BigCommerce V2 to V3 Migration Guide: When Should You Migrate?

Do you own a BigCommerce store? If yes, then you would be familiar with BigCommerce V3. The eCommerce platform has introduced V3 with new-age features, functionalities, API, and more.

If you have a BigCommerce store on V2, it might be the right time to migrate to V3. Why? If you want to stay competitive in the eCommerce world, provide a next-gen shopping experience to users, and boost your sales, you should migrate your BigCommerce store to V3. But the question is, How?

That’s where our BigCommerce V2 to V3 Guide comes into the picture. We will first walk you through the main differences between BigCommerce V2 and V3. Then, we will look at the reasons for upgrading to BigCommerce V3 and the step-by-step migration process. Lastly, we touch upon some essential points to remain on V2.

Without waiting much, let’s get started.

What are the Differences Between BigCommerce V2 and V3?

Here are some of the essential differences between BigCommerce V2 and V3.

User Interface: BigCommerce V2 offers a user-friendly dashboard to manage inventory, products, and orders in the store well. However, BigCommerce V3 is more streamlined and optimized for quick navigation. Moreover, navigation is at the top in V2 and on the left side in V3.

Performance & Speed: The latest version is highly optimized. It provides top-notch performance, leading to quick page load times and enhanced website responsiveness compared to BigCommerce V2.

Customs Information: In V2, it is possible to include customs details via API. However, the latest version allows integrating Customs information from API or instantly from the control panel.

Customization: BigCommerce V3 comes with a range of built-in themes and offers you to create custom storefronts that match your brand’s identity. It even lets you create categories for products without any hindrance compared to V2.

Option Organization: In the older version, you can keep the options into sets that can be required or optional. In the newer version, there are two options: variant and modifier, and you can set these for one product or a group of products.

Option Data: In the older version, Option Data can be set for a product individually or using an option set. Talking about V3, you have the option to price and weight variants without any kind of rules. However, there are modifier options that are suitable for some display formats.

SKU Management: In BigCommerce V2, you can include SKUs manually or automatically. While in V3, it is fully automatic.

Bulk Product Updates: Talking about BigCommerce v2’s Bulk Edit feature, you can easily edit multiple product details simultaneously. Here, you can import a CSV file to create or apply products, options, option sets, or rules.

The same feature is available in v3 but with a few changes. While you can still import products, variant options, and rules via CSV, creating individual modifier options, shared variant options, or shared modifier options will require using the Catalog API.

Advanced SEO Capabilities: BigCommerce V3 has improved SEO features, allowing your store to rank higher in search engine results. Enhanced SEO can bring more organic traffic to stores and increase your chances of getting potential customers.

Assign SKUs: It is optional to include SKUs for each product in V2. However, it is compulsory to include SKU in every product in V3.

Who Should Upgrade to BigCommerce V3?

If you own a BigCommerce store and are confused about whether to migrate your store from V2 to V3, then understand this section thoroughly. Here are some of the important aspects that will clear up your confusion.

1. Scale & Growth: If your BigCommerce store has observed big growth right from V2, then you should consider upgrading to V3. It will help you handle a huge amount of traffic and your increasing catalog of products.
2. Advanced Features: The latest version of BigCommerce has some excellent features & functionalities to provide enhanced user experience, increase conversion rates, and streamline business operations. For instance, it lets you manage the products from a single page rather than different tabs.
3. Mobile Responsiveness: Because mobile commerce is increasing, it has become crucial to have a mobile-responsive site. BigCommerce V3 supports mobile optimization, thus offering customers an enhanced shopping experience on a range of devices.
4. Long-term support: When technology evolves, the older version’s support gets limited. When you upgrade to the latest version, you ensure your store remains updated, secure, and maintained.

After understanding who should upgrade the BigCommerce store from V2 to V3, here are some pre-migration steps you should be aware of to migrate to V3.

Things to Consider Before Migrating to BigCommerce V3

Here are some critical requirements your store needs to satisfy to migrate to version 3. So, let’s quickly go through them.

Assessing Your Current Store’s Setup and Functionalities

Before migrating your store to V3, you should be familiar with the existing store’s setup and functionalities. It consists of looking at your inventory, categories, and products you have on your BigCommerce store.

Thoroughly examine the existing site’s structure, product categories, navigation, and more to detect any of the adjustments that you have to make to v3.

Backing Up Essential Data and Files for Safety

If there is any loss in data, you will face issues in migration. Hence, it is necessary to create backups of all the important files. By backing up things like categories and products, you can restore data in case of any calamity and ensure a smooth transition from V2 to V3.

Reviewing Themes, Customizations, and Third-Party Apps for Compatibility

When you migrate your BigCommerce store to the latest version, some themes, customizations, and third-party apps might become incompatible. Look at all the existing themes and customizations to detect any of such things. Moreover, start looking for alternatives of third-party apps that would not work on BigCommerce V3 for a smooth transition.

Remove All Configurable Fields

BigCommerce V3 comes with various functionalities, features, and out-of-the-box improvements. With this migration, you should remove all the configurable fields which you have made in the V2 of your BigCommerce store. As soon as you follow this, all of your data will become organized and applicable in the BigCommerce V3 environment.

Remove Products or Categories With Google Shopping Fields Enabled

If the existing V2 of your BigCommerce store consists of Google Shopping Fields, it’s time to remove them immediately. The reason is that the V3 leverages a unique approach when managing products or categories. Therefore, removing all products or categories with Google Shopping fields enabled is better.

Step-by-Step Migration Guide

Here is the step-by-step process you should follow to ensure a flawless transition from BigCommerce V2 to V3.

1. Setting Up a Development Environment

Before starting the migration process, you should set up a development environment where you can test & play without making any changes to the live store. Ensure that the development environment looks similar to the live store. You can even leverage tools like Docker or BigCommerce’s local development tool, to set up your environment.

2. Acquiring and Installing BigCommerce V3

When the development environment is ready, you should get hands-on with the BigCommerce V3. Signup for the trial or obtain specific licenses for the store.

3.Data Migration

It is the most essential step in BigCommerce V2 to V3 migration. Here, you need to transfer categories and products. You can utilize the BigCommerce API or any third-party tools for data migration.

4. Migrating Themes & Custom Designs

If you have crafted a custom theme for your BigCommerce store, you can transfer the same to V3. However, you need to make certain adjustments to make it compatible with the latest V3. Besides this, you can explore the BigCommerce theme library and integrate a new theme into your store.

5. Transferring Custom Code and Modifications

If your store possesses custom code and modifications, reviewing them and transferring them to the V3 is crucial. You can leverage tools like Git to transfer the code.

6. Configuring Payment Gateways and Shipping Options

There are several improvements in the payment gateways and shipping in BigCommerce V3. Therefore, you should review payment gateways and shipping options in your BigCommerce store and then configure them.

7. Testing & Quality Assurance

Closely test your BigCommerce store to detect any issues and resolve them as soon as possible. Conduct different tests to ensure that migrated data, design, and other functionalities are accurate and working as required.

What About Sticking to BigCommerce V2?

Here are some aspects that work for you; you can definitely keep your BigCommerce store on V2.

• If you possess a proper catalog of products & variants, you should remain on V2.
• If you are okay with importing & exporting product options with a CSV, you can stick to V2.
• Like to integrate new images using “Image Manager,” you can stay on V2.
• If you are okay with creating variants of products as well as managing product catalogs using API, then it’s worth remaining on V2.
• To manage fields present in automatic SKU generation via Auto-SKU generator, choose V2.

Final Words

In the end, you would have understood that migrating your BigCommerce store from V2 to V3 can open a new world of opportunities to manage your store and provide an exceptional shopping experience to the customers.

By carefully planning and following the steps we have shared above, you can successfully migrate your store from BigCommerce V2 to V3.

If you still have any hesitation and find difficulty in V2 to V3 migration, you can reach out to us.

WebDesk Solution is an experienced BigCommerce development company. Our developers have created custom BigCommerce stores as well as migrated stores from V2 to V3. Hence, we can understand your BigCommerce store’s needs and provide you with a suitable solution.