WooCommerce's built-in review system stored reviews in the WordPress comments table. These reviews — sometimes accumulated over years — represent significant social proof that can't be lost in migration. Beyond migrating existing reviews, the Shopify migration is an opportunity to upgrade from WooCommerce's basic review system to a proper review platform with photo reviews, verified purchase badges, automated collection, and Google Shopping integration.

Migrating existing WooCommerce reviews

Exporting reviews from WooCommerce

WooCommerce reviews are stored in wp_comments with comment_type = 'review'. Export via SQL:

SELECT
  p.post_title as product_title,
  p.post_name as product_slug,
  c.comment_author as reviewer_name,
  c.comment_author_email as reviewer_email,
  c.comment_date as review_date,
  c.comment_content as review_body,
  cm.meta_value as star_rating
FROM wp_comments c
JOIN wp_posts p ON p.ID = c.comment_post_ID
LEFT JOIN wp_commentmeta cm ON cm.comment_id = c.comment_ID AND cm.meta_key = 'rating'
WHERE c.comment_type = 'review'
  AND c.comment_approved = '1'
ORDER BY c.comment_date DESC;

Review import to Shopify review apps

Judge.me: Import via Products → Reviews → Import → WooCommerce CSV. Map: product_slug, reviewer_name, email, date, body, rating. Match by product handle (URL slug).
Yotpo: Admin → Moderation → Import Reviews → CSV import. Same fields.
Stamped: Stamped → Reviews → Import → CSV. Handles WooCommerce export format.
Product matching: reviews are matched to Shopify products by handle (URL slug). Ensure your WooCommerce product slugs match your Shopify product handles.
Timestamps: import with original dates — reviews dated 2019–2024 are more credible than a batch all imported on the same day

Review app comparison

App	Free tier	Photo reviews	Google Shopping	Best for
Judge.me	Unlimited reviews (free)	Free tier	Yes	Most stores — best value
Shopify Product Reviews	Yes (native)	No	No	Minimal requirements only
Yotpo	Limited (100 orders/mo)	Paid tier	Yes (paid)	Enterprise, high-volume
Stamped	Limited	Paid tier	Yes (paid)	Mid-market
Okendo	No	Yes	Yes	Premium DTC brands
Loox	Limited	Photo-first	Yes	Visual products (fashion, beauty)

Judge.me deep dive (recommended for most stores)

Why Judge.me wins for most stores

Free plan includes unlimited review requests, unlimited reviews, photo reviews, Review Carousel widget
Paid plan (£15/mo): Google Shopping reviews, Smart Reviews, verified buyer badge, coupons for reviews, Q&A
WooCommerce import is built-in and handles all standard export formats
Review request email: auto-sent after order delivery (uses Shopify fulfillment events)
Structured data: Judge.me injects Review schema JSON-LD automatically — star ratings in Google organic results

Review request email timing

Send after delivery (use fulfilled status + X days delay), not after order placement
Default: 7 days after order fulfillment. Adjust based on delivery time in your market.
Fast-consuming products (supplements, food): 14 days post-delivery gives time to experience the product
Slow-consuming products (homewares, clothes worn seasonally): 30 days post-delivery
Second request: send to non-responders 7 days after first request. Remove after two ignored requests.

Photo reviews

Photo reviews dramatically increase conversion rate — customers trust photo reviews more than text-only reviews:

Enable photo reviews in Judge.me or Loox: customers can attach photos when leaving reviews
Photo review incentive: offer a small discount code for photo reviews (Judge.me paid plan, Loox, Yotpo)
Display: photo review gallery on product page (carousel showing customer photos)
Instagram/UGC: photo reviews double as UGC (user-generated content) for social media reposts
Collections page: show average star rating on product cards in collection — requires theme modification or Judge.me theme integration

Google Shopping product ratings

Google Shopping shows star ratings on product listing ads — a strong CTR signal:

Eligibility: minimum 50 reviews aggregated across all products, minimum 3 reviews per product for display
Judge.me paid plan: automatic Google Shopping feed with review data
Yotpo / Stamped: Google Shopping integration on paid plans
Merchant Centre: configure the product ratings feed in Google Merchant Centre → Shopping → Product ratings
Impact: stores with product ratings visible in Shopping ads see 15–20% CTR increase on average

Review structured data (schema.org)

Review schema enables star ratings in Google organic search results (rich snippets):

Judge.me, Yotpo, Stamped, Okendo all inject Review schema automatically — no manual work needed
Verify: use Google's Rich Results Test on a product URL after installing review app — should show "Review snippet" in supported rich results
AggregateRating schema: required fields are ratingValue, reviewCount, bestRating, worstRating
Google policy: review schema must only appear on pages with actual visible reviews — don't inject schema without visible reviews

WooCommerce review platform migration mapping

WooCommerce review source	Migration path to Shopify
Native WooCommerce reviews (wp_comments)	SQL export → CSV → Judge.me/Yotpo import
WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro	Export via plugin → CSV import to Shopify review app
Yotpo on WooCommerce	Yotpo account persists — reconnect to Shopify in Yotpo admin
Trustpilot product reviews	Trustpilot account persists — reconnect Shopify integration
Feefo reviews	Feefo account persists — reconnect Shopify integration
Google Business reviews	Not product reviews — remain on Google Business profile

Review migration checklist

Export WooCommerce reviews via SQL before migration (product_slug, reviewer_name, email, date, body, rating)
Choose review app: Judge.me (recommended), Yotpo, or Stamped
Install review app on Shopify
Import WooCommerce review CSV — match by product handle/slug
Verify import: spot-check 10–20 products that had many reviews
Configure review request email: set timing (7 days post-fulfillment recommended)
Enable photo reviews and set up photo review incentive (discount code)
Display reviews on product pages: install Judge.me widgets in product template
Display average ratings on collection page product cards
Set up Google Shopping reviews feed (Judge.me paid or Yotpo paid)
Verify Review schema with Google Rich Results Test
Plan first review collection push: email all previous customers requesting reviews on their last order

Migrating reviews with original timestamps and reviewer names intact is one of the highest-leverage actions in any WooCommerce to Shopify migration. A product with 47 reviews dating back to 2021 builds more trust than a product with 0 reviews on day one of the new Shopify store. The SQL export plus Judge.me import is a 2-hour technical task. The alternative — losing 3 years of social proof because reviews weren't migrated — is a conversion rate setback that takes 12–18 months to recover from organically.

Shopify product reviews strategy after WooCommerce (2026)