Making the transition to a new ecommerce platform

As online retailers grow, many will face the prospect of moving their business to a new ecommerce platform. As Michael Stearns of the website Practical eCommerce recently wrote, making the switch isn't necessarily easy, but there are some simple steps online merchants can take.

First and foremost, Stearns recommends making sure domain name issues are taken care of and registration is correct. This process can be tricky if a previous provider registered the domain name and is reluctant to give it up.

Perhaps most importantly, the impact on the current business processes should be considered. The new platform should integrate well with accounting systems, shipping vendors and the way the websites process online payments.

Other suggestions from Stearns include moving online security certificates to the new system, and making the process of moving data such as accounts, products and orders as streamlined as possible. Determining the date the new site will go live, doing proper testing beforehand and keeping the old site for about a month of transition are more ways to expedite the process of moving an online retail operation.

It is not uncommon for small ecommerce sites to develop into more significant online presences. For example, the creative ecommerce platform MashON recently unveiled a larger and more comprehensive website to support its "personalise, merchandise, socialise" concept.