How to Move from Squarespace to WordPress with LitExtension
Our dedicated migration service guarantees your Personal Assistant will keep you fully informed throughout the entire process. We actively resolve any obstacles during and following the transfer, ensuring your completed site is handed over flawlessly.
Watch our detailed walkthrough video to see precisely how our service helps you move from Squarespace to WordPress:
Step 1: 1-1 Consultation & Planning for Migration
We kick things off by evaluating your unique requirements and addressing any queries regarding the transition from Squarespace to WordPress.
- Expert Advice: We tackle your questions regarding data export, custom fields, and hosting considerations.
- Service Level Agreement (SLA): Project specifications are mutually agreed upon, and both parties sign the SLA to lock in the requirements.
- Migration Speed Enhancement: If your Squarespace site contains an extensive database, we provide a Multi-threaded Migration option. This substantially accelerates the transfer while safeguarding your data and reducing downtime. (Extra charges apply).
Step 2: Pre-Migration: Backup Data & Set Up Platforms
Prior to the main transfer, we configure your upcoming WordPress environment to accept your data flawlessly.
- Target Store Setup: We initialize and prepare the environment of your new WordPress site (including WooCommerce if applicable).
- Store Customization: We fine-tune your store settings to ensure the mapped data displays exactly as intended on WordPress.
- Please Note: Given the significant architectural differences between Squarespace and WordPress, additional fees may be incurred for migrating highly customized data, such as unique Squarespace blocks or complex database modifications.
Step 3: Demo Migration: See Exactly How Migration Works
We execute a limited test migration to ensure your Squarespace data aligns perfectly with WordPress’s structure.
Our specialists configure a demo run for every data entity to verify that all configurations are accurate. We rigorously inspect this sample data to identify and resolve any discrepancies prior to the full launch.
Step 4: Perform Full Migration: Migrate All Data from Squarespace to WordPress
After the demo is greenlit, we securely transition your entire catalog and site data to the new platform.
- Full Migration Implementation: We execute the complete Squarespace to WordPress migration. Our advanced system identifies underlying complications, and our technical experts resolve them promptly.
- Free Additional Options: Essential extra migration settings, such as 301 redirects to preserve your SEO performance, are provided at no extra cost.
Step 5: Migration Results Testing: Verify data accuracy and SEO migration
Following the data transfer, we conduct a comprehensive audit of your new WordPress site to verify complete accuracy.
- Quality Check: We perform extensive testing to confirm that all data was transferred securely and mirrors your exact specifications.
- Confirm Project Outcomes: You evaluate the finished WordPress site and provide your final sign-off.
Step 6: Post-Migration
We guarantee your new setup remains current even after the primary transfer concludes.
- Recent Data Migrations & Smart Updates: Your Squarespace site remains active and can receive orders or posts during the transition. Once the primary migration is finished, we assist in transferring any newly acquired customers or orders to WordPress.
- Tech Support: Enjoy up to 60 days of complimentary technical assistance following the full migration.
- Migration Assurance: We provide a 30-day full refund policy in the event of critical, unresolvable technical issues with your transferred data.
Step 7: Customer Support
Our specialized team and your dedicated expert remain available to guide you through the entire process.
- 12-Hour Response Time: We commit to responding to your inquiries within 12 hours.
- Availability: Our support staff operates 24/7 across business days and weekends (excluding national holidays).
- Personal Assistant (PA): Your PA is an assigned specialist who oversees your Squarespace to WordPress Migration with Experts help to ensure your complete satisfaction. They are accessible via support tickets, email, phone, virtual meetings, or direct chat.
How to Move from Squarespace to WordPress in 7 Steps (DIY Method)
The Squarespace XML export covers blog posts and basic pages well. It does not export your visual design, your custom fonts, your form integrations, your e-commerce data, or your member areas. Those components must be rebuilt manually or migrated using third-party tools.
Time estimate: Budget 4 to 8 hours for a small blog or portfolio site. A large content site with hundreds of pages will take longer, particularly if your theme requires manual rebuilding.
Step 1: Back Up Your Squarespace Site
Log in to your Squarespace account and navigate to Settings > Advanced > Export. Squarespace will generate an XML file containing your blog posts and pages.
Sub-steps:
- In Squarespace, go to the Home Menu and select Settings.
- Scroll to Advanced, then click Import / Export.
- Select Export and choose WordPress as the export format.
- Download the XML file and save it somewhere safe.
Before you export, also manually document the following, because they will not be in the XML:
- All navigation menus and their URLs
- Any custom code blocks (CSS, JavaScript, embed codes)
- All image assets (download these manually or via a bulk image downloader)
- Form integrations (Mailchimp, Google Sheets, Zapier connections)
- Any connected third-party apps
Pro tip: Use a browser extension like “Bulk Image Downloader” or the Squarespace export combined with a web crawl tool like Screaming Frog to capture all media files before you migrate. Relying on the XML alone will leave you with broken images.
Step 2: Choose a WordPress Hosting Provider
Self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) requires a hosting provider. This is one of the most consequential decisions of your migration: a slow or unreliable host will undermine everything else you build.
Look for a host that offers:
- One-click WordPress installation
- Automatic daily backups
- Free SSL certificate
- Staging environments (essential if your current site is live)
Avoid shared hosting that is not specifically optimized for WordPress. The performance difference is significant, and it directly affects both user experience and search rankings.
Step 3: Install WordPress
Most modern hosts offer a one-click WordPress installer via their control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or a proprietary dashboard).
Sub-steps:
- Log in to your hosting control panel.
- Find the WordPress Installer or Softaculous option.
- Select your domain, set your admin username and a strong password, and enter your site title.
- Click Install.
- Once complete, access your WordPress dashboard at yourdomain.com/wp-admin.
Step 4: Export Your Squarespace Content
If you have not already done this in Step 1, complete your Squarespace XML export now.
Sub-steps:
- In Squarespace, go to Settings > Advanced > Import / Export.
- Click Export, then select WordPress.
- Squarespace will prepare your XML file. Download it.
What is included in the export:
- Blog posts (with publish dates, tags, and authors)
- Pages (basic text and content blocks)
- Comments (if enabled)
What is NOT included in the export:
- Images hosted on Squarespace servers (these must be downloaded separately)
- Your Squarespace theme, fonts, or design settings
- E-commerce products, orders, or customer data
- Gallery blocks and portfolio items
- Form submissions
- Video blocks
Note the gaps carefully. Every item on the “not included” list requires a manual migration plan before you launch on WordPress.
Step 5: Import Your Content into WordPress
With your WordPress site ready and your XML file downloaded, you can now bring your content over.
Sub-steps:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Tools > Import.
- Click WordPress under the importer list (you may be prompted to install the WordPress Importer plugin; do so).
- Click Run Importer.
- Upload your Squarespace XML file.
- Map authors: assign existing WordPress users or create new ones.
- Check the box to Download and import file attachments if you want WordPress to attempt to pull in media from your Squarespace URLs.
- Click Submit.
After the import completes, go to Posts and Pages and audit your content. You will typically find:
- Posts imported successfully with formatting mostly intact
- Images showing as broken links (because they still point to Squarespace CDN URLs)
- Shortcodes or custom blocks that did not translate
The broken image issue is the most time-consuming part for most people. If you downloaded your images separately in Step 1, you can use a plugin like Velvet Blues Update URLs or Better Search Replace to do a find-and-replace of the old Squarespace image URLs with your new WordPress media library URLs.
Step 6: Rebuild Your Design with a WordPress Theme
Squarespace themes do not transfer to WordPress. Your site’s design must be rebuilt. This is a significant step, but it is also an opportunity: WordPress themes give you far more flexibility than anything available on Squarespace.
Your options:
- Option A: Use a free theme from the WordPress Theme Directory Suitable for simple blogs or portfolios. Look for themes with high ratings, recent updates, and active support. Popular options include Astra, Kadence, and GeneratePress.
- Option B: Use a premium theme or theme framework For more design control. Options like Divi, Avada, or the Kadence Pro add-on give you drag-and-drop builder functionality similar to Squarespace’s interface.
- Option C: Use a block-based theme with the Full Site Editor WordPress’s native Full Site Editor (FSE), available since WordPress 5.9 and significantly improved since, allows complete control over your layout using the Gutenberg block system. If you want to stay close to the WordPress core and avoid third-party page builder lock-in, this is the modern path.
What to configure in your theme:
- Install and activate your chosen theme via Appearance > Themes > Add New.
- Customize your header, footer, fonts, and color palette via Appearance > Customize (or the Full Site Editor if using a block theme).
- Rebuild your navigation menus under Appearance > Menus.
- Re-add any custom CSS from your Squarespace site via Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS.
Step 7: Set Up Redirects and Restore Your SEO
This step is the one most people skip. It is also the one that causes the most damage.
When you move from Squarespace to WordPress, your URLs often change structure. If you do not redirect the old URLs to the new ones, every inbound link, every bookmark, and every indexed page from Google loses its value overnight.
Sub-steps:
- Map your old Squarespace URLs to your new WordPress URLs. If you used Screaming Frog or a sitemap in Step 1, you already have a list. Match each old URL to its new equivalent.
- Set your WordPress permalink structure. Go to Settings > Permalinks in WordPress and choose a URL structure. Post name (/sample-post/) is the most SEO-friendly and commonly mirrors Squarespace’s default structure. Set this before importing redirects.
- Install a redirect plugin. Redirection (free, by John Godley) is the standard tool. Rank Math and Yoast SEO also include redirect managers in their premium versions.
- Add 301 redirects for every URL that has changed. A 301 redirect signals to search engines that the page has permanently moved, preserving most of the ranking value.
- Update your Google Search Console property. Submit your new XML sitemap (generated by Yoast or Rank Math) at Search Console > Sitemaps. If your domain itself did not change, your existing Search Console property still applies.
- Check your Google Analytics or GA4 tracking. Squarespace uses its own analytics panel. WordPress needs a separate integration: install the GA4 tracking code via a plugin like MonsterInsights or Site Kit by Google.
Post-Migration Checklist
Before you go live on WordPress and point your domain away from Squarespace, run through this checklist.
Technical:
Design:
SEO:
Operations:
Final Thoughts
Moving from Squarespace to WordPress is one of the highest-leverage decisions a growing website owner can make. The migration takes effort, but the platform flexibility, SEO control, and long-term cost advantages are substantial. Follow the seven steps above in order. Do not skip the redirect setup. And keep your Squarespace subscription active long enough to validate that everything is working before you cut the cord.
If you have a large or complex website and want a simpler process, LitExtension’s experts can handle much of the heavy lifting related to e-commerce content and data. For simpler content websites, the manual approach described above allows you to fully monitor every decision throughout the process.
How It Works
