If your store is currently running version 2 of the BigCommerce Product Experience you’ve probably seen notices in the backend of your store asking you to upgrade to the latest version, version 3. While BigCommerce has not announced any plans to discontinue support for v2, the newest version brings several new product management features that store owners can take advantage of.
There are two ways to upgrade to version 3 of the BigCommerce Product Experience: if you’re an DIY type person, you can use an app to complete the upgrade yourself, or, you can hire a developer to do it for you.
Using an App to Upgrade from v2 to v2 of the BigCommerce Product Experience
If you’re comfortable with doing the upgrade yourself, using an app is an option you may want to consider. v2 to v3 migration apps can be found in the BigCommerce app store, but before you embark on this DIY project, there are a few very important things you must consider.
The biggest change in v2 to v3 is the way the store handles product variants and modifiers. If you have complex rules based around variants and modifiers some may not be compatible with v3 and you will need to re-think and recreate how you will handle them post upgrade.
By using an app, some of these complex options may not be caught, or left to be fixed once the upgrade process completes.
Additionally, any errors that crop up during the process will have to be fixed prior to completing the upgrade. So you will need to have a good degree of familiarity with your store’s products, options, and the backend.
Whether you’re using an app or having a developer complete the upgrade for you, your store will need to be put into maintenance mode for the duration of the process. This means visitors to your site will be greeted with a “come back soon” message, so being able to rectify issues that come up during the process is key to avoiding an extended period of downtime.
Upgrading from v2 to v3 of the BigCommerce Experience Manually
If you’re not comfortable using an app and doing the upgrade yourself, or if your items have many complex rules for variants and modifiers, it’s best to hire a developer with experience doing these migrations.
While manually completing the upgrade process is more time-consuming than using an app, it gives you and your developer more control over the process to ensure a successful migration with little to no issues.
Every step of the migration process – and there are several – is completed and monitored by a developer familiar with the process and errors along the way are caught and rectified immediately.
Additionally, the developer you choose to complete your migration should do a review of your data a few days before you’re set to being the upgrade and bring any issues to your attention so a plan is in place for making adjustments to product option rules before the process is started.
The manual update is the recommended option if you want to be sure that your data is migrated correctly especially if your items have complex variant and modifier options.
Your Store Wizards White Glove v2 to v3 BigCommerce Product Experience Upgrade Service
Your Store Wizards, a BigCommerce Elite Partner, has developed a comprehensive 10-step process where we take the worry out of upgrading you to v3 of the Product Experience as we do all the work for you.
The process begins with a comprehensive review of your data where we will let you know about any issues that need to be resolved prior to starting the upgrade. Once we begin, we keep you updated every step of the way – after all, we want this to be stress-free for you, so we believe communication is important considering your store is closed while the update is in process.
When complete, before putting your store back online, we’ll review the changes with you, ask you to verify some items, and if all looks good the process is complete. There’s really no simpler and stress-free way to upgrade from v2 to v3 – we guarantee it!
Of course, whether you choose the DIY or DIFM route, it’s important to back up your store data before beginning the process and the easiest way to do that is with Rewind Backups for BigCommerce.
Learn more about our BigCommerce v2 to v3 Product Experience Upgrade and contact us today to get started.
Scott Sanfilippo began his eCommerce journey in 1994 by co-founding one of the Internet’s first online retailers, TheFerretStore.com, which was acquired by PetCo in 2006. In 2001, he co-founded the eCommerce design and marketing firm Solid Cactus, which was acquired by web.com in 2009. Today, Scott is the General Manager of Your Store Wizards and lives in Delray Beach, FL. Scott can be contacted at scott@yourstorewizards.com.