How to Transfer a Squarespace Website to WordPress
Move Squarespace content to WordPress with its XML export, then check images, rebuild excluded pages and functions, preserve URLs and test the launch.
To transfer a Squarespace website to WordPress, export the supported content as XML, import it into WordPress, copy missing content and media, and rebuild the design and excluded functions. Test the destination before pointing your domain to it. Squarespace’s export moves part of the content, not the complete design, store or operating setup.
Niwa Business includes a custom WordPress site or migration, hosting, maintenance and business-specific AI tools for USD 150. Send Niwa your Squarespace address and explain whether it includes a blog, portfolio, store, memberships or appointments. Agree the scope and billing terms with the team.
For a service site, the move can include accurate service information and Niwa’s booking tools. Niwa uses the website’s business context to answer questions, check the connected calendar and book an appointment directly through WhatsApp. Configure the services, staff and availability during the migration, then verify the saved reservation.
Understand the export before relying on it
Squarespace provides a WordPress-compatible XML export for supported content. Its current export documentation includes layout pages, text and image blocks, and one blog with its posts. It excludes design settings, custom CSS, store and portfolio pages, drafts and several other block or page types.
If the site has multiple blogs, only one can be selected for that export. Make a separate plan for the rest. Check every page against the inventory rather than assuming that an export completing means the whole website has moved.
The source needs to be active and published for the documented export route. If access has expired, confirm what can still be recovered before paying for a migration or retiring the account.
Inventory the material that needs a separate route
Record each page’s address, title, main text and media. Count the blog posts and note unpublished work that should be retained. Save screenshots of the layouts and obtain reusable originals for images, logos and other assets.
A photography studio, for example, might have an ordinary About page, a blog and portfolio galleries. The XML may help with the first two, while the portfolio requires its own content capture and editable WordPress layout. A visually rich website can therefore need more rebuilding than its page count suggests.
Use a scope table before importing:
| Part of the site | Planned destination work |
|---|---|
| Exportable pages and primary blog | Import XML, then review individual records |
| Additional blogs and drafts | Copy or use an agreed separate extraction process |
| Portfolio and excluded pages | Rebuild content and layout from the source |
| Original images and downloads | Copy to the destination and update references |
| Store, memberships or appointments | Plan data and functional migration separately |
| Fonts, styles and custom CSS | Recreate licensed design elements in WordPress |
This is a planning map. The actual export file remains the evidence of what your particular site contains.
Prepare WordPress and download the XML
Build the destination on a staging or temporary address while Squarespace remains live. Decide whether the destination is self-hosted WordPress or WordPress.com, because import interfaces and available assistance differ. If Niwa will be installed, confirm that the destination supports the plugin and necessary connections.
Choose an editing approach around the team. A writer should be able to add a blog post without rebuilding the page. A photographer may need a repeatable gallery pattern and clear image-size guidance.
In Squarespace, open the Import & export content panel, select Export, then the WordPress option. If prompted, choose the primary blog. When the export is ready, download the XML and keep an untouched copy. Follow the linked Squarespace guide for the current panel location.
Import once, inspect, then resolve missing items
On a self-hosted destination, the WordPress importer is available through Tools → Import → WordPress. Install the importer if the dashboard prompts you, upload the XML and assign the imported content to the appropriate author. WordPress.com’s Squarespace import guide describes its hosted route.
Back up the destination before importing. Read any media-import options carefully. Afterward, compare pages and post counts with your inventory and inspect representative long posts, galleries and embedded content.
If items are missing, identify them before repeating the import. Resolve whether the file omitted them, the importer failed on them or they need another route. Repeated full imports are a poor substitute for knowing which record is absent.
Check dates, author assignment, categories, accents and headings. Replace Squarespace-specific shortcodes or fragments that no longer have a functioning equivalent.
Verify that images live in WordPress
Squarespace warns that a self-hosted import may retain image references instead of copying the files. A page that looks correct immediately after import can therefore lose images when the old site is deactivated.
Open the WordPress Media Library and inspect several actual image URLs in rendered posts. Required images should be stored on the destination or on a deliberately retained media service. Download and upload missing files, then update the content references.
Also check linked PDFs, downloadable guides, backgrounds and gallery images. A file link present in XML does not mean the corresponding file is available in WordPress. Preserve useful alt text and credit information, and confirm permission to reuse licensed assets.
Rebuild the excluded functions and design
Create shared navigation, header and footer, then rebuild the page layouts. Match the visual elements that matter while giving the owner a maintainable editing workflow. Review the mobile gallery and navigation before considering the design complete.
For a store, agree how products, variants, customer records and historical orders will move, and test the new payment, shipping and tax setup. A content XML is not a checkout migration. For memberships, define which pages are restricted and how existing members regain appropriate access.
If you use a separate scheduling service, decide whether to keep it connected or move to another system. Check existing reservations and confirmations during that decision. A booking button can be recreated quickly; the schedule behind it deserves a separate test.
Keep old links useful through the domain switch
Map old Squarespace paths to WordPress destinations. Preserve them where possible and configure permanent redirects for changes. Include blog, portfolio and product URLs instead of checking only the main navigation.
Carry over useful titles and descriptions, update internal links and check canonical URLs and language annotations. Confirm that the production sitemap contains the intended pages. Google’s site-move guidance explains why URL mapping and monitoring matter; it does not promise unchanged rankings.
After content, design and functions pass review, create a launch backup and change the website DNS records according to the host’s instructions. Keep email records intact unless email is also being migrated. Verify HTTPS and redirects on the live domain and remove development indexing restrictions.
Set up the work the new site will do
With Niwa, prepare service descriptions and policies during the migration so the assistant has accurate information after launch. The owner can also request supported page updates and inspect the saved result. These are operational uses of AI, separate from using AI to create a design.
If you already have a WordPress site, the standalone Niwa plugin does not require another rebuild. If Squarespace is the starting point, send the team the current site and the functions to preserve. A complete inventory makes the migration scope much clearer than a promise to import everything with one file.
