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

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from MakeWebEasy to Volusion

Replatforming your e-commerce store is a significant strategic move that can unlock new growth opportunities and enhance your operational efficiency. If you're currently running your online business on MakeWebEasy and are considering a transition to Volusion, you're looking at migrating to a robust platform known for its comprehensive features and scalability. This guide will walk you through the entire process, ensuring a smooth and successful data transfer with minimal disruption to your business operations and SEO rankings.

As MakeWebEasy does not offer a direct API connection for automated migration tools, the migration will primarily be handled through a CSV.File Data Migration process for your source store data, combined with a 'Bridge only' connection method for your Volusion target store. This method ensures that all your essential store entities, from products and customer data to orders and reviews, are accurately moved to your new Volusion platform.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before embarking on your data transfer journey, careful preparation of both your MakeWebEasy source store and your Volusion target store is crucial. This helps in maintaining data integrity and ensuring a seamless transition.

For Your MakeWebEasy (Source) Store:

• Data Export: You will need to access your MakeWebEasy admin panel to export all relevant store data into CSV files. This includes product details (SKUs, variants, descriptions, images), product categories, customer records, order history, manufacturers, product reviews, and CMS pages. Ensure the exported data is as clean and accurate as possible.
• Image Handling: While product image URLs can often be included in your CSV files, larger image assets or those not linked within the CSVs may require separate manual transfer or specific instructions within the CSV to ensure they are properly imported into Volusion.
• Administrative Access: Ensure you have full administrative access to your MakeWebEasy store to perform these data exports efficiently. For more details on preparing your source store, refer to our How to prepare Source store for migration? FAQ.

For Your Volusion (Target) Store:

• Volusion Store Setup: Have a live and accessible Volusion store ready. This will be the destination for all your MakeWebEasy data.
• Admin Credentials: Gather your Volusion store URL, admin login, and admin password. These access credentials are essential for establishing the bridge connection. For security concerns, please read Is it safe to provide your company with my access details?.
• Install Cart2Cart Volusion Migration Module: Volusion requires a specific migration module to facilitate the data transfer via a bridge connection. This plugin must be installed on your Volusion store to allow the migration tool to securely communicate and transfer data. FTP access is supported and might be required for the bridge installation.
• Theme and Design: While data migration focuses on your core store information, consider preparing your Volusion store's theme and design. This will ensure your customers enjoy a consistent user experience immediately after the transition.
• Custom Attributes: Identify any custom attributes or fields you used in MakeWebEasy that you want to replicate in Volusion. This may require some configuration on the Volusion side. For further guidance on preparing your target store, visit our How to prepare Target store for migration? FAQ.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your preparations complete, you're ready to initiate the data transfer process. Follow these steps to migrate your MakeWebEasy data to Volusion.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Begin by accessing the migration wizard. This is where you'll start configuring your move from MakeWebEasy to Volusion.

Step 2: Connect Your Source Store (MakeWebEasy via CSV)

Given MakeWebEasy's architecture, your source store connection will be established by selecting the "CSV File to Cart" option. You will then upload the carefully prepared CSV files containing your MakeWebEasy data. Ensure your CSV files are formatted correctly to allow for accurate data parsing. This step is crucial for defining the data set that will be moved.

Step 3: Set Up Your Target Store (Volusion)

Next, specify Volusion as your target e-commerce platform. You will be prompted to enter your Volusion store's URL along with your administrative login credentials (username and password). It is imperative that the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module is already installed on your Volusion store for the bridge connection to be successfully established. This bridge ensures secure and efficient data exchange.

Step 4: Select Entities for Data Transfer

At this stage, you will define exactly what data you wish to migrate from MakeWebEasy to Volusion. The migration tool supports a comprehensive list of entities, including:

• Products (including SKUs, product attributes, descriptions, and variants)
• Product Categories
• Product Manufacturers
• Product Reviews
• Customers (including customer data and shipping addresses)
• Orders (including order history)
• Invoices
• Taxes
• Store data
• Coupons
• CMS Pages

You can choose to migrate "All entities" with a single click or select specific items based on your needs. This allows for precise control over the scope of your data transfer.

Step 5: Configure Additional Migration Options

To tailor the migration process to your specific requirements, you can select various additional options. These are designed to preserve critical information and optimize your new Volusion store:

• Migrate Images in Description: Essential for preserving product descriptions with embedded images.
• Clear Target: Opt to clear current data on Target store before migration if your Volusion store contains placeholder content you want to remove.
• Preserve Product IDs, Preserve Orders IDs, Preserve Customers IDs: These options help maintain consistency and are particularly useful for integrations or historical data. Learn more about How Preserve IDs options can be used?.
• SEO URLs, 301 SEO URLs, Create 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for maintaining your SEO rankings and link equity. Implementing 301 redirects ensures old MakeWebEasy URLs are seamlessly forwarded to their new Volusion counterparts.
• Password Migration: Allows customer passwords to be migrated, improving user experience.
• Migrate Invoices: Ensures all invoice data is transferred.
• Skip Custom Attributes: An option if you do not wish to migrate specific custom fields.

Volusion also supports multi-tax settings, which can be configured during this stage.

Step 6: Map Data Fields

Data mapping is a critical step that ensures data consistency between your MakeWebEasy source and Volusion target stores. Here, you will match corresponding fields, such as customer groups (e.g., matching "Wholesale Customer" from MakeWebEasy to a relevant group in Volusion) and order statuses (e.g., mapping "Pending Payment" to its Volusion equivalent). This guarantees that all data elements are correctly categorized and displayed in your new store.

Step 7: Perform a Free Demo Migration (Optional but Recommended)

Before committing to a full data transfer, we highly recommend performing a free demo migration. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) to your Volusion store. The demo helps you:

• Verify the accuracy of the transferred data.
• Test the functionality of your new store with actual data.
• Identify any potential issues or adjustments needed before the full migration.

This Migration Preview Service is invaluable for ensuring a flawless final transfer.

Step 8: Launch Full Data Migration

Once you are satisfied with the demo results, proceed to launch the full data migration. At this point, you will review all your selections and the estimated cost. You may also consider an Migration Insurance Plan, which offers additional re-migrations for a specified period, providing peace of mind. For more information, see How Migration Insurance works? During the full migration, your MakeWebEasy store will remain operational, minimizing any potential downtime for your business.

Post-Migration Steps

Completing the data migration is a major milestone, but a few crucial steps remain to ensure your new Volusion store is fully optimized and ready for business:

• Verify Data Integrity: Thoroughly review your Volusion store. Check products, product descriptions, images, categories, customer accounts, order history, and other critical data points for accuracy and completeness. Ensure all SKUs and variants are correctly displayed.
• Test All Functionality: Conduct extensive testing of your new Volusion store's functionality. This includes the checkout process, payment gateways, shipping options, search function, filters, and customer login areas. Simulate real customer journeys to ensure a smooth user experience.
• Configure SEO Redirects: Confirm that all 301 redirects from your old MakeWebEasy URLs to your new Volusion URLs are working correctly. This is vital for preserving your hard-earned SEO rankings and link equity.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you are fully confident in your Volusion store, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new Volusion storefront. This makes your new store live to the public.
• Install & Configure Apps/Plugins: Integrate any necessary Volusion apps, modules, or extensions that provide additional functionality for your business.
• Announce Your Transition: Inform your customers about the move to the new platform. This can be a great opportunity to re-engage them and highlight new features or improvements.
• Monitor for New Data: For any orders or updates that occurred on your MakeWebEasy store during or immediately after the migration, consider utilizing a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer this new information to Volusion.
• Ongoing Monitoring: Continue to monitor your Volusion store's performance, user feedback, and analytics to ensure a successful long-term transition.

By following this comprehensive guide, you can confidently transition your e-commerce store from MakeWebEasy to Volusion, leveraging the power of automated tools and strategic planning to ensure a successful replatforming. For more complex migration needs or personalized assistance, consider our Migration Customization Service, or Contact Us directly for expert support. You can also explore our Frequently Asked Questions for additional insights.