Migrate your business to Kartra

Start with migration if:

• You have an existing list of email subscribers that you want to start managing with Kartra
• You are currently using one or more services that you want to replace with Kartra
• You are ready to consolidate your day-to-day efforts and discover the power of an all-in-one solution

Introduction

Moving to a new business system can be a daunting prospect, especially when you have a lot of blood, sweat, and tears invested in the one you’ve outgrown. You know you need to move, but the task feels overwhelming.

Don't worry – Kartra’s migration guide was created just for you. In a few steps, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about what records to file away and what you can migrate into your new Kartra account.

Before you begin

Take inventory of your existing service accounts and determine which ones can be replaced with Kartra.

It might be tempting to close the door on your old accounts as soon as you decide to move, but you will need to keep that access for a little while longer.

For example, you might have separate services for contacts and email marketing, calendar management, survey creation, and more.

Ask yourself these questions and make a list:

• Where do I host my website?
• Where do I host or store my products (courses, digital books, videos, etc)
• Where do I manage my contacts and email subscribers?
• Where do I create and send emails?
• Think about any other content or business assets you have that are unique to you!

Step 1: Migrate contacts

Your leads (also called contacts) are some of your most important business assets! To migrate from your old account, export your leads to a CSV file. To keep your leads organized, it may be helpful to export them in groups to more than one file and name the files clearly so they can be used correctly later.

Lead export suggestions for easy import to Kartra:

• Include list subscription and/or tags in the export file(s) OR export separate files for each segmentation group.
• Export blocked leads that cannot be mailed to a separate file.
  • You may wish to keep a record on your computer of these leads for financial reporting but not import them to Kartra.
• Export leads to separate files depending on their GDPR status. 
  • During the lead import process, Kartra will ask you to confirm whether your leads have given their consent to be mailed under GDPR and similar regulations. It may be useful to import leads separately to allow the correct declaration if the consent status varies.

When all your leads are downloaded and saved to CSV files, you can import them into your Kartra account.

Step 2: Migrate web pages

When you are preparing to migrate your business, keep track of the web pages (either full websites or individual landing pages) that you want to reproduce in Kartra and those you no longer need.

For the pages you want to reproduce in Kartra:

• Save a copy of all the language in a text editor such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or another app you prefer.
• Save the URLs of any links on the pages so they can be reproduced.
• Make note of the fonts used, including font size, and the hex codes or RGD values of any special colors on the page.

Depending on the tools available in your old account, download all your images and media to your computer or right-click on each image and save them to your computer.

Download and save any videos that you want to republish in Kartra.

Finally, it can be helpful to take screenshots or create PDFs of the original published pages as a reference for the design and layout.

Step 3: Migrate course content

If you have an existing course that you want to bring to Kartra, it is best to wait until it is fully rebuilt in a Kartra membership before canceling your old hosting account. This will ensure minimal downtime for any customers still using the content in your old host.

Prepare to rehost your course:

• Save the full contents of your existing course, including the directory structure, all text, media, downloads, etc.
  • As with pages, it can be helpful to take screenshots of your existing course designs so you have them available as a reference when you begin rebuilding it in Kartra.
• Take some time to plan any changes you want to make to the course structure or content.
  • Kartra memberships offer the following directory structure: Categories > Subcategories > Posts
• Complete as many updates to the content as possible before starting to build it out in Kartra.
• Identify and export all members currently using your course that you will need to reinstate in Kartra.

Step 4: Connect custom domains

You can connect custom domains to your Kartra account and use the domain to customize the URLs for content like pages, memberships, calendars, and more.

A custom business domain ensures that your branding is always visible when people visit your content online.

If you're not sure whether your domain is already in use, an easy way to check is simply to open an internet browser and visit the domain. If you see a website or any other content owned by your business, then the domain is in use.

To use it with Kartra, the domain must be pointed away from the existing content and directed to Kartra instead. If you plan to keep some content on an external host as well as using Kartra, you may prefer to create and connect a subdomain instead.

For more information about how this works, you can reach out to the support team for your domain hosting service. They can discuss your current domain configuration and what your options are.

Step 5: Change email sender authentication

There are three types of email authentication records you will need to check and remove for any services you are no longer using. All three are created in the DNS settings for the domain you use when sending email messages for your business.

• DKIM
• SPF
• DMARC

If you’re not sure whether you have these records set for your current email delivery service, contact their support team and ask them how to remove email authentication for their service.

Do not remove the authentication records if you are still sending mail through the other service(s). Wait until you have stopped sending completely before changing the authentication records to Kartra.

To complete authentication for Kartra, follow our guides provided here:

• Email authentication guide
• Intro to KartraMail

Final check: Sweep the room

Just like when you leave a hotel room or move out of an old apartment, check to make sure you haven’t left anything valuable behind.

• Take the time to look through every section of your old business accounts and ensure that you have everything you need. Tie up any loose ends.
• When you are confident that you are finished and will not need access to those accounts again, you can cancel any subscriptions you no longer need.

Now it’s time to get excited…log in to Kartra! Your account and all your neatly organized content are waiting for you.