How to migrate from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress

Open the site's XML sitemap in a browser (usually https://www.oldsite.com/sitemap.xml) and copy every URL into column A. Add landing pages from your analytics tool, and the pages listed in Search Console's Performance report and Pages report for the old site. Google recommends building the old URL list from sitemaps, server logs, analytics and your CMS. Remove duplicates.

Next to each URL, note the page type (page, blog post, product, gallery, event, form), and any embedded media, forms or apps. Flag anything that relies on a platform feature such as bookings, members areas or a store. You will use this as the rebuild checklist in Step 4.

Save original images, PDFs, audio and video files to the folder now. Squarespace warns that WordPress may only pull reference links for images, and those links stop working after the Squarespace site is cancelled. Name files the way you want them to appear in the WordPress Media Library.

Screenshot or copy every DNS record for the domain into the record sheet, including MX, TXT (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, verification) and CNAME records, with their values and TTLs. Squarespace notes that most domain hosts cannot keep your settings in place during a transfer.

dig +short MX contoso.com
dig +short TXT contoso.com
dig +short CNAME www.contoso.com

Tick the box at the top left of the product list to select all products (or use Filter, or tick individual products). Select More Actions > Export, choose an export option in the dialog, then select Export again. Each CSV file holds up to 5,000 rows, and digital products cannot be exported. Wix says Mac users should open the file in Numbers or Excel version 15 or later. Keep the CSV for a WooCommerce or other store import.

Select the Import / Export drop-down at the top of the contact list, then Export. Choose By Label and All Contacts, choose Regular CSV file, then select Export. Only the site owner can do this, and each export holds up to 50,000 contacts.

Select a collection. If sandbox collections are on, choose Live Collection at the top. Select More Actions > Export to CSV, choose The entire collection (all items and fields, including hidden and system fields), then Export. Repeat for each collection. Time fields are exported in UTC+0.

Open the feed and save it as an .xml file (for example wix-blog-feed.xml) with your browser's Save Page As. Wix says its RSS feed cannot show more than 20 posts, so list every older post in the spreadsheet and copy it by hand later. Record each post's original publish date so you can set it in WordPress.

Check the site is published and its availability is set to Public; you cannot export from a trial site. Select Export, then the WordPress icon (the file is only available in WordPress format). If you have more than one blog page, choose the primary blog from the drop-down, then select Export. Processing can take a few minutes.

Product blocks and store pages are not in the WordPress export. Use the Squarespace "Export products to a .csv" option and keep the file for your WordPress store plugin.

Only one blog page exports per file. For a second blog page, copy posts by hand, or temporarily merge its posts into the exported blog page and run the export again.

Install WordPress with your host's installer on a staging address or temporary URL. Set the permalink structure before importing so imported posts get their final URLs: in Settings > Permalinks choose Post name and select Save Changes, or run the commands below (install WP-CLI first if wp --info fails).

wp rewrite structure '/%postname%/'
wp rewrite flush

The importer handles posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, tags and authors from a WordPress export file. In Tools > Import, under WordPress, select Install Now. Or install and activate it with WP-CLI.

wp plugin install wordpress-importer --activate

Tick "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" while you build and select Save Changes. Untick it at launch (Step 7).

wp option update blog_public 0

Select Choose File, pick the .xml file and select Upload file and import. Map each author in the file to an existing user or a new one. Tick Download and import file attachments so images are pulled into the Media Library while the old site is still live, then confirm. Or use WP-CLI, where --authors=create creates users that do not exist yet.

wp import squarespace-export.xml --authors=create

Under RSS, select Install Now if needed, then Run Importer. Select Choose File, pick the feed file you saved in Step 2a and select Upload file and import. It imports posts only, and the Wix feed is limited to 20 posts, so check the post count afterwards.

Upload the old-site-media folder from Step 1 to the server, then bulk-import the images and documents with WP-CLI. For a few files, drag them into the Media Library upload screen instead.

wp media import ./old-site-media/*.jpg
wp media import ./old-site-media/*.pdf

Search for old domain or platform image-host references in post content and replace them with the staging address. Back up the database first, run with --dry-run, then run again without it. The search-replace how-to explains the options.

wp db export before-link-fix.sql
wp db search 'oldsite.com'
wp search-replace 'https://www.oldsite.com' 'https://staging.contoso.com' --skip-columns=guid --dry-run

Recreate store, portfolio, index and other missing pages by hand in the block editor. Copy the text from the live old site and insert media from the Media Library. Mark each row done in the spreadsheet.

Pick a block theme or a well-supported classic theme from the WordPress theme directory or a reputable vendor. Select Install, then Activate. Match the layout, not every pixel.

Recreate the header, footer and menus. Squarespace page-specific headers, footers and sidebars do not export, and nothing of the Wix design exports.

Forms, bookings, galleries and stores each need a WordPress plugin. Search, select Install Now and Activate. Keep the plugin list short and choose actively maintained plugins. Load product CSVs into the store plugin you choose.

Test on a phone, check heading order and alt text, and submit every form to confirm it sends to the right inbox.

Map each old URL to the closest matching new page. Do not send many old URLs to the home page; Google advises against redirecting to an unrelated page.

Redirect each old URL straight to its final destination. If a page moved twice, point both old URLs at the final one. Check that no New URL also appears in the Old URL column.

Back up .htaccess, then add rules above the # BEGIN WordPress block, one per changed URL. Or add each row in the Redirection plugin with a 301 type (it also has a CSV import for long lists). The 301 redirects how-to covers Apache, nginx and the plugin step by step.

Redirect 301 /blog/old-post-slug /old-post-slug/
Redirect 301 /services-1 /services/

Check that each old path returns a 301 and lands on the right page. Work through the whole map, not just a sample, and note results in the spreadsheet.

curl -sI https://staging.contoso.com/services-1 | grep -i -E "^(HTTP|location)"

Point the domain at the new host's IP address on your computer only, so you can test the finished site at its real address before changing DNS. Follow test a site with the hosts file, and remove the entries when you are done.

203.0.113.10    contoso.com
203.0.113.10    www.contoso.com

A day or two before cutover, lower the TTL on the A and CNAME records you will change, so the switch propagates faster. See lower DNS TTL before a migration.

Change the A record for the root domain (and the www CNAME) to the values your new host gives you. Leave MX and TXT records for email unchanged.

dig +short A contoso.com
dig +short CNAME www.contoso.com

Disable Private Registration and unlock the domain first. Select Transfer away from Wix, review the information, select Transfer Domain, then I Still Want to Transfer. Wix emails the EPP code to the registrant contact. Domains bought in the last 60 days cannot be transferred. Wix notes you must re-add MX records after the transfer for business email to keep working.

Remove DNSSEC first in the domain's advanced settings, because DNS, nameservers and DNSSEC cannot be changed while a transfer is pending. Switch Domain Lock off, select Request transfer code, confirm your password, then select Ok. Give the newest code to the new registrar.

Change the WordPress site URL from staging to the real domain, enable HTTPS on the host, then allow search engines (untick "Discourage search engines" or run the second command).

wp search-replace 'https://staging.contoso.com' 'https://www.contoso.com' --skip-columns=guid
wp option update blog_public 1

Verify the site in Search Console if the property does not already exist (property selector > + Add property). In the Sitemaps report, enter wp-sitemap.xml in Add a new sitemap and select Submit. WordPress core serves a sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml unless an SEO plugin replaces it; use the plugin's sitemap address in that case.

Check for old URLs that return 404, and add redirects for them to the closest matching page. Add each one to your redirect map.

Google says to expect temporary ranking fluctuation during a move. Keep monitoring clicks and impressions for old and new URLs.

Only cancel Wix or Squarespace after you have confirmed all media is on the new host and nothing still links to the old platform's image URLs. Search the database for the old platform's image host as it appears in your content before you cancel.

wp db search 'oldsite.com'