Ready to Migrate Website to WordPress? Here’s What You Need to Know

Your current platform is holding you back, and you’re paying too much for basic features. Meanwhile, competitors with WordPress sites are outpacing you in search results. 

We get it. Switching to WordPress feels intimidating. The fear of losing years of SEO work is paralyzing.

But don’t worry. We’ve put together this step-by-step guide to walk you through migrating to WordPress safely. You’ll keep your traffic intact, protect your data, and finally experience the growth you’ve been longing for.

Why move to WordPress and what to expect

With WordPress, you own your website completely. No more settling for basic features or paying monthly fees for simple changes. You can install any plugin, customize any design, and scale without hitting artificial limits, making it superior to most other platform limitations.

This ownership translates to real savings. Those monthly platform fees of $30 to $50 add up to thousands over time, while WordPress hosting starts at under $10 per month.

Beyond the financial benefits, Google loves WordPress sites. The platform’s clean code and SEO-friendly structure give you a real shot at outranking competitors stuck on clunky builders. Plus, when you need help, you’ll find it everywhere since WordPress powers 40% of the internet.

Keep in mind that this isn’t a magic one-click process; but it’s not rocket science either. You’ll follow specific steps, make some important decisions, and invest quite a bit of your time. 

Your first big choice happens right away: WordPress.com or WordPress.org? Consider spending time researching this decision. 

• .com handles security and backups automatically, but limits your control. 
• .org gives you complete freedom, but means you’ll manage your security and backups.

Once your site is up and running, you can expect WordPress to require occasional updates. You’ll also experience a learning curve with the new dashboard. It will feel foreign at first, but you will get used to it in no time.

Once you cross that bridge, you’ll wonder how you survived without it.

I. Plan everything before you start

Plan everything because winging it equals a broken site and lost Google traffic. One hour of planning prevents 90% of migration headaches later.

Backup your current site first

To save a backup of the site, use the built-in Export or Backup tool. For custom or HTML sites, use FTP with the help of software like FileZilla to download all files to your computer.

Create an inventory of what needs to be moved

To create an inventory for your site migration, list everything that needs to move:

• Pages and Posts: Document all active content.
• Navigation Menus: Note menu structure and links.
• Forms and Contact Pages: Include all forms you need to recreate.
• Images and Media Files: Gather all media assets.
• Special Features or Widgets: List any custom features you use.

Plan your page addresses carefully

If you skip this, you’ll see BROKEN PAGE messages after migration. Worse, Google will stop sending traffic, and your business will disappear from search results.

You have two options to handle your page addresses:

• Keep your page links exactly the same
• Create a redirect plan for the links you want to change

Option A is the safest choice. Your URLs stay identical. Google continues to send traffic, and visitors’ bookmarks work without you having to make any changes.

With Option B, you can create cleaner URLs or a better site structure. However, this means you must set up redirects from your old URLs to the new ones (we will walk you through this later on)

To manage this, create a spreadsheet and:

• Sketch your new WordPress site structure.
• Write down each new URL you plan to use.
• Save this next to the old URLs you intend to change.

This documentation ensures your Google traffic remains strong post-migration.

Gather all login information

Here are all the credentials you will need: 

• Old site admin login
• FTP credentials
• Domain registrar login
• New WordPress hosting credentials

II. Set up your new WordPress site

To set up your WordPress site, start by choosing a WordPress hosting service that offers a one-click WordPress install. This saves you from manual setup headaches. 

Install WordPress and save your login details. This includes your website’s URL, username, and password.

Set up page addresses for SEO protection. This step configures WordPress to match your redirect plan from earlier.

Option A (keeping URLs exactly the same):

• Navigate to Settings → Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard

• Look at your old URL structure from your spreadsheet and choose the permalink setting that matches. If old URLs were: 

yourdomain.com/page-name → select Post name

yourdomain.com/2024/01/page-name → select Day and name

yourdomain.com/category/page-name → select Category and name

Once selected, save your changes.

For option B (changing URL structure):

• Go to Settings → Permalinks and select Custom Structure

• Enter the exact format from your redirect spreadsheet. Once done, save your changes.

WordPress will now create URLs that match your plan. This prevents broken links and preserves your SEO rankings.

III. Migrate website to WordPress

Now, it’s migration time. WordPress has built-in import tools for most platforms (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, HTML), simplifying the move. Here’s how to go about it:

Pre-migration Essentials

Enable maintenance mode: If your current platform allows it, activate a maintenance mode. This prevents you or anyone else from making changes while you migrate your website to WordPress.

Check your backup: Open your backup files and spot-check a few items. Do you have your content? Is everything you need included? This takes two minutes but saves hours of panic later.

Start with a clean WordPress installation: Your new WordPress site should be empty except for the default “Hello World” post, sample page, and configurations. Starting with a clean slate prevents conflicts during import.

How to bring your content over

Step 1. Export your content from your current platform

Most platforms only export text and basic content, not your layouts or functionality. Look for Export Content, Backup, or Download Data in your current platform’s settings.

Here’s what most export files include:

• Page and post text content
• Basic page structure
• Image links
• Comments and basic metadata

What they don’t include: 

• Your design and layouts
• Custom styling
• Forms and special functionality
• The actual image files (just links to them)

Download the export file and save it to your device. This won’t bring your existing design to WordPress, but it captures your content. Here’s an example of an export file in XML format.

Step 2: Import content into WordPress

You have two options depending on your current platform. 

Method A: Use WordPress’ built-in importers

This method works if WordPress offers a specific import tool for your old platform: 

• Navigate to Tools > Import in your WordPress dashboard

• Check if an importer for your platform is available. Some of the popular ones are listed on the Import page, such as for Blogger and Weebly.

If you can’t find one for your platform, check out the plugin directory. If you still can’t find one for your platform, consider trying Method B.

If you do see your platform listed: 

• Install and Run: Click Install Now, then Run Importer.

• Upload export file: Select and upload your export file.

• Assign users & import attachments: Within the same window, assign or create users, and select Download and import file attachments.

• Submit & complete: Click Submit and wait for the import process to finish.

• Handle images: Once successful, install the Auto Upload Images plugin to download and update any remaining external image links.

Method B: Manual copy-paste (For unsupported platforms)

• If you don’t find an importer plugin for your platform, manual copy-paste is your only option. This method is time-consuming but necessary.

Set up your workspace:

• Open your old site in one browser window
• Open WordPress admin in another window
• Keep both windows visible side by side

For each page and post on your old site, follow these steps:

• Copy the text content: Select all text on the old page and copy it

• Create the new WordPress page: In WordPress, go to Pages/Post > Add Page/Post. Add the page title and paste your content into the editor

• Handle the images: Right-click and “Save image as…” from your old site to your computer. Then, in WordPress, go to Media > Add Media File, upload your saved images, and insert them back into their correct places in your content.

• Format and publish: Fix any formatting issues. Add headings, bullet points, and styling as needed. Once you’re ready, click Publish

Repeat this process for every page and post.

Step 3: Rebuild your design from scratch

Your exported content is raw text only. No layouts, no styling. This is your chance for a fresh look.

Choose a WordPress theme: Select a new theme (like Astra, GeneratePress, Kadence) as your site’s foundation.

Use the block editor: Drag-and-drop blocks (text, images, columns, buttons) to build page layouts.

Insert images: Ensure all images are linked or re-uploaded and correctly placed.

Configure Header/Footer: Set up your site’s menu, logo, and footer content via your theme settings.

Set global styles: Define fonts, colors, and basic styling across your entire site for consistency.

Post-migration essentials

Your content is moved, but your site isn’t live yet. These final steps make everything work seamlessly.

Implement 301 redirects (If URLs changed)

Skip this if you’ve kept your URLs the same. If you’ve changed your URL structure, redirects prevent broken links and preserve your SEO rankings.

• Install the redirection plugin: Go to Plugins > Add New in WordPress, search for Redirection, and install it.

• Access the redirect settings: Navigate to the Redirection tool in your WordPress dashboard.

• Add your redirects: Enter your OLD URL → NEW URL pairs from your planning spreadsheet and save each redirect.

Point your domain to the new hosting

This is where your site goes live. You’ll need two pieces of information from your hosting provider.

Get your hosting address

• Access your hosting account: Log in to your hosting provider (Bluehost, SiteGround, etc.) using your credentials.

• Find your hosting details: Look for Nameservers and IP Address in your dashboard.

• Record the information: 

Nameserver 1: ns1.yourhost.com

Nameserver 2: ns2.yourhost.com

IP Address: 123.456.1.1 (example)

• Access your domain registrar: Log in to where you bought your domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) using your account credentials.

• Find DNS settings: Look for DNS Management or Nameservers in your account dashboard.

Choose your update method. Select one of these approaches:

A) Nameservers: Replace existing nameservers with your hosting nameservers

B) A Record: Set @ and www records to your hosting IP address

Save your changes: Click save and confirm the updates.

Here’s what happens next:

Some visitors will still see your old site, others your new WordPress site. This temporary inconsistency, called DNS propagation, is normal. The internet is updating your change globally; it usually takes about 48 hours.

Verify everything works

Once propagation completes, test your site thoroughly:

Test your redirects: Click old URLs to ensure they redirect to new WordPress pages (if you set them up).

Check all content: Click through all pages and posts to verify they load correctly.

Verify media files: Ensure images and videos display properly.

Test functionality: Try contact forms, menus, and any interactive features.

Monitor for the first few days: Keep an eye on your site traffic and search rankings.

That’s it! Your site is now live on WordPress and ready for unlimited growth.

IV. Troubleshooting common hiccups

White screen 

If your site displays a white screen or error messages, WordPress isn’t loading properly. Log in to your hosting control panel and check error logs. Common issues include exceeding memory limits or plugin conflicts. To fix this, deactivate all plugins and temporarily switch to a default theme.

Old site still showing

If the old site appears instead of your new WordPress site, DNS may not have fully propagated. Clear your browser cache and try from another device or network. Propagation takes 4-48 hours.

This site can’t be reached error

The ‘site can’t be reached error’ indicates that DNS is pointing to the wrong server. Double-check nameservers or A record settings for typos in IP addresses or nameserver names. Verify DNS settings with your domain registrar and contact your hosting provider for the correct nameservers if needed.

Missing or broken images

Missing or broken images occur due to changed URLs during migration. Re-upload images to the WordPress media library, or use the Auto Upload Images plugin for bulk uploads. Test image imports on a small batch to prevent issues.

Error establishing database connection

The error establishing database connection issue means WordPress can’t connect to the database. Verify database credentials in your wp-config.php file. Often, the database name, username, or password may be incorrect. Contact your hosting provider for accurate details, or restore from backup if credentials are corrupted.

Pages show “404 not found” error

404 not found errors indicate changed URLs during migration. Fix this by going to Settings > Permalinks and clicking Save. For changed URLs, set up 301 redirects using the Redirection plugin.

V. How to keep your WordPress site healthy

Perform updates: Perform regular updates on your site. Test it on a staging site first.

Run a backup: Use a backup plugin to create a backup copy of your site.

Scan for security issues: Run a quick security scan with a plugin like MalCare.

Clean up spam: Delete spam comments and review legitimate comments for approval.

Remove unused files: Delete unused images from your media library to free up server space.

Audit your plugins: Deactivate and delete any plugins you’re not using.

Parting thoughts

Your website now runs on WordPress, giving you complete control over your content and the ability to grow without platform restrictions. You’ve escaped monthly fee traps and feature limitations that were holding you back. 

Keep your site secure with weekly updates and monthly maintenance tasks to protect your investment.

FAQs

Written by

Shivani M

Shivani enjoys crafting guides that make every aspect of using WordPress simple and easy to follow. When she's not glued to her laptop, you can find her buried in a good book or occasionally, painting.