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

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from FoxyCart to Volusion

In the dynamic world of e-commerce, a strategic platform migration can be a game-changer for businesses seeking scalability, enhanced features, and a more robust all-in-one solution. If you're currently leveraging FoxyCart for its flexible payment gateway integration but are now eyeing Volusion's comprehensive e-commerce ecosystem, this guide is for you. Transitioning from FoxyCart to Volusion, while a significant undertaking, doesn't have to be daunting. This article will walk you through a seamless data transfer process using a trusted migration service, ensuring your valuable store data—from products and customers to orders and reviews—moves safely and efficiently.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before initiating your migration, a few preparatory steps are crucial to ensure a smooth and successful transition. Understanding these requirements will help you safeguard your data and set the stage for a flawless move.

Preparing Your FoxyCart (Source) Data

• Data Export: As FoxyCart primarily focuses on payment processing and does not typically offer a direct API connection for comprehensive data migration tools, the recommended method for data transfer is via CSV files. You will need to export your FoxyCart data, including product information (SKUs, variants, descriptions, images), customer data, and order history, into well-structured CSV files. This process effectively transforms your FoxyCart store into a 'CSV File to Cart' source for migration. For more details on preparing your source store, refer to our guide.
• Data Review: Before export, take time to review your FoxyCart data. Clean up any outdated or redundant information to ensure only accurate and necessary data is migrated to Volusion.

For more assistance with CSV-based migrations, explore our CSV File Data Migration Service.

Preparing Your Volusion (Target) Store

• Volusion Store Setup: Ensure you have a new or existing Volusion store ready. You'll need full administrative access and credentials to your Volusion account.
• Install Cart2Cart Volusion Migration Module: Volusion requires a specific connection method via a migration bridge. This involves installing the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module. This plugin acts as a secure conduit, enabling the migration service to access and transfer data to your Volusion store. Understanding the concept of a root folder where such modules are installed can be helpful.
• Backup Your Stores: Even though you're migrating from FoxyCart, it's always wise to perform a full backup of both your source (FoxyCart data, even if just the CSVs) and target (Volusion, if it contains any existing data) stores before starting the migration. For a comprehensive checklist on preparing your target store, see our FAQ.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now that your stores are prepared, let's walk through the step-by-step process of migrating your FoxyCart data to Volusion using the Cart2Cart migration wizard.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Begin by navigating to the migration service website. You'll be prompted to start a new migration process.

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

This is where you'll specify your FoxyCart data as the source. Given FoxyCart's nature, you'll select 'CSV File' as your source cart type.

1. From the dropdown menu, select 'CSV File' as your Source Cart.
2. Upload the CSV files containing your FoxyCart store's data (products, customers, orders, etc.).

Step 3: Connect Your Target Store (Volusion)

Next, you'll configure your new Volusion store as the destination for your data.

1. Select 'Volusion' from the Target Cart dropdown list.
2. Enter your Volusion store's full URL.
3. You will then be prompted to install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module on your Volusion store. This module establishes the necessary bridge connection for data transfer.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

Here, you choose precisely which data types you wish to transfer from your FoxyCart CSVs to Volusion. Volusion supports a wide range of entities including:

• Products (including SKUs and variants)
• Product Categories
• Product Manufacturers
• Product Reviews
• Customers
• Orders
• Invoices
• Taxes
• Stores
• Coupons
• CMS Pages

You can choose to migrate all entities or select specific ones based on your needs. For instance, you might want to migrate products (including SKUs and variants), customer data, and order history, while leaving out certain old CMS pages.

Step 5: Configure Data Mapping

Data mapping is a critical step to ensure that your FoxyCart data fields correctly align with Volusion's structure. This involves matching customer groups, order statuses, and other attributes between your source and target platforms.

Carefully review and adjust the mapping to maintain data integrity and consistency for a seamless user experience on your new Volusion store.

Step 6: Choose Additional Migration Options

Enhance your migration with a range of optional features. These options are crucial for preserving SEO rankings, maintaining link equity, and optimizing your new store's functionality.

Key options to consider include:

• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure all product images embedded within descriptions are transferred.
• Clear Target Store Data: The option to clear current data on your Target store before migration can be useful for fresh Volusion installations.
• Preserve IDs: Options like Preserve Product IDs, Preserve Orders IDs, and Preserve Customers IDs help maintain data consistency and are vital for existing integrations or historical data analysis.
• SEO URLs & 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for maintaining your search engine optimization. These options ensure that your old URLs are properly redirected to your new Volusion URLs, preventing broken links and preserving your SEO rankings.
• Password Migration: If you wish to transfer customer passwords securely, select this option.
• Create Variants from Attributes: Essential for accurate product data, especially for items with multiple options like size or color.
• Migrate Invoices: Transfer existing invoice data for historical records.
• Skip Custom Attributes: An option to disregard specific custom attributes during the data transfer.

Step 7: Perform a Demo Migration (Highly Recommended)

Before committing to the full migration, run a free demo migration. This transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, and orders) to your Volusion store. It's an excellent opportunity to:

• Verify Data Transfer: Check that products, categories, customer data, and order information are transferred correctly.
• Test Functionality: Ensure basic store functions, like adding to cart and checkout, work as expected.
• Preview User Experience: Get a feel for how your store will look and operate on Volusion.

Explore our Migration Preview Service for more details.

Step 8: Launch Full Migration

Once you're satisfied with the demo results, you can proceed with the full data transfer. Review all settings and the final cost. Consider adding a Migration Insurance Plan, which offers additional remigrations for a specified period, providing peace of mind. The migration process runs on secure cloud servers, minimizing downtime for your current FoxyCart store.

Post-Migration Steps

After your data has successfully moved to Volusion, there are crucial steps to ensure your new store is fully operational and optimized.

1. Thoroughly Verify All Data: Conduct a comprehensive audit of your Volusion store. Check all products (SKUs, variants, images, descriptions), categories, customer accounts, orders, product reviews, and CMS pages for accuracy and completeness.
2. Test Store Functionality: Navigate through your new Volusion store as a customer. Test the entire checkout process, user registration, search functionality, contact forms, and all integrated payment gateways. Ensure the user experience is flawless.
3. Configure SEO and Redirects: If you used the 301 SEO URLs option during migration, verify that all redirects are working correctly. Update your Google Search Console with your new Volusion sitemap and submit a change of address if necessary. This is vital for preserving your hard-earned SEO rankings and link equity. Keep in mind that for blogs, Volusion's SEO options might be excluded.
4. Update DNS Settings: Once you're fully confident in your new Volusion store, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new Volusion store. This will direct all traffic to your new platform.
5. Decommission FoxyCart: After confirming that your Volusion store is running perfectly and all data is secure, you can safely decommission your FoxyCart setup.
6. Inform Your Customers: Announce your new and improved Volusion store to your customer base. This is a great opportunity to offer a welcome promotion or highlight new features.
7. Review and Optimize: Continuously monitor your Volusion store's performance using analytics tools. Gather customer feedback and make ongoing optimizations to further enhance the user experience and drive sales.

Migrating from FoxyCart to Volusion is a significant upgrade for many businesses. By following this detailed guide and leveraging specialized migration services, you can ensure a smooth, secure, and successful transition, setting your business up for continued growth on your new Volusion platform. If you encounter any issues or require expert assistance, don't hesitate to contact us.