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

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Hybris to PrestaShop

Embarking on an e-commerce platform migration can feel like a daunting task. However, transitioning from a robust enterprise solution like Hybris (SAP Commerce Cloud) to the flexible, community-driven PrestaShop can unlock new opportunities for growth, cost efficiency, and greater control over your online store. While Hybris offers extensive capabilities, its complexity, licensing costs, and demanding development cycles often lead merchants to seek more agile and manageable alternatives.

This guide provides a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough for moving your valuable store data from Hybris to PrestaShop. Due to Hybris's enterprise-grade architecture and common customization, a direct API integration with automated migration tools is typically not feasible for out-of-the-box solutions. Therefore, this guide will focus on a proven method: exporting your data from Hybris into CSV files and then importing them into PrestaShop using a specialized migration service. This ensures data integrity and a smooth transition for your products, customers, orders, and more.

By following these instructions, you'll be well-equipped to perform a successful data transfer, preserving your SEO rankings, customer relationships, and overall link equity, leading to a superior user experience on your new PrestaShop platform.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before initiating the migration process, careful preparation of both your source (Hybris) and target (PrestaShop) stores is crucial for a seamless transition.

1. Preparing Your Hybris (Source) Store

• Data Audit and Cleanup: Review your existing Hybris data. Remove outdated products, unused customer accounts, and irrelevant content. A clean dataset reduces migration time and potential errors.
• Data Export: Since most migration tools do not offer direct API integration with highly customized Hybris instances, your data will need to be exported into structured CSV files. This process may require assistance from your Hybris development team or an expert. Ensure you export key entities such as:
  • Products (including SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, prices, attributes)
  • Product Categories
  • Product Manufacturers
  • Customer data (names, emails, addresses, and any historical order information)
  • Orders (statuses, order history, associated customer data)
  • Invoices
  • Taxes
  • Coupons
  • CMS Pages and Blogs (posts, categories)
  • Product Reviews
• Backup Your Data: Always perform a full backup of your Hybris store's database and files before attempting any data export. This is your safety net.
• For more tips on preparing your source store, you can refer to our guide on How to prepare Source store for migration?.

2. Preparing Your PrestaShop (Target) Store

• Install PrestaShop: Ensure you have a fresh installation of PrestaShop ready on your hosting environment. Choose the latest stable version for optimal performance and security.
• Install Migration Module: To facilitate the data transfer, you'll need the Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module. This module is essential for establishing a connection and handling the incoming data from your CSV files.
• Basic Configuration: Complete initial setup steps like choosing a theme, configuring basic store settings (e.g., currency, language, country), and ensuring your server meets PrestaShop's requirements.
• Empty Store: For a clean migration, it's often recommended to start with an empty PrestaShop store. If you have any existing demo data, you might use the 'Clear Target' option during migration.
• For comprehensive guidance, visit our FAQ on How to prepare Target store for migration?.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your data prepared, you're ready to use an automated migration tool to move your information from Hybris (via CSV) to PrestaShop. The process typically involves a straightforward wizard.

Step 1: Start Your Migration

Begin by navigating to the migration wizard on your chosen platform. You'll typically find an option to 'Start New Migration' or similar, prompting you to configure your source and target stores.

Step 2: Source Store Setup (Hybris via CSV)

Since direct connectors for Hybris are uncommon, you'll use the CSV file migration method to import your Hybris data.

1. Select Source Platform: From the list of available platforms, choose 'CSV File to Cart'. This option allows you to upload the data you've previously exported from Hybris.
2. Upload CSV Files: Follow the instructions to upload your prepared CSV files containing products, customers, orders, and other entities. Ensure your files are correctly formatted according to the tool's requirements.
3. Review Entities: The system will process your CSV files and display the entities it can detect and migrate, including Products, Product Categories, Product Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, CMS Pages, Blogs, and Blog Posts.

For more details on this method, refer to our CSV.File Data Migration service.

Step 3: Target Store Setup (PrestaShop)

Now, connect your new PrestaShop store where your data will be transferred.

1. Select Target Platform: Choose 'PrestaShop' from the list of target carts.
2. Provide Admin URL: Enter the full Admin URL of your PrestaShop store (e.g., http://yourstore.com/admin).
3. Choose Connection Method: The tool will require a connection to your PrestaShop store to install the necessary migration module. You typically have options:
   • Upload Connection Bridge: This method involves downloading a unique 'bridge' file, extracting the bridge2cart folder, and uploading it via FTP to the root directory of your PrestaShop store. This connection bridge acts as a secure gateway for data transfer. You can find more information on What is a root folder and where can I find it?.
   • Install Add-on from Marketplace: Some tools allow you to directly install the required Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module from the PrestaShop Marketplace or through your PrestaShop admin panel.
   • Automatic Upload via Admin Credentials: You may also have the option to provide your PrestaShop admin login and password, allowing the migration tool to automatically install the connection bridge/module for you. Rest assured, providing your access details is safe; you can read more at Is it safe to provide your company with my access details?.

Step 4: Select Data Entities

This critical step allows you to define exactly what data you want to transfer from your CSV files to PrestaShop.

1. Choose Entities: The tool will present a checklist of all available data entities detected from your CSVs. You can select all entities with a single click or pick and choose specific items like:
   • Products
   • Product Categories
   • Product Manufacturers
   • Product Reviews
   • Customers
   • Orders
   • Invoices
   • Taxes
   • Stores
   • Coupons
   • CMS Pages
   • Blogs & Blog Posts
2. Default Selection: It's generally recommended to migrate all primary entities to ensure a complete and consistent replatforming.

Step 5: Data Mapping & Additional Options

This stage fine-tunes your migration, ensuring data consistency and addressing specific needs for SEO and customer experience.

1. Data Mapping: The wizard will prompt you to map various data fields between your source and target platforms. This includes matching customer groups (e.g., 'Wholesale' customers from Hybris to a corresponding group in PrestaShop) and order statuses (e.g., 'Pending payment' in Hybris to 'Awaiting check payment' in PrestaShop). Accurate mapping is crucial for maintaining data integrity and business logic.

   

2. Additional Migration Options: Select from a range of powerful options to customize your data transfer and ensure a smooth transition:
   • Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded in descriptions are transferred.
   • Clear Target Store Data: If your PrestaShop store contains existing data (e.g., demo products), selecting this option will remove it before migration, ensuring a clean slate. Learn more about Clear current data on Target store before migration option.
   • Preserve IDs: Maintain original Product IDs, Order IDs, and Customer IDs from your Hybris system in PrestaShop. This is highly recommended for historical data consistency and integrations. Discover How Preserve IDs options can be used?.
   • Create 301 SEO URLs: Generate 301 redirects for your old Hybris URLs to match the new PrestaShop structure. This is vital for preserving your SEO rankings and link equity, preventing broken links, and maintaining a positive user experience.
   • Password Migration: Migrate customer passwords, allowing your existing customer base to log into their new PrestaShop accounts seamlessly.
   • Skip Custom Attributes: If your Hybris store had highly customized product attributes that don't directly translate to PrestaShop, this option allows you to bypass them.
   • Multi-tax Allowed: PrestaShop supports multi-tax settings, which can be configured during or after migration based on your business rules.
   • Limitations & Notices: Be aware that SEO options may be excluded for blogs, meaning manual optimization might be needed for blog content.

   

Step 6: Run Demo and Full Migration

Before committing to the full data transfer, leverage the demo feature.

1. Run Demo Migration: Initiate a free demo migration, which transfers a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders). This allows you to preview the migration results on your PrestaShop store, identify any potential issues, and ensure data fields are correctly mapped.
2. Review Demo Results: Thoroughly check the migrated data in PrestaShop. Verify product details, customer accounts, and order information.
3. Initiate Full Migration: Once satisfied with the demo, proceed with the full migration. This will transfer all selected data from your Hybris CSV files to your PrestaShop store. You can also consider purchasing a Migration Insurance Service, which offers additional remigrations if needed. Learn more about How Migration Insurance works?.

Post-Migration Steps

After the data transfer is complete, several crucial steps are required to ensure your new PrestaShop store is fully functional, optimized, and ready for customers.

• Thorough Testing: This is perhaps the most critical post-migration step.
  • Products: Verify all product data, including SKUs, variants, prices, images, descriptions, and stock levels. Ensure products are assigned to the correct categories and manufacturers.
  • Customers: Check customer accounts, ensure login functionality (especially if passwords were migrated), and confirm customer groups are correctly assigned.
  • Orders: Review order history, statuses, and associated customer information.
  • Store Functionality: Test the entire shopping cart experience, from adding items to the cart, checkout, payment processing, to account management.
• Configure 301 Redirects: Even with automated 301 redirects during migration, manually review and set up any additional redirects for specific pages or old URLs that might have been missed. This is crucial for maintaining SEO rankings and preventing a drop in search engine visibility.
• Theme and Design Customization: Optimize your PrestaShop theme to reflect your brand identity and ensure an intuitive, visually appealing user experience. Test responsiveness across various devices.
• Payment & Shipping Gateway Setup: Reconfigure all your preferred payment gateways (e.g., PayPal, Stripe) and shipping methods (e.g., flat rate, carrier-calculated rates) in PrestaShop.
• Integrate Third-Party Apps: Reconnect any essential third-party integrations, such as ERP systems, CRM platforms, email marketing services, analytics tools, and live chat.
• Update DNS Records: Once you are confident that your PrestaShop store is fully functional, update your domain's DNS records to point to your new PrestaShop hosting. Schedule this during a low-traffic period to minimize downtime.
• Continuous Monitoring: After going live, closely monitor your website traffic, sales, and server performance. Use analytics tools to track user behavior and identify any areas for improvement.
• Recent Data Migration: If new orders or customer data accumulated on your Hybris store during the migration process, consider using a Recent Data Migration Service to transfer this new information without restarting the entire process.
• Customization Needs: For unique migration requirements or complex data structures not covered by standard options, our Migration Customization Service can provide tailored solutions.