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

Seamlessly Transition Your Store: Migrating from Ebisumart to Volusion

Are you considering a significant upgrade for your e-commerce business? Migrating your online store from Ebisumart to Volusion can unlock a host of new features, enhanced scalability, and improved performance, propelling your business forward. This comprehensive guide will walk you through every step of the replatforming process, ensuring a smooth and successful data transfer.

Since Ebisumart does not offer a direct API connection for automated migration tools, this guide will detail a robust method using CSV file exports from Ebisumart and then importing this vital data into your new Volusion store. This approach ensures all your valuable products, customer information, orders, and more are accurately transferred, preserving data integrity and minimizing downtime.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before embarking on your migration journey, ensure you have the following essential components in place. Proper preparation is key to a smooth data transfer and helps safeguard your SEO rankings and user experience during the transition.

1. Preparing Your Ebisumart Source Store (CSV Export)

• Data Export: As Ebisumart data will be transferred via CSV files, you will need to export all relevant data from your current Ebisumart store. This includes, but is not limited to, products (with SKUs, variants, descriptions, images), product categories, customer records, order history, reviews, and any CMS pages. Ensure your CSV files are well-structured and include all necessary metadata.
• Backup Your Store: Always create a complete backup of your Ebisumart store's database and files before initiating any migration process. This safeguards your data against unforeseen issues.
• Read our guide on how to prepare your source store for migration for more insights.

2. Preparing Your Volusion Target Store

• New Volusion Account: Ensure you have a new Volusion store set up and ready to receive data. It's recommended to start with a fresh Volusion installation to avoid conflicts.
• Access Credentials: You'll need full administrator access to your Volusion store. This includes your admin login, password, and the store URL.
• FTP/SFTP Access: Volusion migrations typically require FTP/SFTP access to the root folder of your Volusion store. This is necessary for installing a connection bridge (Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module) that facilitates secure data transfer. If you're unsure, refer to what a root folder is and where to find it.
• Install Cart2Cart Volusion Migration Module: For seamless data migration, you will need to install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module on your Volusion target store. This plugin is crucial for the connection bridge.
• For a detailed checklist, consult our article on how to prepare your target store for migration.
• Review The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart for security best practices regarding your store access details.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to migrate your e-commerce data from Ebisumart (via CSV) to Volusion using a specialized migration service. We recommend performing a demo migration first to ensure all data transfers as expected.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Your migration journey begins by accessing the migration wizard. Here, you'll choose to start a self-service migration, request a guided service, or estimate costs. Select the option to begin your do-it-yourself migration to proceed.

Step 2: Configure Your Source Store (Ebisumart via CSV)

This critical step involves connecting your Ebisumart data. Since Ebisumart is not directly supported by most migration tools via an API, you will select "CSV File to Cart" as your source platform. You'll then be prompted to upload the CSV files containing your Ebisumart store's products, customers, orders, and other entities that you exported earlier. This method is a reliable way to transfer your valuable store data.

For more information on this method, visit our CSV.File Data Migration service page.

Step 3: Set Up Your Target Store (Volusion)

Next, you'll specify Volusion as your target e-commerce platform. Provide the complete URL of your new Volusion store. The migration tool will then guide you through installing the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module on your Volusion hosting via FTP/SFTP, which creates a necessary connection bridge for secure data transfer. This plugin ensures the migration tool can securely access and populate your new Volusion store with data.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

In this stage, you precisely define which data entities you wish to transfer from your Ebisumart CSV files to Volusion. You can choose to migrate all available data or hand-pick specific items. Volusion supports a wide range of entities including Products, Product Categories, Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, and CMS Pages. This granular control allows for a tailored migration scope.

Step 5: Refine with Additional Migration Options

Enhance your migration with a suite of additional options designed to preserve key store functionalities and SEO. These options apply to your Volusion target store and can include:

• Clear Target: Opt to clear current data on the target store before migration, ensuring a fresh start.
• Preserve IDs: Maintain your original Product IDs, Orders IDs, and Customers IDs to ensure data consistency and avoid breaking external integrations. Learn more about how Preserve IDs options can be used.
• SEO URLs & 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for maintaining your search engine rankings, these options migrate existing SEO URLs and create 301 redirects for changed URLs, preserving link equity.
• Password Migration: Securely migrate customer passwords, allowing your existing customer base to log into the new Volusion store without needing to reset their credentials.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure all product and category images embedded within descriptions are transferred.
• Create Variants from Attributes: If your Ebisumart products use attributes, this option ensures they are correctly mapped to create product variants in Volusion.

Step 6: Map Your Data Fields

Data mapping is a vital step to ensure your Ebisumart data is correctly assigned to the corresponding fields in Volusion. You will typically map customer groups and order statuses from your source store to their equivalents in the target Volusion store. For example, ensuring that a 'Pending' order status in Ebisumart maps correctly to 'Pending' or a similar status in Volusion, and customer roles are also accurately transferred.

Step 7: Launch Your Migration

With all settings configured, you have the option to run a free demo migration. This allows you to review a small sample of migrated data and verify that everything is transferring as expected. Once satisfied, proceed with the full migration. This is also where you can select a Migration Insurance Plan, offering additional security and remigrations if needed. Learn more about how Migration Insurance works.

Post-Migration Steps: Ensuring a Flawless Transition

The migration doesn't end when the data transfer is complete. These crucial post-migration steps will ensure your new Volusion store is fully operational and optimized:

1. Thorough Testing: Conduct extensive testing of your new Volusion store. Verify product listings, images, pricing, customer accounts, order processing, shipping, payment gateways, and search functionality. Place test orders to confirm the checkout flow.
2. Update DNS Settings: Once you're confident in your new Volusion store, update your domain's DNS records to point to the new Volusion servers. This is the moment your new store goes live to the public.
3. Implement 301 Redirects: While the migration tool can handle many 301 redirects, manually review and set up any additional redirects for URLs that may have changed during the Ebisumart to Volusion transition. This is critical for maintaining your SEO rankings and link equity.
4. Review SEO Performance: Monitor your search engine rankings and traffic using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Address any broken links or indexing issues promptly.
5. Remove Demo Data: If you performed a demo migration or have any placeholder data, ensure it is removed before going live.
6. Inform Customers: Announce your new store and its improved features to your customer base.
7. Ongoing Optimization: Continuously monitor your store's performance, customer feedback, and implement further optimizations to enhance the user experience.

Migrating from Ebisumart to Volusion via CSV offers a reliable path to a more robust e-commerce platform. While requiring careful preparation, the benefits of Volusion's features and scalability can significantly boost your online business. Should you encounter any challenges or require expert assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.