How to Migrate from Wix to WordPress: Step-by-Step Guide

Why Migrate from Wix?

• Cost: Wix charges $14–99+ per month depending on plan. WordPress hosting is often $20–75, with better value.
• Control: Wix locks you into their ecosystem. WordPress is open-source—you own everything.
• SEO: WordPress has better SEO tools and more flexibility for optimization.
• Flexibility: Need custom functionality? Wix limits you to their app store. WordPress has millions of plugins.
• Scaling: Wix can get expensive fast. WordPress costs stay predictable as your site grows.

Wix-Specific Challenges You'll Face

1. Wix Doesn't Have a Native Export

Unlike WordPress or other platforms, Wix doesn't offer a simple "export my site" button. You'll need to manually recreate content or hire someone to scrape and migrate your data.

2. Design Doesn't Translate

Wix is drag-and-drop WYSIWYG. WordPress is template + content. Your beautiful Wix design won't port over; you'll need to recreate the look in WordPress using a theme.

3. Forms & Data Loss Risk

Wix stores form submissions in their system. If you don't export them before migrating, you lose that data. Always extract your contact form submissions, customer records, and booking data first.

4. Apps Don't Migrate

Wix apps (booking, events, email capture, etc.) don't exist in WordPress. You'll need equivalent WordPress plugins or services.

Pre-Migration Checklist (Week 1)

Export All Your Data

• Form submissions: Go to your Wix contact forms and export all past submissions as CSV or PDF
• Customer data: If you use Wix Stores, export customer list
• Blog posts: Export Wix blog as RSS or HTML (Wix allows RSS export)
• Gallery images: Download all images and videos
• SEO settings: Document your page titles, meta descriptions, and keywords from Wix

Audit Your Current Site

• List all pages (about, services, contact, blog, store, etc.)
• Screenshot key pages for design reference
• Note all Wix apps and integrations you use (Mailchimp, Booking, Ecommerce, etc.)
• Export your sitemap from Wix

Set Up WordPress

• Purchase WordPress hosting (managed WordPress hosting is easiest)
• Install WordPress
• Select a theme that's visually close to your current Wix design
• Install essential plugins: SEO (Yoast/RankMath), Forms (WPForms/Gravity Forms), Caching, Security

Content Migration (Weeks 2–4)

Migrate Blog Posts

1. Export Wix blog as RSS feed
2. In WordPress, go to Tools → Import → Install WordPress Importer
3. Upload the Wix RSS feed
4. Map Wix authors to WordPress users and import
5. Check post formatting and fix any broken layouts

Manually Create Pages

Since Wix doesn't export pages cleanly, you'll need to recreate them in WordPress:

• Home, About, Services, Contact, Privacy, Terms
• Copy content from Wix, paste into WordPress pages
• Use the same URL slugs as your Wix site (e.g., /about stays /about)
• Re-upload images from your Wix site

Recreate Wix Apps in WordPress

Upload Images and Media

• Download all images from your Wix site
• Optimize for web (compress, resize if needed)
• Upload to WordPress media library
• Link images in pages and posts

SEO & Redirects (Week 5)

Document Your Current URLs

Export your Wix sitemap and create a mapping of old → new URLs:

Wix URL              | WordPress URL
/about               | /about
/services/web-design | /services
/blog/my-post        | /blog/my-post

Set Up 301 Redirects

Use the Redirection plugin or your host's .htaccess file to redirect all old Wix URLs to new WordPress URLs. This preserves SEO value.

Redirect 301 /old-page https://yoursite.com/new-page

Update Your Sitemap

• WordPress automatically generates an XML sitemap (check Yoast/RankMath settings)
• Submit new sitemap to Google Search Console

Update Google Analytics

• Keep your existing GA property
• Update the tracking code in WordPress (or use Google Site Kit plugin)
• Monitor traffic transition during and after migration

Test Before Going Live (Week 5)

• [ ] All pages load and display correctly
• [ ] Images are visible and properly linked
• [ ] Forms work and submit
• [ ] Mobile layout is responsive
• [ ] Navigation menu is correct
• [ ] Links to external sites work
• [ ] SSL (HTTPS) is active
• [ ] Blog pagination and archives work
• [ ] Search functionality works (if you have it)
• [ ] Redirects from old Wix URLs work

Launch (Week 6)

1. Update your domain nameservers to point to WordPress hosting
2. DNS propagates in 24–48 hours (some visitors see old site, some see new—this is normal)
3. Monitor Search Console for crawl errors
4. Check Analytics to ensure new site is receiving traffic

Post-Launch (Weeks 6–12)

• Monitor Google Search Console for indexation status and 404 errors
• Check Analytics for traffic patterns and user behavior changes
• Test all forms, buttons, and CTAs regularly
• Verify redirects are working (spot-check old Wix URLs)
• Keep WordPress, plugins, and themes updated

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping form data export: You'll lose all past submissions if you don't export them first
• Breaking redirects: If old URLs don't redirect, you lose SEO value and referral traffic
• Poor image handling: If images don't re-upload, pages look broken
• Design mismatch: If new WordPress site looks drastically different, users get confused
• Rushing launch: Test thoroughly before going live; mistakes are expensive to fix after

Long-Term WordPress Maintenance

Unlike Wix (which is managed for you), WordPress requires ongoing maintenance:

• Updates: WordPress core, plugins, themes need monthly updates
• Backups: Automated daily backups protect against data loss
• Security: Security plugins, strong passwords, and monitoring
• Performance: Caching, image optimization, CDN

Professional WordPress maintenance handles all of this so you can focus on your business.

FAQ