Baby and nursery stores carry unique product compliance requirements that make them distinct from general retail. Every product that will be used by or around infants must display age suitability, safety certification marks (CE, UKCA), and in many cases choking hazard warnings. WooCommerce stores in this niche typically relied on custom fields for compliance data and ACF-based safety certification management. Shopify handles this through metafields and structured product data — this guide covers the full migration with compliance and product data preserved.

Baby product categories

Nursery furniture: Cots, cot beds, cribs, changing tables, wardrobes, nursing chairs — large products with assembly requirements
Feeding: Bottles, breast pumps, formula (where permitted), highchairs, bibs, weaning sets
Clothing & textiles: Babygrows, sleepsuits, blankets, sleeping bags — sized by age and weight
Nappies & skincare: Disposable nappies, reusable nappies, wipes, nappy creams, baby wash — subscription-suitable
Travel: Pushchairs, prams, travel systems, car seats, baby carriers — highly regulated category
Toys & stimulation: Soft toys, rattles, play gyms, sensory toys — age-appropriate, choking hazard compliance
Safety: Baby monitors, stair gates, socket covers, corner guards
Health & medicine: Thermometers, nasal aspirators, teething gels — medical device compliance in some cases
Gifts & hampers: New baby gift sets, baby shower hampers — seasonal high-volume category

Safety and compliance metafields

Age and safety suitability

product.metafields.baby.age_suitable_from_months (number_integer) — minimum age in months (0 = newborn)
product.metafields.baby.age_suitable_to_months (number_integer) — maximum age in months
product.metafields.baby.weight_suitable_from_kg (number_decimal) — for car seats and carriers
product.metafields.baby.weight_suitable_to_kg (number_decimal)
product.metafields.baby.choking_hazard (boolean) — small parts warning required on packaging and product page
product.metafields.baby.supervision_required (boolean) — "Adult supervision required at all times"
product.metafields.baby.not_suitable_under_36_months (boolean) — standard toy safety warning for small parts

Safety certifications

product.metafields.baby.ce_marked (boolean) — CE marking (EU)
product.metafields.baby.ukca_marked (boolean) — UKCA marking (UK post-Brexit)
product.metafields.baby.bs_en_standard (single_line_text) — applicable British/European standard (e.g., "BS EN 1888-1:2018" for pushchairs)
product.metafields.baby.fmss_compliant (boolean) — Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations for upholstered nursery items
product.metafields.baby.safety_test_report (url) — link to test report PDF (for trade buyers)

Materials and allergens

product.metafields.baby.material_composition (single_line_text) — "100% organic cotton", "BPA-free polypropylene"
product.metafields.baby.bpa_free (boolean) — BPA-free for bottles and feeding products
product.metafields.baby.phthalate_free (boolean) — relevant for teethers, bath toys
product.metafields.baby.hypoallergenic (boolean) — for skincare, textiles
product.metafields.baby.organic_certified (boolean) — GOTS certified organic cotton, etc.
product.metafields.baby.fragrance_free (boolean) — skincare and wipes

Clothing sizing by age and weight

Baby clothing has two parallel sizing systems — age-based (0-3m, 3-6m, 6-9m, etc.) and weight-based (kg) — and customers rely on weight guidance because babies grow at different rates:

Variant option: "Size: Newborn (up to 3.5kg) / 0-3m (3.5–6kg) / 3-6m (6–7.5kg) / 6-9m (7.5–9kg) / 9-12m (9–10kg) / 12-18m (10–11kg) / 18-24m"
Size guide page: create a dedicated baby clothing size guide with age/weight/height range table — essential for baby clothing to reduce returns
Size guide metafield link: product.metafields.clothing.size_guide_url — link per product to the relevant size guide
Fit guide note: include in product description whether garment runs large or small — parents rely on this for gifting

Nursery furniture variants

Large nursery furniture (cots, wardrobes, changing units) has specific variant requirements:

Colour/finish variants: "White / Grey / Natural Oak / Sage Green" — each variant may have a different product image
Bundle options: cot only vs cot + mattress bundle. Use product bundles app (Bundler, Kite) or create separate bundle SKUs.
Assembly: note on product page whether assembly is required. Delivery metafield: product.metafields.delivery.assembly_required (boolean)
Room service delivery: some nursery furniture retailers offer white-glove delivery + assembly. Shopify freight/room service app or contact-for-delivery model.
Dimensions metafield: product.metafields.furniture.assembled_dimensions_cm — H x W x D for room planning

Car seat compliance

Car seats are the most regulated product in baby retail — incorrect installation kills children:

product.metafields.baby.car_seat_group (single_line_text) — EU Group 0+/1/2/3 or i-Size R129 regulation
product.metafields.baby.isize_certified (boolean) — UN R129 (i-Size) certification
product.metafields.baby.compatible_isofix (boolean) — ISOFIX installation compatible
product.metafields.baby.ecer44_certified (boolean) — older ECE R44 regulation (still valid)
Installation warning: every car seat product page must include installation guidance link and a recommendation to have the seat professionally fitted at an approved fitting station.
Fitting station finder: link to retailer's fitting stations or the manufacturer's fitting station locator

Gift registries

New baby gift registries are a major driver of baby retail revenue — parents create wish lists that friends and family purchase from:

Giftship: Shopify app that adds gift registry / wish list functionality — customers create lists, share a URL, items purchased are marked as bought
Gift Reggie: Dedicated baby/wedding registry app for Shopify — includes group gifting (multiple people contribute to a large item)
Registry landing page: create a dedicated page explaining the gift registry service and linking to registry creation
Registry discovery: allow browsing active registries by parent name — for family members who lost the link
WooCommerce registry migration: export existing registry data (customer name, items, purchased status) and recreate in Giftship or Gift Reggie

Subscription products

Nappies, formula, and baby wipes are high-frequency repeat purchases — strong candidates for subscription:

ReCharge: set up nappy subscriptions with weekly/monthly frequency. Customer portal allows pause (useful for "we're in cloth nappies this month") and quantity adjustment.
Nappy size progression: babies move through nappy sizes as they grow. Subscriber self-service size change is essential — configurable in ReCharge customer portal.
Bundle subscriptions: "Nappy Bundle" — 3 packs size 4 + 2 packs wipes + 1 nappy cream, delivered monthly.
Formula subscriptions: note regulatory restrictions. In the UK, advertising infant formula (Stage 1) is prohibited — ensure Shopify product pages comply with the Infant Formula Regulations.

Safety warnings on product pages

Certain warnings are legally required or best-practice for infant products — render from metafields in your theme:

Choking hazard: if choking_hazard = true, display: "WARNING: Choking hazard. Small parts. Not suitable for children under 3 years."
Supervision: if supervision_required = true, display supervision warning prominently
Age suitability: always show age and weight range clearly on product pages and in search/listing pages
Safe sleep: for cot mattresses, sleeping bags, cot bumpers — link to Safe Sleep guidance (Lullaby Trust or NHS guidelines)
Second-hand safety note: for any refurbished or pre-owned baby products — note if car seats should not be purchased second-hand (impact history unknown)

Baby products migration checklist

Create baby metafield namespace: age_suitable_from_months, age_suitable_to_months, weight_suitable_from/to_kg, choking_hazard, ce_marked, ukca_marked, bs_en_standard, bpa_free, hypoallergenic, organic_certified
Create car seat metafields: car_seat_group, isize_certified, compatible_isofix
Migrate WooCommerce ACF safety fields to metafields
Set up baby clothing variants with age/weight sizing — build size guide page
Create nursery furniture variants (colour, bundle options)
Install gift registry app (Giftship or Gift Reggie) — migrate existing registries
Install ReCharge for nappy/wipes/skincare subscriptions
Create compliance warning display in theme templates (choking hazard, age suitability)
Review UK infant formula advertising restrictions before migrating formula product pages
Build baby size guide page and link from clothing products
Create "New Baby Gifts" collection for hampers and gift sets
Add safe sleep guidance links to cot, mattress, sleeping bag product pages
Test: gift registry creation → sharing → purchase marks item as bought
Test: nappy subscription → size change via customer portal → billing continues with new size

The age suitability metafield is the single most important data migration for a baby store — and the one most likely to be incomplete in WooCommerce custom fields. WooCommerce baby stores that added age ranges did so inconsistently: some products have it in the product title ("Activity Gym 0-6 Months"), some in the description, some in a custom field, and some not at all. Before migrating, audit your entire product catalogue for age suitability data and standardise it. The consequence of missing or incorrect age suitability on a product used by an infant is significant — both from a customer safety perspective and a liability standpoint. Populate age_suitable_from_months and age_suitable_to_months for every product before launch, then render it prominently on every product page.

Migrating a baby products & nursery store from WooCommerce to Shopify (2026)