Solid Commerce to Squarespace Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Solid Commerce to Squarespace

Replatforming your e-commerce store is a significant strategic move, offering opportunities to modernize your online presence, enhance user experience, and streamline operations. This authoritative guide provides a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough for merchants looking to migrate their store from Solid Commerce to Squarespace, leveraging the robust capabilities of a specialized migration service. While Solid Commerce data will be efficiently transferred via CSV file export, Squarespace will connect seamlessly through its API, ensuring a smooth and secure data transfer process.

Squarespace offers a compelling platform with its intuitive design tools, integrated e-commerce features, and scalable infrastructure. By following these instructions, you can ensure a comprehensive transition of your vital e-commerce data, including products, customers, orders, and more, preserving data integrity and minimizing downtime.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating your store migration, careful preparation is crucial. Addressing these prerequisites will lay a solid foundation for a seamless data transfer from Solid Commerce to Squarespace.

For Your Solid Commerce (Source) Store:

• Data Export: As Solid Commerce does not offer direct API integration with migration tools, your data will be transferred via CSV files. You must export all essential e-commerce entities, including products (with SKUs, variants, descriptions, images), product categories, customer records, order history, product reviews, and any CMS pages or blog posts, into well-structured CSV format. Ensure all necessary fields are included and properly formatted. For more details, consult our guide on CSV.File Data Migration.
• Data Review and Cleaning: Take this opportunity to review and clean your source data. Remove any outdated products, duplicate customer entries, or inconsistent information. Clean data prevents errors during the transfer and improves the quality of your new Squarespace store.
• Data Backup: Always perform a full backup of your Solid Commerce store's database and files before any major operation. This provides a safety net in case any issues arise during the export or migration process. Learn more about preparing your source store: How to prepare Source store for migration?

For Your Squarespace (Target) Store:

• Active Squarespace Account: Ensure you have an active Squarespace account with an e-commerce plan enabled. This is essential for receiving your migrated store data.
• Squarespace API Access: Squarespace connects via API. You will need to ensure proper API access. This often involves obtaining specific API keys, secrets, access tokens, and potentially admin credentials (admin email, admin password) to allow the migration tool to securely access and inject data into your new store. Note that Squarespace requires custom app development for full API functionality and adheres to API rate limits, which the migration service handles. HTTPS is also a requirement.
• Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App: According to Squarespace's specifications, the Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App is required to facilitate this data transfer. Ensure this app is prepared or installed as instructed by the migration wizard.
• Optional Data Clearing: If you're migrating to an existing Squarespace store that contains dummy data or old content, consider utilizing the 'Clear Target' option during migration to start with a clean slate. Read about this option here: Clear current data on Target store before migration option. For general preparation tips, see: How to prepare Target store for migration?

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your preparations complete, you are ready to begin the data transfer process. Follow these steps using the Cart2Cart migration wizard to move your store from Solid Commerce (via CSV) to Squarespace.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Begin by accessing the migration wizard. This initial screen allows you to choose between a do-it-yourself migration, a guided service, or a price estimation. Select the DIY option to proceed with the wizard.

Step 2: Connect Your Solid Commerce (CSV) Source Store

In the wizard, select "CSV File to Cart" as your Source Cart. This will enable you to upload the CSV files containing your Solid Commerce data. Follow the prompts to upload your exported files for various entities like products, customers, and orders.

As a source, the CSV method supports a wide range of entities including Products, Product Categories, Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, CMS Pages, Blogs, and Blog Posts. This file-based connection ensures all your historical data can be efficiently captured for the move.

Step 3: Set Up Your Squarespace Target Store

Next, choose "Squarespace" as your Target Cart. The wizard will prompt you to provide the necessary API connection details. These typically include an Admin URL, your admin email, and admin password, or specific API keys (apiKey, apiSecret, accessToken, refreshToken) depending on the Squarespace API setup. Remember, the Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App is required for this connection, and HTTPS is mandatory.

Squarespace primarily supports the migration of Products, Product Categories, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, CMS Pages, Gift Cards, Coupons, and Blog Posts through its API. Ensure you have obtained all the required credentials from your Squarespace account. For detailed guidance on acquiring these, refer to The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

This critical step allows you to choose precisely which data entities you want to transfer from your Solid Commerce (CSV) files to Squarespace. You can select "All entities" for a comprehensive transfer or pick specific items such as Products, Product Reviews, Categories, Customers, Orders, CMS Pages, and Blog Posts. Carefully consider what data is essential for your new store.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options and Map Data

Enhance your data transfer with a range of additional options. These can include:

• Clear Target Store Data: To start fresh on Squarespace.
• Preserve Order IDs: Maintain the original order numbers. Read more on How Preserve IDs options can be used?.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product and category descriptions retain their imagery.
• Create 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for maintaining your search engine rankings and link equity by redirecting old Solid Commerce URLs to their new Squarespace counterparts.

Following additional options, you will proceed to the data mapping stage. Here, you'll match various fields between your source CSV data and Squarespace. This is especially important for elements like customer groups, order statuses, and any custom fields to ensure data consistency and integrity post-migration. For complex mapping needs, consider our Migration Customization Service.

Step 6: Run Demo Migration & Full Migration

Before committing to the full data transfer, run a free Demo Migration. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) to your Squarespace store. Review this demo data carefully to ensure everything has transferred correctly and functions as expected. This step is vital for verifying data accuracy and making any necessary adjustments.

Once satisfied with the demo, you can proceed with the Full Migration. The system will provide a final cost and allow you to select a Migration Insurance Plan, which offers additional remigrations for peace of mind. Learn more about How Migration Insurance works?. This will initiate the complete transfer of all your chosen e-commerce data to Squarespace.

Post-Migration Steps

Completing the migration is a major milestone, but a few crucial steps remain to ensure your new Squarespace store is fully operational and optimized.

• Thoroughly Review Your New Squarespace Store:
• Products: Check product pages, SKUs, variants, prices, images, descriptions, and stock levels.
• Customer Accounts: Verify customer data, ensure login functionality, and check order histories.
• Orders: Review order statuses, details, and associated customer information.
• Categories & CMS Pages: Ensure all categories are correctly structured and all informational pages and blog posts are present and formatted correctly.
• Configure Store Settings: Set up essential configurations specific to Squarespace, including shipping rates, tax settings, payment gateways, and any new marketing integrations.
• Set Up 301 Redirects: If you didn't use the "Create 301 SEO URLs" option during migration, or for any custom URLs, manually set up 301 redirects to ensure smooth redirection from old Solid Commerce URLs to their new Squarespace counterparts. This is vital for preserving your SEO rankings and link equity.
• Update DNS Records: Once you are confident that your Squarespace store is ready, update your domain's DNS records to point to your new Squarespace site.
• Test Everything: Conduct thorough testing of all core functionalities, including the checkout process, search feature, contact forms, and mobile responsiveness. Enlist friends or colleagues to act as test customers.
• Go Live: Once testing is complete and you're satisfied with your new store, officially launch your Squarespace e-commerce platform!

By meticulously following this guide, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business from Solid Commerce to Squarespace, unlocking new growth opportunities and an enhanced online experience. Should you encounter any questions or require assistance, our Contact Us page or Frequently Asked Questions section can provide further support.