Transferring from Volusion to Magento

Volusion and Magento have distinguished themselves as two quality platforms for professional web store creation and management. They are both used to handle a diversity of eCommerce tasks yet they target the same user category – owners of online stores. Each of them, however, has its own range of features and parameters as well as diverse implications.

Volusion is a specialized eCommerce website builder that empowers businesses to create and manage small-to-medium online stores with ease (our Volusion review). Offering a range of professionally designed templates and a straightforward drag-and-drop store builder, Volusion simplifies the process of launching an online storefront (see examples).

As opposed to Volusion, Magento comes as a powerful eCommerce software that is great for the development of large-scale web stores with an extensive range of features and customization options. Its open-source nature allows for full control over hosting and code, making it a go-to choice for businesses seeking scalability in their eCommerce ventures.

As a Volusion store owner, you may eventually face situations when the transition to a more feature-laden system becomes a must. This mostly happens when your business starts developing and the available tools are not enough to support its functionality. This is when migration from Volusion to Magento becomes an essential step.

When considering the migration option, you have to realize that the process of moving your eCommerce project from Volusion to Magento is more complicated than you initially think. This mostly concerns first-timers whose web design skills are not enough to complete the task independently. This is because the process involves several steps like content transfer, domain name migration, traffic redirection, preservation of SEO positions etc.

If you are not sure whether you will successfully cope with the task on your own, take your time to explore the guide provided below.

1.Moving Website from Volusion to Magento – Is it Worth It?

Reasons to move from Volusion to Magento may be numerous yet the most popular of them are as follows:

• As mentioned above, Volusion is an eCommerce website builder, the functionality of which may be insufficient to run a large-scale web store. As an open-source eCommerce software, Magento can offer more powerful tools and features for a growing online store.
• Magento offers more extensive customization options. You have full control over the code and can tailor your online store to meet specific business needs and branding requirements, something that may be limited in Volusion.
• Magento is open-source, which means you have the flexibility to choose your hosting environment and access to a vast community of developers and resources for support and development.
• Magento has a large ecosystem of third-party extensions and integrations that can enhance your store’s functionality and help you integrate with various tools and services, such as CRM systems, email marketing platforms etc.

Whatever your actual intentions are, you should realize that the decision is quite responsible and you should be ready to face all the potential challenges on each stage of the migration process. If everything is ok, you will be totally satisfied with the result, however.

Volusion versus Magento – What is the Difference?

Volusion and Magento differ a lot in terms of functionality, design customization and general web design approach. This is mainly because Volusion is a DIY website builder and Magento is the open-source eCommerce software.

As a result, Volusion comes as the all-in-one platform, while Magento requires download, installation and further hosting choice to go live with your web store. This is the first and the most notable distinction between the platforms. Let’s figure out other differences now.

Secondly, Volusion has its own app store with various extensions and add-ons, but the selection may not be as extensive as what’s available for Magento. The CMS, in its turn, boasts a vast marketplace of third-party extensions and integrations, offering a diversity of features.

Thirdly, we can’t but mention the level of web design proficiency required to set up and manage an online store with the systems. Volusion may require less development expertise, making it accessible for beginners. Customizations are typically achieved through their built-in tools.

Magento often requires more advanced programming skills. It’s favored by developers and agencies for its flexibility and extensive customization options.

The cost aspect should be taken into account as well. Volusion offers fixed pricing plans based on your needs, but costs can add up as you scale. It’s often perceived as a more budget-friendly solution for smaller businesses.

Magento is open-source, so the core software is initially free. However, you will have to invest budget in hosting, third-party extensions and other tools that can be eventually more costly.

Thus, the differences between Volusion and Magento are quite obvious even for a non-techie. These distinctions make each platform unique yet they can also affect users’ choice.

How to Switch from Volusion to Magento – The Ultimate Guide

The procedure of moving your web store from Volusion to Magento is time-taking and quite complicated. Listed below are the major steps to take into consideration to make it a success:

1. Choose a host. As opposed to Volusion that offers integrated hosting, Magento requires the selection of the third-party host to make your web store accessible online. Thus, it should be the very first step to get started with the migration procedure. When it comes to Magento, HostGator proves to be the best bet (read here why).
2. Transfer the domain. If your Volusion-powered store comes with a registered domain name, you will have to take care of its correct transfer as well. This is because the budget and the terms of the entire process will depend on the host and plan selected. Read more about domain name migration in the separate section below.
3. Install Magento. Take your time to download and install Magento on the selected hosting. This is usually a quick process – just follow the guidelines the software generates on each step of the set up process.
4. Copy the design. As a CMS, Magento does not allow for complete design replication. However, you can select a theme that is maximally close to your web store design and then manually customize it to get a similar result. If you cannot cope with the task on your own, you can hire an expert to do that for you.
5. Back up the data. Before making any changes, backup all your Volusion data, including products, categories, customer information, orders, SEO parameters and content.
6. Export products. To export products, categories, taxes, orders and reviews from your Volusion store, go to the admin panel and then to the Inventory section to be further redirected to the Import/Export interface. Click on the Standard Export tab and then pick the data type you would like to export in the Export From tab (products). Go to the Columns tab afterwards and choose Check All. You will further be sent to the File Format tab to pick CSV format for data export. Start the export procedure – hit the Download button to save the CSV file on your computer.
7. Export other data. Repeat the same procedure to export other data types, such as tax, categories, options, customers, reviews, tracking numbers etc.
8. Export Images. As opposed to other data types, Volusion images are not exported in the CSV file format. Instead, they can be exported via a custom query only. Right after that, Save the form, go to the Inventory tab again and then to the Export/Import tab. Click the Saved Exports button, select Product Export from the Saved Queries drop down menu and then select the CSV file from the File Format menu. Click the Export button and wait for the process to be completed successfully. You will be notified about that with a pop-up display window where you will see the Download button. Click it to download the ready-made CSV file with all the product image URLs to your computer.
9. Import the data. Go to your Magento account and upload the CSV files with products and other data types to get them downloaded to the new web store.
10. Set up permalinks and SEO settings. If you wish to preserve your Volusion web store traffic, make sure to check out the final Magento URL structure to check if it’s correct. Set up 301 redirects from your old Volusion URLs to the new Magento URLs to maintain SEO rankings. Review and update meta tags, descriptions, and other SEO settings in Magento.
11. Customize your web store. Having completed the steps listed above, take your time to customize the new site to finally go live with it.

There is one more thing you should not forget about. Do not deactivate your Volusion subscription and delete the web store/account until you are 100% sure the migration process is a success.

How to Transfer Own Domain Name from Volusion to Magento

When you initiate the Volusion-to-Magento migration process, make sure to preserve the domain name and move it to your new project with other entities. This is a surefire way to preserve the available SEO positions, traffic as well as brand recognition. To transfer the domain, complete the following steps:

1. Unlock your domain. Log in to your Volusion account and access the domain management settings. Find your domain name and unlock it.
2. Obtain an authorization code (EPP Code). While in your Volusion account, request an EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) code or authorization code for your domain. This code is necessary for initiating the transfer.
3. Choose a new domain registrar. If you don’t already have a domain registrar for your Magento store, you can choose one. HostGator is one of the most suitable solutions to go for. Register an account with it to initiate the transfer procedure.
4. Start the migration. Log in to your HostGator account and find the option to transfer a domain or register a new domain there. Enter the domain name you would like to transfer and then follow the registrar’s instructions to start the process. Provide the EPP code obtained from Volusion.
5. Confirm the transfer. Check your email for a confirmation message from both your old registrar and HostGator. You may need to confirm the transfer via email or through the registrar’s control panel. It may take a few days to complete the domain name transfer. You will receive emails or notifications to approve or verify the transfer during this period.
6. Update DNS settings. Once the domain transfer is complete, log in to your Magento or HostGator account and update the DNS settings to point to your Magento store’s hosting server.
7. Check the domain performance. Having updated the DNS records, wait for DNS settings to update and check whether the domain name works well. Verify that your Magento store is accessible through your domain name.

Once you’ve confirmed that your domain is successfully transferred to Magento, you can contact Volusion to cancel domain services and associated fees it provides.

Professional Volusion to Magento Migration Services

Whatever reasons you have to migrate from Volusion to Magento, the process will still be quite challenging. There are multiple issues to consider and several must-have steps to complete to make it a success. If you lack coding proficiency, the procedure will be even more complicated. If you are a non-coder, you may have several solutions to simplify the task.

The first way out is to use specific website migration services. They have multiple advantages yet there is one notable disadvantage that makes these systems not quite useful. The thing is that the prevailing amount of such platforms is automated. This means that there is a risk to overlook essential details that may have a negative influence upon the result.

Experts who specialize in professional website migration are generally aware of the major nuances of the process as well as of the must-have steps and characteristics of all platforms. As a result, they can offer an individual approach to the migration process that will guarantee quality results.

Professional site migration experts will take care of proper migration of all website entities to the new platform and they will also offer fixed rates to prevent overpaying. You will know the exact price right from the start as well as the range of services you will get at this cost.

The average cost of hiring website migration services starts at $3000 to reach approximately $7000 or more. The price depends on multiple factors, parameters of platforms and your special requirements.

Bottom Line

When it comes to starting a web store, both Volusion and Magento work well for this purpose. As your eCommerce project develops, moving from the website builder to the CMS becomes a must. Magento offers a variety of features and advanced tools for professional web store customization, hosting and promotion.

The process of moving a web store from Volusion to Magento is quite responsible and time-taking, including a list of must-have steps. You have to make sure all the website entities (and domain as well) should be transferred properly.

It is also important to check whether all SEO settings are adjusted properly and all redirects from the old to the new site are set up correctly.

If you are not sure that you will cope with the task independently, consider an option of hiring professional website migration services. This may save your time and effort yet will definitely require extra budget investment.