Last updated on August 30th, 2026 at 09:30 am

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Wix_to_WordPress_Step_by_Step_Without_Losing_Everything”>How to Migrate from Wix to WordPress Step by Step (Without Losing Everything)

So you've decided to leave Wix — maybe because you want true ownership, lower costs, or the flexibility WordPress gives you. You're in good company; "migrate Wix to WordPress" is one of the most common searches in the web design world, because millions of people started on Wix and hit the same wall: Wix doesn't let you export the whole site.

Here's the honest truth about this migration: you don't "move" a Wix site to WordPress — you rebuild it in WordPress and bring the valuable parts (your written content, your images, your SEO value) with you. That sounds intimidating, but it's a well-trodden process, and this guide walks it through step by step. If you're still weighing whether a rebuild is the right call at all, read our rebuild vs redesign framework first — this assumes you've already decided.

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What you can and can't bring with you

Set expectations early:

The two real jobs of a safe migration are (1) getting your content into WordPress, and (2) not losing your rankings. Both are handled below. Our WooCommerce vs Shopify article covers the store-related wrinkles if e-commerce is part of your site.

Step 1: Get your domain and hosting ready

Buy WordPress hosting (a modest shared plan on a reputable host works; see our WordPress speed guide for what to look for). Almost every host offers one-click WordPress install, so you'll have a working WordPress site in minutes.

Your domain — you own it, you decide where it points. You can either: keep it registered at your current registrar and just point DNS at your new host (recommended, least paperwork), or transfer the domain to your new host's registrar. Keep it simple: re-point, don't transfer, for now.

Install WordPress on your new host, and log in. You're not making this live yet — you're going to build and test on the new site before switching traffic (that's the safe sequence).

Step 2: Export your content from Wix

Wix's export covers text content only:

1. In Wix → Settings → Advanced → Backups/Business Solutions (the menu structure varies by Wix view, but the feature is under "Site History" or explicitly "Export site content").
2. Choose Export Site Contents — this downloads an XML or HTML file with your posts and pages as text.

Note: Wix does not export your images or design through this tool. You'll re-upload images in Step 4. Also worth saving manually: your contact form fields, menu structure (as a simple note for your developer), and any analytics/social accounts if you can export subscriber lists.

Step 3: Import your content into WordPress

In your new WordPress dashboard:

1. Go to Tools → Import → WordPress (the "WordPress" importer plugin is the one that accepts the Wix-exported file — install/run it if prompted).
2. Upload the file from Step 2.
3. Map the author (assign posts to you) and let it import.

Now log out of Wix-related assumptions and check: your posts and pages should appear as drafts/published in WordPress with their text. Expect the import to need tidy-up — headings may come through as plain text, formatting may be loose, and images will be missing (imported as blank placeholders). This is normal. Don't panic-fix yet; the cleanup happens in Step 5.

Step 4: Rebuild your pages and upload your images

This is the meat of the work, and the good news is it's less than you fear:

• Download your images from Wix (open each media item in Wix Media and download the original). Yes, it's a little manual — plan an hour.
• Re-upload them to WordPress via Media → Add New. Better: upload them at the same moment you're rebuilding each page, so images and content stay paired.
• Rebuild the layout in WordPress using your chosen theme. If you picked a lightweight free theme, this is where it pays off — you'll rebuild your homepage, key pages, and blog structure with the theme's blocks.

If the site is big (50+ pages), this is the point where hiring a professional's time is worth more than your evening hours. For a typical 10–20 page site, a patient weekend is realistic with tools like Elementor or the block editor.

Step 5: Rebuild the functionality (forms, chat, analytics)

Wix's widgets don't migrate. The WordPress equivalents, in plain terms:

• Contact/booking forms → a free form plugin (WPForms lite works out of the box).
• Chat widget → install whatever chat/WhatsApp integration you used, or add a simple WhatsApp button plugin.
• Analytics → connect Google Analytics (GA4) on the new site so you keep measuring from day one.
• SEO → install Rank Math or Yoast, set your titles, meta descriptions, sitemap, and the settings from our AI traffic guide while you're at it.

Step 6: The redirect map — the step that protects your rankings

This is the difference between losing Google history and keeping it, and it's embarrassingly easy to skip.

The concept: your old Wix site has URLs like site.wixsite.com/yoursite/about. Your new WordPress site replaces them with yourbusiness.com/about. Every old URL customers and Google have bookmarked needs a 301 redirect telling the browser and Google "this page moved permanently to here."

The practice:

1. While still on Wix, export your final list of old page URLs (or use a crawler like Screaming Frog free tier, or just list them from your site map).
2. Build a redirect map: old URL → new URL pairing, one line per page (e.g., /about-us → /about, /services → /services/, matching by topic).
3. In WordPress, use a free redirect plugin (Redirection is the standard) and enter each mapping. Or put the redirects in .htaccess (if you're comfortable) — the plugin is beginner-friendlier.
4. Keep 404s at zero. After launch, check your 404 log weekly for the first month, and redirect anything real you missed.

Done right, your existing page authority and rankings largely survive the move. Done wrong (no redirects), every old link 404s and you watch rankings erode for months. It's the difference between "migration" and "starting over."

Step 7: Point your domain at the new site and test hard

1. Set the new WordPress site to no-index (don't let Google see it as a test site), build and test it — browsers on your phone, the accessibility and contrast checks, a speed test, and every form.
2. When it's solid: point your domain's DNS at the new host, remove the no-index, and let the new site go live.
3. Don't cancel your Wix subscription for 1–2 months — you'll want it live while redirects propagate and you check nothing broke.

Step 8: The post-launch monitoring week

During the first two weeks after launch:

• Watch Google Search Console (verify the new site, submit the new sitemap found at /sitemap_index.xml).
• Watch for 404 explosions — the redirect plugin or Search Console's "Pages (not found)" report tells you instantly.
• Re-run a website maintenance review — updates, backups, uptime — because you're the owner of all of that now, whereas Wix handled it for you.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Wix → WordPress migration take?
A typical 10–20 page site: 1–2 focused weekends for a patient owner, or a few days with a developer helping on the fiddly bits (redirects, forms). Bigger sites: weeks.

Will I lose my SEO?
Not if you do the redirect map (Step 6) and monitor post-launch. That's precisely the step that preserves your page authority and rankings.

Can Wix export everything automatically?
No — Wix exports only text content. Design, images, and widgets are rebuilt in WordPress. That's the lock-in Wix doesn't publicise, and it's the real reason this is a "rebuild" (see our rebuild vs redesign guide).

Do I need hosting before I start?
Yes. Get WordPress hosting first (one-click WordPress from your host), build privately, and only then re-point the domain. Building in "private testing" mode is the difference between a controlled migration and a public mess.

What happens to my Wix subscription?
Keep it running for 1–2 months after going live — it carries your old URLs and content while redirects and visitors switch over, and it's your safety net if anything goes wrong. Cancel it only when the new site has been stable.

The honest summary

Migrating from Wix to WordPress isn't a data transfer; it's a controlled rebuild with three jobs: get your text content over (export + import), rebuild the pages and features (images, forms, design), and preserve your SEO (redirect map, post-launch monitoring). None of it is technically hard, and the effort is proportional to your site's size. Do it on your own domain, build privately first, keep Wix alive during the handover, and you'll end up with a site you actually own — with lower long-term costs and none of the platform limits that drove you out of Wix in the first place.