GSI Commerce to Squarespace Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from GSI Commerce to Squarespace

Replatforming your e-commerce store is a strategic move that can revitalize your online business. If you're currently operating on GSI Commerce, a legacy platform, and looking to transition to the modern, intuitive, and design-forward environment of Squarespace, this guide is for you. While direct integrations for GSI Commerce are rare, the reliable method of migrating your valuable store data involves exporting your information into a structured CSV format, then importing it into a powerful migration tool.

This article will walk you through the entire process, from preparing your data to performing a seamless transfer of your products, customer information, orders, and more, ensuring data integrity and minimal downtime. We'll leverage a robust migration service that handles the complexities, allowing you to focus on growing your business on Squarespace.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before embarking on your data transfer journey, a few crucial preparation steps are required to ensure a smooth transition from GSI Commerce to Squarespace.

• For your GSI Commerce Store (Source):

  Since GSI Commerce doesn't typically offer direct API connections for third-party migration tools, the most effective method is to export your data into CSV files. This process ensures you capture all essential entities. You'll need to export the following data types:

  • Products: Including SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, prices, and inventory levels.
  • Product Categories: The hierarchical structure of your product organization.
  • Customers: Customer accounts, billing, and shipping addresses.
  • Orders: Order history, statuses, and associated customer details.
  • CMS Pages & Blog Posts: Any static content or blog articles you wish to carry over.
  • Coupons: Discount codes and their rules.
  • Other relevant data such as manufacturers, invoices, taxes, and stores (if applicable) can also be included in your CSV export for a comprehensive CSV.File Data Migration.

  It's vital to ensure your CSV files are well-structured and accurate to facilitate the migration. Consider reviewing our guide on preparing your source store.

• For your Squarespace Store (Target):
  • Set Up Your Squarespace Account: Create a new Squarespace account and choose a basic template. You don't need to populate it with products yet, as the migration tool will handle that.
  • Install Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App: To enable seamless data transfer via API, you will need to install the dedicated migration app for Squarespace. This app facilitates the secure connection between the migration service and your Squarespace store, adhering to Squarespace's API requirements and rate limits.
  • HTTPS Requirement: Ensure your Squarespace site is set up with HTTPS, which is a standard requirement for secure API communication. Squarespace typically handles this automatically, but it's good to confirm.
  • Gather API Credentials: You will need specific API credentials (apiKey, apiSecret, accessToken, refreshToken, adminEmail, adminPwd) from your Squarespace account to authorize the migration tool.
  • Consider reviewing our guide on preparing your target store.
• General Preparations:
  • Backup Your Data: Always create a complete backup of your GSI Commerce store before initiating any data extraction process.
  • Review Data: Perform a quick audit of your GSI Commerce data to identify and clean up any outdated or redundant information.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your GSI Commerce data ready in CSV format and your Squarespace store prepared, you can now proceed with the actual data transfer using a migration wizard. This guide assumes you are using a dedicated migration service like Cart2Cart.

Step 1: Start Your Migration

Navigate to the migration service's website. You'll typically find an option to start a new migration. Choose the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) migration path to begin configuring your transfer.

Step 2: Source Store Setup (GSI Commerce via CSV)

In the migration wizard, you'll be prompted to specify your source platform. Select "CSV File to Cart" from the dropdown list. You will then upload the CSV files you exported from your GSI Commerce store. The system will process these files to extract your store's data.

Step 3: Target Store Setup (Squarespace)

Next, select "Squarespace" as your target shopping cart from the available options. You will then be asked to provide the necessary connection details for your Squarespace store. This typically includes your Squarespace Admin URL, along with your API key, API secret, access token, refresh token, admin email, and admin password. These credentials allow the migration tool to securely access and transfer data to your new Squarespace store via its API. Remember that the Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App must be installed to facilitate this connection.

Step 4: Select Data Entities

This critical step allows you to choose exactly which types of data you want to transfer from your GSI Commerce CSV files to Squarespace. Based on the capabilities of the CSV import and Squarespace's API, you can typically migrate:

• Products: Including product details, images, descriptions, and variants.
• Product Categories: Your existing category structure.
• Customers: Customer accounts, contact details, and associated addresses.
• Orders: Historical orders with their statuses and related customer data.
• CMS Pages: Static content pages.
• Blogs Posts: Your blog articles and associated content.
• Coupons: Discount codes and their configurations.
• Products Reviews: Customer reviews associated with products.

While CSV supports entities like Manufacturers, Invoices, Taxes, and Stores, Squarespace's API may have limitations on importing all these specific data types directly. Focus on the common entities supported by both platforms and the migration tool.

Step 5: Configure Additional Migration Options

This step offers various additional options to customize your data transfer. Consider the following:

• Clear Target: Opt to clear current data on your Squarespace store before migration, especially if it's a fresh installation.
• Preserve Order IDs: Choose to preserve your original order IDs from GSI Commerce.
• SEO URLs & 301 Redirects: Crucially, select options to migrate SEO URLs and create 301 redirects. This helps preserve your search engine rankings and link equity from GSI Commerce, preventing broken links and maintaining a positive user experience on Squarespace.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded within descriptions are transferred correctly.

Be mindful of Squarespace's API rate limits, which can affect the speed of large migrations. The migration tool typically manages this automatically.

Step 6: Map Data

In this step, you'll align specific data fields from your GSI Commerce CSV files with their corresponding fields in Squarespace. This is particularly important for customer groups and order statuses to ensure consistency. For example, map GSI Commerce's customer roles or order processing statuses to their Squarespace equivalents.

Step 7: Perform Demo & Full Migration

Before committing to the full replatform, it's highly recommended to perform a free demo migration. This transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, and orders) to your Squarespace store, allowing you to review the data transfer quality and identify any issues early.

Once satisfied with the demo, you can proceed with the Full Migration. The service will transfer all your selected data from your GSI Commerce CSV files to Squarespace. You can also opt for a Migration Insurance Service, which offers additional remigrations in case you need further adjustments.

Post-Migration Steps

After your GSI Commerce data has been successfully transferred to Squarespace, the migration isn't quite complete. Several crucial steps remain to ensure your new store is fully operational and optimized.

• Thorough Data Verification:
  • Products: Check product details, images, descriptions, SKUs, and inventory levels. Ensure all variants are correctly displayed.
  • Customers: Verify customer accounts, login functionality, and accurate shipping/billing addresses.
  • Orders: Review a sample of orders to confirm all details, including order statuses, are intact.
  • CMS Pages & Blogs: Check content formatting, internal links, and image displays.
• Functionality Testing:
  • Checkout Process: Perform test purchases from product selection to payment gateway integration.
  • Search Functionality: Ensure products and content are discoverable.
  • Forms: Test contact forms, newsletter sign-ups, and other interactive elements.
  • Third-Party Apps: Integrate and test any necessary Squarespace apps or plugins.
• SEO Optimization & Redirection:
  • 301 Redirects: If you didn't create them during the migration, set up 301 redirects for any old GSI Commerce URLs that couldn't be automatically mapped. This is vital for preserving your SEO rankings and avoiding a drop in organic traffic.
  • Update Meta Data: Optimize product descriptions, category pages, and blog posts with relevant keywords for Squarespace's structure.
  • Submit Sitemaps: Submit your new Squarespace sitemap to search engines like Google.
• Update DNS & Go Live:
  • Once you're confident everything is working perfectly, update your domain's DNS records to point to your new Squarespace store.
  • Monitor your site closely for any initial issues after going live.
• Inform Your Customers: Announce your new Squarespace store and highlight any new features or improved user experience.

Migrating from GSI Commerce to Squarespace, though requiring an intermediary CSV export, can be a streamlined and successful process with the right tools and a systematic approach. By following these steps, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business to a more modern, scalable, and visually appealing platform, ready for future growth. If you require further assistance or custom migration solutions, don't hesitate to Contact Us for expert support.