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Migration guide

How to move from Constant Contact to MailNesto

Export your contacts and designs from Constant Contact, bring them into MailNesto and send your first campaign — usually within a day.

Start freeMailNesto vs Constant Contact
Overview

Moving from Constant Contact to MailNesto

Constant Contact is popular with small organisations that like guided tools: insert a contact detail from a menu, pick a template, schedule. Those that move to MailNesto keep that simplicity, with a block builder that previews at desktop, tablet and phone widths and templates for sales, events and festivals, and add store automations, predictions and a deals board on plans billed in ₹ with GST invoices.

Contacts, lists, segments and permission status export to CSV or Excel. Constant Contact doesn’t document a template export, and its personalisation isn’t typed tags but details inserted through the editor, so the personal touches in each email need redoing. Automated journeys, event registrations and reports don’t move.

Step by step

Five steps to switch

  1. 1

    Export from Constant Contact

    Contacts > select any contact > Select all contacts > Actions > Export selection > choose fields > Export > open import/export activity > Download CSV.

  2. 2

    Import into MailNesto

    Contacts → Import: upload the CSV or Excel file (or paste it), map the columns, choose a list. Import only subscribed people, then paste unsubscribed, bounced and complained addresses into Audience → Suppression list so they never get email again.

  3. 3

    Bring your designs

    No template HTML export documented. Then import the .html or .zip in Templates, or start from one of ours.

  4. 4

    Authenticate your domain

    Add the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records MailNesto shows you, then send a test. New senders ramp up gradually to protect your reputation.

  5. 5

    Rebuild automations

    Start from a recipe (welcome, birthday, win-back, abandoned cart) or build your own journey with branches and goals. Note: Contact details are inserted via Insert > Contact Details with a fallback value, not typed merge tags. Enable Advanced Email Permissions before exporting to include CASL/GDPR status. Automation paths and event data do not carry over.

Before you cancel Constant Contact

A short checklist

Keep Constant Contact running until your first campaigns from MailNesto look right.

  • Export unsubscribed, bounced and complained contacts too — they must stay suppressed
  • Note when and how people subscribed (consent) and keep it in a field
  • Download reports you want to keep; engagement history doesn’t move between tools
  • Replace merge tags — MailNesto uses {{first_name}} with optional fallbacks {{first_name|there}}
  • Update signup forms on your website to MailNesto’s forms or the WordPress plugin
  • Send to your most engaged people first while the new sender warms up
In Constant Contact

Exporting everything from Constant Contact

Menu names change from time to time — the steps below follow Constant Contact’s own help pages, linked at the bottom.

  1. 1

    Turn on Advanced Email Permissions first. The exported spreadsheet only includes CASL or GDPR permission status when Advanced Email Permissions is enabled. Switch it on before you export anything.

  2. 2

    Export everyone. On the Contacts page, select any contact and click the “Select all contacts” link. Then Actions → Export selection, choose the contact fields to include and click Export. You can filter by email status or list status first to narrow the selection.

  3. 3

    Export each list or segment. On Lists and segments, search for the list, click the three dots next to it and choose Export. Several lists can’t be exported in one go, so do each one separately.

  4. 4

    Download from import/export activity. When the export finishes, open the Import and Export Activity page and choose Download CSV or Download Excel. Files stay there for 7 days.

  5. 5

    Make a separate unsubscribed file. Filter Contacts by email status to select unsubscribed contacts and export them on their own; they go to MailNesto’s suppression list. Constant Contact’s help doesn’t spell out which statuses a full export includes, so open the file and check before importing.

  6. 6

    Copy custom-code emails. There’s no documented template export. For emails built in the custom code editor, copy the HTML into a file; for the rest, rebuild your main layout in MailNesto’s builder and save it as a template.

Translation guide

Constant Contact terms and merge tags in MailNesto

In Constant ContactIn MailNestoNotes
ListsLists
TagsTags
SegmentsSegments
Insert → Contact Details: First Name, with a fallback{{first_name|there}}Typed straight into text, subject lines and preview text.
Contact Details: custom field{{field_key}}
Email permission status (explicit or implicit)Consent custom fieldImport it into a consent-type field and segment on it.
Account address in the footer{{company_address}}
Automated paths with conditional splitsAutomations with conditions and splits
Spam score checkSpam check before sendingContent and link checks with suggested fixes.
Automations

Rebuilding your Constant Contact automations

  • Welcome email → Welcome series, or Personal note from the founder for a plain, personal hello the day after someone joins.
  • Birthday and anniversary emails → Birthday treat and Membership anniversary (needs a member_since date field).
  • Event promotion → MailNesto event pages already send the ticket and a day-before reminder; add Early-bird countdown before and Post-event follow-up after.
  • Re-engagement → Offer fewer emails for people who are opening less, then Win back inactive for those who have stopped.
Watch out for

Common mistakes when leaving Constant Contact

  • Personal details inserted through Contact Details don’t survive a copy and paste: you’ll see the sample or fallback text, not a tag. Check every greeting and subject line and replace it with {{first_name|there}}.
  • Permission status matters most if you have subscribers in Canada or Europe. Keep the column, import it into a consent field, and you can show when and how each person agreed.
  • Constant Contact exports each list separately. Don’t merge the files by hand; import each into its own MailNesto list. Anyone in two files becomes one contact on both lists.
  • If your Excel download turns out to be an old .xls file, re-save it as .xlsx or use the CSV download, since MailNesto reads .xlsx and CSV only.
  • Contacts who came in through Constant Contact forms on your website will keep going there. Swap the forms for MailNesto’s WordPress plugin or embedded forms the same day you import.
FAQ

Questions about moving from Constant Contact

Do I need a developer to switch?

No. Exports are point and click, the import maps columns for you, and recipes come with the emails already written. Only custom-code templates need a quick copy and paste.

Can I run events from MailNesto?

Yes. Event pages show the date, venue and ticket types, e-tickets carry a QR code, and a phone can scan tickets at the door with a checked-in count.

How do I recreate a custom-code email?

Paste the HTML into a file and import it under Templates as .html, or as a .zip with its images, which then move into your media library. You can keep editing it in the HTML editor.

What replaces the Constant Contact plugin on WordPress?

MailNesto’s WordPress plugin adds forms as a block or widget, website tracking, and a WooCommerce opt-in so shoppers can join your list as they order.

Where these facts come from (38 sources)

Constant Contact is a trademark of its owner. This comparison is our own, made from public information on each vendor’s website (checked November 2026); we aren’t affiliated with them. Plans and prices change — check the vendor’s site before you decide, and tell us if something here is out of date and we’ll fix it.