Marketlive to BigCommerce Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

Seamlessly Migrating Your E-commerce Store from Marketlive to BigCommerce

Transitioning your online store to a new platform is a significant undertaking that, when executed correctly, can unlock new growth opportunities and enhanced functionality. This guide provides a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough for merchants looking to move their e-commerce operations from Marketlive to BigCommerce. With BigCommerce’s robust API capabilities and extensive feature set, you can achieve greater scalability, improved user experience, and more efficient store management.

Given that Marketlive's connection methods are not directly supported via a standard API for migration tools, we will leverage a CSV-based data transfer approach for your Marketlive data, followed by an API-driven import into BigCommerce. This ensures that your valuable product data, customer information, and order history are meticulously transferred, maintaining data integrity throughout the replatforming process.

Ready to embark on your migration journey? Let's begin:

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating the data transfer, careful preparation of both your source (Marketo via CSV) and target (BigCommerce) stores is crucial to ensure a smooth transition and minimize potential downtime.

For Your Marketlive Store (Source)

• Data Export Strategy: As Marketlive data will be migrated via CSV files, plan to export all essential data entities. This includes, but is not limited to, products (SKUs, descriptions, images, variants), product categories, customer records, order history, and any relevant CMS pages or blog posts. Ensure your CSV exports are comprehensive and well-organized.
• Data Cleanup: This is an opportune time to review and clean up old or redundant data. Removing outdated product entries, inactive customer accounts, or unnecessary order information can streamline your new BigCommerce store and improve performance.
• Full Data Backup: Always perform a complete backup of your Marketlive store's database and files before commencing any migration activities. This provides a safety net in case any issues arise during the export process.
• Administrative Access: Ensure you have full administrative access to your Marketlive platform to perform all necessary data exports.

For more detailed preparation guidelines, refer to our How to prepare Source store for migration? guide.

For Your BigCommerce Store (Target)

• BigCommerce Store Setup: Have a functional BigCommerce store ready. This includes selecting your plan and basic initial configuration.
• API Access & Custom App: BigCommerce migrations rely on API access. You will need to create a custom API app within your BigCommerce admin panel to generate the necessary credentials: a Client ID, an Access Token, and your store's API Path. Ensure this custom app has the required scopes (read/write permissions for Products, Customers, Orders, etc.) for a comprehensive data transfer. HTTPS is a mandatory requirement for API connections.
• Administrative Permissions: Confirm your BigCommerce administrator account has all the necessary permissions to create API credentials and manage all aspects of the store where data will be imported.
• Theme and Design Considerations: While data is migrating, consider exploring BigCommerce's Theme Store to plan your new storefront design.

Consult our guides on How to prepare Target store for migration? and The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart for more information on setting up your BigCommerce store and obtaining API credentials.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps using an automated migration solution to transfer your Marketlive data to BigCommerce.

Step 1: Export Your Marketlive Data to CSV Files

Your first crucial step is to meticulously export all relevant data from your Marketlive platform into CSV (Comma Separated Values) files. This typically involves exporting:

• Products: Include product names, SKUs, descriptions, prices, images, variants, inventory levels, weight, and any custom attributes.
• Categories: Export category names, descriptions, and hierarchy.
• Customers: Customer names, email addresses, billing/shipping addresses, and customer group information.
• Orders: Order IDs, dates, customer details, product lists, order statuses, and totals.
• Reviews, Blogs, and CMS Pages: If supported by Marketlive's export functionality.

Organize these CSV files clearly, as you will upload them in the next step.

Step 2: Configure Your Migration Tool - Source Store Setup (CSV to Cart)

In your migration wizard, select 'CSV File to Cart' as your source platform. You will then be prompted to upload the CSV files you exported from Marketlive. Ensure all relevant files for products, customers, and orders are uploaded correctly.

For more details on CSV-based migrations, visit our CSV.File Data Migration page.

Step 3: Connect to Your BigCommerce Target Store

Now, select 'BigCommerce' as your target platform. You will need to provide the following details to establish a secure connection:

• Store URL: The full URL of your BigCommerce store.
• Client ID: The Client ID generated when you created your custom API app in BigCommerce.
• Access Token: The Access Token (API Token) obtained from your custom API app.
• API Path: Your BigCommerce store's API path.

The migration tool will then verify the connection to your BigCommerce store, ensuring secure API access for data transfer.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

This critical step allows you to define precisely which data entities you want to move from your CSV files to your new BigCommerce store. You'll typically find a checklist of supported entities:

• Products (including variants, images, SKUs, descriptions)
• Product Categories
• Product Manufacturers
• Customer Accounts
• Orders
• Coupons
• Blogs and Blog Posts
• CMS Pages
• Product Reviews (if included in your CSV export)

You can choose to migrate all entities or select specific ones based on your needs. For a complete replatforming, selecting all relevant data is usually recommended to preserve your entire e-commerce history.

Step 5: Configure Data Mapping

Data mapping is crucial for ensuring that information from your Marketlive CSV files correctly aligns with the corresponding fields in BigCommerce. This step involves matching elements like:

• Customer Groups: Map customer roles from your CSV to BigCommerce customer groups.
• Order Statuses: Match Marketlive order statuses (e.g., 'Processing', 'Completed') to BigCommerce equivalents.
• Product Attributes: If your CSV includes various product attributes, ensure they are mapped to BigCommerce product options or custom fields to create product variants correctly.

Careful data mapping maintains data integrity and consistency across platforms.

Step 6: Choose Additional Migration Options

To further customize your migration, select from a range of additional options. These can significantly impact your store's performance and SEO after the move:

• Clear Target Store Data: Opt to clear current data on Target store before migration if your BigCommerce store already contains dummy data.
• Preserve IDs: The Preserve IDs options (for products, categories, customers, orders) are highly recommended to maintain existing relationships and simplify post-migration tasks.
• Create 301 Redirects: Essential for SEO, this option creates 301 redirects for SEO URLs from your old Marketlive URLs to the new BigCommerce URLs, preserving your link equity and SEO rankings.
• Migrate Images: Ensure product images and images embedded in descriptions are transferred.
• Create Variants from Attributes: Crucial for products with options like size and color, ensuring they are correctly structured as variants in BigCommerce.

Step 7: Run a Free Demo Migration

Before committing to the full migration, it's highly recommended to perform a free demo migration. This transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, orders) to your BigCommerce store. Use this opportunity to:

• Verify the accuracy of data transfer.
• Check product details, images, and pricing.
• Test customer accounts and order history.
• Confirm that data mapping works as expected.

This step allows you to identify and resolve any issues before the full data transfer.

Step 8: Perform Full Migration & Consider Insurance

Once you are satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full migration. Review all your selected options and the total migration cost. Consider adding a Migration Insurance Service, which offers additional re-migrations within a specific period. This can be invaluable for peace of mind, allowing you to fine-tune your store or re-migrate new data if needed.

Initiate the full data transfer. The migration tool will then work to move all your selected data entities to your BigCommerce store. You will receive notifications on its progress and completion.

Post-Migration Steps

The migration doesn't end when the data transfer is complete. A few crucial post-migration tasks are essential to ensure your new BigCommerce store is fully operational and optimized.

• Thorough Data Verification: Conduct an exhaustive review of your BigCommerce store. Check products (SKUs, images, descriptions, variants), customer accounts, order history, reviews, blog posts, and CMS pages. Ensure all information is accurate and complete.
• SEO & 301 Redirects: Verify that all 301 redirects from your old Marketlive URLs to new BigCommerce URLs are functioning correctly. This is vital for maintaining your search engine rankings and preserving link equity. Update any internal links within your site that might still point to old Marketlive URLs.
• Theme and Design Customization: Customize your BigCommerce theme to align with your brand identity. Ensure responsive design across all devices for an optimal user experience.
• Configure Payment & Shipping: Set up and test your preferred payment gateways (e.g., PayPal, Stripe) and configure all necessary shipping zones and rates within BigCommerce.
• Integrate Third-Party Apps: Reconnect any essential third-party integrations, such as marketing automation tools, analytics platforms, accounting software, or other BigCommerce App Store plugins that enhance your store's functionality.
• Comprehensive Testing: Perform extensive testing of all store functionalities, including adding products to the cart, the checkout process, customer account creation, search functionality, and contact forms.
• Update DNS Records: Once confident in your new BigCommerce store, update your domain's DNS records to point to BigCommerce, officially taking your new store live.
• Ongoing Monitoring: After launch, closely monitor your website traffic, sales, and SEO performance to quickly address any unforeseen issues.

Should you discover new data on your old Marketlive store after the initial migration, or if you need to rerun the process, services like Recent Data Migration Service and Cart2Cart Remigration Service are available to ensure your store remains up-to-date.

By following this comprehensive guide, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business from Marketlive to BigCommerce, setting the stage for future growth and success.