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

Seamlessly Migrate from Selldone to PrestaShop: A Comprehensive Guide

As the e-commerce landscape evolves, merchants often seek platforms that offer greater flexibility, scalability, and advanced features to grow their online businesses. Migrating your store from Selldone to PrestaShop is a strategic move that can unlock a world of customization options, robust functionalities, and a thriving community. PrestaShop, an open-source solution, empowers you with complete control over your store's design, features, and underlying code, making it an excellent choice for businesses aiming for expansion and unique online experiences.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential steps to perform a successful data transfer from your Selldone store to a brand-new PrestaShop environment. We'll cover everything from crucial prerequisites to detailed migration steps and vital post-migration actions, ensuring data integrity and minimal downtime during this significant replatforming journey.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before embarking on your migration journey, proper preparation is key to ensuring a smooth and efficient transition. Gathering the necessary information and completing preparatory tasks will significantly reduce potential hurdles.

• Selldone Store Data Export: Since Selldone doesn't offer a direct API connection for automated migration tools, you will need to export all your store data into CSV files. Ensure you export comprehensive datasets for products (including SKUs, variants, descriptions, images, prices), product categories, customer information, order history, and any other relevant entities like blog posts or CMS pages. The more detailed your CSV files, the more complete your data transfer will be. You can learn more about this process via our CSV.File Data Migration service.
• PrestaShop Installation: Have a fresh installation of PrestaShop (we recommend a supported version such as 1.6.1.0 or 1.7.x) ready on your hosting server. Ensure you have full administrative access to your PrestaShop backend.
• Hosting Environment: Verify that your hosting environment meets PrestaShop's system requirements to ensure optimal performance of your new store.
• FTP/SFTP Access: You will need FTP or SFTP access to your PrestaShop store's root directory to upload the connection bridge, which is essential for the migration tool to communicate with your target store. Understanding what a root folder is is beneficial here.
• PrestaShop Admin Credentials: Keep your PrestaShop admin login details handy. You'll need these to establish the connection with the migration tool. For a detailed overview of necessary access, refer to The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart.
• Backup Your Selldone Store: Always create a complete backup of your existing Selldone store data before initiating any migration process. This safeguards your information in case of unforeseen issues. For more preparation tips, consult our FAQs on preparing your source store and preparing your target store.
• Allocate Time: While the migration process itself is often quick, allow ample time for pre-migration preparation, data review, and post-migration testing to ensure a flawless transition.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

With your prerequisites in order, you're ready to begin the data transfer from Selldone (via CSV files) to PrestaShop. Follow these steps carefully:

Step 1: Start Your Migration

Begin by accessing the migration wizard. You'll typically be presented with options to start a DIY migration or request a managed service. For this guide, we'll focus on the self-service wizard. If you prefer a hands-off approach, our team is ready to assist; simply contact us.

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

In the migration wizard, you'll need to specify your source platform. Since Selldone data will be imported via CSV files, select "CSV File to Cart" from the dropdown menu as your source cart type. You will then be prompted to upload the CSV files containing your Selldone store data. Ensure your CSVs are well-formatted and contain all the entities you wish to move, such as products, customers, and orders.

Step 3: Connect Your Target PrestaShop Store

Next, configure your target store. Select "PrestaShop" as your target shopping cart. Enter the Admin URL of your newly installed PrestaShop store. To establish a secure connection, you'll need to use the "Upload Connection bridge" method. Download the connection bridge file provided by the migration tool, extract the "bridge2cart" folder, and upload it to the root directory of your PrestaShop installation via FTP/SFTP. This bridge facilitates the secure data exchange between your CSV files and PrestaShop.

Note that the Cart2Cart Universal PrestaShop Migration module is required for this connection to function correctly.

Step 4: Select Data Entities for Migration

Once both stores are successfully connected, you'll proceed to select the specific data entities you wish to transfer. This step allows you to precisely control the scope of your migration. Common entities include:

• Products: Including SKUs, names, descriptions, images, prices, weight, variants, and stock levels.
• Product Categories: Ensuring your store's taxonomy remains organized.
• Customers: Transferring customer accounts, billing, and shipping addresses.
• Orders: Migrating historical order data with statuses.
• Products Reviews: Preserving valuable social proof.
• Invoices: Transferring existing invoice records.
• CMS Pages & Blogs: Moving informational content.

You can choose to migrate all available entities or handpick specific ones based on your business needs. It's recommended to transfer all relevant data for a complete store history.

Step 5: Configure Additional Options & Data Mapping

This crucial step allows you to fine-tune your migration settings and ensure data consistency.

Additional Options

You'll find a list of additional options that can enhance your data transfer. Consider these important choices:

• Clear Target Store Data: The "Clear current data on Target store before migration" option is highly recommended for fresh PrestaShop installations to avoid data duplication.
• Preserve IDs: Options like "Preserve Product IDs", "Preserve Orders IDs", "Preserve Customers IDs" help maintain internal data relationships and simplify future management.
• SEO URLs & 301 Redirects: Enable "Create 301 SEO URLs" to preserve your search engine rankings and link equity by automatically redirecting old Selldone URLs to their new PrestaShop counterparts.
• Password Migration: Choose "Password Migration" to transfer customer passwords securely, ensuring a seamless login experience for your existing customers.
• Migrate Images in Description: Essential for transferring all product and category images embedded within descriptions.

Data Mapping

The data mapping section allows you to match specific fields from your Selldone CSV data to their corresponding fields in PrestaShop. This is particularly important for:

• Customer Groups Mapping: Aligning customer roles (e.g., "Customer", "Wholesale") between platforms.
• Order Status Mapping: Ensuring order lifecycle statuses (e.g., "Pending", "Processing", "Shipped") are correctly translated.

Review and adjust any custom attributes or fields to ensure they are mapped accurately to prevent data loss or inconsistencies.

Step 6: Initiate the Full Migration

After configuring all options and mapping your data, you'll reach the final step. Review the summary of your migration plan, including the selected entities and any additional services. This is also where you can consider adding a Migration Insurance Plan, which offers a set number of re-migrations for a specific duration, providing peace of mind. Learn how Migration Insurance works.

It's highly recommended to perform a free demo migration first. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities to your PrestaShop store, giving you an opportunity to test the process, review data integrity, and identify any potential issues before committing to the full migration. Once satisfied, proceed with the full data transfer.

Post-Migration Steps

Migrating your data is a significant achievement, but the process doesn't end there. Several crucial post-migration steps are essential to ensure your new PrestaShop store is fully functional, optimized, and ready for your customers.

• Thorough Testing: Conduct comprehensive testing of your PrestaShop store. Verify product data (SKUs, variants, images, prices, stock levels), customer accounts, order history, checkout process, search functionality, and all links. Ensure all migrated data appears correctly and functions as expected.
• SEO Verification & Optimization: Even with 301 redirects, it's vital to monitor your SEO. Check your Google Search Console for any crawl errors, update your sitemap, and monitor keyword rankings. Ensure all metadata, product descriptions, and category text are SEO-friendly. The preservation of original IDs and creation of 301 redirects are critical for maintaining your SEO benefits.
• Theme and Design Customization: Customize your PrestaShop theme to align with your brand's aesthetics and provide an optimal user experience. Ensure your store is responsive and visually appealing across all devices.
• Install Essential Modules/Extensions: Replicate any specific functionalities or integrations you had on Selldone by installing equivalent PrestaShop modules from its extensive marketplace. This might include payment gateways, shipping modules, marketing tools, or analytics.
• Update DNS Settings: Once you are confident that your new PrestaShop store is fully functional and tested, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your new PrestaShop hosting. This will make your PrestaShop store live to the public.
• Remove Old Store: After your PrestaShop store is live and performing well, and you've confirmed all data and functionality, you can consider decommissioning your old Selldone store.
• Monitor Performance: Continuously monitor your new store's performance, including site speed, user behavior, and conversion rates. Make any necessary adjustments to optimize the user experience and drive sales.