How to switch from Klaviyo

The one rule that makes this safe

Run both platforms in parallel until WeZend has proven itself on real volume. You are not flipping a switch — you are moving house while living in it. Keep Klaviyo sending until your domain is verified, warmed up and delivering, then cut over flow by flow.

Step 1 — Suppressions first. Always first.

Before a single contact is imported, move the do-not-contact data. In Klaviyo, export your suppressed profiles (under your account's suppression settings, or via Klaviyo's API if the list is large). Then bulk-import the file into WeZend under Audience → Suppressions (POST /v1/account/unsubscribes/api/import).

Why first? Because the moment suppressions are in, it is impossible to accidentally message someone who already unsubscribed — no matter what you import later or in what state. Skipping this step is how migrations turn into spam complaints.

Step 2 — Export profiles with consent intact

In Klaviyo, open Audience → Lists & segments, select each list you want to keep, and export to CSV. Export segments you rely on the same way — you'll get their members (the rules themselves can't be exported; you'll recreate those in step 6).

The CSVs include consent-relevant columns (email marketing consent, timestamps). Keep them — they're your legal audit trail for how each contact was collected.

Step 3 — Import into WeZend

Audience → Contacts → Import. Map Klaviyo's columns: standard fields map automatically; every "profile property" becomes a custom field you can create right in the mapping screen. Import list by list so provenance survives ("Newsletter", "VIP", …). Duplicates merge on email/phone instead of multiplying.

Prefer chat? With Connect AI (MCP) you can do steps 1–3 straight from Claude or ChatGPT: paste your suppression export first, then your profile export — the assistant imports both with Klaviyo's field mapping and consent intact.

Step 4 — Verify your domain before real volume

Add your sending domain under Settings → Email domains, create the SPF/DKIM/DMARC records, and let the live DNS checker confirm them. Then warm up honestly: your DKIM domain is new to inbox providers, so ramp volume gradually — start with your most engaged segment (they open, which builds reputation) and grow send sizes over 2–3 weeks rather than blasting the full list on day one.

Step 5 — Rebuild templates

Klaviyo templates don't export as portable objects, but their HTML does: open a template, copy the generated HTML, and paste it into a WeZend template in raw-HTML mode — or rebuild it cleanly in the drag-and-drop builder (an hour well spent for your top 5 templates). Swap personalisation tags as you go: Klaviyo's {{ first_name }} becomes WeZend's {{first_name}} mapped to your imported fields.

Step 6 — Flows become journeys

Flows can't be exported from Klaviyo — this is manual, and it's also your chance to prune. List your flows, sort by revenue, and rebuild the ones that earn their keep as journeys: trigger → delay → branch → send maps one-to-one to the canvas. The classics (welcome, abandoned cart, win-back, post-purchase) also exist as one-click templates you can start from. Wire your shop's events into POST /v1/events first so triggers like added_to_cart fire — see Tracking events.

Use test-enroll with your own contact on every journey before activating it.

Step 7 — Switch the entry points

Replace Klaviyo signup forms with WeZend lead forms (hosted page or your own HTML posting to the public submit endpoint), with double opt-in on. From this moment, new signups land in WeZend; Klaviyo's audience is now frozen in time, which makes the final diff easy.

Step 8 — Cut over, then close down

Move campaigns to WeZend first (they're one-offs — easy), then activate journeys one at a time while pausing the corresponding Klaviyo flow. After 2–4 weeks of clean parallel running: do a final delta export from Klaviyo (anyone who unsubscribed there during the transition!), import it, and archive the account. Keep the final CSVs — they're part of your GDPR documentation.

What does NOT come along (so nothing surprises you)

• Historical campaign stats — Klaviyo's past opens/clicks stay in Klaviyo. Export reports to CSV for your records.
• Flow analytics history — journeys start their statistics fresh.
• Segment definitions — members come along; the rules you rebuild (usually better) in the segment builder.
• Benchmark data — WeZend's own benchmarks build up as you send.