ECommerce Platform Change

[ResslerMotors]

I'm just entering the process of switching web developer companies, and I was wondering what process would be best for redirecting our old product (new and used cars) pages.  Our current design leaves much to be desired seo wise (http://www.resslermotors.com/index.asp?cmd=detail&vin=1FTSX30F3XEC01446&stocknumber=123911&sg=ocor5h42d2yhkla&Make=Ford&parCertifiedFlag=&Model=&parVehTypeID=&p=6&page=1), and redirecting all of them seems like it would be pretty complicated.

In addition to that, we currently have 35,000 pages.  Is there a practical way to do redirects with this many pages?

[First]

If the URLs are going to be changing (and hopefully optimized) then 301 redirects are the way to go. What platform are you changing from / to? What kind of server will it be hosted on?

[Francisco_Meza]

Check to see if you have a feature in your ecommerce platform where you can import and export information. I use magento and there's a feature called Import Export. I haven't used it in about 3 years so I'm sure I'm forgetting. But you should be able to export everything (product/stock/customer info) to excel. I don't know about the URLs though. Maybe you can run a sitemap report and 301 those URLs.

[BTeubner]

There's probably a number of ways to do it, some more manual than others.

Get a developer to export a list of product numbers (if they are unique) and urls from the DB of the old and new CMS. Use excel and match em up (vlookup is a good function for that), create the htaccess redirects (=CONCATENATE is a good function for that) and whaaalaaa.

If programming resources are short, you may need to use a scraper (ie. mozenda) to get the info. Or, just pick the most valuable revenue entreating pages (export from Google Analytics if you have that setup) and manually write redirects. Not recommended but better than nothing!

Err, so many options, lol. And definitely switch to Magento. It rocks!

[ResslerMotors]

I'm switching to a different company that supposedly has built their own.  I'm currently using Seritas, and I'm switching to TK Carsites.  The current company uses a jumbled mess, while the new company designs it with keywords in mind.

[Francisco_Meza]

Ressler! Sorry man, that raises a red flag for me. I wouldn't use a company who has built their own software because then you are stuck with them. You may be limiting yourself to what their CMS can provide. There are many of these companies out there whose code is outdated and functionality subpar. I am biased toward Magento as you can tell by my username. It's open source while the company you are looking to switch to is custom (built their own).

[ResslerMotors]

Understandable, that it would cause worries.  I've only been with this company for about 8 months, and walked into a terrible platform.  Sadly, every automotive website provider I talk to has their system that they use, and I'm stuck trying to find both the best ecommerce platform, as well as overall site build.

[Francisco_Meza]

Buy a magento car theme at template monster. Or buy one on Magento Connect.

On magento connect, you will have to do a lot of digging around. The themes are already set so you just have to get familiar with it and change the pics