bluCommerce to PrestaShop Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from bluCommerce to PrestaShop

In the dynamic world of e-commerce, staying competitive often means upgrading your platform. If your business has outgrown bluCommerce or you're seeking enhanced flexibility, a robust feature set, and a thriving community, migrating to PrestaShop is an excellent strategic move. PrestaShop, an open-source solution, offers extensive customization options, powerful marketing tools, and scalability to support your store's future growth.

This expert guide provides a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough for replatforming your online store from bluCommerce to PrestaShop. We'll cover everything from essential prerequisites to post-migration verification, ensuring a smooth and successful data transfer with minimal downtime and optimal data integrity.

Prerequisites for a Smooth Migration

Before initiating your migration, careful preparation is crucial for a successful transition. Here's what you need to have in place:

• bluCommerce Data Export: As bluCommerce does not offer a direct API or connection bridge for automated migration tools, your data (products, customers, orders, etc.) will need to be exported into CSV files. Ensure you have access to export all necessary data entities from your bluCommerce store. You can learn more about preparing your source store by visiting our FAQ on Source Store Preparation.
• New PrestaShop Installation: Have a fresh, clean installation of PrestaShop ready on your hosting environment. Ensure it's a compatible version (PrestaShop supports versions from 0.9.0 up to 1.6.1.0). For detailed preparation of your target store, refer to our guide: How to prepare Target store for migration?
• Admin and FTP Access: You'll need full administrator access to your PrestaShop backend and FTP/SFTP access to its server files to upload the connection bridge. For bluCommerce, ensure you have sufficient access to export your data. We ensure the security of your access details; for more information, please read Is it safe to provide your company with my access details?
• Data Backup: Always create a complete backup of both your bluCommerce store data (before export) and your new PrestaShop installation (before migration begins). This safeguards your information against any unforeseen issues.
• Review Existing SEO: Document your current SEO setup, including important URLs, meta titles, and descriptions. This will be vital for post-migration SEO adjustments and 301 redirects to preserve your search engine rankings and link equity.
• Inventory of Data Entities: List all the data types you intend to migrate, such as products, categories, customers, orders, reviews, and CMS pages.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps using a robust migration wizard to transfer your bluCommerce data to PrestaShop:

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration Process

Begin by navigating to the migration service wizard. This is where you'll start configuring your source and target stores.

Step 2: Configure Your Source Store (bluCommerce via CSV)

Since bluCommerce typically requires data export via files, you'll select a file-based migration method.

• Choose "CSV File to Cart" as your Source Cart.
• The system will prompt you to upload your exported CSV files for various data entities such as products, product categories, customers, orders, product manufacturers, reviews, invoices, taxes, coupons, CMS pages, and blog posts.
• For complex data exports or large datasets, consider leveraging a dedicated CSV.File Data Migration service for assistance.

Step 3: Set Up Your Target Store (PrestaShop)

Next, you'll connect your new PrestaShop store, which will receive your bluCommerce data.

• Select "PrestaShop" as your Target Cart.
• Enter your PrestaShop store's Admin URL.
• Choose your Connection Method: Upload Connection Bridge. The migration tool requires a connection bridge to access your PrestaShop database.
• Download the Connection Bridge file.
• Extract the bridge2cart folder from the downloaded ZIP file.
• Using an FTP client, upload the bridge2cart folder to the root directory of your PrestaShop installation. If you're unsure what a root folder is, refer to What is a root folder and where can I find it?
• Note that a Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module is required for this process, which the bridge helps to facilitate.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

This critical step allows you to specify exactly what data you want to transfer from your bluCommerce CSVs to PrestaShop.

• You can select "All entities" or choose specific data types like:
• Products (including SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, manufacturers)
• Product Categories
• Customers
• Orders (with statuses and historical data)
• Product Reviews
• Invoices
• Taxes
• Coupons
• CMS Pages
• Blogs and Blog Posts

Step 5: Configure Additional Migration Options & Data Mapping

This stage offers powerful tools to fine-tune your migration and ensure data consistency.

• Additional Options: Customize your migration with various checkboxes for both source and target platforms. Highly recommended options include:
• Preserve Product IDs, Order IDs, and Customer IDs: This helps maintain historical data relationships and can be crucial for existing integrations. Learn more in How Preserve IDs options can be used?
• Create 301 SEO URLs: Essential for maintaining your SEO rankings by automatically redirecting old URLs to new ones in PrestaShop.
• Migrate Images in Product Descriptions: Ensures rich content is transferred correctly.
• Password Migration: Allows customers to log into their new PrestaShop accounts using their old credentials.
• Clear Current Data on Target Store: This option (What does the option 'Clear current data on Target store before migration' mean?) is useful if you've done test migrations and want to start with a fresh PrestaShop database.
• Multi-tax Allowed: If your store uses multiple tax rates, ensure this is handled.
• Note on Limitations: Be aware that SEO options are excluded for blogs in PrestaShop.

• Data Mapping: Manually map customer groups and order statuses from your bluCommerce data to their corresponding fields in PrestaShop. This ensures consistency for customer segmentation and order management in your new store.

Step 6: Run a Free Demo Migration (Highly Recommended)

Execute a free demo migration to transfer a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders). This allows you to inspect the migrated data in your PrestaShop store and identify any potential issues or adjustments needed before committing to the full migration.

Step 7: Perform the Full Migration

Once you're satisfied with the demo results, proceed with the full data transfer. Review your selections and the total migration cost. Consider adding a Migration Insurance Plan to allow for multiple remigrations within a specified period, offering peace of mind. For details on how it works, see How Migration Insurance works?

Post-Migration Steps

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

• Thorough Data Verification: Rigorously check all migrated data. Confirm that product SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, prices, customer accounts, order histories, categories, and reviews are all accurate and displayed correctly in PrestaShop.
• Test Store Functionality: Simulate the customer journey. Test the checkout process, payment gateways, shipping options, user registration, login, and search functionality. Ensure all aspects of your new store are working as expected.
• Configure SEO and Redirects: Verify that all 301 redirects from your old bluCommerce URLs to the new PrestaShop URLs are functioning correctly. Update your sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console. Monitor your SEO rankings and promptly address any broken links. Understanding the benefits of website migration can help you align your SEO strategy.
• Install Essential PrestaShop Modules & Theme: Beyond the core migration, install and configure any necessary payment, shipping, marketing, or advanced SEO modules. Customize your chosen PrestaShop theme to match your brand's aesthetic and enhance user experience.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you're confident everything is perfect, update your DNS settings to point your domain name to your new PrestaShop store. Plan this step carefully to minimize downtime for your customers.
• Inform Your Customers: Send out an announcement to your customer base about the new platform, highlighting any new features or improvements they can expect.
• Ongoing Monitoring: Continue to monitor your store's performance, customer feedback, and SEO health in the weeks following the migration.

Migrating from bluCommerce to PrestaShop is a significant undertaking, but with careful planning and the right tools, it can lead to substantial improvements in your e-commerce capabilities. If you encounter any challenges or require specialized assistance, our team offers various professional services, including Migration Customization Service and Recent Data Migration Service. Don't hesitate to Contact Us for expert support throughout your transition.