How to Migrate from Squarespace to WordPress [Tips and Insights]

Squarespace is a great starting point for building a website—especially if you want something up and running quickly. But as your needs grow, you might start noticing the limitations. Whether it’s design flexibility, plugin availability, or full control over your content, WordPress—the world’s most popular CMS— offers a level of freedom that Squarespace simply doesn’t.

If you’re planning to make the switch, you’re in the right place and it’s the perfect time. Migrating from Squarespace to WordPress isn’t really complicated, but it does take some careful steps to make sure everything moves over smoothly—your Squarespace content, your design, and most importantly, your traffic. You can check out our step-by-step guide on how to create a WordPress site to get started.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process, from preparing your Squarespace website to setting up and customizing your new WordPress site. By the end, you’ll have a website that’s not only more flexible but also ready to grow with you.

Why Move from Squarespace to WordPress?

Squarespace is known for its polished templates and beginner-friendly setup, which is exactly what makes it appealing when you’re starting out. But at some point, many users start feeling boxed in. If you’ve been wanting more freedom to shape your site the way you want, WordPress might be a better fit.

And let’s not forget the WordPress dashboard, which gives you full control over how your site looks and functions—something you may find limited when working with Squarespace content.

The switch isn’t about which platform is “better” overall—it’s about what gives you more flexibility to build the kind of site you need going forward. If that sounds like where you’re headed, WordPress is worth considering.

Things to Know Before You Start Moving From Squarespace to WordPress

Before you jump into the migration process of Squarespace to WordPress, it helps to understand what you’re getting into.

Honestly, moving from a Squarespace website to WordPress website isn’t that complex, but it does take a bit of planning. Knowing what to expect upfront can save you time and avoid unnecessary hiccups later on.

Taking the time to prepare and understand how both platforms work will make the entire process smoother. Now, let’s look at what you’ll need to do before starting the actual migration.

Pre-Migration Checklist

A successful migration starts with a little preparation. Before you begin transferring content from Squarespace to WordPress, take a moment to set things up properly—this will help everything go a lot more smoothly once you dive in with a clear and detailed WordPress migration checklist.

Getting these steps sorted ahead of time will make the migration process much easier and help you avoid any unexpected issues later on.

How to Migrate from Squarespace to WordPress

Once your prep work is out of the way for Squarespace to WordPress—choosing a host, installing WordPress, and backing up your Squarespace content—it’s time for the actual migration. This part might seem a little technical at first, but don’t worry. We’ll walk through everything step by step.

1. Export Content from Your Squarespace Website

Start by logging into your Squarespace website dashboard.

Go to:
Settings > Advanced > Import/Export > Export
You’ll be asked to choose the format you want to export in. Squarespace only allows exporting in XML format, which is the standard file type that WordPress can understand. Select the WordPress option when prompted.

Once the export is complete, download the file to your computer. It’ll usually be named something like squarespace-export.xml.

So, if your site is heavy on visuals or shop features, be prepared to manually recreate those parts in WordPress.

2. Import the Content into WordPress

Now that you have your exported XML file, it’s time to bring that Squarespace content into your new WordPress site.

Click Submit, and the import process will begin.

This might take a few moments depending on the size of your site. Once done, check your Posts and Pages in the dashboard to confirm the Squarespace content has transferred.

3. Review and Reorganize Your Content

Even though your blog posts and pages are now in WordPress, they might not look exactly like they did on Squarespace. This is where a bit of cleanup comes in.

Also, check for any missing images. If some didn’t come through during import, you may need to manually upload them to the Media and reinsert them into your pages or posts.

4. Rebuild Your New WordPress Website Design

You’ve moved your content into WordPress, but now your site needs to actually look good. WordPress doesn’t copy over your Squarespace design, so this part involves choosing and customizing your new WordPress website theme.

This is also a good time to rethink your site’s layout—WordPress gives you more design freedom, so feel free to experiment and make improvements.

5. Set Up Your Domain

If you were using a custom Squarespace domain, you can either transfer it to your new web host or simply point it to your WordPress site.

Make sure your new WordPress site is fully set up and tested before making these changes live—so visitors don’t land on an unfinished page.

And that’s the core of your migration—exporting, importing, reviewing, and redesigning. It may take some time and patience, but by the end, you’ll have a site that’s not just up and running, but also ready to grow with you.

Must-Have WordPress Plugins to Get Started

One of the biggest advantages of using WordPress is the flexibility it offers through plugins. After migrating your site using the Squarespace export file, you’ll want to enhance your setup with a few reliable tools. These plugins will help improve performance, SEO, backups, and more—without needing to write a single line of code. Learn more about how to create a WordPress plugin if you ever need something custom.

Adding these plugins is the final step in making sure your WordPress site runs smoothly, stays secure, and gives you the control Squarespace may have lacked.

Setting Up Redirects and Preserving SEO

When you’re done with the core WordPress migration, the next important step is making sure your SEO doesn’t take a hit. If your old pages were getting traffic through search engines, you’ll want to carry that momentum forward—not lose it because of broken links or missing metadata.

Here’s how to keep everything intact during and after the switch from your Squarespace account to WordPress:

• Match Your URL Structure (If You Can)
  Try to keep your WordPress URLs as close as possible to what they were on Squarespace. For example, if your Squarespace blog post URL was /blog/my-post, try to recreate that same slug in WordPress.

  This makes it easier to preserve your rankings without having to set up too many redirects.

• Create 301 Redirects
  If the URLs change (and they often do), you’ll need to set up 301 redirects—these tell search engines that your content has moved permanently and ensures visitors are sent to the right place.

  Install a plugin like Redirection to easily create and manage these. It’s especially helpful if you’ve changed page names, slugs, or the overall site structure during the move.

• Don’t Forget to Import Images
  Sometimes during the import process, images from your Squarespace export file don’t transfer over properly. If that happens, you can use the Auto Upload Images plugin to pull them in and reassign them correctly in the WordPress media library. This also ensures that your site’s images display as intended and that search engines can still index pages without missing key content.
• Submit a New Sitemap
  Once you’ve cleaned up URLs and fixed redirects:
  • Use your SEO plugin (Yoast or Rank Math) to generate a new sitemap.
  • Submit it to Google Search Console.
  • Keep an eye on indexing and any flagged crawl errors.
• Track Performance
  After the migration, monitor how your site is performing. Use Google Analytics and Search Console to spot dips in traffic or broken links. The WordPress migration might be complete, but keeping your SEO steady takes a few days of post-launch attention.

Post-Migration Testing

After you’ve moved your content, set up plugins, and handled redirects, don’t rush to announce your new website just yet. It’s important to go through everything carefully to make sure it all works as expected. A bit of post-migration testing can save you from missed links, broken images, or awkward formatting issues later on.

Here’s what to check before you go fully live:

• Review All Pages and Posts
  Go through your WordPress pages and blog posts one by one. Look for:
  • Missing or misaligned text
  • Incorrect formatting (especially headings and bullet lists)
  • Links pointing back to your old Squarespace site
  • Unnecessary placeholder content from your theme

  It’s a bit time-consuming, but worth doing—especially for your most-visited pages.

• Check Images
  Some Squarespace images may not have transferred correctly during the import process. You might see broken image icons or blank spaces where photos used to be.

  If that’s the case:

  • Use the Auto Upload Images plugin to retrieve missing files
  • Manually upload any that didn’t come over and reinsert them into the correct posts
  • Double-check alt text and image sizing for responsiveness
• Test Forms, Menus, and Buttons
  Click through your navigation menus, test all buttons, and make sure any forms (contact, newsletter, etc.) are working and sending emails correctly.
• Mobile and Browser Testing
  Your new WordPress website may look different on mobile devices or in certain browsers. Test your site on a few screen sizes—especially the homepage, blog, and any pages with key content or images.
• Keep Squarespace Active (For Now)
  Just because your WordPress site is ready doesn’t mean it’s time to let your Squarespace site expire. Keep it running for a couple of weeks if possible—this gives you time to double-check that everything is working as it should on WordPress and lets you fix anything that was missed during the migration.

Once everything’s tested and working smoothly, you’re good to go. Your new site is live, on WordPress, and ready for visitors.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

By now, your site has made the move from Squarespace to WordPress, and you’ve worked through the big stuff—content, design, and functionality. But before you call it done, here are a few final tips and reminders to help ensure your migration sticks, and your new site stays strong.

These small details often go unnoticed during migration process but can make a big difference in how your site performs and how easily you manage it moving forward.

Conclusion

Switching from Squarespace to a new WordPress website isn’t just a platform change—it’s a mindset shift. You’re moving from something tightly packaged to something far more open, flexible, and built to scale. And while that comes with a bit of a learning curve, it also gives you full control over how your site online works, looks, and grows.

Once your content is in, your new WordPress theme is set up, and everything looks the way you want, there’s one last step that often gets overlooked—updating your DNS records. This is what connects your domain name to your new site. If you’ve pointed your Squarespace domain to WordPress, double-check that your DNS settings are correct and that your site loads from the right server.

The good news? Once everything’s done, you’re in a much stronger position to manage, update, and grow your site exactly the way you want to. And if you ever hit a bump in the road, you’ve got a massive WordPress community and plenty of tools at your disposal.

Migrating from Squarespace to WordPress is a technical process. If you’re familiar with the process, this guide will be very helpful. However, if you’re not technically inclined, it’s best to seek assistance from a WordPress migration service agency or hire an experienced WordPress developer. They can ensure a smooth migration, protecting both your data and your time.