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Before you launch...

You can manage your launch on your own, or you can turn the controls over to our expert team to facilitate your store launch. If you plan to manage your own store launch, you'll need to know how to change the DNS records associated with your domain name, and set your live store in maintenance mode. If you're not sure how to manage those things, please contact our support team for assistance.

What to Expect

When you click Let's go live from your Vortx Onboard portal, our launch team will receive a notification. We'll first make sure that your Vortx hosting account / SSL certificate is established, then we'll set a date/time to carry out your site launch with you in advance. Our launch team will communicate with you directly via our Help Desk.

If you're upgrading from a legacy version, the launch process typically takes 1 - 2 hours from start to finish (elapsed time depends on the size of your store's database), during which time your live site will not be able to process orders.

 

How Does it work?

For new stores, to go live, we'll install your SSL Certificate to secure your store over https://, and we'll provide instruction to change your DNS records to point to your new store. That's it!

 

For storeowners upgrading from a legacy version, a little more coordination is required:

 

On the scheduled go-live date, we'll start by asking you to remove your store's ability to take orders during the launch process:

If you're upgrading from version 9.5 or above:
  • Connect to your live store via FTP, and modify the web.config file (for versions 10.0.0 and above, modify the AppSettings.config file).
  • Set the SiteDownForMaintenance value to "true".
  • Set the MaintenanceAllowedIP value to "169.45.122.10"
If you're upgrading from version 9.4 or below:
  • Log in to your live store's admin console.
  • Navigate to Configuration > Advanced > AppConfig Parameters.
  • Search for AppConfig: WholesaleOnly and set the value to "true".
  • Click Reset Cache in the top right of your admin console.
Once your store is no longer able to accept live orders, the following steps are carried out:
  1. You'll notify the Vortx launch team that you've taken your store down for maintenance - or set it to WholesaleOnly mode so orders cannot be taken.
  2. The Vortx Launch team will start a final upgrade 'run' to pull in all the most recent files & data (products, orders, customers, etc.)
  3. The Vortx Launch team will notify you when the final upgrade run is complete, and provide you with the IP address for your store.
  4. You'll set your DNS A records to the new IP address.
  5. Your new store will be live!

 

 

Launch FAQ

I'm moving from another host - what happens to my email service?
Vortx doesn't provide email hosting or support, however, most domain registrars provide this service, and may offer a migration service to help you move your domain email hosting to them. You can also inquire with your current email hosting provider to learn whether they offer email-only hosting service, in which case your email hosting can stay with your website hosting provider while your website is hosted with Vortx.

Before you go live, check your live store's email settings to make sure your store's email connectivity won't be disrupted during the transition. Need help? Submit a ticket and we can walk you through this.

I'm moving from another host - can my SSL move too?
Yes!
You have three options for getting an SSL certificate setup on your site hosted with us:
  1. Have your previous hosting provider export the current SSL from your old server in .pfx format. This .pfx file will be password protected so be sure to obtain the password from them. You can send me the pfx export over to  our Help Desk with the password and we can import the SSL directly onto your account.
  2. If you are unable to have the SSL exported, you can contact your SSL provider to have the SSL re-keyed/reissued. This will require a CSR to be generated from your new server and our launch team can provide that to you. Once the SSL has been re-keyed/reissued, you'll need to send the new SSL files to our launch team and they will get it installed on your account.
  3. You could also purchase a new SSL from Vortx and we'll get it installed on your account as soon as it has been approved by the SSL provider. We will also attempt to renew it for you each year, provided your hosting account is in good standing, so that you don't have to worry about it expiring in the future. You can see and purchase the SSL certificates we offer here: http://www.aspdotnetstorefront.com/c-152-ssl-certificates.aspx


I'm not moving hosting to Vortx - how do I go live?
You can still use the Vortx Onboard service to launch your store as long as you purchased the Push Button Upgrade: Export package. If you didn't, please contact us.

When you're ready to launch, click 'Let's go live' from your Vortx Onboard portal, our launch team will contact you to coordinate a date/time to go live.
On the scheduled go-live date, we'll start by asking you to remove your store's ability to take orders during the launch process, after which the following steps are carried out:
  1. You'll notify the Vortx launch team that you've taken your store down for maintenance - or set it to WholesaleOnly mode so orders cannot be taken.
  2. The Vortx Launch team will start a final upgrade 'run' to pull in all the most recent files & data (products, orders, customers, etc.)
  3. The Vortx Launch team will export a zip file including your upgraded store's code and database, and provide you with a download location to retrieve it.
  4. You can install the upgraded code & database at a hosting provider of your choosing (contact your hosting provider for assistance, Vortx support staff is not able to assist with installation on 3rd party hosting environments).
Important!: Make sure you've checked with your hosting provider in advance to ensure that they meet the minimum software & PCI requirements: http://help.aspdotnetstorefront.com/manual/1000/default.aspx?pageid=software_requirements If they don't, consider hosting with AspDotNetStorefront.