Migrating from Squarespace to WordPress
What transfers, what doesn't, realistic timelines, and how we handle your move from Squarespace to a self-hosted WordPress site.
Squarespace is a great starting point, but many businesses outgrow it. WordPress offers more flexibility, more powerful plugins, and full ownership of your content and hosting. Moving from one to the other is one of the most common migrations we handle.
Quick summary
Moving from Squarespace to WordPress typically takes one to three weeks of build time plus a brief cutover window. Most page content transfers via export, but design, styles, forms, and e-commerce do not — they must be rebuilt. Redirects and SEO preservation require careful planning. We handle the technical side; you need to provide access and content sign-off.
What you'll need
1–3 weeks Intermediate projectWhat transfers and what doesn't
Not everything on your Squarespace site can be imported directly into WordPress. Understanding this upfront avoids surprises.
What transfers
- Page text content (via XML export)
- Blog posts and their text
- Images attached to blog posts
- Blog post published dates and slugs
- Basic page titles
What does NOT transfer
- Your design, layout, and styling
- Page sections built with Squarespace blocks
- Navigation structure and menus
- Contact forms and their logic
- Squarespace Commerce products and orders
- Custom CSS and code injections
- Member areas
- Email campaigns
Design is rebuilt from scratch
Squarespace and WordPress use completely different design systems. Your new WordPress site will be designed to match your brand, but the underlying structure is rebuilt — not converted. This is actually an opportunity to modernize and improve your layout.
Realistic timeline
| Phase | What happens | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Audit current site, plan new structure | 2–3 days |
| Setup | Install WordPress, theme, and plugins | 1 day |
| Content migration | Export and import content, rebuild pages | 3–7 days |
| Design & QA | Style the new site, test all pages | 3–5 days |
| Redirect setup | Map old URLs to new ones | 1 day |
| Cutover | Switch DNS, go live | 1–4 hours |
| Post-launch | Monitor, fix issues, submit sitemap | 2–3 days |
The migration process, step by step
We audit your current Squarespace site. We document every page, blog post, image, form, and any special features. This becomes the migration map.
You export your Squarespace content. In Squarespace, go to Settings, then Advanced, then Import/Export. Choose Export and download the WordPress XML file. Send this file to your project lead.
We set up your new WordPress site on staging. We install WordPress on your chosen hosting provider, configure the theme, and import your content XML. You never see a broken site go live.
We rebuild pages that didn't transfer. Service pages, the homepage, and any page built with Squarespace blocks need to be recreated in WordPress's block editor or Elementor.
We rebuild your forms. Contact forms, booking forms, and any lead-capture forms are set up fresh using a WordPress form plugin.
We set up redirects. We map every old Squarespace URL to the equivalent new WordPress URL. If the URL structure changes, redirects prevent traffic and SEO from being lost.
You review the staging site. We send you a preview link. You go through every page, check content accuracy, and give us your feedback. We fix issues before going live.
We switch the domain over. Once you're happy, we update your DNS settings to point your domain to the new WordPress site. We keep your Squarespace site running until the DNS change is confirmed live.
Post-launch monitoring. We submit your new sitemap to Google, check for crawl errors, and monitor for any broken links or missing content for at least one week after launch.
Content you'll need to prepare
Some content decisions require your input. These things help us move faster:
- A confirmed page structure for the new site (we can draft one for you to approve)
- Any updated copy or images you want to use on the new site
- Confirmation of which blog posts, portfolio items, or case studies to keep vs remove
- Your preferred contact form fields and where form submissions should be emailed
What about Squarespace Commerce?
If you have a Squarespace Commerce store, migration is more complex. Products, orders, and customer data do not transfer via XML export. Options include:
- Manual product re-entry (feasible for small catalogs under 50 products)
- CSV import tools (for larger catalogs)
- A fresh WooCommerce setup built around your current product catalog
Talk to your project lead about the best approach for your store size.
After the migration
Once your new WordPress site is live, keep your Squarespace account active (don't cancel yet). Wait at least two to four weeks while you confirm that:
- All pages load correctly
- All forms work and submissions are reaching you
- Search rankings are stable or recovering
- No content is missing
After that period, you can safely cancel your Squarespace subscription.
Common questions
Related guides
- Pre-migration checklist
- Don't lose your SEO during a migration
- What is WordPress?
- What is managed WordPress hosting?
- Give us Squarespace contributor access
- Give us WordPress admin access
Need a hand?
Learn more
Don't lose your SEO during a migration
How to protect your search engine rankings when moving to a new website platform, domain, or hosting provider.
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