Ecommerce · Switch guide
How to leave Gearfire without going dark
You can leave Gearfire without a day offline. Keep your domain, stand up WooCommerce before you give notice, redirect the pages that rank, test a mixed cart, then switch DNS. Setup is $500 or $2,500, plans run $169 to $569 a month, and there's no annual contract. We're not affiliated with Gearfire.
The side-by-side (closed network vs a site where you write the titles and the slugs) is on the Gearfire alternative page.
Before you give notice
- Find out who holds the domain. If the registrar account is not in your name, fix that first. Everything else depends on it.
- List the pages that bring you traffic. The product, category, and info pages that already rank are the ones to redirect. Google Search Console shows them.
- Decide what you sell: your own stock, distributor catalogs, or both. Own stock is Minute Man. Distributor catalogs through FFL Cockpit start at Militia.
- Line up payments. We install the payment gateway at setup. The merchant account is yours.
Do not give notice until the new store is ready.
The five steps
- Keep your domain. We stand up Woo on it before you give notice.
- Map the catalog (own stock, Cockpit feeds, or both) and redirect the URLs that already rank.
- Wire FFL Checkout, payments, and taxes. Test a mixed cart.
- Connect the register only if you want the floor and the site in sync (Warlord and Accelerator).
- Cut DNS. You leave with the site.
What the switch costs
Setup is $500 or $2,500. Plans run from Minute Man at $169 a month to FFL Accelerator at $569. No annual contract. We do not republish Gearfire’s fee card; it is theirs and it changes. Put your current invoice next to the plan ladder. What each setup and plan includes is on the FFL website cost page.
Still comparing? Read the Gearfire alternative side-by-side. Leaving AmmoReady instead? That’s a different guide.
Questions we get
- Can I leave Gearfire without going offline?
- Yes, if you do it in order. Get your domain in your name, build WooCommerce on it, redirect the pages that rank, test a mixed cart, then switch DNS.
- Do I keep my domain if I leave Gearfire?
- Yes, once the registrar account is in your name. Find out who holds it and fix that first, because everything else depends on it. Then we build WooCommerce on your domain before you give notice.
- When should I tell Gearfire I'm leaving?
- Not until the new store is ready. We build it on your domain first, then you give notice.
- What happens to the pages that rank on Google now?
- You redirect each one to its new page, so the links Google already has still land somewhere. Google Search Console shows which product, category and info pages bring you traffic. Nobody can promise rankings after a move.
- Can I connect my register to the new site?
- Yes, if you want the floor and the site in sync. That's the Warlord plan at $469 a month or FFL Accelerator at $569.
- How does the cost compare with Gearfire?
- Put your current Gearfire invoice next to our numbers: setup of $500 or $2,500, then $169 to $569 a month. We don't republish Gearfire's fee card, because it's theirs and it changes.
Tell us about your store
No contract, and you can cancel any time. Paul answers.