After deciding on making MemberMouse your new membership solution, there are still some things to consider. Though this may not offer a complete list of ideas for your specific needs, this article includes some important steps that will help you as you move forward with your migration.


Identify The Necessary Database Fields


A database field is what WordPress, MemberMouse, and most other membership solutions use to store and reference important information regarding your membership needs. A typical database area has potentially dozens of different data points like: id, first name, last name, email, address, etc. For a better idea of membership details used for importing members to MemberMouse, you can reference this article and see how to download the template import file here: Importing Members to MemberMouse.


During any type of migration (moving, or migrating, data from one membership database to a new system) you must decide which data you’re taking with you and ensure it has a place to “reside” in your new system. Before taking too many steps, it’s important to understand how much data you can or want to migrate to MemberMouse, where it’s coming from (pricing settings, membership options, push/email settings, etc.) and what state it’s in. Think of this migration process like a move into a new house. You wouldn’t likely pack or ship things that are broken, no longer fit your needs, or are no longer going to be used. Often times, you start decluttering when you are getting ready to move/migrate. It can take a while to go through data/information in some systems and decide what to fix, keep, or trash. The complexity and duration of your specific migration is heavily determined by the amount of information you have, the number of database fields, any customizations you need, and the cleanliness of all of your data. Like anything else, the more information you have to setup/migrate, the more time it will take for you to configure and migrate that information to the new system.


Important Factors in Migrating


The data migration process is a time for important decisions: which information are you able to migrate to the new system, which parts do you keep, and which do you leave behind? (in a backup file of course)

Though it can be hard to say goodbye to certain aspects or ways of doing things, this is a good time to consider any necessary house cleaning needs. Remember, the more data, the longer the migration.


After a while, databases can become full of information that once provided good information or intent, but was never actually used for anything. Only migrate data you are currently using, not data you are currently “collecting" or letting sit there not being used. If you’re not using certain data in your system now, and have no solid plans to use it in the near future, don’t worry about migrating it to the new MemberMouse system.


Another point that is sometimes a touchy subject, is financial information. Regardless of where you are migrating to or from, the systems will most likely not be capable of recreating/importing all the back history (including previous information such as purchases, emails, or other events) that tie to the financial transactions.


Get your data in shape for migration

  • Determine the organization or cleanliness of the information you will be migrating: how accurate, complete, and current is it.
  • Delete or merge duplicate data.
  • Purge old/un-needed data.
  • Clean up inaccurate or incomplete data, for example, bad email and mailing addresses.
  • Fix poorly formatted data so it conforms to UTF8 rules (usually noted by the � character in your customer data).


A plan such as this ensures that only accurate and complete data is migrated to MemberMouse. 


Keep in mind, this may take some time and understanding of the data’s purpose. And, of course, the less data you have, the less time it takes to review and fix.



Mini Migration Checklist


Users typically setup the following areas first before fully migrating members: 


If you want make sure MemberMouse payment settings are in charge of all of your users payments, do your best to close as many open subscriptions as possible before migrating, and get them to sign up again on your new system using a MemberMouse purchase link. Some systems, like MemberMouse, will allow you to export historical financial transactions, making it available for viewing later if needed.