Kartra to BigCommerce Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

A Comprehensive Guide to Transitioning from Kartra to BigCommerce

Are you considering moving your online store from Kartra to BigCommerce? While Kartra is a versatile platform for sales funnels and marketing, BigCommerce stands out as a robust, dedicated e-commerce solution offering advanced selling features, scalability, and flexibility for growing businesses. This guide will walk you through the entire process of migrating your valuable store data from Kartra to BigCommerce, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal downtime and maximum data integrity.

Since Kartra is primarily a marketing platform and does not offer direct API integration for e-commerce data migration tools, the transfer will primarily leverage CSV file exports from Kartra and API-based import into BigCommerce. Cart2Cart simplifies this complex data transfer, making it accessible for merchants of all technical levels.

Prerequisites for Migration

Before you embark on your e-commerce migration journey, ensure you have the following in place to guarantee a successful and efficient data transfer:

• Kartra (Source Store) Preparation:
  • Data Export: As Kartra does not support direct API access for migration tools, you will need to manually export your product information, customer lists, order history, and other relevant data into CSV files. Familiarize yourself with Kartra’s export functions.
  • Data Review: Take time to review your existing data. Clean up any outdated or unnecessary entries.
  • For more detailed guidance, refer to our guide on preparing your source store.
• BigCommerce (Target Store) Preparation:
  • New BigCommerce Store: Set up a new BigCommerce account or ensure your existing one is ready. You can start with a trial to prepare your store.
  • API Credentials: BigCommerce requires API access for data import. You will need to generate specific API credentials: a Client ID (Username), an Access Token (API Token), and your store's API Path. These can typically be found in your BigCommerce Control Panel under Advanced Settings > API Accounts. Note that a custom app with required scopes may be necessary for full access.
  • HTTPS Requirement: Ensure your BigCommerce store is running on HTTPS, as this is a requirement for API connections.
  • To understand how to prepare your new platform, read our guide on preparing your target store. For detailed information on obtaining API credentials, consult The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.
• General Preparations:
  • Data Backup: Always create a complete backup of your Kartra data before initiating any migration. This ensures you have a recovery point.
  • Understand Scope: Be aware of the data entities that can be transferred. Cart2Cart generally supports products, categories, manufacturers, reviews, customers, orders, coupons, blogs, and CMS pages when migrating from CSV files.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps using the Cart2Cart migration wizard to transfer your e-commerce data from Kartra (via CSV) to BigCommerce:

Step 1: Start Your Migration

Begin by logging into your Cart2Cart account or registering if you're a new user. Once logged in, you'll be directed to the migration wizard, which streamlines the replatforming process.

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

In the first step of the wizard, select "CSV File to Cart" as your Source Cart. This acknowledges that you will be providing your Kartra data via exported CSV files. Upload your prepared CSV files containing your products, customers, orders, and other entities into the system. For more information on this method, visit our CSV.File Data Migration service page.

Step 3: Connect Your Target Store (BigCommerce)

Next, choose "BigCommerce" as your Target Cart. You will then need to enter your BigCommerce store URL and the API credentials you prepared earlier: the Client ID, Access Token, and API Path. This allows Cart2Cart to securely connect and transfer data to your new BigCommerce store.

Step 4: Select Data Entities to Migrate

At this stage, you'll specify exactly which types of data you want to transfer. You can choose to migrate all entities or select specific ones such as Products, Product Categories, Customers, Orders, Coupons, Blogs, and CMS Pages. This granular control ensures only the relevant information is moved to your new BigCommerce store.

Step 5: Configure Data Mapping & Additional Options

This critical step involves two main parts:

• Data Mapping: Match the various fields from your Kartra CSVs to their corresponding fields in BigCommerce. This is especially important for customer groups and order statuses to maintain data consistency and integrity across platforms.

• Additional Options: Enhance your migration with several powerful features. These can include:
  • Clear Target Store Data: The "Clear current data on Target store before migration" option is useful for starting with a clean slate.
  • Preserve IDs: Options like "Preserve Orders IDs," "Preserve Product IDs," "Preserve Category IDs," and "Preserve Customers IDs" are crucial for maintaining historical data and avoiding issues with existing integrations.
  • Create 301 SEO URLs: This is vital for preserving your existing search engine rankings and preventing broken links by automatically setting up redirects from your old Kartra URLs to the new BigCommerce ones. This is key for maintaining your link equity and user experience.
  • Migrate Images in Descriptions: Ensure all images embedded in product or category descriptions are transferred correctly.

Step 6: Run a Free Demo Migration

Before committing to a full transfer, we highly recommend running a free demo migration. This migrates a limited number of entities (e.g., 10 products, 10 customers, 10 orders) to your BigCommerce store. It allows you to review the results, check data accuracy, and identify any potential issues or adjustments needed before the full-scale transfer.

Step 7: Initiate Full Migration

Once you are satisfied with the demo results, proceed to the full migration. Review the summary of your chosen entities and the total cost. You might also consider adding Migration Insurance, which offers additional remigrations if needed, ensuring peace of mind. For details, see How Migration Insurance works? Click "Start Full Migration" to begin the comprehensive data transfer to your new BigCommerce store. You'll be notified upon completion.

Post-Migration Steps

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

• Thorough Data Review: Meticulously check all migrated data. Verify that products, categories, customer accounts, order histories, images, and internal links are accurate and displayed correctly on your BigCommerce store.
• Test All Functionality: Conduct extensive testing of your BigCommerce store's core functionalities. This includes adding products to the cart, the checkout process, customer account creation and login, site search, and contact forms.
• Configure SEO: Implement comprehensive SEO strategies. Set up any necessary 301 redirects for URLs that weren't automatically handled or that you wish to change. Update your sitemap and submit it to search engines. Maintaining your SEO rankings and link equity is paramount.
• Install Apps & Customize Theme: Leverage the BigCommerce App Store to integrate essential apps for marketing, shipping, accounting, and more. Customize your store's theme to reflect your brand identity and enhance the user experience.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you are confident in your new BigCommerce store, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new platform. Plan this carefully to minimize any potential downtime.
• Monitor and Optimize: Continuously monitor your store's performance, user behavior, and SEO using analytics tools. Make ongoing adjustments to optimize for sales and customer satisfaction.
• Recent Data Migration: If there were new orders or customer registrations on your Kartra store during the DNS propagation period, consider using Cart2Cart's Recent Data Migration Service to transfer this latest information to BigCommerce, ensuring no data loss.

If you encounter any challenges or prefer professional assistance throughout your migration, don't hesitate to contact us. Our team of experts is ready to help you navigate your move to BigCommerce seamlessly. You can also explore our Frequently Asked Questions for common queries.