The world of ecommerce is dynamic and ever-evolving. As your online business grows, you might find that your current ecommerce platform can no longer keep pace with your ambitions. This is a common scenario for many merchants, and migrating to a more powerful and feature-rich platform becomes a necessary step in their growth journey. If you’re currently using Volusion and considering a move to a more robust solution, BigCommerce stands out as a popular and powerful contender.
This comprehensive guide will explore the ins and outs of migrating from Volusion to BigCommerce, equipping you with the knowledge and resources to make a well-informed decision and execute a successful transition.
Table of Contents
- Why Migrate from Volusion to BigCommerce?
- Planning Your Volusion to BigCommerce Migration
- Choosing the Right Migration Method
- Step-by-Step Guide to Automated Volusion to BigCommerce Migration
- Post-Migration Checklist
- FAQs
- Conclusion
Why Migrate from Volusion to BigCommerce?
While Volusion has served as a reliable starting point for many online businesses, BigCommerce offers a compelling suite of advantages that can significantly impact your store’s growth and potential:
BigCommerce Advantages:
- Feature-Rich: BigCommerce comes packed with robust built-in features, including SEO tools, marketing functionalities, advanced analytics, and more, eliminating the need for multiple third-party integrations.
- Scalability: BigCommerce is designed to scale alongside your business, accommodating increasing traffic, product catalogs, and order volumes without compromising performance.
- Customization: Enjoy extensive design flexibility with customizable themes and a user-friendly interface. Tailor your store’s look and feel to match your brand identity.
- Open API: BigCommerce provides a powerful open API, enabling seamless integration with a wide range of third-party apps and services, and allowing for custom development to meet specific business needs.
- Dedicated Support: Benefit from strong customer support and access to comprehensive documentation and resources, ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing assistance.
Volusion Limitations (addressed by BigCommerce):
- Customization Constraints: Volusion’s customization options are comparatively limited, potentially restricting your ability to create a unique and engaging store experience.
- Feature Dependency: Volusion relies more on third-party apps for extended functionalities, leading to potential compatibility issues and additional costs.
- Scalability Challenges: Volusion might present limitations for larger businesses experiencing rapid growth.
- Transaction Fees: Volusion’s pricing structure can involve higher transaction fees compared to BigCommerce, especially on lower-tier plans.
For businesses aiming to scale, explore advanced features, and optimize costs, migrating from Volusion to BigCommerce can be a strategic and advantageous move. Searching for “volusion bigcommerce” will reveal many discussions and comparisons between the two platforms, highlighting the benefits of switching.
Planning Your Volusion to BigCommerce Migration
Before diving into the migration process, careful planning is essential to ensure a smooth and successful transition:
- Assess Your Business Needs:
- Data Inventory: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of your current Volusion store data, including the number of products, customers, orders, categories, and other relevant entities.
- Goal Definition: Define clear migration goals. What do you want to achieve by migrating to BigCommerce? Improved performance, expanded features, reduced costs?
- Budget and Timeline: Determine your budget for the migration, considering the chosen method and potential additional costs (customization, development, etc.). Set a realistic timeline for the migration process.
Choosing the Right Migration Method
You have two primary options for migrating your Volusion store to BigCommerce:
- Manual Migration:
- This approach involves manually exporting data from Volusion and importing it into BigCommerce, often requiring technical expertise and a deep understanding of both platforms. It’s a time-consuming process, prone to errors, and best suited for small stores with limited data.
- Automated Migration Service:
- Leverage a specialized automated migration service like Cart2Cart or LitExtension to streamline the process. These services handle the data transfer automatically, minimizing downtime and ensuring accuracy. They are user-friendly, even for non-technical users, and offer features like data mapping, demo migrations, and ongoing support.
For most businesses, automated migration services present a significantly more efficient, accurate, and hassle-free approach compared to manual migration.
Step-by-Step Guide to Automated Volusion to BigCommerce Migration
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to migrate your Volusion store to BigCommerce using an automated service:
Step 1: Choosing Your Migration Service:
- Research and compare popular automated migration services. While searching for “migrate volusion to bigcommerce,” you’ll find services like Cart2Cart and LitExtension prominently featured.
- Consider:
- Pricing: Analyze the pricing structures and find a service that fits your budget.
- Features: Compare the features offered, such as supported data types, additional migration options, and post-migration support.
- Customer Support: Look for a service with responsive and helpful customer support to address any questions or issues that might arise.
Step 2: Setting Up Your Migration:
- Account Creation: Create accounts with the chosen migration service and your new BigCommerce store.
- Store Connection: Provide the URLs of both your Volusion and BigCommerce stores to the migration service.
- API Credentials: Obtain and enter the necessary API credentials for your BigCommerce store, usually an API token and path. This allows the service to access and transfer your data securely.
Step 3: Selecting Data and Additional Options:
- Data Entities: Choose the specific data entities you want to transfer from your Volusion store to BigCommerce. This typically includes:
- Products
- Customers
- Orders
- Categories
- Manufacturers
- Coupons
- Reviews
- Additional Options: Explore and select any additional options offered by the service, such as:
- 301 Redirects: Automatically create 301 redirects from your old Volusion product and category URLs to the corresponding pages on your new BigCommerce store. This is essential for preserving SEO rankings and preventing broken links for users and search engines.
- Creating Product Variants: Automatically generate product variants on your BigCommerce store based on combinations of existing product options or attribute values from your Volusion store.
- Clearing Existing BigCommerce Data: If you’re starting with a fresh BigCommerce store and don’t want any sample data, you can opt to clear it before the migration.
Step 4: Running a Demo Migration:
- Test Run: Most migration services offer a free demo migration. This allows you to test the process with a limited amount of data, ensuring that everything is working as expected and that your data is mapped correctly.
- Review Results: Carefully examine the demo results on your BigCommerce store. Check for any inconsistencies, missing data, or incorrect mappings.
Step 5: Launching the Full Migration:
- Initiate Transfer: Once you’re confident in the demo migration results, you can launch the full migration process.
- Automated Process: The migration service will handle the data transfer automatically, typically running in the background, even if you close your browser or turn off your computer. You’ll receive notifications about the progress and completion of the migration.
Post-Migration Checklist
After the migration is complete, it’s crucial to run through a thorough post-migration checklist to ensure everything is functioning as expected and to optimize your new BigCommerce store:
- Data Review: Carefully review all migrated data on your BigCommerce store, comparing it to your Volusion store data to ensure completeness and accuracy. Pay close attention to product details, customer information, and order history.
- Functionality Testing: Test all essential functionalities on your BigCommerce store, including:
- Checkout process
- Payment gateway integrations
- Shipping methods
- Contact forms
- Account creation and login
- SEO Audit and Redirects:
- 301 Redirects: Double-check that your 301 redirects are working correctly. Visit old product and category pages from your Volusion store to ensure they redirect to the corresponding pages on your BigCommerce store.
- SEO Audit: Conduct a basic SEO audit on your new BigCommerce store, reviewing:
- Page Titles: Ensure they are optimized for relevant keywords.
- Meta Descriptions: Write compelling descriptions for each page.
- URLs: Make sure they are clean and SEO-friendly.
- Theme Customization: Customize your BigCommerce theme to align with your brand identity and create a visually appealing and engaging store experience.
- Ongoing Optimization:
- Performance: Regularly monitor and optimize your BigCommerce store’s performance, focusing on page load speed and user experience.
- Marketing: Implement your marketing strategies, leveraging BigCommerce’s built-in tools and integrations.
FAQs
- What happens to my Volusion store during the migration?
Your Volusion store remains operational during the migration process. The migration service does not alter or delete any data on your Volusion store; it simply copies the data and transfers it to BigCommerce. - Will my customers’ passwords be migrated?
Due to security protocols, customer passwords cannot be directly migrated. However, you can inform customers about the migration and advise them to reset their passwords on your new BigCommerce store. - How do I handle order fulfillment during the migration process?
It’s generally recommended to pause new orders on your Volusion store temporarily during the final stages of the migration. This prevents new orders from being placed while the data transfer is underway. Once the migration is complete and you’ve verified everything, you can resume taking new orders on your BigCommerce store. - Can I migrate my blog posts and other content from Volusion to BigCommerce?
Blog content migration might depend on the capabilities of your chosen migration service. While some services might support migrating basic blog posts, others might not. If blog content migration is essential, check the service’s features and documentation or contact their support team for clarification. - What if I need help with customizing my BigCommerce store after the migration?
BigCommerce offers a wide range of resources and support options. You can explore their documentation, community forums, or contact their support team for assistance. Additionally, if you need more extensive customization, you can consider hiring a BigCommerce expert or developer.
Conclusion
Migrating from Volusion to BigCommerce can be a transformative step for your ecommerce business, unlocking new features, enhancing scalability, and potentially reducing costs. While the process might seem daunting, automated migration services simplify the transition, making it accessible to merchants of all technical levels.
Searching for terms like “volusion to magento” or “volusion to woocommerce” might lead you to explore other platform options. However, BigCommerce stands out as a strong contender, particularly for businesses seeking a balance of power, flexibility, and affordability.
By carefully planning your migration, choosing the right service, and following the steps outlined in this guide, you can confidently move your store to BigCommerce, positioning your business for continued growth and success in the competitive ecommerce landscape.