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

Seamlessly Migrate Your E-commerce Store from WIX to Volusion

Are you considering moving your online store from WIX to Volusion? This comprehensive guide will walk you through the entire process, ensuring a smooth and successful data transfer. Volusion offers a powerful, feature-rich platform, making it an excellent choice for scaling your e-commerce operations. While WIX provides a user-friendly environment for beginners, Volusion is often chosen for its robust tools, advanced SEO capabilities, and dedicated e-commerce functionalities. Replatforming your store is a strategic decision that can significantly impact your business growth, and with the right approach, this transition can be effortless.

This article provides a detailed, step-by-step methodology for migrating your vital store data—including products, customer information, and order history—from WIX to Volusion using an automated migration tool. Let's dive in and ensure your valuable assets are transferred with precision and data integrity.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating your WIX to Volusion store migration, it's crucial to prepare both your source (WIX) and target (Volusion) platforms. Proper preparation minimizes potential downtime and ensures a seamless transition of your e-commerce ecosystem.

WIX (Source Store) Preparation:

• Data Export: Since WIX does not support direct API connections for automated migration tools in the same way as other platforms, your migration will be handled via CSV files. You will need to export your product data (SKUs, variants, descriptions, images), customer records, and order history into CSV format from your WIX dashboard. Ensure these files are well-organized and complete. For more details on this method, refer to our CSV.File Data Migration service.
• Data Backup: Always create a complete backup of your WIX store data before any major operation. While the migration process is designed to be non-intrusive, having a backup provides an extra layer of security.
• Review Current Data: Clean up any outdated or unnecessary data on your WIX store. This is an opportune moment to declutter your database, improving the efficiency of your new Volusion store.

Volusion (Target Store) Preparation:

• Set Up Your Volusion Store: Ensure you have an active Volusion store account. This means having the basic setup completed, including choosing a theme, even if you plan to customize it later.
• Install Cart2Cart Volusion Migration Module: Volusion requires a specific plugin to enable the migration bridge connection. You will need to install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module on your Volusion store. This module facilitates the secure transfer of your data.
• Gather Access Credentials: You will need your Volusion admin login details (adminLogin, adminPwd, adminUrl), your store URL, and FTP access details (as Volusion supports FTP access). Ensure you have these readily available for the migration tool. For guidance on securing credentials, please see The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.
• Backup Target Store (if existing data): If your Volusion store already contains some data, consider backing it up, especially if you plan to use the "Clear Target" option during migration.

For a general understanding of store preparation, you can read our FAQs on How to prepare Source store for migration? and How to prepare Target store for migration?.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Migrating from WIX to Volusion can be streamlined using an automated tool like Cart2Cart. Follow these steps for a guided transition of your e-commerce data.

Step 1: Get Started with Cart2Cart

Begin by registering for a Cart2Cart account. Once logged in, you will be prompted to start your migration. The user-friendly wizard will guide you through the process.

Step 2: Connect Your Source Store (WIX via CSV)

In the migration wizard, you will first need to specify your source platform. As WIX data is imported via CSV, select "CSV File to Cart" from the dropdown list. You will then upload your prepared CSV files containing your WIX store's products, customers, and orders. This method ensures all your valuable data makes it to your new store.

Step 3: Connect Your Target Store (Volusion)

Next, it's time to connect your target store. Select "Volusion" as your Target Cart. Provide your Volusion store's URL and the necessary admin credentials. The migration tool will then prompt you to install the Cart2Cart bridge, which is essential for establishing a secure connection between the migration service and your Volusion store. This bridge allows the transfer of data directly to your Volusion database.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

This critical step allows you to choose exactly which types of data you wish to migrate from your WIX CSV files to Volusion. Cart2Cart supports a wide range of entities, including:

• Products (including SKUs, variants, descriptions, images)
• Product Categories
• Product Manufacturers
• Product Reviews
• Customers
• Orders
• Invoices
• Taxes
• Stores
• Coupons
• CMS Pages

You can select all entities or pick specific ones based on your business requirements. Carefully review this selection to ensure no crucial data is left behind.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options and Data Mapping

Additional Options:

Enhance your migration with a variety of additional options. These features are designed to preserve your store's functionality and SEO rankings. For Volusion as a target, highly recommended options include:

• Migrate Images in Description: Ensures product and category images embedded within descriptions are transferred.
• Clear Target: This option will remove all existing data from your Volusion store before the migration, ensuring a clean slate. See Clear current data on Target store before migration option for more details.
• Preserve Product IDs, Preserve Orders IDs, Preserve Customers IDs: Keeping original IDs can simplify post-migration tasks and maintain data integrity. Read more about How Preserve IDs options can be used?.
• SEO URLs & 301 SEO URLs / Create 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for maintaining your search engine rankings and link equity by creating redirects from your old WIX URLs to your new Volusion URLs.
• Password Migration: Allows customers to log in with their existing credentials on your new Volusion store.
• Migrate Invoices: Transfers your invoice data for historical records.
• Skip Custom Attributes: An option if you prefer to reconfigure attributes manually.

Data Mapping:

The data mapping step allows you to match customer groups and order statuses from your WIX CSV data to their corresponding equivalents in Volusion. This ensures that your customer segments and order workflows are accurately represented in your new store.

Step 6: Run a Free Demo Migration (Recommended)

Before committing to a full migration, conduct a free demo migration. This trial run transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) in approximately 15-30 minutes. It's an excellent opportunity to:

• Verify data transfer accuracy.
• Check the appearance of products and categories on Volusion.
• Test customer logins and order processing.
• Identify any potential issues before the full transfer.

Consider our Migration Preview Service for a more comprehensive test.

Step 7: Perform Full Migration

Once you are satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full migration. Review all your selections one last time, choose your preferred Migration Insurance Plan (recommended for peace of mind), and initiate the transfer. The duration of the full migration depends on the volume of data being moved.

You can monitor the progress, and Cart2Cart will notify you upon completion. For payment options, refer to How can I pay for your service?.

Post-Migration Steps

Completing the data transfer is a significant milestone, but the migration process isn't over yet. Several crucial post-migration tasks are necessary to ensure your new Volusion store is fully functional and optimized.

1. Data Verification: Thoroughly check your Volusion store. Verify products (SKUs, pricing, descriptions, images, variants), customer accounts, order history, and CMS pages. Ensure that all data has been transferred accurately and appears as expected.
2. Configure Store Settings: Reconfigure essential settings on your Volusion store. This includes payment gateways, shipping zones, tax rules (Volusion supports multi-tax), currency settings, and general store preferences.
3. Update DNS Records: Once you are confident that your new Volusion store is ready, update your domain's DNS records to point to your Volusion store. This directs all traffic to your new platform. Plan this step to minimize downtime for your live store.
4. Set Up 301 Redirects: Even if you opted for 301 redirects during migration, it's wise to double-check that all old WIX URLs are correctly redirecting to their corresponding pages on Volusion. This is vital for preserving your SEO rankings and link equity.
5. Install Essential Apps/Plugins: Explore the Volusion App Store for any apps or plugins that enhance your store's functionality, marketing, or customer service.
6. Test All Store Functions: Perform comprehensive testing of your new Volusion store. This includes placing test orders, checking the checkout process, searching for products, verifying customer login functionality, and ensuring all forms and links work correctly.
7. Monitor and Optimize: Keep a close eye on your store's performance and user experience in the initial weeks after migration. Address any issues promptly.
8. Consider Recent Data Migration: If new orders or customer registrations occurred on your WIX store during the migration, you might need a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer this fresh data.
9. Address Volusion Specifics: Be aware of any platform-specific limitations. For instance, Volusion has certain "Multi-store limitations for BigCommerce variants" (though less likely to impact a WIX migration directly, it's a platform notice to keep in mind) and "SEO options excluded for blogs".

Migrating your e-commerce store is a complex but rewarding process. By following these steps and leveraging an automated tool, you can successfully transition from WIX to Volusion, unlocking new potential for your online business. If you encounter any challenges or require additional assistance, don't hesitate to Contact Us for expert support.