When Ning announced two weeks ago that they would no longer support free networks, we immediately got to work on a tool to help you move your Ning Network to Grouply as quickly and painlessly as possible.  Today we are excited to announce that the Ning-to-Grouply migration tool is ready to go!  The Ning-to-Grouply migration tool is the only tool available that automatically imports your Ning Network members and content into another system.

To migrate your Ning Network to Grouply, first create a new social group.  Then from within the group’s site on Grouply, go to Manage > Management Menu > Migrate from Ning.

The messy alternatives

Migrating to any system other than Grouply will be a difficult and time-consuming process. One option is to manually copy-and-paste your network data from Ning into your new system.  Another option is to use Ning’s export tool (not available until July) to generate a huge XML file and then figure out how to import it into your new system.   You can write your own custom import scripts or hire an expensive consultant.  Either option could take days or weeks.

Grouply’s migration tool, by contrast, enables you to move your network to Grouply in minutes right now.  From within your new Grouply social group, you can quickly import your Ning Network content and members.  Then with a single click, you can notify your members of their new home.  There are no cumbersome files to manage.  No consultants to hire.  You can do everything yourself with complete control over when and how much to migrate.

A gentle migration, not a “big bang”

Grouply’s migration tool puts you in complete control of the process, and you can take it slow if you want.  You can begin by importing the latest member information and content just to see what it looks like in Grouply and perhaps customize the site a bit.  Later on you can re-import to collect the most recent updates, and perhaps ask some members to have a look.  Finally, when you are 100% ready, you do a final import, notify all members, and deactivate your Ning Network.  There’s no downtime, no lost content, no “big bang” cutover.  It’s a gentle, stress-free migration.

Members never disconnected

It is not uncommon for groups moving from one platform to another to lose 50% or more of their membership.  This is usually because members miss (or ignore) the invitation to come register at the new site, and after that, well — that’s it.  They’re gone.

When you import your members to Grouply, they immediately begin receiving individual emails of all new content posted to the group, and each email includes a link in the footer encouraging them to register to access advanced features.  So they are never disconnected, you don’t need to continually hound them to sign up.  In the end, you don’t lose a single member!

Grouply upgrades your Ning Network

Grouply’s social groups provide benefits not found on Ning Networks such as:

• A comprehensive email interface.  All content can be both posted and received via email, providing a convenient way for members to participate.
• Group analytics.  Gain useful insights into membership activities through charts and graphs that show the most active members, the most popular topics, and member participation over time.
• Advanced website privacy. Make some pages public, some viewable by visitors, and others for members only.
• Cross-group administration dashboard. Review and approve members and messages for all the groups your run in one location.

For more on the advantages of Grouply over Ning and other alternatives, please see 7 things to think about before you move from Ning.  To learn more about Grouply, take a tour.

We hope you enjoy using the Ning-to-Grouply migration tool.  To read about the latest updates, please visit our Ning-to-Grouply Migration page.  And please send an email to feedback@grouply.com and let us know what you think!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 9:26 am and is filed under New Releases.