AbleCommerce to Volusion Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

Seamlessly Transition Your E-commerce Store from AbleCommerce to Volusion

In the dynamic world of e-commerce, staying competitive often means evolving your platform. If you're running an AbleCommerce store and considering a move to Volusion, you're looking for a robust, feature-rich solution to enhance your online presence. This guide provides a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough for migrating your valuable store data – including products, customers, orders, and more – from AbleCommerce to Volusion. Since AbleCommerce is not directly supported by our automated connectors, we will leverage the versatile CSV file import method for your source data, ensuring a smooth and accurate data transfer.

A successful replatforming doesn't just mean moving data; it means preserving your SEO rankings, maintaining data integrity, and optimizing your new store for growth. Let's dive into how you can achieve this with minimal downtime and maximum efficiency.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating your store's transition, it's crucial to prepare both your AbleCommerce (source) and Volusion (target) platforms. Proper preparation is key to a smooth data transfer and helps safeguard your valuable business information.

For Your AbleCommerce Store (Source):

• Data Backup: Always perform a complete backup of your AbleCommerce store's database and files. This is a critical safety net before any major system changes.
• CSV Data Export: You will need to export your AbleCommerce data (products, categories, customers, orders, etc.) into CSV (Comma Separated Values) files. Ensure that your exports are clean and well-structured, as this will be the primary method for your source data connection.
• Identify Key Data: Make a list of all the data entities you wish to transfer, such as SKUs, product variants, customer records, order history, and content pages. This will help you organize your CSV exports.
• How to prepare your source store for migration?

For Your Volusion Store (Target):

• New Volusion Account: Ensure you have a fresh Volusion store ready. It's generally recommended to migrate to an empty store to avoid conflicts with existing data.
• Admin Access: You'll need full administrative access credentials for your Volusion store (admin login, admin password, and store URL).
• Cart2Cart Volusion Migration Module: Volusion requires a connection bridge. You will need to install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module on your Volusion store. This typically involves uploading a bridge file via FTP to your store's root directory. The system will guide you through this process.
• FTP Access: Have your FTP credentials ready to upload the necessary connection bridge file to your Volusion store's server.
• How to prepare your target store for migration?
• Understanding Access Credentials.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Our migration wizard simplifies the process of moving your e-commerce store. Follow these steps to effectively transfer your AbleCommerce data to your new Volusion platform.

Step 1: Start Your Migration

Begin by navigating to the Cart2Cart migration page. Here, you'll initiate the migration process using the intuitive wizard. Choose the DIY migration option to proceed with the self-service tool.

Step 2: Set Up Your Source Store (AbleCommerce via CSV)

In this crucial step, you'll configure your AbleCommerce store as the data source. Since AbleCommerce is not listed as a direct platform, you will select "CSV File to Cart" from the dropdown menu.

Once selected, you will be prompted to upload the CSV files containing your AbleCommerce store's data. This includes your product listings, customer information, order history, categories, manufacturers, reviews, invoices, taxes, coupons, and CMS pages. Ensure your CSV files are correctly formatted according to our guidelines for accurate data import.

Supported entities for transfer from your CSV files include: Products, Product Categories, Product Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, CMS Pages, Blogs, and Blog Posts.

Step 3: Set Up Your Target Store (Volusion)

Next, configure your new Volusion store as the destination for your data. Select "Volusion" from the target cart dropdown list.

You will then need to provide your Volusion store's URL, along with your admin login and password. For a secure connection, you will also need to install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module (bridge) onto your Volusion store. This bridge allows our system to securely access and transfer your data.

Volusion supports the migration of key entities such as: Products, Product Categories, Product Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, and CMS Pages. Please note that while your AbleCommerce CSV might contain blog data, Volusion has specific limitations regarding SEO options for blogs, which may require manual adjustment post-migration.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

This step allows you to specify exactly which types of data you want to move from your AbleCommerce CSV files to your Volusion store. You can choose to migrate all available data entities or select them individually. Common choices include product inventory, customer databases, and order histories.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options & Data Mapping

Additional Migration Options

Enhance your data transfer with a range of optional features. These options are crucial for maintaining your store's functionality and SEO rankings on the new platform:

• Clear Target Store Data: If your Volusion store isn't brand new, this option clears any existing data before migration, preventing duplicates and conflicts.
• Preserve IDs: Select options to preserve Product IDs, Order IDs, and Customer IDs from your AbleCommerce store, which is vital for historical data consistency and external integrations.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded in descriptions are transferred.
• Create Variants from Attributes: Properly transfer product variations and their attributes.
• Password Migration: Migrate customer passwords securely.
• SEO URLs and 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for maintaining your search engine visibility and link equity. This option helps create redirects from your old AbleCommerce URLs to the new Volusion URLs, preventing broken links and preserving your SEO rankings.

Data Mapping

During this stage, you'll map your customer groups and order statuses from your AbleCommerce data to their corresponding fields in Volusion. This ensures that your customer segments and order processing workflows remain consistent on the new platform, maintaining data integrity and a seamless user experience.

Step 6: Run Demo Migration & Full Migration

We highly recommend performing a free demo migration first. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) to your Volusion store, giving you a chance to review the results and ensure everything is transferring as expected before committing to the full replatforming.

After a successful demo, you can proceed with the full data transfer. During this step, you might consider our Migration Insurance, which offers additional remigrations if you need to adjust or re-transfer data post-migration. Learn how Migration Insurance works.

Post-Migration Steps

Once your AbleCommerce data has been successfully moved to Volusion, a few critical post-migration tasks will help you optimize your new store and ensure a flawless launch.

• Thoroughly Test Your New Volusion Store: Navigate through your new Volusion storefront as both an administrator and a customer. Check product pages, verify SKUs and inventory levels, test the checkout process, confirm customer accounts and order history, and ensure all links are functional.
• Update DNS Settings: If you haven't already, point your domain name to your new Volusion store. This makes your new site live to the public. Monitor your site's uptime closely after this change.
• Configure SEO Settings: Verify that all 301 redirects are properly implemented to preserve your SEO rankings and link equity from your old AbleCommerce store. Submit your new sitemap to search engines (Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools). Pay special attention to metadata and product descriptions.
• Install Necessary Apps and Plugins: Explore the Volusion App Store for any third-party integrations, marketing tools, or extensions that enhance your store's functionality and user experience.
• Review and Optimize Content: Examine your migrated content pages, product descriptions, and blog posts. Optimize them for clarity, search engines, and conversion.
• Consider Recent Data Migration: If there was any new data (orders, customers, products) added to your AbleCommerce store after your main migration, a recent data migration can transfer these updates to your Volusion store.

Migrating an e-commerce platform is a significant undertaking, but with careful planning and the right tools, your transition from AbleCommerce to Volusion can be a smooth and rewarding experience. Should you require expert assistance or customized solutions, our team is always ready to help. Contact us for more information on our Ultimate Data Migration Service or other customization options.