Rakuten to WIX Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Rakuten to WIX

As an e-commerce merchant, the decision to migrate your store is often driven by a desire for enhanced features, improved user experience, and greater control over your online presence. This guide provides a detailed roadmap for transitioning your e-commerce store from Rakuten to WIX, ensuring a smooth data transfer and a successful replatforming experience.

Rakuten, while a notable platform, is not directly supported by our automated migration tool via API connections. Therefore, this migration will be executed through a robust CSV file export and import process, leveraging the flexibility and comprehensiveness of the CSV.File Data Migration service. WIX, on the other hand, offers a user-friendly interface and a wealth of customization options, making it an excellent choice for a new beginning.

Our goal is to help you move your valuable data—including products, customer information, orders, and more—with integrity and minimal downtime. Let's begin your journey to a more powerful and intuitive online store.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before embarking on your migration journey, proper preparation is key to a seamless data transfer. Ensuring both your source (Rakuten) and target (WIX) stores are ready will significantly streamline the process.

• For Your Rakuten (Source) Store: Since Rakuten requires a CSV-based migration, your primary task is to export all necessary data. This includes:
  • Products: SKUs, product names, descriptions, images, prices, variants, categories, manufacturers, and product reviews.
  • Customers: Customer IDs, names, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses.
  • Orders: Order IDs, statuses, purchased items, customer details, and invoices.
  • Other Entities: Taxes, coupons, CMS pages, blog posts, and store information you wish to transfer.

  Organize these exports into clear, well-structured CSV files. While no specific plugin is required for this file-based source migration, ensure your data is as clean and accurate as possible. For more details, refer to our guide on How to prepare Source store for migration?

• For Your WIX (Target) Store:
  • Set Up Your WIX Account: Create and set up your WIX e-commerce store. You don't need to populate it with products or customers yet, but ensure the basic store structure is in place.
  • Familiarize Yourself with WIX: Understand WIX's data structure for categories, products, customer groups, and order statuses. This will be crucial during the data mapping phase.
  • Consider Data Clearing: If you have any test data in your WIX store, consider using the Clear current data on Target store before migration option during the migration process to ensure a clean import.

  For additional guidance on preparing your new platform, please see our FAQ: How to prepare Target store for migration?

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these detailed steps to successfully transfer your e-commerce data from Rakuten to WIX using a migration wizard.

Step 1: Export Data from Rakuten

Your first critical step is to retrieve all relevant data from your Rakuten store. Navigate through your Rakuten admin panel to find options for exporting products, customer lists, order histories, and any other content (like blog posts or CMS pages) into CSV files. Ensure the exported files are complete and well-formatted, as these will serve as the source for your entire WIX store.

Step 2: Source Store Setup

Begin by launching the migration wizard. When prompted to select your Source Cart, choose "CSV File to Cart" from the dropdown list. You will then upload your prepared CSV files containing all your Rakuten store data. This step establishes the foundation for the data transfer, allowing the migration tool to parse your existing e-commerce assets.

Step 3: Target Store Setup

Next, select "WIX" as your Target Cart. Provide the URL of your new WIX store. The migration tool will then establish a connection to your WIX account, preparing it to receive your incoming data. While WIX does not require plugins for this type of file-based import, ensuring you have administrative access to your WIX store is essential for a successful connection.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

This crucial step allows you to specify exactly which types of data you wish to transfer from your Rakuten CSV files to WIX. You can choose to migrate All Entities or selectively pick specific data types. The supported entities for CSV migration include:

• Products (including categories, manufacturers, reviews, and variants)
• Customers
• Orders (including invoices)
• Taxes
• Stores
• Coupons
• CMS Pages
• Blogs and Blog Posts

Carefully review your selections to ensure all necessary e-commerce elements are included in the transfer, preserving your valuable store data.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options & Data Mapping

This is where you refine the data transfer process to match your specific needs. The migration wizard offers several powerful additional options to enhance data integrity and SEO:

• Data Mapping: Match customer groups, order statuses, product attributes, and other fields from your Rakuten CSV data to their corresponding structures in WIX. This ensures data consistency and proper display on your new platform.

• Preserve IDs: Opt to preserve product, category, customer, and order IDs from your source store. This is vital for maintaining historical data relationships and for managing external integrations.
• SEO URLs: Migrate SEO URLs to maintain your existing search engine rankings and link equity.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded within descriptions are transferred correctly.
• Password Migration: Safely migrate customer passwords, providing a seamless login experience for your returning customers.
• Create Variants from Attributes: If your Rakuten data uses attributes, this option helps create proper product variants in WIX.
• Clear Target: Use the Clear Target option to remove any existing data in your WIX store before the migration, ensuring a clean import.

Step 6: Run a Demo Migration

Before committing to the full data transfer, perform a free demo migration. This will transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10-20 products, customers, and orders) to your WIX store. Use this opportunity to thoroughly check the migrated data for accuracy, formatting, and completeness. It's a critical step to identify and resolve any potential issues before the main migration.

Step 7: Full Migration

Once you are satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full migration. Review all your selected options and the total cost. You might also consider adding Migration Insurance Service, which offers additional remigrations for a specified period, providing peace of mind during your transition. Initiate the full data transfer, and let the tool handle the heavy lifting. Your store will remain operational throughout most of this process, minimizing disruption.

Post-Migration Steps

After your data has been successfully migrated to WIX, a few crucial steps remain to ensure your new store is fully operational and optimized.

• Review and Verify All Data: Conduct a comprehensive audit of your WIX store. Check product SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, prices, customer accounts, order histories, and category structures. Ensure that all data has been transferred accurately and is displayed correctly.
• Configure SEO Settings: Implement 301 redirects for any URLs that may have changed to preserve SEO rankings and link equity. Optimize product and category meta descriptions and titles within WIX.
• Install Essential Apps and Plugins: Explore the WIX App Market for apps that enhance your store's functionality, such as marketing tools, customer service integrations, or inventory management solutions.
• Test All Functionality: Rigorously test your new WIX store's core functionalities. This includes adding items to the cart, the checkout process, payment gateways, searching, filtering, customer account logins, and order processing.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you are confident that your WIX store is ready, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new WIX site. This is when your new store will officially go live.
• Announce Your New Store: Inform your customers about your exciting new WIX store. Consider a launch campaign to generate excitement and drive traffic.
• Consider Ongoing Services: If you receive new orders or customer data on your old Rakuten store after the full migration, you might benefit from a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer only the latest changes, ensuring your WIX store is always up-to-date.

By following these steps, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business from Rakuten to WIX, embracing a platform designed for growth and flexibility. Should you encounter any challenges or require expert assistance at any stage, do not hesitate to Contact Us. Our team is here to ensure your migration is a resounding success.