Arastta to Squarespace Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Seamless Transition: Migrating Your Store from Arastta to Squarespace

As the e-commerce landscape evolves, merchants often seek more modern, user-friendly, and feature-rich platforms to power their online businesses. If you're currently running your store on Arastta and considering a move to Squarespace, you're looking at a transition towards a platform renowned for its intuitive design tools, integrated marketing features, and streamlined user experience. This guide will walk you through the entire process of migrating your valuable e-commerce data from Arastta to Squarespace, leveraging the robust capabilities of Cart2Cart for a smooth data transfer.

Given that Arastta typically requires manual data export, our process will involve preparing your data in CSV files. Squarespace, on the other hand, utilizes a secure API connection, ensuring a direct and efficient import of your products, customers, orders, and more.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before initiating your store migration, a few preparatory steps are crucial to ensure a seamless and error-free data transfer. Taking the time to complete these will safeguard your data and set the stage for a successful transition.

• Backup Your Arastta Store: This is paramount. Always create a full backup of your Arastta store's database and files. This ensures that you have a recovery point for all your data, including SKUs, variants, customer data, and reviews, in case anything unexpected occurs during the data transfer. For more details, refer to our guide on how to prepare your source store.
• Export Arastta Data to CSV Files: Since Arastta is not directly supported by an automated API connection in our system, you will need to export your store's data into CSV files. This typically includes products, product categories, customer records, orders, and any other relevant information such as blogs and CMS pages. Ensure your CSVs are well-formatted and contain all necessary fields for a comprehensive migration. You can learn more about CSV file data migration here.
• Set Up Your Squarespace Store: Create a new Squarespace account or ensure your existing Squarespace store is ready to receive data. It's often best to start with a relatively empty Squarespace site to avoid data conflicts. Ensure your Squarespace site has HTTPS enabled, as this is a requirement for API connections.
• Install Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App: For Cart2Cart to securely connect and import data into your Squarespace store, you will need to install the designated Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App directly from the Squarespace App Store. This app facilitates the API communication between the migration service and your new platform.
• Gather Squarespace Access Credentials: You will need your Squarespace Admin URL, administrator email, and password. These credentials are vital for establishing a secure API connection for the data import.
• Stable Internet Connection: Ensure you have a reliable internet connection for the duration of the migration process.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your preparations complete, you're ready to begin the migration process. Follow these steps carefully to transfer your Arastta store data to Squarespace using Cart2Cart.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration

Navigate to the Cart2Cart website and begin the migration process. You'll be prompted to start a new migration.

Step 2: Set Up Your Source Store (Arastta via CSV)

In this step, you will specify your source platform. Since Arastta data will be provided via CSV, select "CSV File to Cart" from the dropdown menu. You will then be prompted to upload the CSV files you exported from your Arastta store, containing your products, categories, customers, orders, and other entities.

Step 3: Connect Your Target Store (Squarespace)

Next, choose "Squarespace" as your Target Cart from the dropdown list. You will then need to enter your Squarespace Admin URL, the Admin Email, and the Admin Password. Cart2Cart will use these credentials, in conjunction with the installed Cart2Cart Squarespace Migration App, to establish a secure API connection to your new store.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

This crucial step allows you to choose exactly what data you wish to transfer. You can select specific entities or opt to migrate all available data. For a comprehensive store transition, we recommend migrating:

• Products (including SKUs and variants)
• Product Categories
• Product Reviews
• Customers (including customer data)
• Orders (preserving order IDs)
• CMS Pages
• Gift Cards
• Coupons
• Blog Posts

Step 5: Configure Additional Migration Options

Cart2Cart offers various additional options to tailor your migration, enhancing data integrity and SEO rankings. Consider selecting the following:

• Clear Target Store Data: If your Squarespace store contains any dummy data, selecting this option will remove it before the migration. Learn more about clearing target data.
• Preserve Order IDs: This option helps maintain your historical data consistency. Read about preserving IDs.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensures all product and category images embedded within descriptions are transferred.
• SEO URLs / Create 301 SEO URLs: Crucial for preserving your search engine optimization efforts and link equity. This option will generate 301 redirects from your old Arastta URLs to the new Squarespace URLs, preventing broken links and maintaining SEO rankings.

Step 6: Map Data Fields

In this step, you will match corresponding data fields between your Arastta CSV files and Squarespace. This is particularly important for customer groups and order statuses, ensuring that your customer segments and order lifecycle states are correctly represented in your new Squarespace store.

Step 7: Run a Demo Migration and Full Migration

Before committing to the full migration, run a free Demo Migration. This will transfer a limited number of entities, allowing you to review the data transfer quality and ensure everything looks correct on your Squarespace store. Once you're satisfied with the demo results, proceed to the Full Migration. You may also consider adding Migration Insurance for added peace of mind, providing options for additional remigrations.

Post-Migration Steps

After your data has been successfully transferred to Squarespace, a few essential post-migration tasks remain to ensure your new store is fully operational and optimized for success.

• Thoroughly Review and Test: Inspect your new Squarespace store meticulously. Check product listings (SKUs, pricing, variants, images, descriptions), customer accounts (ensure login works), order history, CMS pages, blog posts, and coupon codes. Verify all links are functioning correctly and that your user experience is smooth.
• Configure SEO Settings and 301 Redirects: Beyond the automated 301 redirects created during migration, review your Squarespace SEO settings. Submit your new Squarespace sitemap to search engines like Google Search Console to help them index your new store quickly. This protects your link equity and SEO rankings.
• Set Up Payment Gateways and Shipping: Reconfigure your preferred payment methods and shipping zones within Squarespace. Test transactions to ensure everything processes correctly.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you are confident your Squarespace store is fully functional, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new Squarespace site. This will direct all traffic to your new store.
• Announce Your New Store: Inform your customers about your exciting new store. Leverage email marketing, social media, and your blog to build anticipation and guide them to your enhanced shopping experience.
• Ongoing Monitoring: Keep an eye on your store's performance, customer feedback, and analytics to quickly address any minor issues and continually optimize your Squarespace presence.

Migrating from Arastta to Squarespace is a significant step towards modernizing your e-commerce operations. By following this detailed guide and leveraging Cart2Cart, you can ensure a smooth, secure, and comprehensive data transfer, setting your business up for future growth and success on the Squarespace platform. If you encounter any challenges or require custom solutions during your data transfer, don't hesitate to contact our support team for expert assistance.