Cancelling a Shopify account and migrating to a new provider is an important decision to for an eCommerce store owner. Whether you want more features, better pricing, or simply changing your eCommerce strategy, it’s important to understand the process of how to cancel Shopify subscription to ensure smooth transition.
Reasons to cancel Shopify account
Here are some common reasons why users cancel Shopify subscriptions and switch to new providers:
Cost: Shopify can be expensive for beginners and small business owners, especially when they scale their business.
Limited customization options: Shopify provides a limited number of templates and theme options for designing your store. This may be frustrating for site owners looking for more control over site appearance and functionality.
Limited payment method options: While Shopify supports popular payment providers such as credit cards and PayPal, it doesn’t offer as many as others do.
Transaction fees: Shopify charges a small payment processing fee. Additionally, users are also charged a fee each time they use third-party payment providers to receive customer’s payments.
Related: Learn more about the best Shopify alternatives in 2024.
Comparison of Shopify and Bluehost WooCommerce hosting
Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce platform known for its ease of use, making it ideal for users without coding knowledge. It offers built-in hosting, security, and a wide range of integrated features and apps, with plans starting at $39/month.
However, it charges transaction fees ranging from 0.5% to 2% unless you use Shopify Payments.
In contrast, Bluehost WooCommerce hosting offers extensive customization through plugins and themes at a lower starting cost of $9.95/month. It also doesn’t charge additional transaction fees, but payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe may have their own fees.
Both Shopify and Bluehost include hosting in all plans with 99.9% uptime and free SSL certificates. Shopify takes care of security, including PCI compliance and regular backups.
Bluehost also offers automatic WordPress updates, backups and enhanced security features like CodeGuard and SiteLock. Additionally, you get access to cart promotion, email campaign builder and AI website creator with WooCommerce plan.
It further offers greater flexibility and customization, making it suitable for those looking for a more tailored solution.
Things to keep in mind before you delete or cancel Shopify account
Deactivating or canceling a Shopify subscription is different from pausing it. Canceling the account is permanent while pausing the Shopify account is temporary. Store owners sometimes pause their accounts when they want a break or when they are working on the website in offline mode.
Here are some other things that you should know before canceling Shopify:
Settle outstanding charges
If you have any unsettled or due payments related to your Shopify store, you need to pay them before closing your account. And if you close it without settling the outstanding amount, you’ll still receive a bill for due payments.
Save your Shopify store data
Keeping a backup of your Shopify store data is a smart move to make before canceling your Shopify subscription. Export your order data, billing history, customer data, discount & gift card codes, financial data, and product details for future reference.
It’s best to export your Shopify product data in CSV format, which includes product titles, slugs, tags, etc. Now to import your product data:
- Go to Shopify admin and select Products. Then, click on All Products.
- Now select all your products and click on the Export button.
- On the pop-up window, select All products and CSV file format.
- Finally, click on Export products.
After this, you’ll receive the CSV file on your email account associated with Shopify store.
Cancel third-party application subscriptions
When you cancel your Shopify account, it doesn’t automatically cancel your subscriptions to other third-party apps. You must cancel each of them before closing the account. This will help you avoid any unexpected charges on your credit card after you’ve closed your Shopify store.
To uninstall the third-party apps or services from the Shopify app store, follow these steps:
- Go to Shopify admin dashboard and click on Apps. Here, all the apps installed in your Shopify store will be visible.
- Now go through each app and select Delete button.
Domain-related considerations
If you have purchased your custom domain from Shopify, you can transfer it to a new service provider. But if you have bought it from a third-party provider, then you must remove your domain from your store before canceling your Shopify account. Failing to do so may forfeit your domain for further use.
Related Read: Guide to transfer your domain to Bluehost
You can access some DNS settings in your Shopify admin dashboard, including TXT, MX, and CNAME records. If you have purchased domain from third party provider, here is how you can remove it from Shopify store:
- Go to Settings and then click on Domains.
- Now, go to the third-party domains section and click on the Remove button next to your domain.
After this, update the DNS settings with your new hosting provider.
It’s important to note here that you can transfer your domain from Shopify only after 60 days of purchasing it.
Also, don’t forget to deactivate your custom domain’s auto-renewal from your registrar’s hosting site. Again, this is to avoid incurring charges after deactivating your Shopify store.
Think about selling your Shopify store instead
An alternative to canceling your Shopify store is listing it on the platform’s Exchange Marketplace. If you are no longer interested in running your business, then why not make money from it. Many people are looking to invest in a viable online store. So, you can consider this.
How to cancel Shopify account
After taking backup of your Shopify store and cancelling subscriptions, here is how you can delete your Shopify account.
- First, log in to your Shopify admin panel.
- Then, go to the Settings on the bottom left corner and then, click on Plan.
- Now under the Plan details, click Deactivate Store button.
- After that, you’ll be asked to choose the reason for deactivating your account. Choose your reason and click on the Continue button.
- Enter your Shopify store password.
- Finally, click Deactivate now to cancel your Shopify account permanently.
You’ll be brought to a new page confirming the cancellation process of your Shopify account. On this page, you will find details of your past payments under View your past bills. You can download these records for future reference.
Conclusion: Cancel Shopify anytime
Canceling Shopify subscriptions and migrating to a new provider can be a pivotal decision for your online business. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can ensure a smooth transition, minimize disruptions and safeguard your valuable data. Remember to settle any outstanding charges, save your store’s information, cancel third-party app subscriptions, and consider the implications for your domain.
If you’re looking for a robust alternative, Bluehost with WooCommerce hosting offers a compelling option. Bluehost provides extensive customization capabilities through WordPress, competitive pricing, and no additional transaction fees, making it an excellent choice for those seeking more control and flexibility over their eCommerce operations.
By considering Bluehost as your new provider, you can take advantage of a cost-effective, scalable, and highly customizable platform that can grow with your business needs.
FAQs about how to cancel Shopify account
According to Shopify’s no-refund policy, they don’t offer refunds to customers who choose to close their account. However, Shopify may make an exception if you have a valid reason or if they consider yours to be a special case. Your best bet is to reach out to their support team to discuss your options.
After you cancel your Shopify subscription, you no longer have access to the Shopify admin panel and store. To log in and get your access back, you may have to buy a new plan and provide credit card details. It is important to note that you can’t create a new Shopify store using the same domain name you’ve used before.
To migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce, you need to buy WooCommerce hosting. You can check out WooCommerce hosting plans at Bluehost. We are WordPress recommended web hosting provider, known for reliability, security, and affordability.
In addition to eCommerce features, you get a custom domain name with our WooCommerce hosting plan free for the first year. You can also transfer your old domain name to Bluehost.
To migrate your products from Shopify to WooCommerce store, you’ll need a backup of your products data in a CSV file. This can simplify the data migration process from Shopify to WooCommerce.
When you purchase WooCommerce hosting from Bluehost, you get pre-installed WordPress and WooCommerce plugin with your plan.
To migrate your products, first go to your WordPress dashboard.
Now, navigate to the Tools tab on the left panel and click on Import.
On the new window, locate WooCommerce Products (CSV) option and select Run Importer.
Click on the Choose File and select the CSV file of your product data.
After this, you can follow the importer prompt and set up your store.
To minimize downtime while migrating from Shopify to WooCommerce, you need to choose a reliable hosting provider. Bluehost simplifies the process of starting with WooCommerce web hosting.
Just select the hosting plan that suits your website requirements, and then either create a new domain or add your existing one. WooCommerce will be automatically installed on your WordPress website, and you will also receive a free WooCommerce SSL to ensure the security of your site and transactions.
The setup process only takes a few minutes, after which you can start choosing a theme for your online store. Once you’ve picked a WooCommerce theme, you can promptly begin adding your products and payment information.
