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

Seamlessly Migrate Your E-commerce Store from Airsquare to Volusion

As your online business evolves, you may find that your current e-commerce platform no longer meets your growing needs. If you're running on Airsquare and considering a move to Volusion, you're looking to transition to a robust, feature-rich platform renowned for its comprehensive suite of tools for online retailers. This detailed guide will walk you through the entire process of migrating your store's vital data from Airsquare to Volusion, ensuring a smooth and efficient transition.

Given that Airsquare does not offer a direct API connection for automated migrations, our strategy will involve exporting your data from Airsquare into structured CSV files. These files will then serve as the source for importing your critical e-commerce entities, such as products, customer information, and orders, into your new Volusion store. This approach, facilitated by a specialized migration service like Cart2Cart, ensures data integrity and accuracy throughout your replatforming journey.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating the data transfer, it's crucial to prepare both your existing Airsquare store and your new Volusion platform. Proper preparation minimizes potential disruptions and ensures a seamless migration experience.

Preparing Your Airsquare (Source) Store

• Backup Your Data: Always start by performing a complete backup of your Airsquare store's database and files. This is your safety net in case of any unforeseen issues during the data export process.
• Export Data to CSV Files: Since Airsquare doesn't support direct API integration for migration tools, you will need to manually export your store data into CSV (Comma Separated Values) files. Focus on exporting core entities such as products (including SKUs, variants, descriptions, and images), customer lists, order histories, product categories, and any other essential information. Ensure your CSV files are well-structured and accurate. For more detailed guidance, read our How to prepare Source store for migration? FAQ.
• Clean Up Data: Take this opportunity to review and clean up your data. Remove outdated products, duplicate customer entries, or irrelevant information to ensure only high-quality data is transferred to Volusion.

Preparing Your Volusion (Target) Store

• Set Up Your Volusion Store: Ensure your new Volusion store is already set up and accessible. You don't need to add any products or customers manually, as the migration process will handle that.
• Install Cart2Cart Volusion Migration Module: Volusion requires the installation of a specific Cart2Cart migration module to facilitate the data bridge. This module ensures a secure and efficient connection between the migration service and your Volusion database. You will typically need FTP access to your Volusion store's root directory to upload and install this bridge.
• Gather Access Credentials: Have your Volusion store URL and FTP access details (hostname, username, password) readily available. These are essential for establishing the connection. For more detailed guidance, read our How to prepare Target store for migration? and The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With both your Airsquare data exported and your Volusion store ready, you can now proceed with the migration using an automated service like Cart2Cart.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Begin by visiting the Cart2Cart website and selecting the option to start a new migration. You will be guided through an intuitive wizard designed to simplify the data transfer process.

Step 2: Set Up Your Source Store (Airsquare via CSV)

In this step, you will specify Airsquare as your source platform by selecting 'CSV File to Cart' from the dropdown menu. You will then be prompted to upload the CSV files containing your exported Airsquare data, including products, customers, orders, categories, and other relevant information. Our system will analyze these files to prepare for the data transfer.

Step 3: Connect to Your Target Volusion Store

Next, choose 'Volusion' as your Target Cart from the available options. You will need to provide your Volusion store's URL. The system will then guide you through installing the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module (the 'Bridge') via FTP. This bridge is critical for establishing a secure connection and facilitating data transfer to your new Volusion database.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

Now, you'll choose which data entities you wish to migrate from your Airsquare CSV files to Volusion. You can select all available entities or pick specific ones based on your needs. The supported entities for this migration include:

• Products (SKUs, variants, descriptions, images)
• Product Categories
• Product Manufacturers
• Product Reviews
• Customers
• Orders
• Invoices
• Taxes
• Stores
• Coupons
• CMS Pages

Step 5: Configure Additional Migration Options

This crucial step allows you to tailor the migration process with various additional options that enhance data integrity and SEO preservation:

• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded within descriptions are transferred correctly.
• Clear Target Store Data: Opt to clear any existing data in your Volusion store before migration to avoid duplication.
• Preserve IDs: Choose to preserve original Product IDs, Orders IDs, and Customers IDs for historical data consistency.
• SEO URLs & 301 Redirects: Migrate your existing SEO URLs and automatically create 301 SEO redirects to maintain your search engine rankings and link equity.
• Password Migration: Migrate customer passwords securely, allowing customers to log into their new Volusion accounts with existing credentials.
• Migrate Invoices: Transfer existing invoice records to Volusion.
• Skip Custom Attributes: If desired, you can choose to skip migration of custom attributes that may not be compatible or needed in Volusion.

Step 6: Map Data Fields

The data mapping step ensures that specific fields from your Airsquare CSV files are correctly aligned with their corresponding fields in Volusion. This is particularly important for customer groups and order statuses, guaranteeing that customer roles and order workflow states are accurately represented in your new store.

Step 7: Run a Free Demo and Full Migration

Before committing to a full migration, we highly recommend running a free demo migration. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities to your Volusion store, giving you a chance to review the results and ensure everything is transferring as expected. Once satisfied, you can proceed with the full data transfer. Consider adding a Migration Insurance Service for peace of mind, offering remigrations within a specified period.

Post-Migration Steps

Completing the data transfer is a significant milestone, but the migration process isn't truly finished until you've performed essential post-migration tasks.

• Thoroughly Test Your Volusion Store: After the full migration, conduct comprehensive testing of your new Volusion store. Verify all migrated products, categories, customer accounts, order histories, and reviews. Test the entire purchasing process, from product browsing to checkout, as well as account creation and login functionality. Check for broken links, image display issues, and overall user experience.
• Configure SEO and Redirects: If you used the 301 redirects option during migration, verify that they are functioning correctly. Update any internal links within your new Volusion store to point to the new URLs. Pay close attention to your SEO rankings and link equity. Note that Volusion has SEO options excluded for blogs, which you'll need to address separately if blog content was part of your Airsquare store.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you are confident that your Volusion store is fully operational and tested, update your Domain Name System (DNS) settings to point your domain to the new Volusion servers. Be prepared for a brief period of downtime during this transition.
• Inform Your Customers: If there's any noticeable change in your store's appearance or functionality, consider sending out an announcement to your customer base.
• Decommission Airsquare: After confirming that your Volusion store is running smoothly and all necessary data has been transferred and verified, you can safely decommission your old Airsquare store.
• Explore Volusion's Features: Take time to familiarize yourself with Volusion's advanced features and customization options. Leverage its tools to optimize your store for performance, sales, and an enhanced user experience.

Migrating from Airsquare to Volusion is a strategic move that can empower your e-commerce business with greater flexibility and functionality. By following this expert guide, you can ensure a smooth, secure, and successful transition, setting your store up for continued growth and success on its new platform. If you encounter any challenges or require additional assistance, don't hesitate to contact our support team for expert guidance.