The owners of eCommerce sites put a lot of money into their business venture. So, it’s safe to say they are wanting to make this money back and do anything to ensure the success of their site. They may wish to see if they can tap into one of the best ecommerce niches within their existing products on offer so they can take advantage of the customers that can bring in. A lot of the time, this also means moving the actual site itself from one platform to another.
There are several reasons to move your e-commerce store. Many businesses like the built-in templates and plug and play nature of platforms like Shopify and BigEcommerce, but many more like the robust features, content management, and social media friendly perks of a WooCommerce site hosted within a WordPress website build.
WooCommerce is by far the most popular site for e-commerce storefronts, hosting nearly 30 percent of them worldwide. This is in part because it operates with the same user-friendly interface as WordPress, which means it is relatively easy to learn. There are some definite content management advantages as well, including integrated social sharing and tracking and analytics options.
Whether you are migrating to or from WordPress, here are seven essential steps for migrating your e-commerce site.
Set Up Your New Store
The first step is to set up your new store. This means you may have to set up new hosting. If you are going to change things up, you may need to choose a new domain name as well or migrate your old one.
You also need to choose a theme. This should closely resemble your current site unless you want to create a whole new look. Just know that the further the new theme is from your old site, the longer the new installation will take, as you will have to move things around more, which may increase the downtime of your store.
Don’t worry about colors or fonts on the theme: most can be customized pretty easily once you have done the installation and made sure everything works.
Also, understand that different themes come with different features and extensions. Depending on what your store needs, different ones make work better for you, so evaluate them based on more than just how they look and are structured.
Once you have set up your store, you need to test it and make sure it is accessible online. Once you have completed that step, you can start the migration.
If you want to make the most of your eCommerce business, you need to understand the best ways to get more sales. Delving into the best visual products merchandising strategies can help. Doing so simply means using store-like strategies to entice potential clients to buy products. While a regular store you can walk into may use shelves of goods arranged in a certain way, your website is a bit more limited. However, making the most of images, slogans and other visual elements can help you achieve the same end sales goal. To make the most of online visual merchandising options, you must use top-notch photographs to clearly show each product to your visitors. Incorporating organized navigational menus and designing visual elements in such a way as to lead your visitors from one product they might like to another can also help you improve sales.
Get a Cart Conversion Plug-In
Of course, one of the most vital parts of your website is your shopping cart. This can be one of the trickiest parts to migrate, but fortunately, there are a lot of cart conversion plug-ins to choose from that make the process simpler.
Cart2Cart is one of the better ones, but if you are migrating to WooCommerce, you can also use the WP All Import Plug-In. You need to decide which data you want/need to import. This can include:
- Product information, including photos and product variations
- Categories and category images.
- Customer information including shipping and billing addresses.
- Order History, Current Orders, and Order Statuses
Once you have installed a migration tool, you can move on to the next step.
Do a Demo Import
This is a critical step. Before you do the actual import, do a demo import to make sure everything is working properly, and that the data populates the way it should. Make sure that everything is working properly and that it is all there.
Once you have done a thorough check of your import, you can move forward. If it does not work, you might have to try another method or a different plug-in. To save yourself a ton of time and trouble, double-triple check yourself here. You don’t want to have to do the work of redoing things once the import is complete.
Notify Your Customers and Vendors
For a little bit, your store will be down while you do the final migration. You should, of course, do this at one of your slowest times to make sure you don’t lose too many orders. Let your customers on your email list and your vendors know when the migration is happening and how long you anticipate it will take.
Do the Final Import
Once you have informed everyone, move on to the final import. Since you have already done a thorough demo, this should go pretty smoothly. However, take your time, and be sure each step is complete before moving on to the next.
Once this has completed, be sure to check the functionality of your site. Do a thorough check of every page, every product listing, and every navigation link. You can use a link-checking plug-in on your browser to find and fix any broken links.
Once you have double checked this, you are up and running.
Branding and SEO
Once your site is functional, you are not completely done. You need to go through and set up your site branding and SEO. This should be done thoroughly for every page, product, and blog post.
If you have migrated from an old site, be sure to redirect the old URL permanently using a 301 redirect. This will make sure that any links that pointed to the old site will now point to the new one, and Google and other search engines will be able to find yours.
Also, this is when you can change color schemes, make sure your logo and branding is consistent, and finalize the visuals of your e-commerce site. If you feel like there’s more you can do with regards to the SEO of your website, you might want to check some digital marketing tips and look at areas you feel you can improve on the website.
Even after an effective migration, your e-commerce site will be a constant work in progress, but an effective migration can make sure there is a seamless experience for both your customers and vendors. Follow these seven steps to make sure it goes smoothly.