Friendly People.
Professional Support.
24 hours 7 days a week.


We're here for you.

How To Transfer Your Miva Merchant Storefront To A NEW Server Or Host

There may come a time when you are ready to change hosting companies and move your site, and Miva Merchant storefront to their servers. You are able to transfer the work that you have invested into building your Miva Merchant online store to the new server without losing any settings.

There are some initial steps that you should take before continuing. If you are NOT switching hosting companies, but rather transferring only to another machine, you can skip the following steps (1-3) in the first section:

  1. Check that your new host can support the version of Miva Merchant that you are currently using. This includes verifying that they have the latest copy of Miva Empresa running on their servers. This will ensure compatibility with your store while also verifying that the host provider is diligent in providing the most recent copies of Miva Software.


  2. Set-up a fresh clean copy of Miva Merchant with your new host. This will allow you to register the new Miva Merchant license provided by the new host in your name. This may have already been done for you. Verify by accessing your setup URL. It will be similar to the following:

    http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/Merchant2/setup.mv

    You will either see the Miva Merchant setup wizard, or there will be a message informing you that set-up has already been completed. Your new host MUST provide you with a new Miva Merchant license number. Licenses used for your former host cannot be transferred for use with another company's services.


  3. On your old site, log into your Miva Merchant administration and pack all data files. Click Here >>> to find out how to do this.

Once you have completed these steps, you may continue with the procedures to complete the transfer of your Miva Merchant storefront.

Each Miva Merchant installation is made up of two separate parts. Miva Merchant Scripts: These are the MivaScript files that make up the Miva Merchant application. These files, ending with a ".mv" generally stay the same from installation to installation of the same version. The scripts are also where your graphics are stored.

Miva Merchant Data: These are the database files that contain the information specific to your store. Information including: Product & Categories, Look & Feel, Orders, ... etc.

Basically, what you will be doing is downloading a copy of the Miva Merchant Script and Data folders and storing them in a safe location on your local PC and then re-uploading them into the same respective place on your new server. Follow these steps:

  1. On your local computer create a folder to store the files in. You may want to label it "Miva Files". Inside, create two sub folders, label one "DATA" and the other "HTML".


  2. Use an FTP Client to log onto your web site server. If you are not sure which FTP client to use, try LeechFTP for Windows, or Fetch for Macintosh users. You will need to contact your Hosting Provider for the FTP log in information if you do not already have this available.


  3. Once you have logged on to your web site server, you will need to access your public directory. Usually, this is the first directory you are placed in during an FTP session. It may be labeled: "www, public_HTML, html, wwwroot...etc." This is where all of your HTML files and graphics are also located and you should also see the older installation of Miva Merchant represented by a directory: "/Merchant2/." In some cases this folder will have a different name. If you cannot locate the "/Merchant2/" directory, contact your host provider for assistance in locating your Miva Merchant script files.

    Download this folder and store it in the "HTML" folder that you created on your computer. If you cannot find the /Merchant2/ directory, download the entire public_html directory and save it. Make sure that all files download successfully.


  4. After downloading the scripts, find the Miva Merchant Data directory on the server. Usually, this is parallel to the public directory and named something like: "mivadata, htsdata, datadir, miva, or data". Inside this folder there will be another /Merchant2/ directory. It will contain files with the following extensions: " *.dbf, *.mvx, and *.dbt ".

    Download the entire directory and store it in the "DATA" folder that you have created on your computer. Make sure that all files download successfully. NOTE: This will also now serve as a back-up of your Miva Merchant site. Keep this in case you need to restore a working copy of your site in the future.


  5. Log into the new web site server using the FTP program. The folder structure might be similar to your old site, but often times each host has a slightly different setup. If you do not have the FTP information for your new site, contact your new host provider. They should be able to provide you with this.


  6. Locate your Miva Merchant script directory on the new server. It should be located inside your public_html directory. (Might also be labeled: www, html, wwwroot, etc...). Generally, it will be named: "/Merchant2/", but it might be different. If you are having trouble finding the correct folder, contact your host provider for assistance.

    Once you have located the correct folder, upload your local copy of the Miva Merchant script directory in order to overwrite the folder on the new server. To ensure that it overwrites, make sure that the local directory has the same name as the directory on the server. Be sure to check that all files uploaded without failures.


  7. Perform Step #6 for the Miva data folder. Follow the same procedure, except this time, you are going to be transferring the Miva data - /Merchant2/ folder. Remember this is the folder that contains files with the following extensions: " *.dbf, *.mvx, and *.dbt ".


  8. Access your transferred Miva Merchant administration via an Internet browser. Go to a URL similar to the following:

      http://www.YOURNEWDOMAIN.com/Merchant2/admin.mv
      (YOURDOMAIN=your actual domain name)


    Log into the administration using the same Login & Password that was used on your old site.


  9. Click on the "Domain Settings" link located in the left-hand navigation menu. In the page displayed, click on "Site Configuration". Here, you will need to change the URL's to reflect your new site. If you are unsure what these settings should be, contact your new host provider for the information.


  10. Once you have all of the correct information, click the "Update" button.


  11. The final step is to perform some basic tests by accessing your storefront. Use a URL similar to the following:

      http://www.YOURNEWDOMAIN.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv
      (YOURDOMAIN=your actual domain name)
Make sure to test all of the different areas of the Miva Merchant storefront. Verify that all of your graphics, HTML, and other settings are displaying appropriately. If everything seems to be working as it should, you are done.
All material © 1996 - 2007 Superb Internet Corp.