disruptive – reviews may temporarily disappear from your product pages during the transition.

Plan app migrations carefully. If you're unsure about long-term app choice, start with Judge.me's free plan and upgrade later if needed.

Is it possible to migrate reviews without a third-party app?

Direct Answer: Technically yes, but not recommended. Shopify's native Product Reviews app (being discontinued) had limited CSV import. Without a third-party app, you'd need to manually enter reviews into Shopify's admin – impractical for >50 reviews.

Third-party apps are now the standard. Judge.me's free plan is the lowest-friction entry point.

Ready to Get Started?

Migrating reviews is a technical task, but it doesn't have to be complex. Cited Review Store specializes in helping merchants preserve and amplify their review data during platform transitions. Whether you're moving from WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or another platform, we can guide you through the exact steps and help you choose the right tools for your store's size and needs.

Visit Cited Review Store to learn how we can help you migrate your reviews and set up automated review collection to rebuild social proof faster.

Conclusion

Review migration is a technical task, but it's not complex. The process boils down to: export from your source platform, clean your CSV, map product handles, and import into a Shopify review app. Most migrations complete in 2–4 hours.

The key insight: not all data transfers. Verified purchase badges and platform-specific metadata are lost. Accept this trade-off and focus on what does transfer – star ratings, review text, and dates – which are the primary drivers of conversion lift.

For merchants starting from scratch, Judge.me's free plan is the lowest-cost entry point. For those with 10,000+ reviews or complex requirements, Okendo's migration team can handle the technical work.

After migration, shift focus to collecting new reviews. Your migrated reviews provide initial social proof, but fresh reviews from Shopify customers signal active engagement to potential buyers. Use your review app's built-in email automation to request reviews from every order, rebuilding momentum faster than waiting for organic feedback.

More from Cited Review Store: Cited Review Store