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

A Seamless Transition: Migrating Your E-commerce Store from Hostinger to Volusion

Replatforming your e-commerce store is a significant step towards enhancing your online business capabilities. If you're currently hosting your store on Hostinger and considering a move to Volusion, this guide will provide a clear, actionable roadmap for a smooth and efficient data migration. Volusion offers a robust, all-in-one e-commerce solution known for its comprehensive feature set, making it an attractive destination for merchants seeking scalability and advanced functionalities.

This guide leverages an automated migration approach, ensuring that your valuable products, customer data, orders, and other essential information are transferred with integrity and minimal downtime. Since Hostinger is primarily a hosting provider and not a specific e-commerce platform like Shopify or Magento, we will treat your current e-commerce setup on Hostinger as a source from which data needs to be exported via CSV files. This data will then be seamlessly imported into your new Volusion store.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before initiating the data transfer, careful preparation is crucial to ensure a successful migration experience. Addressing these prerequisites will safeguard your data and streamline the entire process.

1. Preparing Your Hostinger-Hosted Store (Source Data Export)

• Identify Your E-commerce Platform: Determine which specific e-commerce platform (e.g., WooCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop) you are currently running on Hostinger. The exact steps for data export will depend on this platform.
• Export Your Data to CSV Files: You will need to export all crucial store entities into CSV files. This includes:
  • Products: Product names, descriptions, SKUs, pricing, stock levels, variants, images, metadata.
  • Product Categories: Names, descriptions, hierarchical structure.
  • Customers: Customer information, addresses.
  • Orders: Order details, order statuses, transaction history.
  • Product Reviews: Customer feedback.
  • CMS Pages: Informational pages, blogs (if supported by the source platform).

  Ensure that your CSV files are well-structured and clean. For more details on CSV migrations, refer to our CSV.File Data Migration service. For comprehensive preparation advice, consult How to prepare Source store for migration?.

• Perform a Full Backup: Always create a complete backup of your current store's database and files before exporting any data. This ensures you have a recovery point if any unforeseen issues arise.

2. Preparing Your Volusion Store (Target Platform Preparation)

• Set Up a New Volusion Store: Ensure you have an active and preferably fresh Volusion store account ready to receive the migrated data. It's recommended to start with a clean slate to avoid data conflicts.
• Install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration Module: Volusion requires a specific connection module for automated migration. You will need to install the "Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module" on your Volusion store to facilitate the data transfer.
• Ensure Administrator Access: Have full administrative access to your Volusion store, including the necessary credentials (URL, admin login, admin password).

For detailed guidance on setting up your target store, please visit How to prepare Target store for migration?.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your preparations complete, you're ready to embark on the data migration process using an automated tool. Here's a step-by-step walkthrough:

Step 1: Start Your Migration Project

Begin by creating an account or logging into your migration service provider's platform. This is where you'll manage your entire store transfer project.

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

In the migration wizard, you'll need to specify your current store's details.

1. Select "CSV File to Cart" as your Source Cart from the dropdown menu. This option allows you to upload the data you've exported from your Hostinger-hosted store.
2. Upload your prepared CSV files containing your store's data. The system will then parse this information, making it ready for transfer. The migration tool supports a wide array of entities from your CSV, including Products, Product Categories, Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, CMS Pages, Blogs, and Blog Posts.

Step 3: Set Up Your Target Store (Volusion)

Next, you'll provide the details for your new Volusion store.

1. Select "Volusion" as your Target Cart from the dropdown list.
2. Enter your Volusion store's URL, along with your admin login and password.
3. Confirm the installation of the "Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module" on your Volusion store. This bridge connection is essential for the migration tool to securely communicate with and transfer data to your new platform.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

This critical step allows you to choose exactly which types of data you want to transfer from your Hostinger-hosted store to Volusion.

• Review the list of available entities and check the boxes for everything you wish to migrate, such as: Products, Product Categories, Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, and CMS Pages.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options and Map Data

Refine your migration with advanced settings and ensure data consistency.

• Additional Options: Select from various optional features to tailor your data transfer. Highly recommended options include:
  • Clear Target Data: Opt to clear current data on the target store before migration to avoid duplicates.
  • Preserve IDs: Choose to preserve Product IDs, Orders IDs, and Customers IDs to maintain existing relationships and for easier post-migration management.
  • SEO Enhancements: Enable 301 SEO URLs and create 301 SEO URLs to ensure your search engine rankings and link equity are preserved post-migration.
  • Password Migration: Migrate customer passwords for a seamless user experience.
  • Images in Description: Transfer images embedded within product descriptions.
  • Create Variants from Attributes: If your source data has product attributes, this option helps create proper product variants in Volusion.

  

• Data Mapping: This step allows you to accurately match customer groups, order statuses, and other custom fields from your source CSV data to the corresponding fields in Volusion. This ensures data integrity and consistency.

Step 6: Run a Free Demo Migration (Highly Recommended)

Before committing to a full migration, conduct a free demo. This will transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, orders) to your Volusion store. Use this opportunity to:

• Verify data compatibility and identify any potential issues.
• Review how products, categories, and customer information appear on your new Volusion storefront.
• Familiarize yourself with the migration tool's process.

A demo run significantly reduces risks and builds confidence for the full data transfer.

Step 7: Initiate the Full Migration

Once you're satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full migration.

1. Review all selected entities and additional options one final time.
2. Consider adding Migration Insurance, which offers additional remigrations or support, as explained in How Migration Insurance works?.
3. Click the "Start Full Migration" button. The process will run in the cloud, meaning you can close your browser without interrupting the transfer. You'll be notified upon completion.

Post-Migration Steps

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

1. Thoroughly Test Your New Volusion Store

Rigorous testing is essential to confirm everything functions as expected:

• Website Functionality: Navigate through your new Volusion store. Check category pages, product pages, search functionality, and overall site responsiveness.
• Checkout Process: Perform test purchases from various customer accounts to verify payment gateways, shipping calculations, and order confirmation.
• Customer Accounts: Log in as existing customers to ensure their order history, addresses, and account details are correct.
• Product Data: Scrutinize product descriptions, images, pricing, SKUs, and variants for accuracy.
• SEO Verification: Check if meta titles and descriptions are intact. Crucially, verify that your 301 redirects are working correctly to preserve SEO rankings and link equity.

2. Update DNS Records and Redirect Domains

Once you are confident in your Volusion store's performance, update your Domain Name System (DNS) records to point your domain to the new Volusion platform. Ensure all previous URLs redirect correctly to their new Volusion counterparts using the 301 redirects configured during migration.

3. Configure Third-Party Integrations

Reconnect and configure any essential third-party services you used with your Hostinger store, such as:

• Payment gateways (e.g., PayPal, Stripe)
• Shipping providers (e.g., USPS, FedEx)
• Analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics)
• Marketing automation platforms, email service providers, and accounting software.

4. Notify Your Customers

Inform your customers about the transition to your new Volusion store. Reassure them that their account information and order history are intact, and highlight any new features or improvements.

5. Monitor Performance

Post-launch, continuously monitor your store's performance using analytics tools. Pay attention to traffic, sales, conversion rates, and any error logs to quickly address issues and optimize your new Volusion platform.

By following this comprehensive guide, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business from Hostinger to Volusion, unlocking new opportunities for growth and enhancing your online presence. Should you require any assistance during this process, please don't hesitate to Contact Us.