Best method for moving customers and orders to a new site

  • Resolved scottishdev

    (@scottishdev)


    4 months, 2 weeks ago

    Hello,

    We’re looking for some guidance on an eCommerce project for a long-standing site that’s critical to our client’s business. The site was originally built with an outdated page builder and numerous plugins, leading to performance and stability issues over time.

    To address this, we cloned the site, disabled the page builder and unnecessary plugins, and created a leaner version on top of it. Our goal is to migrate old orders to HPOS and create a more up-to-date and reliable foundation. Initially, we planned to dump the database from the original site and merge it into this rebuilt version, and while this worked due to the database similarity, we have concerns that some existing issues from the old setup could carry over.

    We’ve decided a cleaner approach would be to start a new WooCommerce site from scratch and selectively move over key data—users, orders, and critical tables from plugins like B2BKing and ATUM stock management. However, when attempting this with a database dump, we ran into issues, likely because the new site’s database is empty, causing misalignments in keys and other dependencies.

    Has anyone handled this type of migration who could offer advice on transferring specific data as cleanly as possible into a fresh WooCommerce setup? Currently, we have an SQL script that exports selected tables into a file, which works fine with cloned sites but isn’t successful with an empty, clean database.

    Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated—I’m personally a bit out of my depth on this one.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Support Reynier (a11n)

    (@reynierc)

    Hi @scottishdev ,

    Understanding the challenge you’re facing, moving key data to a fresh WooCommerce site requires a delicate approach. It’s clear you’re seeking a seamless transition without dragging along the past issues.

    To startn, could you tell me more about the outdated page builder and the plugins you mentioned? Is the site powered by WordPress, or is it something else?

    For the specific case of transferring users and orders from WordPress to WordPress, consider using a plugin similar to the WooCommerce Customer/Order CSV Import Suite, plugins like these makes it easier to move critical data without the technical overload an SQL approach can bring.

    For B2BKing and ATUM data, reaching out to those plugins’ support teams for guidance on migrating their settings and data is advisable, as they may have specific tools or best practices.

    Here’s a quick link to their support forums:

    Just to note, in migrations, it’s important to ensure ID conflicts are resolved, so manual adjustments post-import may be necessary. A staging area to test these migrations before taking the new site live will be your safety net.

    Just in case you’re looking to expert assistance about WooCommerce migrations, based on the feedback we get from our customers we highly recommend checking one of the services on our WooExperts page.

    Looking forward to your response.

    Thread Starter scottishdev

    (@scottishdev)

    Hi Reynier,

    It’s a WordPress site, created with Oxygen by my predecessor, the site has since added a lot of different plugins, main ones being ATUM stock management and B2BKing. The site is dated, and really slow, all 7-8 staff members of my clients use the site in their day-to-day duties, so it’s beginning to become a problem.

    I was able to clone the site, remove all the plugins and pagebuilder, and rebuild a new site ontop with Breakdance. I then was able to SQL dump the difference in data between the sites, because it was a clone of the original. The problem with this method is there could be left over data/issues from the old site going forward.

    So now we’ve got a fresh site, no data, built the frontend and we’re slowly trying to copy each (required) plugin and it’s settings over.

    I might have to reach out to a WooCommerce expert, as it’s getting beyond my skill level if I have to then post-import fix conflicts in IDs.

    Thanks for your input on the matter.

    Plugin Support Zubair Zahid (woo-hc)

    (@doublezed2)

    Hello scottishdev,

    Thank you for your reply.

    I understand you have successfully built a fresh site with Breakdance.
    Now you wish to migrate the WooCommerce data such as Orders and Customers.

    I recommend looking into a plugin that handles the data automatically for you.
    – ?WooCommerce Customer/Order CSV Import Suite
    – https://woocommerce.com/products/import-export-suite-for-woocommerce/

    If you are unsure about the process, it would be wise to consult a professional Woo developer.
    You can find one at Codeable.io and WooExperts.com.

    Please don’t hesitate to contact us again if you have more questions or concerns.
    We are here to help ??

    Best regards.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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