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

Transitioning Your E-commerce Store from Ozcart to Volusion: A Comprehensive Guide

In the dynamic world of e-commerce, merchants often find themselves needing to replatform their online stores to meet evolving demands for scalability, advanced features, and an enhanced user experience. If you’re currently operating on Ozcart and are considering a move to Volusion, this guide will walk you through the entire data transfer process, ensuring a smooth and successful transition.

Volusion offers a robust, all-in-one e-commerce solution known for its comprehensive features, integrated marketing tools, and strong performance capabilities, making it an attractive target platform for growing businesses. While Ozcart has served its purpose, migrating to a platform like Volusion can unlock new opportunities for expansion and efficiency.

This article provides a detailed, step-by-step approach to migrating your valuable store data—including products, customers, orders, and reviews—from Ozcart to Volusion. We'll leverage a specialized migration service to ensure data integrity, minimize downtime, and preserve crucial SEO rankings during the transition.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating your e-commerce platform migration, it's essential to prepare both your existing Ozcart store (source) and your new Volusion store (target). Proper preparation is key to a seamless data transfer.

1. Preparing Your Ozcart Source Store (Via CSV Export)

Ozcart, while serving its purpose, often necessitates a different approach for data extraction during migration. Since a direct API connection isn't typically available for Ozcart, the most effective and widely supported method involves exporting your store's data into well-structured CSV (Comma Separated Values) files. This process leverages the CSV.File Data Migration method, allowing you to transfer vital information.

• Data Export: You will need to export all relevant data from your Ozcart admin panel. This includes:
  • Products (including SKUs, variants, attributes, and descriptions)
  • Product Categories & Manufacturers
  • Customer records and profiles
  • Order history and associated invoices
  • Taxes & Store settings
  • Coupons & CMS Pages
  • Products Reviews
  • Blogs & Blog Posts
• File Format: Ensure that your exported CSV files are clean and accurately reflect your store's data.
• No Plugin Required: For the source data in CSV format, no external plugin is required for the migration service to process it.

Review our guide on preparing your source store for more details.

2. Preparing Your Volusion Target Store

Your new Volusion store must be set up and ready to receive the incoming data. This involves a few crucial steps to establish a secure connection for the data import.

• New Volusion Store: Ensure you have a fresh Volusion store account created and its basic setup completed.
• Bridge Connection: Volusion migrations require a special connection method known as a 'Bridge.' This involves installing the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module on your Volusion store. This module acts as a secure conduit, allowing the migration service to access your new store's database for importing data.
• FTP Access: You will need FTP access to your Volusion store to upload these bridge files to its root folder. The migration service typically provides detailed instructions for this step.
• Admin Credentials: Gather your Volusion admin login credentials (username and password) and the full URL of your target store. These are essential for establishing the connection securely. Learn more about access credentials.

It's also advisable to review our guide on preparing your target store for migration to avoid common pitfalls.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With both your Ozcart data exported and your Volusion store prepped, you're ready to begin the automated migration process using a reliable service.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration Journey

Start by navigating to the migration service's website. You'll typically find an option to begin a new migration or get a free demo. This is your starting point for the entire replatforming process.

Step 2: Connect Your Ozcart Source Store (via CSV Files)

In the migration wizard, you'll be prompted to select your source e-commerce platform. Since Ozcart data is being migrated via CSV, choose 'CSV File to Cart' from the dropdown menu. You will then upload your prepared CSV files containing all your Ozcart data.

Step 3: Configure Your Volusion Target Store

Next, select 'Volusion' as your target shopping cart. Provide the complete URL of your new Volusion store. The wizard will then guide you through installing the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module (the bridge file) to establish a secure connection. This usually involves uploading a zip file via FTP to your Volusion root directory and entering your Volusion admin credentials.

Step 4: Select the Data Entities to Transfer

This crucial step allows you to specify exactly which data entities you wish to move from your Ozcart CSV files to Volusion. You can select all available entities or pick and choose specific ones, such as:

• Products (SKUs, variants, descriptions, images)
• Product Categories
• Manufacturers
• Customers (including customer data and passwords if selected)
• Orders (with full order history and statuses)
• Invoices
• Taxes
• Stores
• Coupons
• CMS Pages
• Product Reviews

Step 5: Choose Additional Migration Options

The migration service offers a range of additional options to customize your data transfer and ensure optimal results. Consider these valuable enhancements:

• Preserve Product IDs, Orders IDs, Customers IDs: Retain the original IDs from your Ozcart store in Volusion. This can be vital for maintaining consistency with external systems or accounting software. Learn how Preserve IDs options can be used.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensures that all product images embedded within product descriptions are also transferred.
• Password Migration: Securely transfers customer passwords, allowing your existing customers to log into their new Volusion accounts seamlessly.
• Create Variants from Attributes: Essential for products with options like size or color.
• SEO URLs & 301 SEO URLs: Preserves your search engine rankings by migrating existing SEO-friendly URLs and creating 301 redirects for changed URLs, directing traffic to the new Volusion pages. This is a critical step for maintaining your SEO link equity.
• Clear Target Store Data: An option to remove all existing data from your Volusion store before migration. This is highly recommended for fresh stores to prevent data duplication. Understand what this option means.

Step 6: Map Your Data Fields

To ensure data consistency, you'll need to map certain data fields between your Ozcart CSV and Volusion. This typically involves matching customer groups (e.g., 'Wholesale' to 'Wholesale Customer') and order statuses (e.g., 'Pending' to 'Pending Payment'). Accurate mapping prevents discrepancies and ensures your migrated data behaves as expected in the new environment.

Step 7: Perform a Free Demo Migration (Highly Recommended)

Before committing to a full data transfer, run a free demo migration. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, and orders) to your Volusion store. The demo serves as a crucial test run, enabling you to:

• Verify the accuracy of the data transfer.
• Identify and resolve any potential issues or mapping errors.
• Familiarize yourself with the migration process.

This step is invaluable for ensuring a smooth full migration.

Step 8: Launch Your Full Data Transfer

Once you're satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full data migration. Review the final configuration and estimated cost. You may also consider adding a Migration Insurance Plan, which provides additional remigrations if needed. With everything confirmed, initiate the full transfer. The service will handle the rest, keeping you updated on the progress.

Post-Migration Steps for Your Volusion Store

Completing the data migration is a significant milestone, but a few critical post-migration tasks remain to ensure your new Volusion store is fully operational and optimized.

• Thorough Data Verification: Systematically check all migrated data in your Volusion admin panel. Verify that all products, categories, customers, orders, reviews, and CMS pages have transferred correctly. Pay close attention to product images, pricing, inventory levels, customer account details, and order statuses.
• Configure Volusion Store Settings: Set up your essential Volusion store configurations, including:
  • Payment gateways (e.g., PayPal, Stripe, etc.)
  • Shipping methods and rates
  • Tax settings (Volusion supports multi-tax configurations)
  • Email notifications
  • Currency and language settings
• Design and Theme Customization: Customize your Volusion store's design to align with your brand identity. Upload your logo, choose a theme, and refine the layout to create an appealing user experience.
• Integrate Third-Party Apps: If your business relies on specific third-party applications (e.g., for accounting, email marketing, or customer support), integrate them with your new Volusion store.
• SEO Optimization & Redirects: Confirm that all 301 redirects are functioning correctly to preserve your search engine rankings and link equity. Update your Google Search Console and Google Analytics accounts with your new Volusion URL. Monitor for any broken links or crawl errors.
• Extensive Store Testing: Before going live, conduct comprehensive testing of your Volusion store. This should include:
  • Placing test orders (from product selection to checkout)
  • Creating new customer accounts and testing existing logins
  • Testing all forms (contact, newsletter sign-up)
  • Ensuring all links and buttons work correctly
• Update DNS and Go Live: Once you are confident that everything is working perfectly, update your Domain Name System (DNS) records to point your domain to your new Volusion store.
• Continuous Monitoring & Updates: Even after going live, continuously monitor your store's performance and data. If you have new data generated on your old Ozcart store during the migration period, consider using a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer it to Volusion.

Migrating from Ozcart to Volusion is a strategic move that can significantly benefit your e-commerce business. By following this detailed guide and utilizing professional migration tools, you can ensure a smooth, secure, and successful transition, setting your store up for future growth on its new platform.