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

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Walmart to Volusion

Making the strategic decision to replatform your e-commerce store is a significant step towards optimizing your online business. If you're currently operating on Walmart and looking to transition to Volusion, you're seeking a dedicated e-commerce platform with robust features designed for growth and scalability. This comprehensive guide will walk you through every critical stage of migrating your online store data, ensuring a smooth and successful transition of your valuable product listings, customer information, and order history.

Moving from a marketplace like Walmart to a standalone platform like Volusion involves careful planning and execution. Since Walmart operates primarily as a marketplace, a direct API connection for migration tools isn't typically available. Therefore, the migration process will involve exporting your data from Walmart into CSV files and then using those files as the source for your data transfer to Volusion. This approach ensures data integrity and a methodical transfer of all your crucial e-commerce assets.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before initiating your data transfer, it's essential to prepare both your source (Walmart) and target (Volusion) environments. Adequate preparation minimizes potential downtime and ensures a more efficient migration process.

• For Your Walmart Source Store (via CSV):
  • Data Export: You will need to export all your vital store data from your Walmart seller account into CSV files. This includes product data (SKUs, variants, images, descriptions, metadata), customer information, and order history. Ensure these files are well-organized and complete. We recommend reviewing our guide on How to prepare Source store for migration?
  • Data Review: Take this opportunity to clean up any outdated or redundant data in your CSV files. This will result in a cleaner, more efficient store on Volusion.
  • Backup: Always create a complete backup of your existing Walmart data before any major changes.
• For Your Volusion Target Store:
  • Volusion Account: Ensure you have an active Volusion store set up. This will be the destination for all your migrated data.
  • Admin Access: You'll need full administrator access credentials for your Volusion store, including the admin login, admin password, and the store URL. These are crucial for establishing a secure connection.
  • FTP Access: Volusion migrations typically require FTP access to your store's root directory. This is necessary to upload the Cart2Cart connection bridge, which facilitates secure data exchange. For more details, consult What is a root folder and where can I find it?
  • Plugin Installation: The migration to Volusion requires the installation of the "Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module." This plugin must be installed on your Volusion store to enable the connection and data transfer.
  • Prepare Target: Review your new Volusion store settings and configurations to ensure it's ready to receive your data. See our guide: How to prepare Target store for migration?
• General Preparations:
  • Internet Connection: A stable internet connection is vital throughout the migration process.
  • Downtime Plan: While Cart2Cart strives for minimal disruption, plan for potential short periods of downtime during the final stages of your data transfer.
  • Review Supported Entities: The migration tool supports transferring products, product categories, manufacturers, reviews, customers, orders, invoices, taxes, stores, coupons, and CMS pages. Verify that all your essential data types are covered.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these detailed steps to seamlessly transfer your e-commerce data from Walmart (via CSV) to Volusion.

Step 1: Start Your Migration Journey

Begin by navigating to the migration wizard. You'll be presented with options to start a do-it-yourself migration, request assistance, or calculate costs.

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

Since Walmart functions as a marketplace, your data will be migrated by first exporting it to CSV files. In the migration wizard:

1. Select "CSV File to Cart" as your Source Cart from the dropdown menu.
2. Upload your prepared CSV files containing your product data (SKUs, pricing, descriptions), customer records, and order histories. Ensure all necessary files are included for a comprehensive data transfer.

Step 3: Connect Your Target Volusion Store

Now, configure your Volusion store as the destination for your data.

1. Choose "Volusion" from the Target Cart dropdown list.
2. Enter your Target Store URL.
3. Provide your Volusion Admin Login and Admin Password.
4. The system will prompt you to install the Cart2Cart Volusion Migration module on your Volusion store if you haven't already. This module is essential for establishing the secure connection bridge. Follow the instructions to upload the connection bridge files via FTP to your Volusion store's root directory.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

This crucial step allows you to specify exactly which types of data you wish to transfer to your new Volusion store. You can select individual entities or choose to migrate everything.

The supported entities for migration include:

• Products
• Product Categories
• Manufacturers
• Product Reviews
• Customers
• Orders
• Invoices
• Taxes
• Stores
• Coupons
• CMS Pages

For a complete transition, selecting "All entities" is often recommended to ensure no critical information is left behind.

Step 5: Configure Additional Migration Options

Enhance your migration with various advanced settings. These options are vital for maintaining SEO rankings, data integrity, and a seamless user experience post-migration.

Consider selecting these highly recommended options:

• "Preserve Product IDs," "Preserve Orders IDs," "Preserve Customers IDs": This helps maintain historical data relationships and avoids broken links if you have external systems referencing these IDs. Learn more about How Preserve IDs options can be used?
• "Migrate Images in Description": Ensures product descriptions retain their visual content.
• "Password Migration": Allows customers to log in to your new Volusion store with their existing credentials.
• "SEO URLs" and "301 SEO URLs / Create 301 SEO URLs": Crucial for preserving your search engine optimization efforts and link equity. This creates redirects from your old URLs to your new ones, preventing broken links and maintaining traffic.
• "Clear Target": If you are starting with a fresh Volusion store, this option will clear any existing demo data before migration. For more details, see Clear current data on Target store before migration option.

Step 6: Map Data Fields

Accurate data mapping is essential for ensuring that your information is correctly categorized and displayed in your new Volusion store. The wizard will present an interface to match corresponding fields between your source CSV data and Volusion's structure.

Key areas for mapping include:

• Customer Groups: Map your existing customer roles to Volusion's customer groups.
• Order Statuses: Match the various stages of your orders (e.g., "Pending," "Processing," "Completed") to Volusion's order statuses.

This step ensures data consistency and prevents errors in how information is interpreted on your new platform.

Step 7: Perform a Free Demo Migration (Recommended)

Before committing to a full data transfer, it's highly recommended to run a free demo migration. This trial run transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) to your Volusion store. The demo allows you to:

• Test the connection and ensure data is transferred correctly.
• Verify data integrity and identify any potential issues with mapping or options.
• Familiarize yourself with the process and the appearance of your data on Volusion.

The demo is a valuable step for ensuring a smooth full migration.

Step 8: Initiate Full Migration

After a successful demo migration and careful review of all your settings, you are ready for the full data transfer. Confirm your selections for entities and additional options, and then proceed.

Consider adding Migration Insurance Service, which offers a certain number of remigrations for a specified period, providing peace of mind. You can also opt for a Remigration Service if you need to transfer new data later.

The system will then begin migrating all your selected data to your Volusion store. You can monitor the progress, and you'll receive a notification upon completion.

Post-Migration Steps

Completing the data transfer is a significant achievement, but the process doesn't end there. Several crucial post-migration tasks will ensure your new Volusion store is fully operational and optimized for success.

• Thorough Data Verification: Rigorously check all migrated data. Confirm that products (SKUs, images, descriptions, variants), categories, customer accounts, and order histories are accurately transferred and displayed correctly. Pay special attention to pricing and inventory levels.
• Test All Store Functionality: Conduct extensive testing of your new Volusion store. This includes:
  • The complete checkout process (from adding to cart to order confirmation).
  • Customer registration and login.
  • Search functionality and site navigation.
  • Contact forms and other interactive elements.
• Configure SEO and Redirects: If you used the "301 SEO URLs" option, verify that all redirects from your old Walmart URLs to the new Volusion URLs are working correctly. Update your sitemap and submit it to search engines (Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools). Reconfigure Google Analytics and any other tracking tools to monitor your new site's performance and maintain SEO rankings.
• Update DNS Settings: Point your domain name to your new Volusion store. This is a critical step for making your new store live to the public.
• Customize Theme and Design: Leverage Volusion's powerful theme store to customize your store's appearance, ensuring it aligns with your brand identity and offers an exceptional user experience across all devices.
• Reconnect Third-Party Integrations: Re-establish connections with any essential third-party applications, such as payment gateways, shipping providers, marketing automation tools, and accounting software.
• Announce Your New Store: Inform your customers about your new and improved store. Consider special promotions to encourage engagement.
• Monitor Performance: Continuously monitor your store's speed, traffic, sales, and overall performance. Address any issues promptly to ensure a smooth operation.

By following these steps, you can confidently transition your e-commerce business from Walmart to Volusion, unlocking new growth opportunities and providing an enhanced shopping experience for your customers. Should you encounter any challenges or require assistance, our Frequently Asked Questions and Contact Us page are always available.