Pixafy to CubeCart Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

Seamlessly Migrating Your E-commerce Store from Pixafy to CubeCart

Embarking on an e-commerce platform migration can feel like a daunting task, but with the right guidance, it’s an opportunity to revitalize your online store. If you're considering a move from Pixafy to CubeCart, you're looking at transitioning to a robust, self-hosted solution that offers extensive control over your store's functionality and design. Since direct API integration for Pixafy is not typically available through standard migration tools, this guide will walk you through the process of migrating your data via CSV files, ensuring a smooth transfer to your new CubeCart platform.

This comprehensive guide will cover all essential steps, from initial preparations and data export to the step-by-step migration process and crucial post-migration checks, ensuring your transition preserves data integrity and minimizes downtime.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating any data transfer, thorough preparation is key to a smooth and error-free replatforming experience. Here’s what you need to have in place:

For Your Pixafy Source Store (CSV Export)

• Data Export: As Pixafy requires a CSV-based migration, you will need to export all your vital store data. This includes products (with SKUs, variants, images, descriptions), product categories, customer records, order history, customer reviews, invoices, taxes, coupons, and any relevant CMS pages. Ensure your exports are as comprehensive as possible.
• Data Cleansing: Prior to export, it’s an ideal time to clean your data. Remove outdated products, duplicate customer entries, or inconsistent information. Clean data ensures a more efficient and accurate transfer.
• Backup Your Pixafy Store: Always create a full backup of your current Pixafy store before initiating any data export or migration process. This provides a safety net in case any issues arise. For more details on preparing your source store, refer to our How to prepare Source store for migration? guide.

For Your CubeCart Target Store

• CubeCart Installation: Your CubeCart store must be fully installed and operational on your hosting environment. Ensure you have the latest stable version installed.
• Administrative Access: You'll need full administrator access to your CubeCart installation, including adminLogin, adminPwd, adminUrl, and the main url of your store. Additionally, FTP access is required for installing the necessary migration bridge. For a clear understanding of access credentials, read The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.
• Required Plugin: A crucial step for CubeCart migrations is the installation of the Cart2Cart CubeCart Migration module. This plugin facilitates the connection and data transfer.
• Database Access: Knowledge of your CubeCart database credentials, including dbTablesPrefix and dbCharSet, may be required for bridge installation and troubleshooting.
• Target Store Preparation: While CubeCart allows for a fresh start, you might consider clearing any existing demo data if you’ve been testing the platform. Review our guide on How to prepare Target store for migration? for best practices.
• Hosting Environment: Ensure your hosting environment meets CubeCart's requirements and is stable enough to handle the migration process. Consider factors like server resources and database limits.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your preparations complete, let's proceed with the data transfer using an automated migration wizard, which streamlines the process significantly.

1. Step 1: Start Your Migration

   Begin by navigating to the migration service platform. Here, you'll choose to start a new migration, which will lead you into the setup wizard.

   

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

   In this step, you will select your source platform. From the dropdown menu, choose 'CSV File to Cart'. You will then be prompted to upload the CSV files containing your Pixafy data (products, customers, orders, etc.) that you exported previously. The system will guide you through mapping the fields from your CSVs.

   

3. Step 3: Configure Your Target Store (CubeCart)

   Next, select 'CubeCart' as your Target Cart from the available options. You will then be asked to provide the necessary connection details, including your CubeCart store URL and administrator credentials. The system will prompt you to install a Connection Bridge (the Cart2Cart CubeCart Migration module) by uploading it via FTP to your CubeCart root folder. This bridge enables secure communication for data transfer. Understanding what a root folder is can be helpful here.

4. Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

   This critical step allows you to choose exactly which types of data you wish to migrate from your Pixafy CSV files to CubeCart. You can select all available entities or pick specific ones like products, categories, customers, orders, reviews, and CMS pages. CubeCart supports the migration of a wide range of entities, including products, product categories, manufacturers, reviews, customers, orders, invoices, taxes, stores, coupons, and CMS pages.

   

5. Step 5: Choose Additional Migration Options

   Enhance your migration by selecting from a variety of additional options tailored for CubeCart. These include:

   • Migrate Images in Description: Ensures product images embedded within descriptions are transferred.
   • Clear Target Store: This option will delete all existing data on your CubeCart store before the migration starts. This is generally recommended for fresh installations to avoid duplicates. Learn more about the Clear current data on Target store before migration option.
   • Preserve Product IDs, Orders IDs, Customers IDs: Maintain the original IDs from Pixafy in your new CubeCart store. This can be crucial for inventory management or external system integrations. Read How Preserve IDs options can be used?.
   • SEO URLs / Create 301 SEO URLs: Helps preserve your SEO rankings by migrating existing SEO-friendly URLs or automatically creating 301 redirects to point old Pixafy URLs to your new CubeCart URLs. Note that multi-store limitations for BigCommerce variants and SEO options for blogs are excluded.
   • Migrate Invoices: Transfers your invoice data.
   • Password Migration: Allows customer passwords to be migrated securely.
   • Skip Custom Attributes: If you have custom attributes that you don't need in CubeCart, this option can prevent their migration.

   

6. Step 6: Map Data Fields

   In this step, you will align customer groups and order statuses from your Pixafy data to the corresponding fields in CubeCart. This ensures that customer roles (e.g., 'Wholesale' to 'Customer Group A') and order states (e.g., 'Shipped' to 'Complete') are correctly transferred and categorized within your new platform, maintaining data consistency and a seamless user experience.

   

7. Step 7: Run a Free Demo Migration

   Before committing to the full migration, run a free demo. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, orders) to your CubeCart store. It’s an excellent way to verify the migration process, check data accuracy, and ensure everything functions as expected without any financial commitment.

8. Step 8: Launch Full Migration

   Once you are satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full data transfer. Review your selections and the total migration cost. You can also opt for a Migration Insurance Service, which offers additional remigrations within a specified period, providing peace of mind. For more details, see How Migration Insurance works?.

   

   The full migration will now commence. The time taken will depend on the volume of data you are transferring. You'll receive notifications on the progress.

Post-Migration Steps: Securing Your New CubeCart Store

Completing the data transfer is a significant milestone, but the work isn't over. These post-migration steps are crucial for ensuring your new CubeCart store is fully operational, optimized, and ready for your customers.

• Comprehensive Data Review: Thoroughly check all migrated data. Verify that products (SKUs, pricing, images, descriptions), product categories, customer accounts, order histories, and CMS pages have been transferred accurately and completely. Pay close attention to image migration, as issues can sometimes arise.
• Functionality Testing: Engage in extensive testing of your CubeCart store.
• Place Test Orders: Go through the entire purchasing process, from adding items to the cart, applying coupons, checkout, and payment processing.
• Customer Accounts: Test customer registration, login, password recovery, and the ability to view past orders.
• Search and Filters: Ensure your product search, categories, and filters function correctly.
• Configure SEO and 301 Redirects: If you used the 'Create 301 SEO URLs' option during migration, verify that the redirects are working correctly. If not, implement a robust 301 redirect strategy to preserve your existing SEO rankings and link equity from Pixafy. This is vital to prevent a drop in organic traffic.
• Update DNS Settings: Once satisfied with your CubeCart store, update your domain's DNS records to point to your new hosting environment. Schedule this during a low-traffic period to minimize potential downtime.
• Install Essential Extensions/Plugins: Reinstall any critical third-party apps, plugins, or extensions that provided specific functionalities on your Pixafy store (e.g., shipping, accounting, marketing tools) and configure them for CubeCart. CubeCart offers a plugin suite for extended capabilities.
• Set Up Analytics and Tracking: Re-implement Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and any other tracking scripts to monitor your new store's performance.
• Notify Customers: Inform your loyal customers about the platform change. Emphasize any new features or improved user experience.
• Consider Recent Data Migration: If you continue to receive orders or customer updates on your old Pixafy store after the initial migration, consider a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer any new data before fully decommissioning the old platform.
• Decommission Old Store: Once you're confident that your CubeCart store is stable and fully functional, you can safely decommission your old Pixafy store.

Migrating from Pixafy to CubeCart, even via CSV, can be a smooth and rewarding process when approached with a structured plan. By following these steps, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business to a more versatile and feature-rich platform. If you encounter any challenges or require expert assistance at any stage, do not hesitate to Contact Us for support.