SAP Commerce Cloud to PrestaShop Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from SAP Commerce Cloud to PrestaShop

Embarking on an e-commerce platform migration can feel like a monumental task, especially when moving from a robust enterprise solution like SAP Commerce Cloud to a flexible, open-source platform such as PrestaShop. Many merchants choose to replatform for reasons such as reducing operational costs, gaining more control over customization, or simplifying their store management. This guide is designed to provide a clear, step-by-step roadmap for a successful data transfer, ensuring minimal disruption and maximum data integrity.

While SAP Commerce Cloud offers powerful capabilities, its complexity and associated costs can sometimes outweigh the benefits for businesses seeking greater agility and control. PrestaShop, with its vibrant community, extensive module ecosystem, and user-friendly interface, presents a compelling alternative for managing your online store efficiently. In this guide, we will walk you through the entire process, focusing on a secure and systematic approach to move your valuable e-commerce data – including products, customer information, orders, and more – from your SAP Commerce Cloud setup to your new PrestaShop store.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before you begin the migration process, careful preparation of both your existing SAP Commerce Cloud store and your new PrestaShop environment is crucial to ensure a smooth transition and preserve your crucial business data. Here's what you need to have in place:

For Your SAP Commerce Cloud (Source) Store:

• Data Export Capability: Since SAP Commerce Cloud is an enterprise system not directly supported by automated bridges in some migration tools, the process will primarily involve exporting your data into CSV files. Ensure you have the necessary access and tools within SAP Commerce Cloud to export all essential entities: products (including SKUs and variants), product categories, manufacturers, customer records, order history, invoices, coupons, CMS pages, and potentially blogs or reviews. For complex data, you might require developer assistance.
• Data Cleaning and Audit: Before exporting, it's an ideal time to review and clean your existing data. Remove outdated products, duplicate customer entries, or inconsistent information. This ensures you're only moving relevant and high-quality data to your new PrestaShop store.
• Full Data Backup: Always perform a complete backup of your SAP Commerce Cloud database and files before initiating any data export or migration activities. This acts as a critical safety net should any issues arise.

For Your PrestaShop (Target) Store:

• Fresh PrestaShop Installation: Have a clean, freshly installed instance of PrestaShop ready on your hosting environment. Ensure it meets all the system requirements for PrestaShop to function optimally.
• Admin Access: You will need full administrative access to your PrestaShop backend. This includes the admin URL, username, and password.
• FTP/SFTP Access: PrestaShop's preferred connection method for automated migration tools often involves a Connection Bridge. This requires FTP/SFTP access to your PrestaShop hosting to upload the necessary files to your store's root directory. This is detailed further in the next steps.
• Install Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration Module: To facilitate the data import, you will need to install the Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module. This plugin acts as the bridge for seamless data transfer.
• Target Store Backup: Even if it's a new installation, it's good practice to take a snapshot or backup of your PrestaShop store before any data is imported, especially if you plan to use the "Clear Target" option.

Having these prerequisites in order will significantly streamline your migration journey and help maintain the integrity of your e-commerce ecosystem.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

This section outlines the process of moving your e-commerce data from SAP Commerce Cloud to PrestaShop using a robust migration solution. The steps will guide you through connecting your stores, selecting data, mapping fields, and initiating the transfer.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration Process

Begin by navigating to the migration wizard interface. Here, you'll choose to start a new migration. This initial step sets the stage for the entire data transfer operation, offering options to proceed with a guided migration or explore other services.

Step 2: Source Store Setup (SAP Commerce Cloud via CSV)

As SAP Commerce Cloud is not directly listed as a platform for automated bridge connection, you will utilize the CSV file migration method. Select "CsvToCart" as your Source Cart type from the dropdown menu. This method allows you to upload the CSV files containing your exported SAP Commerce Cloud data.

Ensure all necessary CSV files are ready for upload, including those for products, categories, customers, and orders. The system will guide you on how to upload these files, typically requiring them to be zipped for a batch upload.

Step 3: Target Store Setup (PrestaShop)

Next, configure your PrestaShop store as the Target Cart. Select "PrestaShop" from the list of available platforms and enter your PrestaShop Admin URL. For the connection method, PrestaShop primarily uses a Connection Bridge.

You will be prompted to download the Cart2Cart Connection Bridge (a zip file), extract the `bridge2cart` folder, and upload it via FTP/SFTP to the root directory of your PrestaShop installation. This bridge establishes a secure connection for the data transfer. Alternatively, some tools may offer automatic bridge upload if you provide your admin credentials, or direct add-on installation from the marketplace. Ensure the necessary credentials are available.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Transfer

Now, specify which types of data you wish to transfer from your SAP Commerce Cloud CSV files to PrestaShop. You have the flexibility to migrate a wide array of entities, including:

• Products: Including product descriptions, images, SKUs, and variants.
• Product Categories: Maintaining your store's organizational structure.
• Manufacturers: Associated with your products.
• Products Reviews: Preserving social proof for your offerings.
• Customers: Including customer details and account information.
• Orders: All historical order data, statuses, and associated information.
• Invoices: For financial record-keeping.
• Taxes: Ensuring tax rules are correctly transferred.
• Stores (Multi-store configurations): Though PrestaShop has limitations for multi-store variants for certain platforms, basic multi-store data can be transferred.
• Coupons: To continue promotional activities.
• CMS Pages: Important static content like "About Us" or "Contact."
• Blogs & Blog Posts: Preserving your content marketing efforts (note: SEO options might be excluded for blogs in PrestaShop).

You can choose to select all entities for a comprehensive transfer or pick specific items based on your requirements. This step also provides information regarding demo migration limits and plugin status.

Step 5: Configure Data Mapping and Additional Options

This critical step involves mapping your SAP Commerce Cloud data fields to their corresponding fields in PrestaShop and selecting advanced migration options.

Data Mapping:

You will need to map customer groups and order statuses from your source CSV data to the equivalent settings in PrestaShop. For instance, ensure that "Pending" orders in your SAP data map correctly to "Pending payment" or a similar status in PrestaShop. Accurate data mapping is vital for maintaining data integrity and consistent reporting.

Additional Migration Options:

Explore the following crucial options to tailor your data transfer:

• Clear Target Store Data: The "Clear Target" option allows you to erase all existing data on your PrestaShop store before the migration. This is generally recommended for fresh installations. Read more about clearing target data.
• Preserve IDs: Options like "Preserve Product IDs," "Preserve Orders IDs," and "Preserve Customers IDs" ensure that the original unique identifiers from your SAP Commerce Cloud data are maintained in PrestaShop. This is highly recommended for historical data consistency. Learn more about preserving IDs.
• SEO URLs & 301 Redirects: Selecting "SEO URLs" and "Create 301 SEO URLs" is vital for preserving your search engine rankings and link equity. This automatically generates redirects from your old SAP Commerce Cloud URLs to your new PrestaShop URLs, preventing broken links and maintaining your SEO performance.
• Password Migration: If you wish to migrate customer passwords, select this option. Note that this often requires specific technical compatibility between platforms to ensure secure transfer.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure all embedded images within product descriptions, CMS pages, or blog posts are transferred successfully.
• Create Variants from Attributes: Important for products with different options like size or color.

Step 6: Run Demo Migration & Full Migration

Before committing to a full data transfer, it is highly recommended to perform a demo migration. This allows you to migrate a limited set of data (e.g., a few products, customers, and orders) to your PrestaShop store for free. Use this opportunity to:

• Review Data Accuracy: Check if products, categories, customer details, and order information are transferred correctly.
• Test Functionality: Verify that images display, links work, and prices are accurate.
• Validate Mapping: Ensure your data mapping choices yielded the desired results.

Once you are satisfied with the demo results, you can proceed with the full migration. At this stage, you may also consider a Migration Insurance Plan, which offers additional remigrations within a specified period, providing peace of mind. Learn how Migration Insurance works.

Post-Migration Steps

Successfully completing your data transfer is a major milestone, but the journey doesn't end there. Post-migration tasks are essential for ensuring your new PrestaShop store is fully functional, optimized, and ready for your customers.

1. Thorough Quality Assurance (QA) Testing:
   • Frontend Verification: Navigate through your PrestaShop storefront as a customer. Check product pages, categories, prices, images, search functionality, and general navigation.
   • Backend Verification: Log into your PrestaShop admin panel. Verify that all migrated products, customer accounts, orders, invoices, and other data appear correctly. Check order statuses, customer groups, and inventory levels.
   • Checkout Process: Perform test purchases using various payment methods and shipping options to ensure a smooth and functional checkout flow.
2. Verify SEO and Redirects:
   • 301 Redirects: Crucially, confirm that all the 301 redirects from your old SAP Commerce Cloud URLs to the new PrestaShop URLs are working as intended. Use an SEO crawler or a simple browser check to verify key pages. This step is vital for preserving your SEO rankings and link equity.
   • Broken Links: Scan your new site for any broken internal or external links and rectify them promptly.
3. Update DNS Settings: Once you are confident that your PrestaShop store is fully operational and tested, update your Domain Name System (DNS) records to point your domain to your new PrestaShop hosting. This is the moment your new store goes live to the public.
4. Configure Third-Party Integrations: Reconnect and configure all essential third-party services that were part of your SAP Commerce Cloud setup. This includes payment gateways (e.g., Stripe, PayPal), shipping carriers, email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, Klaviyo), analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics), CRM systems, and any other apps or plugins.
5. Announce Your New Store: Inform your customers about your exciting new PrestaShop store! Highlight any new features, improved user experience, or enhanced performance. Engage with your audience through email, social media, and on-site announcements.
6. Ongoing Monitoring: Continuously monitor your PrestaShop store's performance, user behavior, and server health. Keep an eye on error logs and analytics to quickly identify and resolve any post-migration issues. Consider services like the Recent Data Migration Service to periodically update any new data that might have accumulated on your old store during the transition period.

By diligently following these post-migration steps, you can ensure a successful launch of your new PrestaShop store, providing a seamless and improved shopping experience for your customers while leveraging the flexibility and power of your new platform.

Should you require further assistance or wish to explore more advanced migration capabilities, our team is ready to help. Feel free to contact us for personalized support or check our Frequently Asked Questions.