How to Move from Wix to WordPress

If you want to move from Wix to WordPress, the first thing to know is that it is a rebuild, not a transfer. Wix says in its own help pages that a Wix site cannot be hosted anywhere else, because it runs on Wix’s own technology. Your content belongs to you, but the design has to be recreated. This guide explains what that involves and how to do it without losing visitors.

Why businesses move from Wix to WordPress

• They need a feature or layout the builder does not offer.
• They want more control over how the site appears in search.
• They want to own a website they can move between hosts and providers.
• They would prefer someone else to handle the upkeep.

Our comparison of WordPress vs. Wix vs. Squarespace covers the trade-offs in more detail.

What carries over and what does not

• Carries over: your text, your images, your domain name and your page addresses, if they are set up to match.
• Has to be rebuilt: the design and layout, forms, booking tools, online store setup and any apps you added in Wix.

Step 1: List every page on the current site

Write down each page and its address. This list becomes the plan for the new site and the basis for redirects later. Decide which pages to keep, combine or drop.

Step 2: Save your content

Copy the text of each page into a document and download your original images. Save anything you will need again, such as product details, staff bios and customer reviews.

Step 3: Build the new site on WordPress

The new site is built on WordPress hosting while the Wix site stays live, so visitors see no interruption. This is the stage to improve the design and fix anything that was not working before.

Step 4: Keep your search traffic

This step matters most when you move from Wix to WordPress, and it is the one most often skipped.

• Keep page addresses the same where you can.
• Where an address changes, set up a redirect from the old one to the new one.
• Carry over page titles and descriptions that were performing well.

Step 5: Point the domain to the new site

When the WordPress site is ready and tested, the domain is pointed to the new hosting. If your domain is registered through Wix, it can be connected to the new site or transferred to another registrar. Check your business email first, so it keeps working through the change.

Step 6: Check, then cancel Wix

Test every page, form and link on the new site. Keep the Wix plan active for a short while as a fallback, then cancel it.

After the move

A WordPress site needs regular updates, backups and security checks, which a builder handles for you. A WordPress maintenance plan covers that. For the costs involved, see our guide to small business website cost.

We rebuild Wix and Squarespace sites on WordPress for small businesses and private practices at a low cost, then host and maintain them. Tell us about your site for a written quote.