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

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Shopaccino to PrestaShop

Replatforming your e-commerce store is a strategic decision that can unlock new growth opportunities and enhance your operational capabilities. If you're currently running your business on Shopaccino and considering a move to PrestaShop, this guide will walk you through the entire data transfer process. PrestaShop offers robust features, extensive customization, and full ownership of your data, making it an attractive destination for merchants seeking greater control and scalability.

While Shopaccino serves its purpose, migrating to a self-hosted solution like PrestaShop empowers you with an open-source platform, a vast community, and access to a rich ecosystem of modules and themes. This guide details how to perform a seamless migration, ensuring your valuable data – including products, customer records, and orders – makes the transition intact.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before initiating your store migration, a little preparation goes a long way in ensuring a smooth and successful transfer. Here’s what you need to prepare for both your existing Shopaccino store and your new PrestaShop platform.

For Your Shopaccino (Source) Store:

• Data Export: Since Shopaccino is not directly integrated with standard migration tools, the migration will be performed via CSV files. You will need to export your store's data into CSV format. This typically includes:
  • Products: SKUs, names, descriptions, images, prices, variants, categories, manufacturers, and product reviews.
  • Customers: Customer information, addresses, and potentially customer groups.
  • Orders: Order history, statuses, associated customer data, and ordered products.
  • Other Entities: Invoices, taxes, coupons, CMS pages, and blog posts, if supported by your Shopaccino export functionality.
• Data Cleanup: Take this opportunity to clean up any redundant or outdated data in your CSV files. This can improve the efficiency of your data transfer and ensure a clean start on PrestaShop.
• Data Backup: Always create a complete backup of your Shopaccino store's data before beginning any migration process. This is a critical safety measure.

For Your PrestaShop (Target) Store:

• PrestaShop Installation: Ensure you have a fresh installation of PrestaShop on your web server. This includes setting up your hosting, domain, and performing the initial PrestaShop installation. It's recommended to start with a clean PrestaShop instance to avoid conflicts.
• Admin Access: You will need full administrative access (admin URL, login, and password) to your PrestaShop store. This is essential for establishing the connection and for installing necessary modules.
• Cart2Cart PrestaShop Module: PrestaShop migrations require the Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module. You'll need to install this module on your PrestaShop store.
• Backup Your Target Store: Even if your PrestaShop installation is new, it's a good practice to back it up before migration, especially if you have made any initial configurations or added demo data.

For more detailed guidance on preparing your stores, refer to our FAQs: How to prepare Source store for migration? and How to prepare Target store for migration?.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

The migration process typically involves using an automated migration wizard. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

Step 1: Start Your Migration

Begin by navigating to the migration service platform. You'll typically find an option to start a new migration.

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

This is where you'll configure your current Shopaccino store as the source. Select 'CSV File to Cart' as your source platform. You will then be prompted to upload the CSV files containing your Shopaccino data.

Ensure your CSV files are correctly formatted. If you require assistance with your CSV data, consider our CSV.File Data Migration service.

Step 3: Connect Your Target Store (PrestaShop)

Next, configure your new PrestaShop store as the target platform.

• Select PrestaShop: Choose 'PrestaShop' from the list of target shopping carts.
• Provide Admin URL: Enter the full administrative URL of your PrestaShop store.
• Choose Connection Method: PrestaShop requires a connection method. Since the Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module is required, you will likely choose an option that facilitates its installation. This could be:
  • Install Add-on from Marketplace: This option guides you to download and install the specific PrestaShop plugin through your store's admin panel.
  • Upload Connection Bridge: This involves downloading a bridge file, extracting the 'bridge2cart' folder, and uploading it to your PrestaShop store's root directory via FTP/SFTP.
  • Provide Admin Credentials: Some services can automatically upload the connection bridge if you provide your PrestaShop admin email and password. This is often the most streamlined approach.

For details on obtaining access credentials, consult The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart. If using the bridge, learn what a root folder is and where to find it.

Step 4: Select Entities & Additional Options

This critical step allows you to define exactly what data will be transferred from your Shopaccino CSVs to PrestaShop.

• Select Data Entities: You can choose to migrate 'All entities' or select specific data types such as:
  • Products (including SKUs, variants, descriptions)
  • Product Categories
  • Product Manufacturers
  • Product Reviews
  • Customers (including customer data and addresses)
  • Orders (with order statuses and associated information)
  • Invoices
  • Taxes
  • Coupons
  • CMS Pages
  • Blogs & Blog Posts

• Choose Additional Options: Enhance your migration with various settings:
  • Clear Target: Select this option to remove any existing demo data or products from your PrestaShop store before the migration starts. Learn more about clearing current data on the target store.
  • Preserve Product IDs, Order IDs, Customer IDs: These options are highly recommended to maintain data integrity and prevent potential issues with existing external integrations. Read about how Preserve IDs options can be used.
  • Create 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for maintaining your SEO rankings and link equity, this option ensures that old Shopaccino URLs redirect to their corresponding new PrestaShop URLs.
  • Migrate Images in Description: Ensures product and category images embedded within descriptions are transferred.
  • Password Migration: Allows existing customer passwords to be migrated securely.

Step 5: Configure Data Mapping

In this step, you will map your Shopaccino (CSV) customer groups and order statuses to their corresponding equivalents in PrestaShop. This ensures that customer roles and the lifecycle of orders are correctly interpreted and displayed on your new platform, preserving consistency and user experience.

Step 6: Run Demo Migration & Full Migration

• Run Demo Migration: It's highly recommended to run 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 PrestaShop store, letting you test the process and verify data integrity before committing to the full transfer.
• Initiate Full Migration: Once you're satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full migration. At this stage, you may also consider selecting a Migration Insurance Plan, which offers additional remigrations for a specified period. Learn how Migration Insurance works.

Depending on the volume of your data, the full migration can take some time. You can monitor its progress.

Post-Migration Steps

Once the data transfer is complete, there are crucial steps to take to ensure your new PrestaShop store is fully functional and ready for your customers.

1. Thoroughly Test Your New PrestaShop Store:
   • Verify Data: Check all migrated products (SKUs, variants, prices, images), customer accounts, and order histories for accuracy.
   • Functionality: Test all core functionalities, including adding products to the cart, the checkout process, payment gateways, and user registration.
   • Links and Redirects: Ensure all internal links are working correctly and that the 301 redirects are properly forwarding old Shopaccino URLs to new PrestaShop URLs, maintaining your link equity.
2. Update DNS Settings: Point your domain name to your new PrestaShop store's server. This makes your new store live to the public. Be mindful of DNS propagation times.
3. Install and Configure Essential Modules/Apps: Reinstall any third-party modules, extensions, or apps that your business relies on (e.g., shipping tools, marketing automation, accounting integrations).
4. SEO Review and Optimization:
   • Check for Broken Links: Use SEO tools to identify any broken links or crawl errors that might have occurred during the replatforming.
   • Submit New Sitemaps: Generate and submit new XML sitemaps to Google Search Console and other search engines.
   • Monitor Rankings: Keep an eye on your search engine rankings to quickly address any drops.
5. Update Store Settings: Configure taxes, shipping zones, payment methods, and any localization settings specific to your business needs in PrestaShop.
6. Notify Customers: Inform your loyal customers about your new platform and any changes or improvements they can expect.
7. Consider Ongoing Services: If you receive new orders or updates on your old Shopaccino store after the migration, consider a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer the latest data. For any future adjustments or new transfers, Cart2Cart Remigration Service is available.

Migrating from Shopaccino to PrestaShop is a significant undertaking, but with careful planning and the right tools, it can be a smooth and rewarding transition. By following this guide, you’ll be well-equipped to transfer your e-commerce store with confidence and set the stage for continued success on your new PrestaShop platform.