Nexternal to Shopify Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Nexternal to Shopify

Replatforming your e-commerce store is a significant undertaking, and moving from Nexternal to Shopify can unlock a wealth of new opportunities for growth, enhanced user experience, and streamlined operations. Shopify is renowned for its robust feature set, extensive app ecosystem, and user-friendly interface, making it a popular choice for merchants looking to scale.

This expert guide will walk you through the entire process of migrating your store data from Nexternal to Shopify. Since Nexternal is not directly supported by standard API-based migration tools, this process will primarily involve exporting your data from Nexternal into CSV files and then importing it into a dedicated migration platform to facilitate the transfer to Shopify. We'll ensure a smooth transition of your products, customer data, orders, and other essential entities, preserving your vital e-commerce assets and minimizing downtime.

Ready to start your journey? Here’s how to begin:

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating your store migration, a little preparation goes a long way in ensuring a seamless data transfer. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Nexternal Store Access: Ensure you have full administrative access to your Nexternal account to export all necessary data, including products (SKUs, variants, images), customer profiles, order history, and potentially CMS pages or blog posts.
• Shopify Account: An active Shopify store is essential. You can choose any plan (Basic Shopify, Shopify, Advanced Shopify, or Shopify Plus) that best fits your business needs. Remember that Shopify’s “Pause and Build” plan can block orders, so ensure your plan is active for transactions during the transition.
• Cart2Cart Store Migration App: To facilitate the data transfer, you will need to install the Cart2Cart Store Migration App from the Shopify App Store. This is a crucial plugin requirement for connecting your Shopify target store.
• Disable Notifications on Shopify: It's highly recommended to disable notifications on your Shopify target store temporarily during the migration to avoid sending out emails or alerts related to the influx of new data.
• Reviews App for Shopify: If you plan to migrate product reviews, be aware that Shopify requires a third-party app (e.g., AirReviews) to manage and display them. Ensure you have such an app installed and configured on your Shopify store prior to migration.
• Data Backup: Always create a comprehensive backup of your Nexternal store data before starting any migration process. While data migration tools are reliable, having a backup provides peace of mind.
• Understand Shopify Limitations: Be aware of potential country restrictions for orders and other specific Shopify functionalities that might impact your migrated data.

For more detailed information on preparing your platforms, refer to our guides on how to prepare your Source store and how to prepare your Target store.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

The migration process typically involves a user-friendly wizard. Follow these steps to move your e-commerce data from Nexternal to Shopify:

Step 1: Set Up Your Migration

Begin by accessing your migration tool. You'll be prompted to start a new migration process.

Step 2: Connect Your Nexternal (Source) Store

Since Nexternal does not offer a direct API connection for common migration tools, you will perform the migration via a CSV file export. Select “CsvToCart” as your Source Cart type. You will then upload the CSV files containing your exported Nexternal data (products, customers, orders, etc.).

• Supported Entities (via CSV): Products, Product Categories, Product Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, CMS Pages, and Blogs Posts.

Step 3: Connect Your Shopify (Target) Store

Next, select “Shopify” as your Target Cart. You'll be offered connection methods. The recommended approach is to “Install App from Marketplace,” which will guide you to the Shopify App Store to install the Cart2Cart Store Migration App. Alternatively, you can choose to “Provide API Access Credentials” by creating a custom app in your Shopify admin and obtaining the necessary Admin API access token and scopes.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

This critical step allows you to choose exactly which data entities you wish to move from your Nexternal CSV files to your new Shopify store. You can select all available entities or pick specific ones based on your needs.

• Supported Shopify Entities: Products, Product Categories, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, CMS Pages, Gift Cards, Coupons, Price Rules, Blogs, and Blog Posts.

Common entities include products (with their SKUs and variants), customer profiles, and their complete order history. Ensure you transfer all data vital for your store's functionality and customer experience.

Step 5: Configure Data Mapping

Data mapping is crucial for ensuring that your Nexternal data (from CSV) is correctly organized within Shopify. You will map customer groups, order statuses, and other fields from your source data to their corresponding equivalents in Shopify. This step helps maintain data integrity and consistency across platforms.

Step 6: Choose Additional Migration Options

Enhance your migration with a range of additional options:

• Clear Target Store Data: The “Clear current data on Target store before migration” option will remove any existing data from your Shopify store, ensuring a clean slate.
• Preserve IDs: Options like “Preserve Order IDs” are highly recommended to maintain historical consistency.
• SEO URLs & 301 Redirects: Migrate existing SEO URLs and create 301 SEO redirects to preserve your SEO rankings and link equity.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded in descriptions are transferred.
• Shopify Specific Options: Look for options like “BigCommerce Migrate Variants” (a general variant migration option that also applies to other sources), “Migrate All Categories,” “Migrate Groups to Tags,” or “Concat Short Description” to further customize your data transfer.

Step 7: Perform a Free Demo Migration (Highly Recommended)

Before committing to a full migration, run a free demo migration. This will transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, and orders) to your Shopify store. This step is invaluable for reviewing the data transfer, verifying mappings, and understanding the entire process without any risk.

Step 8: Initiate Full Data Migration

Once you are satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full data transfer. You will review the final migration cost and have the option to add Migration Insurance, which allows for multiple re-migrations within a specific period. This offers flexibility in case you need to make adjustments or transfer newly added data post-migration.

With all settings confirmed, launch your full migration. The duration will depend on the volume of your data.

Post-Migration Steps

Your data has been transferred, but the work isn't quite done. These crucial steps ensure your new Shopify store is fully functional and optimized:

1. Thorough Data Verification: Rigorously check your new Shopify store. Confirm that all products, variants, images, descriptions, customer accounts, order histories, pricing, and CMS content have been accurately transferred. Pay close attention to details to ensure data integrity.
2. Configure Shopify Store Settings:
   • Theme Customization: Select and customize your Shopify theme to match your brand identity.
   • Payment Gateways: Set up your preferred payment processing options.
   • Shipping Settings: Configure shipping zones, rates, and carriers.
   • Install Essential Apps: Re-install or configure any necessary apps (e.g., for email marketing, customer support, reviews, analytics) that you used on Nexternal or new ones you wish to leverage on Shopify.
   • Disable Notifications: Ensure customer notifications are re-enabled only when you are ready to go live.
3. Update DNS Records: Once you are confident in your Shopify store, update your domain's DNS records to point to your new Shopify store. This officially transitions your live store to the new platform.
4. Implement 301 Redirects: If you chose not to create 301 redirects during the migration, or if any URLs have changed post-migration, set up manual 301 redirects to ensure old Nexternal URLs point to their new Shopify counterparts. This is vital for maintaining SEO rankings and a smooth user experience.
5. Extensive Store Testing: Conduct comprehensive testing of all functionalities:
   • Place test orders from different customer accounts.
   • Verify payment gateways are working correctly.
   • Test search functionality, product filters, and navigation.
   • Check mobile responsiveness.
6. SEO Audit: Monitor your website's performance using Google Search Console and other SEO tools. Address any crawl errors or indexing issues promptly.
7. Decommission Nexternal Store: Once your Shopify store is fully operational and verified, you can safely decommission your old Nexternal store.

Migrating from Nexternal to Shopify might seem complex due to the CSV-based approach, but by following this detailed guide and leveraging a reliable migration service, you can achieve a successful and impactful transition. If you require further assistance or custom migration services, please do not hesitate to contact our experts.