How to migrate from ProductCart to Shopify

Updated 12 October 2026 · By Misimi Corp, a Shopify Partner

NetSource stops hosting ProductCart sites on 11 January 2027 (what happens then). This guide is how we move stores ourselves. You can follow it on your own, or have us do it for a fixed price.

1. Export your data from ProductCart

Your control-panel exports are the source of truth, not what the storefront shows. From the ProductCart control panel, download:

• Reports › Custom Data Export: products, options, prices and categories.
• Export for Re-Import: the same catalogue in ProductCart's own re-import format.
• A customer export, only if you are moving customers.

Exports come as CSV or HTML tables, sometimes in old Windows text encodings. Check that accented characters and symbols read correctly before you map anything.

2. List every old URL

ProductCart links to the same product in two forms: viewPrd.asp?idproduct=70101 and keyword-rich addresses like -21p70101.htm. Search engines and old emails may use either. Crawl the whole store (products, categories and content pages) and record both forms, so none are missed when you build redirects. Crawl gently, around one page a second, and skip cart, checkout and account pages.

3. Know what Shopify can't hold the same way

• More than 3 options per product. Shopify allows 3 options per product. Split the product, merge options, or use a product-options app.
• Configurators and build-to-order products. Shopify has no built-in configurator; these need an app or custom work.
• Quantity price breaks and wholesale prices. Map them to Shopify volume pricing where your plan allows it, or set them up another way. Don't drop them silently.
• Customer passwords. They can't be moved by anyone. Customers get an invitation to set a new one.
• Order history. It can be imported as a read-only archive. NetSource notes that imported orders are dated by the import date, with the original date kept in the record.
• Query-string URLs. Some viewPrd.asp?… addresses may not be redirectable by Shopify itself. List them before launch, with the fallback you will use.

4. The seven steps

1. Crawl the old store. Record every product, category and content-page URL in both ProductCart forms, with the owner's written permission.
2. Read the exports. Match every column to the right Shopify field. Anything unrecognised goes to a person, not a guess.
3. Map and review. Options become variants, surcharges become variant prices, categories become collections. Anything Shopify can't hold the same way goes on a review list with clear choices. Old links inside product descriptions are rewritten to the new pages.
4. Rehearse. Build every product exactly as it will be sent and check it against Shopify's limits before writing anything to Shopify.
5. Load into Shopify. Send products, collections, images and pages through Shopify's official API. Record what each run created, so a bad load can be undone exactly. Inactive products arrive as drafts.
6. Redirect and check. Create a 301 redirect for every old address, then request each one on the new store and record where it lands and the status code. Deleted products go to their category, not a 404.
7. Report and sign off. Products in the old store must equal products on Shopify plus products left out, each with a reason. Read the report, click through the store, and sign off before the domain switch.

You can watch each of these steps, recorded on a fictional demo store, in how it works.

5. Check what an automated transfer leaves out

NetSource offers its own automated transfer to Shopify and documents what it does not carry over. It says quantity price breaks "will not be transferred", content pages "will NOT be imported", redirects for those pages "will need to be manually created", links inside product descriptions "will not be adjusted and could result in 404s", and inactive products and products with more than 3 options "will not be imported". If you use it, plan for each of these yourself. Side-by-side comparison.

Source: NetSource, “ProductCart to Shopify Data Transfer Process” (read 11 Oct 2026). NetSource also offers paid design and migration; this covers only its documented automated transfer.

6. Keep your search traffic

A site keeps the value of its old pages when every old address answers with a 301 redirect to the right new page. Request each redirect after launch rather than trusting the list, and watch for 404s in the weeks after. Nobody can honestly promise you will keep your positions; correct redirects are what you control.

How long it takes and what it costs

NetSource says its own migrations typically take 6 to 12 weeks and are scheduled first come, first served. With DontMisimi the price and date are fixed after a $149 Exit Audit, which is credited in full if you go ahead within 30 days:

• Starter, $1,500: up to 500 products and 2,500 variants, live in 10 business days.
• Plus, $2,900: up to 2,000 products and 10,000 variants, with customer import, live in 15 business days.
• Pro, fixed price from $5,000: configurators, larger catalogues and order-history import. Price set from the audit inventory and agreed in writing before any build work.

Timelines start once we have your exports and store access. Your Shopify plan, paid themes and apps are paid separately, to Shopify and the app makers. Full pricing and add-ons.

Questions

Sources: NetSource, “ProductCart Sunset FAQ” (published 23 Dec 2025, read 11 Oct 2026); NetSource, “ProductCart to Shopify Data Transfer Process” (read 11 Oct 2026). Dates can change; we re-check them before every audit.