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

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

In the dynamic world of e-commerce, replatforming your online store is a strategic move that can unlock new growth opportunities, enhance performance, and improve the overall user experience. If you're currently operating on Haravan and looking to transition to the robust features and scalability of Volusion, this guide will walk you through every essential step. While Haravan does not offer direct API integration for automated migrations with many tools, we'll demonstrate how to effectively transfer your valuable store data using a reliable CSV export method for your Haravan data, combined with a secure bridge connection for Volusion.

This process ensures that crucial elements like your products, customer data, and order history make a smooth journey to your new Volusion platform, safeguarding your business continuity and SEO rankings.

Prerequisites for a Seamless Haravan to Volusion Migration

Before you embark on your store migration journey, adequate preparation is key to ensuring a smooth and successful data transfer. Here’s what you need to have in place:

• For Your Haravan Store (Source Data):
  • Data Export: As Haravan typically requires a file-based transfer, you will need to export all your vital store data into CSV (Comma Separated Values) files. This includes:
    • Products (with SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, prices)
    • Product Categories and Manufacturers
    • Customer Data (names, addresses, order history)
    • Orders (statuses, details)
    • Product Reviews
    • CMS Pages (e.g., About Us, Contact Us) and Blogs/Blog Posts
    • Coupons and Taxes
  • CSV File Preparation: Ensure your exported CSV files are well-structured and clean. Discrepancies in file formatting can cause issues during import, impacting data integrity. For detailed guidance on preparing your source store, you may refer to our How to prepare Source store for migration? FAQ.
• For Your Volusion Store (Target Platform):
  • Volusion Store Setup: Ensure you have a fresh Volusion store installation ready. If you have existing data on your Volusion store that you wish to remove before migration, consider using the "Clear Target" option during the migration process. This helps in achieving a clean start.
  • FTP/SFTP Access: Volusion utilizes a bridge-based connection method for data transfer, which requires installing a special connector module. You will need FTP or SFTP access credentials to your Volusion store's root directory to upload this Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module. Understanding your What is a root folder and where can I find it? will be helpful.
  • Admin Credentials: Have your Volusion admin URL, login, and password readily available. These are essential for the migration tool to establish a secure API access.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these detailed steps to transfer your e-commerce data from Haravan (via CSV) to Volusion efficiently and securely.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Begin by navigating to the migration wizard. Here, you'll choose to start a new migration process. This initial screen outlines the necessary preparatory steps for a smooth data transfer.

Step 2: Configure Your Haravan Source Store (CSV Files)

In this step, you will specify your current platform, Haravan, by selecting 'CSV File to Cart' as your Source Shopping Cart. You will then upload the carefully prepared CSV files containing all your Haravan store's data.

For more details on CSV-based migrations and how to ensure your data files are correctly formatted, visit our CSV.File Data Migration service page.

Step 3: Set Up Your Volusion Target Store

Next, select 'Volusion' as your Target Shopping Cart. Provide your Volusion store's URL. The system will prompt you to install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module via FTP to establish a secure bridge connection. This module is essential for the tool to communicate with your Volusion database and transfer your data effectively.

Ensure you have your Volusion admin login, password, and the exact location where you installed the bridge module ready, as these credentials are required for connection and bridge validation.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

This critical step allows you to choose exactly which types of data you want to migrate from your Haravan CSV files to your new Volusion store. You can select all entities or pick specific ones, such as:

• Products, Product Categories, Product Manufacturers, Product Reviews
• Customers
• Orders
• Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons
• CMS Pages, Blogs, Blog Posts

Carefully review your selections to ensure all essential business data, including SKUs and variants, is included in the transfer, preserving user experience and data integrity.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options & Data Mapping

This is where you fine-tune your migration to suit your specific needs, focusing on both granular data control and overall data consistency:

Additional Migration Options:

Enhance your data transfer with various recommended options:

• Clear Target: Use this option if you want to Clear current data on Target store before migration option - essential if your Volusion store isn't empty or you want to start fresh.
• Preserve IDs: Options like Preserve Product IDs, Preserve Category IDs, Preserve Orders IDs, Preserve Customers IDs are crucial for maintaining consistency, internal linking structures, and avoiding broken links for SEO rankings.
• SEO URLs & 301 Redirects: Migrate your existing SEO URLs and create 301 SEO URLs to maintain your search engine rankings and link equity.
• Password Migration: Transfer customer passwords securely to ensure a smooth transition for your existing customer base.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product and category images embedded within descriptions are also moved to your Volusion store.
• Create Variants from Attributes: If your products have attributes that need to be converted into Volusion variants, select this option to maintain product structure.

Data Mapping:

Match your customer groups and order statuses from Haravan to their corresponding equivalents in Volusion. This ensures proper data integrity, consistent taxonomies, and correct categorization in your new store.

Step 6: Run a Demo Migration and Full Migration

It's highly recommended to perform a free demo migration first. This allows you to see a portion of your data transferred to Volusion, enabling you to identify and fix any potential issues before the full transfer. Once you're satisfied with the demo results and have reviewed the data, proceed to the full migration.

Consider opting for a Migration Insurance Service, which offers additional remigrations in case any adjustments are needed post-transfer, minimizing future downtime. Learn more about How Migration Insurance works?.

Post-Migration Steps for Your Volusion Store

Once your data has successfully transitioned to Volusion, a few crucial post-migration tasks remain to ensure your new store is fully operational and optimized.

• Thorough Data Review: Meticulously check all migrated data on your Volusion store. Verify products (SKUs, pricing, descriptions, images, variants), customer accounts, orders, reviews, and CMS pages. Ensure data integrity and accuracy across the board, guaranteeing a seamless user experience.
• Functionality Testing: Conduct comprehensive testing of all core store functionalities. This includes adding items to the cart, the checkout process, payment gateways, shipping calculations, search functionality, and contact forms. Ensure all aspects work correctly.
• SEO Configuration: If you utilized the 301 redirect option during migration, confirm that all redirects are working correctly. Update your sitemap in Google Search Console and monitor for any crawling errors or drops in SEO rankings. Re-evaluate any custom metadata or SEO descriptions to maintain link equity.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you're completely satisfied with your Volusion store's performance and data, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new Volusion platform. This will make your new store live to the public. Plan this step carefully to minimize any potential downtime.
• Install Essential Apps/Plugins: Reinstall or find equivalents for any third-party apps, plugins, or integrations you used on Haravan that are crucial for your Volusion store's operations (e.g., marketing tools, analytics, customer support).
• Archive Old Store: Once your Volusion store is fully live and functional, safely archive or decommission your old Haravan store.

Should you encounter any challenges or require assistance with any of these post-migration tasks, don't hesitate to Contact Us. Our team is ready to help you ensure a perfect launch for your new Volusion store. For ongoing updates or adding new data after your initial transfer, consider our Recent Data Migration Service.