Migration from WebAsyst Shop-Script to Shop-Scipt

Shop-Script » Import & data exchange »

It is more correct to regard migration from WebAsyst Shop-Script to Shop-Script not as an ordinary update but rather as migration to a completely different system; e.g., from iOS to Android or from Windows to Mac OS.

Shop-Script is not exactly an update for WebAsyst Shop-Script; it is a completely new product generation, developed entirely from scratch. It is based on an absolutely new software platform. Developing this new version on a new platform has allowed us to implement plenty of new useful features and to get rid of the drawbacks of the previous version.

Migration to Shop-Script occurs as opening of a new online store based on Shop-Script and replacement of the old WebAsyst Shop-Script powered online store with the new version. Migration includes four steps listed below:

Install Shop-Script at some temporary URL; e.g., at yourdomain.com/newshop/ or newshop.yourdomain.com/
Copy all important data and settings from your existing online store based on WebAsyst Shop-Script. All data such as products, orders, etc., are imported automatically by means of a specially developed plugin to Shop-Script. Unfortunately, it is technically impossible to import your storefront design or source code modifications.
Set up storefront design and other parameters in Shop-Script and thoroughly study this new software.
Once all the above steps have been completed you may replace your existing online store with the new one.

Below is a detailed description of each of these steps.

1. Installation of Shop-Script

PHP scripts

Shop-Script is an application based on the Webasyst framework; therefore, you need to install the framework first following the guidelines provided below.

Install the Webasyst framework using the installation manual at a temporary URL; e.g., on a subdomain of your online store's main domain name. If your storefront is operating at a URL of the form http://yourdomain.com, then you can install Shop-Script on a subdomain like http://test.yourdomain.com.
Login into the backend of the installed framework, navigate to the Installer app and install Shop-Script in section "Applications".
If you are not authorized in your Customer Center, you will be offered to enter your email address and password. Upon login to the Customer Center, select your Shop-Script license to begin the installation.

Upon completion of the installation, go to the backend of the Shop application. At the first attempt to access its backend you will be offered to automatically install pre-configured values for several system parameters: currencies, taxes, product types. You can skip this step, but it will significantly save your time for setting up your online store. Automatically added settings can be removed or changed at any time.

Hosted account in a cloud

If you do not wish to install PHP software on your server you may create an online store in our cloud service at https://www.webasyst.com/cloud/.

Upon signup (free) you will receive your personal account at a temporary URL of the form yourdomain.webasyst.cloud with pre-installed Shop-Script; you can use this installed copy to learn all product's features and can later connect it to your own domain name; e.g., yourdomain.com.

2. Product import

For importing products from a WebAsyst Shop-Script based online store, use the "Migrate to Shop-Script" plugin in the Shop-Script. To install the plugin, open section "Plugins" in the Installer app and click on the installation button in section "By app → Shop-Script".

Upon installation of the plugin, go to the backend of Shop-Script, open section "Import/Export", and click on the name of the "Migrate to Shop-Script" plugin.

In the platform selection list choose the appropriate option:

WebAsyst Shop-Script (old version) on the same server, if you have installed Shop-Script on the same server where your existing WebAsyst Shop-Script based online store is installed.
WebAsyst Shop-Script (old version) on a remote server, if you have installed Shop-Script on a different web server or if your online store is powered by the WebAsyst online services (and is accessible at a URL of the form http://account.webasyst.net).

Complete the instructions offered for the selected option and click on the confirmation button to begin the data import.

Important note: Data import will not affect the functioning of your existing online store. If you have a large amount of data (products, categories, product images) in your online store, it may take take from several minutes to several hours to import them. Do not close the page before the data import is completed.

After import has been completed, a brief summary containing statistical data will be displayed on the page:

3. Setting up your new online store

The import plugin does not copy the settings of shipping and payment modules, taxes, currencies, and discounts from WebAsyst Shop-Script; therefore, you need to set up these parameters manually in the new application's "Settings" screen. Partially this setup can be carried out on the first entry to the store backend as described above.

Storefront design and custom code modifications

Because the Shop-Script offers an absolutely new and significantly more flexible design management system, it is technically impossible to import your storefront design (or source code modifications) from WebAsyst Shop-Script. You need to manually set up the storefront design. Shop-Script is offered together with several free design themes which 5you can use to create your individual design. The built-in design editor allows using all Smarty functions and tools. New design themes are available for installation in the "Themes" section of the "Installer" app.

In addition to the standard Smarty tools, in design templates you can also use Webasyst system variables and objects (helpers) for embedding frequently used elements in your templates such as general storefront URL or a product list, for example. The entire list of such system variables with their descriptions is available in the "Cheat sheet" area of the built-in design editor.

4. Replacing old online store with Shop-Script

In order to finally move to Shop-Script, you now only need to forward your storefront visitors to the new storefront as described below.

Note: To install Shop-Script, you need to have your own registered domain name. if your online store is powered by WebAsyst online services and is accessible at a URL of the form accountname.webasyst.net/shop/ without its own domain name, then you cannot use Shop-Script and preserve the same storefront URLs. In this case you can only move all your data to Shop-Script and begin using your online store at a new domain name.

1. In section "Settings" of system app Site enter the correct domain name, at which your previous version is currently installed, instead of the temporary subdomain in field "Site URL".

2. In the "Structure" section of the Site app ensure that the URL mask for the Shop app matches the URLs of your old storefront.

For example, if your old storefront is accessible at a URL of the form yourdomain.com/, then the URL mask in routing settings should be *

If your old storefront is accessible in a "subfolder" of its domain name at a URL of the form http://yourdomain.com/shop/, then you need to enter shop/* as the URL mask

If the URL mask specified for the Shop app is equal to that of the Site app in routing settings, then delete the URL mask for the Site. In this case all frontend requests will be handled by Shop-Script. In other words, your entire website will consist of online storefront pages. Later you can add more routing rules if necessary; read more about routing settings in "Websites & routing".

3. In the routing rules list, open the settings are for the Shop app settlement. To do so, click on the "gear" icon next to that routing rule. If you had human-readable URLs enabled in your old online store, select the "Plain" type of URLs and save the settings:

This is necessary to preserve your search engine positions for the storefront pages which have been indexed by search engines.

If preserving positions is not very important for you, you may choose any other URL type for your new storefront.

Note: To redirect traffic to ordinary (non-human-readable) URLs, use the "301 Redirect" plugin (available in the "Installer"). Without this plugin traffic will be correctly redirected only from human-readable URLs of WebAsyst Shop-Script to the "Plain" type of URLs in Shop-Script.

4. Set up your old storefront's domain name so that it points to the server directory where Webasyst framework with Shop-Script is installed. If the old and the new storefronts are installed on the same server, then an easy way to replace the old storefront is to 1) create a new folder for storing old software files, 2) move old files of WebAsyst Shop-Script to that new folder, and 3) move all files of Shop-Script (and all framework files) to the location where WebAsyst Shop-Script was installed.

You will need the following plugins for convenient transition from WebAsyst Shop-Script to Shop-Script: