J2Store to HikaShop Migration

Our client is a wireless communication solutions provider that has been serving customers since 1957. They specialize in offering two-way radios, walkie-talkies, and accessories for industries such as construction, healthcare, and public safety.

They decided to switch from J2Store to HikaShop because J2 Store held them back. They struggled with limited payment options, messy inventory management, and no advanced reports to track their sales. Meanwhile, HikaShop offered more tools and flexibility, making it easier to manage their store and give their customers a better shopping experience.

For this project, the client outlined several key requirements for their migration from J2 Store to HikaShop, including:

• Multi-step migration involving different sites: They wanted us to migrate all data from their J2Store on a Joomla 3 site to a temporary Joomla 4 site with HikaShop installed. Afterward, they required us to migrate the HikaShop data from the temporary site to a fresh HikaShop installation on their rebuilt Joomla 4 site.
• Product description compatibility fix: The client used the Regular Labs “Tabs” plugin on Joomla 3, which was incompatible with Joomla 4. Since they planned to switch to the JoomlaShack “Tabs and Sliders” plugin, which has a different syntax, they requested us to update all old tab calls to the new syntax during the migration.

A major challenge in this project was the disorganized state of the client’s database. Their folders were scattered and unstructured, making the migration process more complex. Adding to that, the client wanted to clean up their system during the migration by reorganizing their files. For example, they requested that all documents be consolidated under /images/documents and all images be placed under /images.

To address the messy database, we customized the migration process to reorganize and consolidate the client’s folders before transferring them to HikaShop. We analyzed their entire folder structure and created a mapping system to group all documents under /images/documents, all images under /images, and organize other scattered folders into a cleaner structure. Using custom scripts, we ensured that everything was transferred into the correct directories, giving the client a well-organized database on their new store.

For their other requirements, we ran our All-in-One Migration Service, covering the transfer of products, orders, customers, and other key data. Along with this, we implemented the requested Additional Options, ensuring that categories and product SEO URLs were migrated accurately and order IDs were preserved on the new store.

To handle the product description compatibility issue, we provided a Customization Migration Service. With a combination of standard and custom services, we delivered a smooth, accurate, and efficient migration tailored to the client’s unique needs.