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

Seamlessly Migrate Your E-commerce Store from Solid Commerce to Volusion

Are you considering a significant upgrade or a strategic shift for your online retail business? Moving your e-commerce operations from Solid Commerce to Volusion can unlock new avenues for growth, enhanced storefront capabilities, and improved user experience. While Solid Commerce excels as a robust inventory and order management system, Volusion offers an all-in-one e-commerce platform with integrated storefront, marketing, and sales tools.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through every critical step of migrating your valuable e-commerce data from Solid Commerce to Volusion. Since Solid Commerce primarily functions as a backend system, the data transfer will leverage CSV file exports to ensure a smooth and accurate transition of your products, customer information, orders, and more. Our aim is to provide you with clear, actionable instructions to manage this replatforming process efficiently, minimizing downtime and preserving your critical business data.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before embarking on your store migration journey, it's essential to lay the groundwork to ensure a seamless transition. Proper preparation can significantly reduce potential issues and ensure data integrity.

• Access to Solid Commerce Data: You will need administrative access to your Solid Commerce account to export your product data (SKUs, variants, descriptions, images), customer records, and order history into CSV files. Ensure your data is as clean and up-to-date as possible before export.
• Volusion Store Setup: Have your Volusion store account created and ready. You don't need to configure everything yet, but the basic store environment should be accessible. If you're unsure how to set up your target store, refer to our guide on how to prepare your target store for migration.
• FTP/SFTP Access for Volusion: Volusion migrations require a connection bridge. You will need FTP/SFTP access to your Volusion store's root directory to upload the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module. If you're unfamiliar with the root folder, check out what is a root folder and where can I find it?
• Review Your Data: Take this opportunity to audit your existing Solid Commerce data. Identify any outdated products, redundant customer entries, or irrelevant information that you might not want to transfer to your new Volusion store.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these detailed steps to transfer your e-commerce data from Solid Commerce to Volusion using the migration wizard:

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Begin by navigating to the migration wizard. Here, you'll start the process of moving your store data.

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

Since Solid Commerce is an inventory and order management system, the data will be exported into CSV files and then uploaded to the migration tool. Select "CSV File to Cart" as your Source Cart and upload your prepared CSV files containing your products, customers, orders, and other relevant data. For more details on this process, see our CSV File Data Migration service.

Step 3: Connect Your Target Store (Volusion)

Now, it's time to configure your destination store. Select "Volusion" from the dropdown menu as your Target Cart. You'll need to provide your Volusion store's URL and administrative login credentials. A crucial part of this step is installing the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module (bridge) to establish a secure connection between the migration tool and your new Volusion store. This typically involves uploading a small file to your Volusion root directory via FTP.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

This stage allows you to choose exactly which types of data you wish to migrate from your Solid Commerce CSV files to Volusion. You can select "All entities" or pick specific items such as products (including SKUs, descriptions, and variants), product categories, customers, orders, product reviews, and CMS pages. This offers granular control over your data transfer.

• Products
• Product Categories
• Customers
• Orders
• Product Reviews
• CMS Pages

Step 5: Configure Additional Migration Options

Enhance your migration by selecting various additional options. These settings can greatly impact the integrity and functionality of your new Volusion store.

• Migrate Images in Description: If your product descriptions or CMS pages in Solid Commerce CSVs contain image URLs, this option ensures they are transferred.
• Preserve Product IDs, Order IDs, Customer IDs: Keeping original IDs helps maintain consistency and can be crucial for inventory management or external integrations. Learn more about how Preserve IDs options can be used.
• Create 301 SEO URLs: This is highly recommended to maintain your existing SEO rankings and link equity by automatically redirecting old Solid Commerce URLs to their new Volusion counterparts.
• Password Migration: If feasible from your CSV data, migrate customer passwords to ensure a seamless login experience for your returning customers.
• Clear Target Store Data: Opt to clear all existing data on your Volusion store before migration, ensuring a fresh start. Understand more about the "Clear current data on Target store before migration" option.

Step 6: Map Data Fields

Data mapping is a critical step where you align your Solid Commerce data fields with the corresponding fields in Volusion. This ensures that customer groups, order statuses, and other custom attributes are correctly associated in your new store, preserving data integrity and maintaining consistent business logic.

Step 7: Perform a Demo Migration and Full Migration

Before committing to the full data transfer, it's highly recommended to 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 Volusion store. Carefully review the demo results to ensure everything has been transferred accurately and functions as expected. Once satisfied, you can proceed with the full migration. Consider our Migration Insurance Service for added peace of mind, offering remigrations in case of unforeseen issues.

Post-Migration Steps

The migration doesn't end once the data transfer is complete. These crucial post-migration steps will help you finalize your Volusion store and ensure everything is running perfectly:

• Thorough Data Verification: Immediately after the full migration, log into your Volusion admin panel. Scrutinize all migrated data:
  • Products: Check SKUs, descriptions, images, pricing, and variants.
  • Customers: Verify customer accounts and their associated order history.
  • Orders: Confirm order details, statuses, and associated customer information.
  • Categories & CMS Pages: Ensure all content and navigation are correctly structured.
  • Reviews: Confirm product reviews have been transferred accurately.
• Configure Essential Store Settings: Set up your shipping methods, tax rules, payment gateways, and any other critical store-wide configurations specific to Volusion.
• Install and Configure Apps/Plugins: If you relied on specific functionalities in Solid Commerce that Volusion doesn't offer natively, explore the Volusion App Store for equivalent plugins or apps to enhance your store's capabilities.
• Update SEO and Redirects: Double-check your 301 redirects to ensure smooth navigation for search engines and users, preserving your SEO rankings and link equity. Submit your new Volusion sitemap to search engines.
• Test All Store Functionality: Perform comprehensive testing of your new Volusion store. This includes creating a test customer account, placing test orders, checking payment processing, verifying shipping calculations, and ensuring all forms and interactive elements work correctly.
• Update DNS Records: Once you are completely satisfied with your new Volusion store, update your domain's DNS records to point to your Volusion store. This is the final step to make your new store live.
• Inform Your Customers: Communicate with your customer base about the new and improved shopping experience on Volusion.

Migrating your store from Solid Commerce to Volusion is a significant undertaking, but with careful planning and execution, it can lead to a more robust and feature-rich e-commerce presence. If you encounter any challenges or require specialized assistance, don't hesitate to contact us; our team is ready to help.