You've outgrown Wix and decided on WordPress. Then you go looking for the export button, and there isn't one. Moving off Wix is really a rebuild, plus a careful move of your content and URLs so your search traffic comes with you. (Still deciding? Wix vs WordPress compares cost, SEO and ownership first.)
How does a Wix to WordPress migration work?
A Wix to WordPress migration is a rebuild, not a file transfer. Wix sites can only run on Wix's servers, so you set up WordPress hosting, recreate the design, move posts, pages, images, forms and products across piece by piece, then 301-redirect every old Wix URL to its new address before pointing your domain at the new site.
Why can't you export a Wix site?
Wix says it plainly: your site must run on Wix's servers, because it's built on Wix's proprietary technology and the platform doesn't support external hosting. Your content is yours; the site can't leave.
What you can get out comes in pieces:
| Content | What Wix lets you export | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Blog posts | No export to other platforms | The blog's RSS feed is the practical route, but it shows only the 20 most recent posts |
| Store products | CSV export | Up to 5,000 rows per file; digital products can't be exported |
| Orders | CSV export | Purchase times are recorded in UTC |
| CMS collections | CSV export | You rebuild the pages that display them |
| Form submissions | CSV export | The forms themselves have to be rebuilt |
| Images and videos | Download from the Media Manager | Only files you uploaded; free Wix and Shutterstock media can't be downloaded, and there's no download-everything option |
| Pages and design | Nothing | Rebuilt by hand in a WordPress theme |
That table is why a Wix move costs more than a WordPress host swap. Every row is its own job.
What are the steps to migrate Wix to WordPress?
1. Inventory everything
List every page, blog post, product, form, CMS collection and live URL. Your Wix sitemap and Google Search Console's page indexing report are good starting points. This list becomes your redirect map, so include every URL.
2. Choose WordPress hosting
WordPress.org recommends a host with PHP 8.3 or greater, MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+, and HTTPS support. The bigger decision is how much you want managed for you, which our managed vs unmanaged hosting guide covers. For prices, see what web hosting costs in 2026.
3. Rebuild the design
A Wix template can't be converted into a WordPress theme. You either choose a theme and style it to match, or treat the move as a redesign (our website redesign cost guide covers that budget). Build on a staging site so Wix stays live meanwhile.
4. Move blog posts
WordPress has an import tool built for RSS: go to Tools > Import, install the RSS importer, run it and upload your feed saved as an XML file. Two cautions. Wix's feed carries only your 20 most recent posts, so older posts need copying by hand. And the RSS Importer plugin hasn't been tested with the last three major WordPress releases, so check every imported post. Re-upload images to your own media library so nothing depends on Wix.
5. Move pages and images
Pages are copy-and-paste into your new theme's layouts. Download your uploaded images from the Wix Media Manager, selecting multiple files within each folder, since there's no bulk download of everything. Stock images from Wix's free library or Shutterstock need replacing with images you have the rights to use.
6. Rebuild forms
Export past submissions as CSV for your records, then recreate each form with a WordPress form plugin. Test that each one's notification reaches the right inbox.
7. Move store products (if you have them)
Export the Wix product CSV and import it with WooCommerce's built-in CSV importer. It maps recognized columns automatically, lets you adjust the rest, and can pull images in from URLs as long as they're directly accessible, not behind a redirect. Expect some column cleanup, especially on variants. Digital products are recreated by hand.
8. Map old URLs and set up 301 redirects
Wix blog posts live at yourdomain.com/post/post-title by default, unless you renamed the "post" prefix. In WordPress, go to Settings > Permalinks and enter a custom structure of /post/%postname%/, and your post URLs can stay exactly the same. Give pages the slugs they had on Wix.
Anything that has to change needs a 301 on the WordPress side. The Redirection plugin manages 301s, imports and exports redirects as CSV, and logs 404s so you catch what you missed. Redirects set up in Wix won't help, because once your domain points at WordPress, Wix is no longer serving those URLs.
9. Move or point the domain
If you bought the domain through Wix, you can keep it there and edit its A and CNAME records to point at your new host. Wix doesn't let you change a Wix domain's name servers, though, so if your host requires that, you'll need to transfer it.
To transfer it away, Wix sends an authorization code to the registrant email. A transfer usually takes up to 7 days, and a domain can't move within 60 days of purchase, a registrant contact change or a previous transfer. If you use business email on the domain, you'll need to add your MX records again afterward.
10. Test, launch and monitor
Click every page, submit every form, place a test order and check redirects before switching DNS. Our 15-step migration checklist covers the launch-day sequence, and how long migration downtime lasts explains how to keep the switch to minutes.
How much does a Wix to WordPress migration cost, and how long does it take?
Doing it yourself, you pay for hosting, maybe a premium theme and a few plugins, plus a lot of your time. Hiring it out, the price depends on page count, whether there's a store, your traffic and any integrations. Those are the inputs our migration cost estimator asks for. It prices against an illustrative agency rate card, not market survey data.
Worked example. For this example, assume a Wix site with 40 pages and posts, 5,000 monthly visitors and no custom integrations. The estimator returns:
| Scenario | Estimated cost | Estimated timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Wix site with a blog, no store | $1,900–$2,850 | 6–11 days |
| Same site plus a 150-product store moving to WooCommerce | $3,150–$4,600 | 10–17 days |
| Same 40-page site coming from Squarespace instead | $1,650–$2,450 | 6–10 days |
The Wix base drives most of the first estimate. Pages beyond the 20 included add about $160, and the 1,000–10,000 visitor tier adds a little for a staged cutover. The store is the biggest jump, at about $1,430 for catalog, orders and payment setup. Our full WordPress migration cost breakdown compares other kinds of move.
How do you keep your Google rankings when moving from Wix?
Google's guidance on site moves with URL changes comes down to a few rules:
- Map every old URL to a new one before launch.
- Use server-side permanent redirects (301 or 308), and redirect straight to the final page rather than through a chain.
- Keep redirects as long as possible, generally at least a year.
- Submit your new sitemap in Search Console after launch.
- Expect a lag. Google says a small to medium-sized site can take a few weeks for most pages to move.
If you're keeping the same domain, you don't need Search Console's Change of Address tool. Migrating WordPress without losing SEO covers staging-site indexing, canonicals and post-launch checks in more depth.
What about Squarespace?
A Squarespace to WordPress migration starts in a better place, because Squarespace exports a WordPress-format XML file you can bring in through Tools > Import. It's still partial. The export includes layout pages, one blog with its posts, text and image blocks, and gallery pages. It leaves out store pages, product, video and audio blocks, drafts, style settings and custom CSS.
Squarespace also warns that importing into a self-hosted WordPress site may bring images across only as links, which stop working when you close your Squarespace site. Download and re-upload them. Redirects and domain steps work as for Wix, and the estimator has a Squarespace option.
