CoreCommerce to PrestaShop Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from CoreCommerce to PrestaShop

Replatforming an e-commerce store is a strategic decision that can significantly impact your online business. If you're currently operating on CoreCommerce and considering a move to PrestaShop, you're looking at a transition to a highly customizable, open-source platform known for its flexibility and extensive features. This guide will walk you through the entire process of migrating your valuable store data, including products, customers, and orders, from CoreCommerce to PrestaShop, ensuring a smooth and efficient transfer with minimal downtime.

PrestaShop offers robust control over your store's design, functionality, and SEO, making it an attractive choice for merchants seeking greater autonomy and scalability. By carefully following these steps, you can successfully switch your store and unlock the full potential of your new PrestaShop environment.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before you begin the data transfer process, ensure you have adequately prepared both your source CoreCommerce store and your target PrestaShop store. Proper preparation is key to a seamless migration and helps maintain data integrity.

• CoreCommerce Store Readiness:
  • Full Admin Access: You will need full administrative login credentials for your CoreCommerce store. For security, consider creating a temporary admin account with necessary permissions for the migration process.
  • FTP/SFTP Access: Be prepared to provide FTP or SFTP access details to your CoreCommerce server. This is crucial for uploading the Connection Bridge, which facilitates the data transfer. Learn more about access credentials.
  • Data Backup: Always perform a complete backup of your CoreCommerce store's database and files before initiating any migration. This safeguards your data against unforeseen issues.
  • Review CoreCommerce Module: The migration process requires the Cart2Cart CoreCommerce Migration module to establish a secure connection.
  • Understand Limitations: Be aware of CoreCommerce's limitations, such as those concerning multi-store variants (if applicable to your setup) and SEO options for blogs, which may not transfer.
• PrestaShop Store Readiness:
  • Fresh PrestaShop Installation: Have a fresh, clean installation of PrestaShop ready on your hosting server. Avoid installing themes, demo data, or extensive plugins before the migration, as these can conflict with the data transfer. For guidance, refer to How to prepare Target store for migration?
  • Full Admin Access: Ensure you have full administrative login credentials for your new PrestaShop store.
  • FTP/SFTP Access: You'll need FTP or SFTP access to your PrestaShop root directory to upload the Connection Bridge. Understand what a root folder is.
  • PrestaShop Module Requirement: The migration tool will require the Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module for connecting to your new store.
  • Hosting Compatibility: Verify your hosting environment meets PrestaShop's system requirements for optimal performance.
  • Clear Target Data: Consider using the 'Clear Target Store Data' option during migration if you want to ensure no existing data on your PrestaShop store conflicts with the incoming CoreCommerce data.
• General Preparations:
  • Stable Internet Connection: Ensure a reliable internet connection to prevent interruptions during the data transfer.
  • Time Allocation: Allocate sufficient time for each step, especially for the full migration, which can vary based on your store's size.
  • Security: Rest assured that providing access details is safe; learn more on Is it safe to provide your company with my access details?

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these detailed instructions to move your e-commerce data from CoreCommerce to PrestaShop using a specialized migration wizard.

Step 1: Get Started with the Migration Wizard

Begin by accessing the migration tool's wizard. This initial screen will prompt you to start the process, offering options for a DIY migration or assisted services.

Step 2: Source Store Setup (CoreCommerce)

Next, you will configure your CoreCommerce store as the source platform for the data transfer.

1. Select CoreCommerce: From the list of supported platforms, choose CoreCommerce as your Source Cart.
2. Provide Admin URL: Enter the administrative URL of your CoreCommerce store.
3. Establish Connection: CoreCommerce primarily uses a 'Bridge only' connection method, often facilitated by a dedicated module. You will typically be prompted to install the Cart2Cart CoreCommerce Migration module or upload a connection bridge (a small file) to your CoreCommerce root directory via FTP/SFTP. This bridge securely links the migration tool to your store's database.

Step 3: Target Store Setup (PrestaShop)

Now, configure your new PrestaShop store as the destination for your e-commerce data.

1. Select PrestaShop: Choose PrestaShop as your Target Cart.
2. Provide Admin URL: Input the administrative URL of your newly installed PrestaShop store.
3. Establish Connection: Similar to CoreCommerce, PrestaShop also uses a 'Bridge only' connection method, usually requiring the Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module. You will likely download a bridge file (a zip archive), extract the 'bridge2cart' folder, and upload it to the root directory of your PrestaShop installation via FTP/SFTP. This connection ensures secure data exchange between your stores.

Step 4: Select Entities for Migration

In this crucial step, you choose which specific data entities you want to transfer from CoreCommerce to PrestaShop. The migration tool provides a comprehensive list of items you can move.

1. Choose Data Types: You can select to migrate all available entities with a single click or choose specific ones based on your needs. For CoreCommerce to PrestaShop, supported entities typically include:
   • Products: Including SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, and prices.
   • Products Categories: Your store's organizational structure.
   • Products Manufacturers: Brand information.
   • Products Reviews: Valuable customer feedback.
   • Customers: Including customer data, addresses, and account details.
   • Orders: All order history, statuses, and associated customer information.
   • Invoices: Your billing records.
   • Taxes: Tax rules and rates.
   • Stores: If applicable, multi-store data.
   • Coupons: Promotional codes and discounts.
   • CMS Pages: Informational content pages.
2. Review Selections: Carefully review your selections to ensure all necessary data is included for the replatforming process.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options & Data Mapping

This stage allows for fine-tuning your migration with various options and ensuring proper data alignment.

Additional Migration Options

Enhance your data transfer by selecting from a range of additional options:

• Preserve IDs: Maintain original Product IDs, Orders IDs, and Customers IDs in PrestaShop, which can be beneficial for historical data, integrations, and SEO. Learn more about how Preserve IDs options work.
• Migrate Customer Passwords: Transfer customer passwords securely.
• Create 301 Redirects: Automatically generate 301 redirects for old CoreCommerce URLs to their new PrestaShop counterparts, preserving your SEO rankings and link equity.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded in descriptions are transferred.
• Clear Target Store Data: This option will remove all existing data from your PrestaShop store before migration, ensuring a clean slate. Refer to Clear current data on Target store before migration option for details.
• SEO URLs: Preserve existing SEO-friendly URLs.
• Migrate Invoices: Transfer all invoice records.
• Create Variants from Attributes: If your CoreCommerce store uses attributes that can form product variants, this option will configure them in PrestaShop.
• Migrate Groups to Tags: Convert customer groups or other categorical data into PrestaShop tags.

Data Mapping Setup

Crucially, you'll need to map certain data fields between your CoreCommerce and PrestaShop stores to ensure consistency and correct display.

• Customer Groups Mapping: Match customer groups from CoreCommerce (e.g., 'Wholesale,' 'Retail') to their corresponding roles or groups in PrestaShop.
• Order Statuses Mapping: Align order statuses (e.g., 'Pending,' 'Processing,' 'Shipped') from your source store to the equivalent statuses in PrestaShop.

Step 6: Run Demo Migration & Full Migration

With all configurations set, you are ready to initiate the data transfer.

1. Start Demo Migration: Run a free demo migration first. This transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) to your PrestaShop store. It's an excellent way to preview the migration results, check data integrity, and identify any potential issues before committing to the full transfer.
2. Review Demo Results: Thoroughly examine the migrated data on your PrestaShop store. Check product details, customer accounts, and order information.
3. Initiate Full Migration: Once satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full migration. The migration tool will transfer all selected data from CoreCommerce to PrestaShop. During this process, your CoreCommerce store remains fully operational, ensuring minimal impact on sales and user experience.
4. Consider Migration Insurance: For added peace of mind, especially with large stores, consider a Migration Insurance Service. This service typically provides options for multiple remigrations within a specified period, allowing you to re-run the process if needed. Learn more about how Migration Insurance works.

Post-Migration Steps

Completing the data transfer is a significant achievement, but the process isn't over. Several crucial post-migration steps ensure your new PrestaShop store is fully functional and optimized.

• Thorough Testing: Conduct comprehensive testing of your new PrestaShop store. Verify all products, categories, customer accounts, order history, payment gateways, and shipping options. Test the entire checkout process from a customer's perspective. Ensure all images, descriptions, and metadata are correctly displayed.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you are completely satisfied with your new PrestaShop store, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new PrestaShop hosting. This will make your PrestaShop store live to your customers.
• SEO Optimization:
  • Verify 301 Redirects: If you enabled 301 redirects during migration, verify they are functioning correctly to guide users and search engines from old CoreCommerce URLs to new PrestaShop URLs. This is vital for maintaining your SEO rankings and link equity.
  • Update Internal Links: Scan your new PrestaShop store for any remaining internal links that might still point to your old CoreCommerce domain. Update these to reflect your new URLs.
  • Submit New Sitemap: Generate and submit a new XML sitemap to Google Search Console and other search engines.
• Install Essential Modules & Themes: Customize your PrestaShop store by installing your chosen theme and any necessary modules or plugins for features like analytics, marketing, or advanced product management.
• Configure Payment & Shipping: Set up and test all your preferred payment gateways and shipping methods to ensure smooth transactions.
• Inform Customers: Announce the launch of your new PrestaShop store to your customers via email, social media, or a prominent notice on your site.
• Monitor Performance: Continuously monitor your PrestaShop store's performance, user experience, and SEO health. Tools like Google Analytics and Search Console can help identify any post-migration issues.
• Consider Recent Data Migration: If there was any new data (orders, customers, products) created on your CoreCommerce store after the full migration, you can use a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer only this new information.

By following this comprehensive guide, you can confidently migrate your e-commerce store from CoreCommerce to PrestaShop, setting the stage for growth and enhanced functionality on your new platform. Should you encounter any complexities or prefer expert assistance, consider our Contact Us options for professional support.