HubSpot Commerce to BigCommerce Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Migrating from HubSpot Commerce to BigCommerce

As your e-commerce business expands, the need for a more robust, scalable, and feature-rich platform becomes paramount. While HubSpot Commerce offers integrated CRM and marketing tools, many merchants find themselves seeking a dedicated e-commerce solution with advanced functionalities for growth. Migrating to BigCommerce can unlock a world of possibilities, offering a powerful platform known for its extensive features, scalability, and flexibility to support ambitious online stores.

This guide will walk you through the entire process of transitioning your store data from HubSpot Commerce to BigCommerce. Since HubSpot Commerce does not offer direct API integration for third-party migration tools, this process will involve exporting your valuable data into CSV files, which will then serve as the source for your BigCommerce import. We'll cover everything from crucial pre-migration preparations to the step-by-step migration process and essential post-migration tasks, ensuring a smooth and successful replatforming experience.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before you embark on your migration journey, proper preparation is key to a seamless transition. Taking these preparatory steps will help minimize potential issues and ensure data integrity.

• Backup Your HubSpot Commerce Data: Always perform a full backup of all your data from HubSpot Commerce. This includes products, customer information, orders, and any content. While you will be exporting CSVs, having a complete backup provides an extra layer of security.
• Set Up Your BigCommerce Store: Create your BigCommerce account and complete the initial setup. This involves choosing a theme, configuring basic store settings, and ensuring your store is ready to receive data. For guidance, refer to How to prepare Target store for migration?
• Export HubSpot Commerce Data to CSV Files: Since direct API connection is not available for HubSpot Commerce, you will need to export your store data (products, categories, customers, orders, blog posts, CMS pages, etc.) into CSV format. These files will be used as your 'Source Store' for the migration tool. The migration process will utilize the 'CsvToCart' method, designed for importing data from CSV files.
• Obtain BigCommerce API Credentials: BigCommerce uses an API-only connection method. You will need to generate specific API credentials within your BigCommerce admin panel. This typically involves creating a custom API account with the necessary scopes (permissions) to allow the migration tool to access and write data to your store. You will need the following:
  1. Client ID (Username)
  2. Access Token (API Token)
  3. API Path
  4. Admin Email
  5. Admin Password
  Make sure your BigCommerce store uses HTTPS, as it's a requirement for API access. For detailed instructions on obtaining these, consult The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.
• Understand BigCommerce Limitations: Be aware of potential API rate limits on BigCommerce, which might affect the speed of large migrations. Custom app development with required scopes is necessary for API access.
• Plan for Minimal Downtime: While most migration tools aim for zero downtime, it's wise to schedule your full migration during off-peak hours to minimize any potential disruption to your customers.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s a detailed walkthrough of the migration process using an automated migration tool, which streamlines the data transfer from your HubSpot Commerce CSVs to BigCommerce.

Step 1: Create an Account and Initiate Migration

Your migration journey begins by signing up for an account with your chosen migration service. Once registered, you'll be guided to the migration wizard, which will facilitate the entire process.

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

This is where you'll tell the migration tool about your existing HubSpot Commerce store's data. Since HubSpot Commerce does not offer direct API integration, you will use the CSV file method.

1. From the dropdown menu, select "CsvToCart" as your Source Cart type.
2. Upload the CSV files you exported from your HubSpot Commerce store. Ensure you have separate CSVs for products, categories, customers, orders, and any other entities you wish to migrate. The CsvToCart method supports entities such as products, product categories, manufacturers, reviews, customers, orders, invoices, taxes, stores, coupons, CMS pages, and blogs/blog posts.

For more details on preparing your CSV files, visit CSV.File Data Migration.

Step 3: Configure Your Target Store (BigCommerce)

Next, you'll provide the details for your new BigCommerce store, allowing the migration tool to establish a connection and transfer your data.

1. Select "BigCommerce" as your Target Cart from the dropdown menu.
2. Enter your BigCommerce store's URL.
3. Input the BigCommerce API credentials you generated: Client ID, Access Token, API Path, Admin Email, and Admin Password. Remember that BigCommerce requires HTTPS for API connections.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

At this stage, you'll choose exactly which types of data you want to move from your HubSpot Commerce CSVs to BigCommerce. BigCommerce supports a comprehensive range of entities, including:

• Products (including variants, attributes, and manufacturers)
• Product Categories
• Customers
• Orders
• Coupons
• Blog Posts
• CMS Pages

You can choose to migrate "All entities" with a single click or selectively pick the specific data types that are relevant to your new BigCommerce store.

Step 5: Choose Additional Migration Options

This crucial step allows you to customize your migration, addressing specific business needs and ensuring that the data transfer aligns with your strategy for the new BigCommerce store. Consider the following highly recommended options:

• Clear Target Store Data: If your BigCommerce store is new or you want to start fresh, this option will remove any existing data before migration. Learn more about this with Clear current data on Target store before migration option.
• Preserve IDs: Options like "Preserve Orders IDs," "Preserve Product IDs," "Preserve Category IDs," and "Preserve Customers IDs" maintain the original identifiers from your HubSpot Commerce store. This can be vital for maintaining historical records and external integrations. Discover how these options work at How Preserve IDs options can be used?
• Create 301 SEO URLs: This is critical for preserving your SEO rankings and link equity. It ensures that old HubSpot Commerce URLs redirect seamlessly to their new BigCommerce counterparts, preventing broken links and a drop in search visibility.
• Create Variants from Attributes: Essential for products with multiple options (e.g., size, color), this option correctly translates your product attributes into BigCommerce's variant structure.

Be mindful of BigCommerce's API rate limits, especially for very large stores, as this may impact migration duration.

Step 6: Map Data Fields

To ensure data consistency and integrity, you'll need to map certain data fields between your HubSpot Commerce CSVs and BigCommerce. This step typically involves:

• Customer Group Mapping: Matching customer roles from your source (e.g., "Retail Customer," "Wholesale Customer") to their corresponding groups in BigCommerce.
• Order Status Mapping: Aligning order statuses (e.g., "Pending," "Processing," "Completed") to BigCommerce's predefined or custom statuses.

Proper data mapping is crucial for maintaining the logical structure and flow of your business operations on the new platform.

Step 7: Run a Free Demo & Initiate Full Migration

Before committing to the full migration, it's highly recommended to run a free demo migration. This typically transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-15 products, customers, and orders) to your BigCommerce store. The demo allows you to:

• Verify the accuracy of data transfer.
• Check the functionality of products, customer accounts, and order history.
• Confirm that mapping and additional options were applied correctly.

Once you're satisfied with the demo results, you can proceed with the full data transfer. Consider purchasing a Migration Insurance Service, which offers additional remigrations and support, providing peace of mind during your transition. You can learn more about how this works at How Migration Insurance works? Additionally, for any future updates or new data, services like Recent Data Migration Service can be invaluable.

Post-Migration Steps

Successfully migrating your data is a significant milestone, but the journey doesn't end there. A few crucial post-migration steps will ensure your new BigCommerce store is fully operational, optimized, and ready for business.

• Thoroughly Test Your New Store: After the full migration, conduct comprehensive testing. Verify that all products (SKUs, variants, prices, images), customer accounts, order histories, and coupons are accurately displayed and functional. Test the entire checkout process, from adding items to the cart to placing an order.
• Configure 301 Redirects: Even if you used the "Create 301 SEO URLs" option during migration, review and manually set up any custom or critical 301 redirects for specific pages that might have changed URLs. This is paramount for preserving your SEO rankings and link equity.
• Update DNS Settings: Point your domain name to your new BigCommerce store. This step makes your new BigCommerce store live to the world.
• Install and Configure Apps/Integrations: Reinstall and configure any third-party applications, plugins, or integrations (e.g., payment gateways, shipping providers, analytics tools, marketing automation) that you previously used on HubSpot Commerce.
• Optimize SEO: Update your meta titles, descriptions, and image alt text for BigCommerce's SEO structure. Monitor search engine indexing and rankings closely.
• Design and User Experience Refinements: Fine-tune your BigCommerce theme, ensure responsive design across all devices, and optimize the user experience based on your brand's aesthetics and customer journey.
• Remove Old Store Data: Once you are confident that your BigCommerce store is fully operational and stable, decommission or remove sensitive data from your old HubSpot Commerce environment.

Migrating from HubSpot Commerce to BigCommerce is a strategic move that can empower your e-commerce business with enhanced capabilities. By following this detailed guide, you can ensure a smooth data transfer, preserving your valuable assets and setting the stage for future growth on your new, robust platform. If you encounter any challenges or require expert assistance, don't hesitate to Contact Us for support or refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.