How Much Does It Cost to Migrate a Website to WordPress?

The cost depends on what has to move and what has to be rebuilt. Copying an existing WordPress installation is a different job from recreating a website builder's design, forms and store in WordPress. A useful quote names the actual work, the ongoing services and anything priced separately.

Niwa Business is USD 150 and includes a custom WordPress website or migration, hosting, maintenance and AI tools adapted to the business. To establish the scope for your site, send Niwa your current website and requirements.

Identify which migration you are buying

There are three common jobs hidden behind the word migration. A host-to-host WordPress transfer moves an existing installation. A content import brings supported records into WordPress. A cross-platform rebuild recreates features or design that the old platform cannot export in a usable form.

WordPress.com's migration and import guide distinguishes whole-site transfer from content-only import and importing from another platform. Its importer is not a promise that another builder's layout or integrations will appear unchanged.

For a small service site, rebuilding a contact form may be straightforward. For a store, product variations, shipping rules and customer accounts need their own assessment. Counting pages alone misses much of that work.

When comparing quotes, ask each supplier to describe the same job. A cheap content import and a complete replacement website are not equivalent offers.

Separate transfer work from feature work

Make an inventory of what the business uses today. Include information customers see and actions they complete:

• Pages, posts, media and downloadable files.
• Design templates, navigation and mobile layouts.
• Enquiry forms, appointment booking and account login.
• Products, variations, orders, subscriptions or memberships, where relevant.
• Connections to payment, email, delivery or business systems.
• Existing URLs, redirect requirements and search-facing metadata.

For each item, ask whether it transfers, needs configuration, needs rebuilding or will be intentionally retired. A booking widget embedded from an external service is different from booking data stored inside the old website.

Keep domain ownership separate from the build. You can often retain the existing domain, but its renewal and email arrangement still need to be identified. A website move does not automatically replace those services.

Account for your own time in a DIY move

WordPress itself is available as open-source software, but running a website still involves hosting and other services. A migration plugin may reduce copying work without resolving design differences, account access, email or acceptance testing.

The WordPress export tool creates a content export. Treating that file as a complete backup or finished website can leave important work out of your budget.

Estimate your time for collecting access, preparing exports, checking missing content, configuring forms and testing the result. If you need a developer to investigate a failed import, that is still part of the project's cost even if the initial tool was free.

A practical comparison is the total cost of a usable result, including the person responsible for correcting errors. Do not assume a tool's download price tells you that total.

List the continuing services explicitly

A migration quote should show what happens after launch. Clarify hosting, backups, maintenance, support and the route for requesting changes. Identify domain renewal and email hosting separately, especially when the old supplier bundled them together.

Ask about required commercial theme, plugin or integration licences. Who purchases them, who owns the account, and what stops working if a licence is not renewed? An external scheduling or payment service can retain its own terms after the website has moved.

For Niwa, the supported own-subscription connection has no additional Niwa AI usage fees or Niwa-imposed usage caps on that connection. The underlying AI provider's terms and limits still apply. API billing is separate. The Niwa setup guide helps distinguish connection options.

Confirm the payment schedule and exact coverage in your proposal before committing. Keep that agreement alongside the list of services you will continue paying for elsewhere, such as your domain or email provider.

Compare quotes with acceptance checks

Ask what counts as completion. A working homepage is not enough when the business depends on checkout or appointment booking. Your agreed checks might include important old links reaching relevant pages, forms delivering enquiries, mobile navigation working and the domain showing the approved site.

WordPress's migration documentation illustrates why the transfer is more than copying visible text. Files, database information and site addresses can all matter to an existing installation.

Confirm how launch-day changes will be handled. If orders continue on the old store while the new copy is being tested, the final transfer needs an agreed method for preserving those transactions. That work should not first appear as a surprise after the domain switch.

Also establish the boundary between correcting a migration defect and commissioning a new feature. Written scope lets both parties recognize the difference.

Prepare a quote request that can be answered

Give the supplier your current platform, website address, approximate content size and a list of business-critical features. State whether the current design should be retained and whether email is hosted with the old site. Mention any deadline and the reason it matters.

For Niwa Business, explain which AI task you want after the move. A service business might need customer questions answered from approved service information. An existing WordPress owner who only needs Niwa can use the standalone plugin rather than pay for another website build.

That makes the decision concrete: which work is needed, which services continue and who is responsible for a working result. Once those are clear, the price is much easier to compare fairly.