If you intend to take over a new webshop, the CMS or webshop does not really meet. It does not work well and you probably need a programmer for some adjustments. Whether you want to buy a webshop but it does not use the software you are used to and work fine. What do you do then? Is it easy to switch webshop software? Or is this investment so big that you're really stuck with it? Is there any possibility of switching or sticking here? Or is there another way out? And if there is a slice of webshop software, what should be taken into account? In this article, Arjan Nieuwbeerta from Webshopsoftware-vergelijken.nl helps you to get the best out of it and what the options are. In particular, we will focus on SaaS (Software as a Service) webshop software.

What are the risks?

Changing webshop software always involves risks. Therefore, take a good look at it. Think about SEO. If you do not perform the switch carefully, you can lose important positions in search engines like Google. Of course, this costs a lot of visitors and sales. Therefore, ensure that:

• All content (texts, videos and images) will be fully transferred
• So all titles and meta descriptions will be transferred
• Url's do not change or be well redirected
• The construction of the (product) pages remains the same

Is it too hard to understand or do you have a lack of time? Then contact the help of an SEO expert or discuss this with your new webshop provider. They often have experience with this and can save you mistakes!

Prevent switching by testing for free

Switching webshop software takes time. Therefore, avoid the possibility of switching from webshop software at an advanced stage of your own webshop. Therefore, find out which system best suits your situation. First, test the webshop software for a trial period. You can create a free account at most SaaS webshop software providers who can use you for free for a trial period. As a result, you'll soon find out if the CMS works well. If it does not work well then you can still easily switch software over this period.

In addition to paid webshop software, there are also providers that allow you to use the software for free for an unlimited period of time. However, these software packages often have limited features. Therefore, if you want to start a larger webshop, you can not choose it better. In both cases, it is not yet problematic to opt for one thing and choose something else. You paid (yet) no costs and only set the base.

How to stop at current provider?

Should the trial have expired and you already subscribe. Then you have to sit out of the contract period and then stop it. Please note that this must take place at least one month before the end date of the contract. So look forward to when your contract expires and say it a month in advance. Have you been using the software for a while and it has been tacitly extended? Do not panic because there is a way out. There is the Dam Law Act. Under this Act, you may terminate a tacit renewed contract each month. The notice period for the extended subscription may not be more than one month. It therefore works a bit the same as a mobile phone subscription.

How to switch from webshop software provider?

When you leave your current provider, many SaaS webshop software providers offer you the opportunity to request an export file from the existing data. This makes moving a lot easier. You will then get an export of your database in, for example, a CSV or Excel file. This export then contains the catalog, content, customer base, order overview and inventory list. Please note that you can not export all of the contents of the old webshop at all providers. For example, it is not always possible to export the product database and all pages of the webshop (content). If the current webshop provider does not offer you, you have 2 options: manually transfer everything or turn on a programmer's help. Certainly, if you sell a lot of products, it is advisable to recommend the latter although of course costs are incurred. Many providers have an API that can be used to export all data.

Then you sign the contract with the current provider. If you have terminated the contract, you can already apply to another provider in the meantime. With a number of SaaS webshop software providers, you can sign up for a switchover service. The new webshop software provider will then assist in moving your webshop. These can be done by using a tool to import the export files from the old webshop into the new system.

With these export files, the webshop is easily transferred via a switchover service. This switch takes on average one to two weeks. Due to the fact that your webshop remains virtually the same, SEO positions in search engines will remain. This is the case if you go from one SaaS to another SaaS software (for example, from Lightspeed to CCV shop or vice versa).

But what if you use open source software (like OpenCart or Magento) and would like to switch to SaaS webshop software? In fact, you always need the help of a programmer. This may then make a good export where the SaaS platform can handle it. Otherwise, a programmer can still sync both platforms through an API (if the SaaS provider has this). This requires a lot of customization and programming knowledge. In the case of open source switching to SaaS software, it is a bit difficult to transfer data. This entails additional costs.

So if you want to switch from SaaS webshop software, this may be quite easy, although this is somewhat dependent on the webshop software provider. If you already have a contract, you must just sit out of the contract period and terminate on time. If the contract has been tacitly renewed, you can cancel it on a monthly basis. In most cases, suppliers can import or export the data. Try exporting as much as possible. This is a great deal of time. Data that you can not export and import, you must add manually yourself, unless you enable a programmer. The duration of the transfer depends on the type of software you want to use. So keep this in mind!

About Arjan Nieuwsbeerta

Arjan is a webshop software specialist for the platform Webshopsoftware-vergelijken.nl. This platform makes it easy to put the different software packages together and compare them to specifications.