Hostinger to PrestaShop Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

Introduction

As your e-commerce business grows, the need for a more robust, flexible, and feature-rich platform often arises. If you're currently hosting your online store on Hostinger and contemplating a move to PrestaShop, you're looking at a powerful transition. PrestaShop, an open-source solution, offers unparalleled customization, a vast community, and a rich ecosystem of modules and themes, making it an excellent choice for scaling your operations.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the entire process of migrating your e-commerce store data from Hostinger to PrestaShop. Since Hostinger is primarily a hosting provider and not a specific e-commerce platform with a direct API for migration, we'll outline a streamlined data transfer method using CSV files. This ensures all your critical data—including products, customer information, and order history—is moved securely and efficiently, maintaining data integrity throughout the replatforming journey.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before embarking on your migration journey from Hostinger to PrestaShop, it's crucial to lay the groundwork. Proper preparation minimizes potential disruptions and ensures a smooth transition.

• Backup Your Hostinger Data: This is perhaps the most critical step. Since you'll be exporting your data from Hostinger, make sure to create a complete backup of your entire website, including all files and the database. This acts as a safety net in case of any unforeseen issues during the CSV.File Data Migration process. Consult How to prepare Source store for migration? for more details.
• Set Up Your PrestaShop Store: Install a fresh instance of PrestaShop on your chosen hosting environment. Ensure it's fully functional and accessible. You don't need to add any products or customers manually, as the migration process will handle that. For guidance, refer to How to prepare Target store for migration?.
• Gather Access Credentials: For the migration, you'll need the exported CSV files from your Hostinger store. For your PrestaShop target store, ensure you have your Admin URL and credentials readily available.
• Review PrestaShop Version Compatibility: While migrating via CSV is flexible, it's always good practice to ensure your target PrestaShop version is recent and stable.
• Understand Plugin Requirements for PrestaShop: As per the PrestaShop platform data, the "Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module required" for seamless connection. Be prepared to install this module on your new PrestaShop store.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these detailed steps to transfer your e-commerce data from Hostinger (via CSV) to PrestaShop using a specialized migration service.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Begin by accessing the migration wizard. This is where you'll define your source and target platforms.

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

Since Hostinger acts as your hosting provider and not a direct e-commerce platform for automated migration, your data will be extracted into CSV files. You'll then use these files as your source for the migration.

1. Export Data from Hostinger: Access your Hostinger hosting panel and export all your e-commerce data (products, categories, customers, orders, etc.) into CSV format. Ensure all essential information like SKUs, product variants, customer details, and order statuses are included.
2. Select 'CsvToCart' as Source: In the migration wizard, choose "CsvToCart" as your Source Cart from the dropdown menu.
3. Upload CSV Files: Proceed to upload your carefully prepared CSV files containing all your store's data.

Step 3: Connect Your PrestaShop Target Store

Now, configure your new PrestaShop store as the destination for your data.

1. Select 'PrestaShop' as Target: Choose "PrestaShop" as your Target Cart.
2. Provide Admin URL: Enter the full Admin URL of your PrestaShop store.
3. Establish Connection: The recommended method is to install the "Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module." Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install this add-on from the marketplace directly into your PrestaShop administration panel. This module facilitates a secure and efficient connection between the migration service and your new store. Alternatively, you might be offered options to upload a Connection Bridge file to your PrestaShop root directory or provide admin credentials for an automatic upload of the bridge.

Step 4: Choose Data Entities for Transfer

This critical step allows you to specify exactly what data you want to transfer from your Hostinger (CSV) store to PrestaShop. The migration service supports a wide array of entities, ensuring comprehensive data transfer.

You can select:

• Products (including SKUs, variants, images, metadata)
• Product Categories
• Product Manufacturers
• Product Reviews
• Customers (including customer groups, passwords if migrated)
• Orders (including order statuses, invoices)
• Taxes
• Stores
• Coupons
• CMS Pages
• Blogs and Blog Posts

You have the option to migrate all entities with a single click or selectively choose specific items based on your requirements. Ensure all crucial customer data and product information are marked for migration to maintain a rich user experience from day one.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options & Data Mapping

Enhance your migration with a suite of additional options and ensure data consistency through mapping.

Additional Options

Review the available "Additional Options" to tailor your migration. Recommended options often include:

• Migrate Images in Description: Ensures product descriptions retain their visual content.
• Clear Target: (Clear current data on Target store before migration option) Erases existing demo data on your PrestaShop store before the transfer, providing a clean slate.
• Preserve Product IDs, Preserve Orders IDs, Preserve Customers IDs: (How Preserve IDs options can be used?) Essential for maintaining data integrity and for internal referencing.
• SEO URLs & 301 SEO URLs / Create 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for preserving your search engine rankings and link equity. This option automatically creates redirects from your old URLs to the new ones in PrestaShop.
• Password Migration: Allows customers to log into their accounts on the new PrestaShop store with their existing credentials.
• Create Variants from Attributes: Important for accurate product representation.

Data Mapping

Ensure that customer groups and order statuses from your Hostinger (CSV) data are correctly mapped to their corresponding equivalents in PrestaShop. This step is vital for maintaining consistent customer segmentation and order management workflows.

Step 6: Execute Demo & Full Migration

Before committing to a full data transfer, run a demo migration to preview the results and ensure everything works as expected.

1. Run Demo Migration: Initiate a free demo migration. This will transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) to your PrestaShop store. It's a fantastic Migration Preview Service to verify the process and data accuracy without affecting your live store.
2. Review Demo Results: Thoroughly inspect the transferred data on your PrestaShop store. Check product details, customer accounts, and order history for accuracy.
3. Initiate Full Migration: Once satisfied with the demo, proceed with the full migration. This will transfer all selected data from your Hostinger (CSV) files to PrestaShop. Consider purchasing Migration Insurance Service, which offers a set number of remigration opportunities, providing peace of mind during this significant transition. For more information on this, see How Migration Insurance works?.

Post-Migration Steps

The migration doesn't end when the data transfer is complete. Several crucial post-migration steps are necessary to ensure your new PrestaShop store is fully functional, optimized, and ready for business.

• Thoroughly Test Your New PrestaShop Store: Beyond checking the migrated data, test every aspect of your new store. This includes product browsing, adding items to the cart, the entire checkout process, payment gateways, customer account login, search functionality, and contact forms. Ensure all functionalities work seamlessly.
• Configure DNS and Implement 301 Redirects: Update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new PrestaShop store. If you opted for 301 redirects during migration, verify their implementation. If not, set up manual 301 redirects from your old Hostinger URLs to their new PrestaShop counterparts to preserve SEO rankings and prevent broken links.
• Update Third-Party Integrations: Reconnect all essential third-party services such as analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics), email marketing platforms, accounting software, shipping carriers, and any other apps or plugins you used on your old store.
• SEO Audit and Optimization: Even with 301 redirects, a post-migration SEO audit is crucial. Check for any crawling errors, broken internal links, and ensure your site structure and meta-data are optimized for PrestaShop.
• Communicate with Your Customers: Inform your customers about the store's new home. Assure them that their account details and order history are intact, especially if you migrated customer passwords.
• Monitor for New Data: If your Hostinger store remained active during the migration, you might have accrued new data. Consider using a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer any delta data that appeared after your main migration.

By following these steps, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business from Hostinger to PrestaShop, leveraging PrestaShop's advanced features for future growth and success. If you encounter any challenges or prefer expert assistance, don't hesitate to Contact Us for tailored support.