Axis Commerce to Magento Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Axis Commerce to Magento

As your e-commerce venture grows, the need for a more robust, scalable, and feature-rich platform becomes essential. Migrating from Axis Commerce to Magento offers a significant upgrade, providing enhanced functionalities, greater flexibility, and a powerful ecosystem for expanding your online business. This guide will walk you through the entire process, from preparing your data to the crucial post-migration steps, ensuring a smooth and successful replatforming experience.

Since Axis Commerce data cannot be directly accessed via a connection bridge, this migration will involve exporting your data into CSV files and then importing them into Magento. This method ensures all your valuable product details, customer information, and order history are securely transferred.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before you embark on your migration journey, proper preparation is key to a seamless data transfer. Here’s what you need to have in place:

• Axis Commerce Data Export: You will need to export all relevant data (products, categories, customers, orders, reviews, etc.) from your Axis Commerce store into CSV files. Ensure these files are well-organized and include all necessary fields for your new Magento store.
• Fresh Magento Installation: Have a fully installed and operational Magento store ready to receive your data. While you can migrate to an existing Magento store, a fresh installation often simplifies the process and avoids potential conflicts. For detailed instructions on preparing your target store, refer to our guide on preparing your target store for migration.
• FTP/SFTP Access: You’ll need FTP or SFTP access to your Magento store’s root directory to upload the connection bridge, which is essential for establishing a secure connection. If you're unsure about the root folder, consult our FAQ on finding your root folder.
• Admin Credentials for Magento: Full administrative access to your Magento backend will be required for configuring the migration tool and verifying data post-migration. For more on credential management, read The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.
• Backup Your Data: Always create a complete backup of both your Axis Commerce data (before export) and your new Magento installation (before migration). This safeguards your information against any unforeseen issues.
• Consider Magento Password Module: If you plan to migrate customer passwords, be aware that Magento requires a specific module for this functionality. Ensure you have this module installed or are prepared to install it.
• Reviews Table Check: Magento has specific dependencies for its reviews table. It's advisable to check this before migrating review data to prevent issues.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

This section outlines the process of moving your e-commerce data from Axis Commerce (via CSV files) to Magento. Follow these steps carefully to ensure a successful data transfer.

Step 1: Start the Migration Process

Begin by initiating your migration. This is typically done through a migration wizard interface.

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

Since Axis Commerce requires an export-first approach, you'll connect your source data by uploading the CSV files you prepared.

Select "CSV File to Cart" as your Source Cart from the dropdown menu. Then, upload your exported Axis Commerce CSV files containing all your product data, customer information, order history, and other relevant entities. For more details on CSV migrations, visit our CSV.File Data Migration service page.

Step 3: Connect Your Target Magento Store

Next, you’ll configure the connection to your new Magento store. This step involves downloading and uploading a connection bridge.

Choose "Magento" as your Target Cart. Provide your Magento store's URL. You will then be prompted to download a unique Connection Bridge file. Unpack this file and upload the `bridge2cart` folder to the root directory of your Magento installation via FTP/SFTP. This bridge acts as a secure data conduit between your migration tool and your Magento platform.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

In this crucial step, you choose exactly which types of data you want to transfer from your CSV files to Magento. Magento supports a wide array of entities.

You can select all available entities or meticulously pick specific ones, such as Products, Product Categories, Products Manufacturers, Products Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, and CMS Pages. This allows you to tailor the data transfer to your specific needs, ensuring only relevant `SKUs`, `customer data`, and `metadata` are moved.

Step 5: Configure Migration Options & Data Mapping

This stage involves refining your migration settings and ensuring your data fields align perfectly between your source CSV and Magento.

• Additional Migration Options: Select from various options to customize your migration:
  • Clear Target Store Data: Useful if you want to remove any existing data in your new Magento store before migration. Read more about clearing target store data.
  • Preserve IDs: Maintain original IDs for categories, products, customers, and orders. Learn how to use Preserve IDs options.
  • Create Variants from Attributes: Essential for products with multiple options (e.g., size, color).
  • SEO URLs and 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for preserving your search engine rankings and `link equity` by automatically creating redirects for old URLs.
  • Password Migration: Migrate customer passwords (requires the specific Magento password migration module).
  • Migrate Invoices & Store Config: Transfer financial records and store settings.

  

• Data Mapping: Carefully map customer groups and order statuses from your CSV data to their corresponding fields in Magento. This step ensures `data integrity` and consistency for `customer data` and `order data` in your new store.

  

Step 6: Run Demo Migration & Full Migration

Before committing to the full data transfer, run a free demo migration. This allows you to see a portion of your data (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) migrated to Magento, helping you verify the process and identify any potential issues.

Review the demo results thoroughly. Once satisfied, you can proceed with the Full Migration. You may also consider adding a Migration Insurance Plan for added peace of mind, allowing for multiple remigrations if needed. Learn more about how migration insurance works.

Post-Migration Steps

After your data has been successfully transferred to Magento, a few critical steps remain to ensure your new store is fully operational and optimized.

• Verify Data Integrity: Conduct a thorough audit of your Magento store. Check product listings (including `SKUs` and `variants`), customer accounts, order history, categories, and reviews. Ensure all `customer data` and `order data` are accurate and complete.
• Configure Magento Settings: Reconfigure essential store settings like shipping, payment gateways, tax rules, and any third-party extensions.
• Implement 301 Redirects: If you chose not to use the automated 301 SEO URLs option during migration or if you've made manual URL changes, implement 301 redirects for any old Axis Commerce URLs that aren't automatically redirected. This is vital for maintaining your `SEO rankings` and `link equity`.
• Install Password Migration Module: If you migrated customer passwords, ensure the necessary Magento module is correctly installed and configured to allow customers to log in with their existing credentials.
• Reindex Magento Data: Magento highly recommends reindexing all data after a migration. This optimizes your store's performance and ensures all new data is properly indexed for search and display.
• Check Reviews Table: Confirm that all migrated reviews are correctly displayed and linked to their respective products, addressing any dependencies mentioned earlier.
• Test Your Store Thoroughly: Perform extensive testing of all functionalities. This includes adding items to the cart, completing checkout, creating customer accounts, submitting forms, and testing all payment and shipping methods. Focus on the `user experience` to ensure everything works as expected.
• Update DNS and Go Live: Once you are confident that your new Magento store is fully functional and all data is accurate, update your Domain Name System (DNS) records to point to your new Magento hosting.
• Consider Ongoing Sync: For any new data generated on your old store during or immediately after the migration, you might consider a Recent Data Migration Service to ensure full synchronization.

Migrating from Axis Commerce to Magento is a significant undertaking, but with careful planning and execution, it can lead to a powerful upgrade for your e-commerce business. If you encounter any challenges or require expert assistance, don't hesitate to contact us or refer to our Frequently Asked Questions for support.