# Bring your store over with a clear plan

> Prepare your catalog, rebuild your storefront, and test the new buying journey before changing your domain. Start in a free draft store while your existing shop stays open.

Canonical: https://mercanest.net/migration/

Markdown: https://mercanest.net/migration.md

Prepare your catalog, rebuild your storefront, and test the new buying journey before changing your domain. Start in a free draft store while your existing shop stays open.

## Signup is coming soon

The Mercanest app is not open yet. Explore plans, preview themes, and prepare your store while we get ready to launch.

## Gather these first

- A backup of product, customer, and order exports from your current platform

- A list of your most visited URLs, key products, and connected services

- Access to your domain's DNS settings and payment-provider account

## 1. Decide what needs to move

List your products, variants, images, collections, pages, customer records, order history, and integrations. Treat each as a separate workstream so a product import is not mistaken for a complete store migration.

- Back up the original exports before editing them.
- Confirm the supported path for each data type before committing to a move.
- Plan separately for customer accounts, passwords, historical orders, subscriptions, gift cards, and reviews; the product CSV does not migrate these.

[Check app availability](/integrations/channels)

## 2. Map your products to the Mercanest CSV template

Create your draft store, open Products → Import, and use the current product template. Exported files from Shopify, WooCommerce, or another platform need their columns mapped; uploading another platform's file unchanged is not a guaranteed import.

- Match titles, handles, descriptions, SKUs, options, images, and prices to the template.
- For example, keep the same product handle across a T-shirt's size variants, with a distinct SKU and option value on each row.
- Check currencies, decimal formats, image access, and any required shipping or inventory setup.

[Explore catalog tools](/features/products)

## 3. Import a small sample and inspect the result

Begin with a few representative products: a simple item, an item with several variants, and an item with several images. Review the import summary and fix errors before importing the rest.

- Compare imported titles, prices, options, images, and stock with the source.
- Open each sample product in the storefront and add the expected variant to the cart.
- Avoid repeatedly importing the same file without reviewing how existing product identifiers are handled.

[Open your workspace](/getting-started/#launch-status)

## 4. Rebuild the experience around your brand

Choose a Mercanest theme and recreate the navigation and pages your customers use. A theme from another commerce platform is not transferred by the product CSV.

- Bring over the brand assets and photography you own or can reuse.
- Recreate essential pages, delivery information, and store policies.
- Reconnect supported payment, email, and marketing services with your own accounts.

[Find your starting theme](/themes)

## 5. Plan your URLs before the domain change

Keep a list of important old URLs and their matching new destinations. Preserve useful handles where possible. Arrange permanent redirects through the routing tools available for your domain, and verify each destination before switching traffic.

- Map product, collection, and content URLs individually.
- Check internal navigation, page titles, descriptions, and image descriptions.
- Keep records of the old DNS configuration and the redirect map for recovery.

[Read the launch checklist](/getting-started#test)

## 6. Test, reconcile, then switch

Choose a quiet period for the move. Test payment, shipping, order messages, and fulfillment on the new store. Reconcile inventory and any orders received after your export before changing DNS.

- Confirm the selected plan and provider configuration are ready for live sales.
- Check the final domain, secure connection, redirects, and checkout on a phone.
- Keep access to the old platform for order history and outstanding fulfillment.
- Do not close the old account until the new store is stable and your records are retained.

[Review plans and billing](/pricing)

## Launch checklist

- Original data exports backed up

- Sample import checked against the source catalog

- Unsupported data types given a separate migration or retention plan

- Payments, shipping, messages, and fulfillment tested

- Old URLs mapped and redirects verified

- Inventory reconciled and domain switch checked

[Set up your new store](/getting-started)

[Manage multiple stores](/multi-store)