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A safe Squarespace-to-WordPress migration has four parts: export the content Squarespace supports as XML, import it into a new WordPress installation, rebuild the design and unsupported features, then preserve URLs with matching permalinks and carefully mapped 301 redirects. Keep the Squarespace site public throughout the build, and change DNS only after the replacement site has passed content, media, form, SEO, and mobile checks.
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What the Squarespace export actually moves
Squarespace’s export is a content transfer, not a complete copy of your website. The XML can seed a WordPress site with supported pages and posts, but your theme, visual settings, custom CSS, and many Squarespace-specific features must be recreated.
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| Content or feature | Export result | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Layout pages | Supported | Page content can be imported, but the original Squarespace design is not carried over. |
| Blog page and blog posts | Supported | Check categories, tags, authors, dates, and formatting after import. |
| Comments | Partly supported | Squarespace states that the export includes up to 1,000 comments per post, according to its Help Center guidance from 2026. |
| Text blocks and image blocks | Supported | Imported blocks may need layout and styling work in the new theme. |
| Embed and Instagram blocks | Limited | Only limited text from these blocks is included; interactive embeds generally need to be added again. |
| Gallery pages | Supported | Gallery pages, including York project pages on Squarespace version 7.0, can be included. |
| Store pages and product blocks | Not exported automatically | Recreate products, catalog structure, checkout, taxes, shipping, and payment connections in the destination system. |
| Video and audio blocks | Not exported automatically | Re-add the media and confirm that every player works on desktop and mobile. |
| Dropdowns | Not exported automatically | Rebuild navigation menus in WordPress. |
| Drafts | Not exported automatically | Publish or manually copy anything that is still a draft before shutting down the old site. |
| Page-specific headers, footers, and sidebars | Not exported automatically | Recreate these in the WordPress theme or block templates. |
| Style settings and custom CSS | Not exported automatically | Expect a design rebuild rather than a theme conversion. |
| Album, cover, index, info, calendar, portfolio, and store pages | Require rebuilding | These Squarespace page types are outside the standard content export. |
Before starting, treat the XML as a starting dataset. It does not preserve the complete Squarespace theme or guarantee that every visual component, setting, asset, or integration will appear in WordPress.
Choose the WordPress destination before exporting
You can move to WordPress.com or to WordPress hosted on a provider you manage. The right choice depends on how much infrastructure control your site needs.
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| Decision point | WordPress.com | Self-hosted WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting and updates | The service manages the hosting environment and much of the maintenance. | You or your administrator select the host and manage updates, backups, security, and server settings. |
| Importer and staging | WordPress.com documents an importer and staging workflow for testing major theme and plugin changes. | The importer is available in WordPress, while staging depends on your host or a separate staging setup. |
| Themes and plugins | Choices and installation rights depend on the WordPress.com setup you select. | You generally have broader control over themes, plugins, code, and server configuration. |
| Domain connection | A domain registered at Squarespace can remain there and connect by changing DNS settings or nameservers. | Point the domain’s DNS to the new host according to that host’s instructions. |
| Commerce | Choose and configure a commerce solution that supports your catalog, checkout, and payment requirements. | Select, configure, and maintain the ecommerce software and payment integrations yourself. |
| Redirects | Use the redirect tools available in your WordPress.com setup. | Use WordPress redirect tooling or server-level rules and test every important mapping. |
| Recurring cost | Budget for the WordPress.com service level and any domain or commerce charges that apply. | Budget separately for hosting, domain registration, premium software, backups, security, and commerce services. |
Whichever destination you choose, build on a temporary address or staging site first. WordPress.com says staging sites are blocked from search indexing by default, which makes them suitable for assembling and testing a replacement before launch.
Prepare an inventory before touching DNS
A URL and asset inventory prevents the most expensive migration mistakes. Do this while the Squarespace site is still live.
- Crawl or export a list of every indexable URL, including pages, posts, category or tag archives, media landing pages, and important campaign URLs.
- Record the intended WordPress destination for each URL. Keep the same slug and path whenever practical.
- Mark pages that contain forms, embedded tools, videos, audio, galleries, memberships, animations, custom code, or ecommerce functions.
- Record page titles, meta descriptions, canonical settings, image alt text, structured data, analytics placement, and XML sitemap coverage when those details matter to your search traffic.
- Download a backup of original images and other irreplaceable files. Do not assume that an image visible on Squarespace will become a local WordPress media file.
- List integrations such as email forms, scheduling, payments, shipping, tax, CRM, analytics, advertising pixels, and consent tools so each can be reconnected and tested.
- Identify high-value pages by organic visits, links, leads, sales, or brand importance. Test these first on staging.
Step-by-step Squarespace-to-WordPress migration
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Keep Squarespace published
Do not cancel the Squarespace site or make its files private while the migration is in progress. The importer and any image references need the source site to remain publicly reachable. Leaving it online also gives visitors a working site while you test the replacement.
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Create the WordPress site and a private test environment
Set up the new WordPress installation on a temporary domain, preview address, or staging environment. Install the intended theme and only the plugins needed for the rebuild. On WordPress.com staging, search indexing is blocked by default; verify that your own staging arrangement also prevents accidental indexing.
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Export the Squarespace XML
In Squarespace, open Import & export content, choose Export, select the WordPress icon, and download the XML file. Save the original file unchanged so you can repeat the import or inspect it if a page is missing.
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Import the XML into WordPress
Use the WordPress import function on the new site and select the Squarespace XML. Assign imported posts to the correct WordPress author, then allow the import to finish before editing content. Review the import report and note any items the importer could not process.
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Audit the imported pages and posts
Open representative pages from every template type: a standard page, a long article, a gallery, a page with tables or embeds, and any high-traffic landing page. Look for missing blocks, altered formatting, broken links, incorrect authors, lost dates, empty captions, and stripped embed code.
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Copy and verify media
Check the WordPress Media Library and then inspect the rendered pages, not just the editor. Squarespace warns that self-hosted WordPress may import references to image URLs instead of copying the files. If the source URL later disappears, the image can fail. WordPress.com also notes that externally linked images may not all come through. Manually download and upload any missing or externally referenced images, then update the affected blocks and alt text.
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Rebuild the visual system
Choose the WordPress theme or block templates, recreate global typography and colors, rebuild headers and footers, and set responsive spacing. Recreate navigation menus, dropdowns, sidebars, page-specific elements, galleries, video, audio, and custom CSS as separate tasks. Compare desktop and mobile views for the same representative pages rather than assuming a desktop match will scale correctly.
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Recreate forms and integrations
Insert new contact, newsletter, booking, or lead forms and connect their delivery, notification, spam protection, consent, and analytics settings. Re-add embeds and scripts one at a time, and verify that submissions reach the intended inbox or service. Exported text alone does not recreate the behavior of these integrations.
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Rebuild ecommerce separately
Store pages and product blocks do not transfer through the standard XML. Recreate the catalog, variants, prices, inventory, images, shipping, taxes, checkout, customer emails, and payment integrations in the chosen WordPress commerce system. Place test orders in a non-production mode where available and create a dedicated redirect map for old product and store URLs.
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Set permalinks before launch
Configure WordPress permalinks to reproduce the old Squarespace URL pattern wherever possible. Match slugs, capitalization conventions, and trailing-slash behavior consistently. Changing the structure after publishing creates another round of redirects and can generate avoidable 404 errors.
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Create one-to-one 301 redirects
For every URL that must change, map the old address to the closest equivalent new page. A 301 redirect tells search engines that a page moved permanently; WordPress.com says correctly mapped redirects help update the index, pass page rank and authority, and prevent 404 errors. Do not send every old URL to the homepage. A product should go to the replacement product or category, an article to the corresponding article, and a retired page to the most relevant surviving resource.
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Run a pre-launch crawl
With the site still on staging, check internal links, navigation, image loading, forms, checkout if applicable, canonical tags, XML sitemaps, robots rules, redirect responses, and 404 behavior. Compare a sample of important pages against the inventory and test at common mobile widths.
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Change DNS only after approval
When the replacement passes testing, connect the domain. A Squarespace-registered domain can stay registered there while you change DNS settings or nameservers to point to WordPress.com. For self-hosted WordPress, follow the new host’s DNS instructions. DNS changes can take time to appear everywhere, so keep the Squarespace site available during the transition.
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Check the live domain and indexing
Open the live domain in a private browser window and test key URLs, redirects, menus, media, forms, analytics, and checkout. Confirm that the live site—not the staging address—has the intended canonical tags, sitemap, robots rules, and indexing settings. Keep monitoring 404 responses and important landing pages after launch.
Handle URLs and SEO deliberately
Preserve paths where they make sense
The lowest-risk URL is usually the one that does not change. If a Squarespace article is at /blog/example-post, retain that path in WordPress when the content remains an article. Matching paths reduce redirect work and make it easier to verify that every old URL has a clear successor.
Map changed URLs individually
| Old situation | Preferred action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Same content and same slug | Keep the path and serve the page directly. | No redirect is needed when the URL remains unchanged. |
| Content moved to a new slug | Create one 301 from the old path to the new equivalent. | Visitors and search engines reach the correct page. |
| Product or store URL replaced by a category or product | Redirect to the closest relevant commercial destination. | A relevant replacement is more useful than a homepage redirect. |
| Page permanently retired with no exact replacement | Choose the most informative related page and document the decision. | Preserves user intent without pretending that unrelated content is equivalent. |
Test redirects from an external browser session after DNS changes. Check both the old HTTP/HTTPS variants that your setup used and confirm that the final destination loads with a single redirect rather than a chain.
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Recreate on-page SEO settings
The XML content import does not guarantee that title tags, meta descriptions, canonical rules, structured data, social previews, or image alt text match the old site. Re-enter these settings in WordPress, then inspect the generated HTML and sitemap. Do not allow staging URLs, duplicate imported pages, or temporary preview addresses to become canonical URLs.
Media migration: the failure point most people miss
An image that displays during testing may still be hosted at its Squarespace URL. On a self-hosted WordPress migration, the importer can retain that external reference instead of placing a local copy in the Media Library. If the Squarespace site is cancelled, those references can stop working. WordPress.com likewise cautions that not every externally linked image is guaranteed to import.
For each important page, open the rendered view and inspect the image source or Media Library entry. Manually upload missing originals, replace external references, preserve useful filenames and alt text, and check responsive versions. Include downloadable PDFs, logos, icons, and background images in the same audit; they are easy to overlook when only inline images are checked.
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Design and layout
WordPress.com’s migration guidance is explicit that the current design does not carry over; you select a WordPress theme and design the site again. Recreate the information hierarchy first, then refine typography, spacing, colors, borders, animations, and responsive behavior. Avoid trying to reproduce every decorative detail before navigation, readability, and performance are correct.
Custom code and embeds
Review every code block, marketing script, map, social feed, video player, and interactive widget. Limited text from embed and Instagram blocks may be present, but the external behavior is not guaranteed. Re-add only scripts you still need, confirm consent requirements, and remove obsolete code rather than carrying it forward blindly.
Memberships and complex integrations
Membership access, scheduling, subscriptions, customer portals, and multi-system workflows need a separate design and data plan. Verify account migration, permissions, emails, webhooks, and payment events before directing users to the new site.
Staging checks that should happen before launch
Use a repeatable checklist and record the result for each important template.
- Content: headings, paragraphs, links, authors, dates, comments, captions, galleries, downloads, and search results.
- Media: local image files, responsive sizes, alt text, logos, video, audio, and background assets.
- Navigation: menus, dropdowns, breadcrumbs, pagination, category links, and footer links.
- Mobile: text wrapping, tap targets, menus, forms, tables, image cropping, and checkout.
- Forms: validation, spam controls, notifications, autoresponders, storage, consent, and analytics events.
- Commerce: product data, inventory, taxes, shipping, coupons, payment authorization, order emails, refunds, and account pages.
- SEO: titles, descriptions, canonicals, robots rules, XML sitemap, structured data, Open Graph data, redirects, and 404 responses.
- Performance and security: caching, compression, HTTPS, updates, backups, and least-privilege administrator access.
Troubleshooting common migration problems
Pages are missing from the XML import
Check whether the page type is one Squarespace excludes, such as a store, cover, index, calendar, portfolio, album, or info page. Also check whether the item was still a draft. Copy excluded content manually and add its final URL to the redirect inventory.
Images show as broken after launch
Open the affected page and determine whether the image points to a Squarespace URL or is absent from the WordPress Media Library. Upload a local copy, replace the block, and repeat the rendered-page check for every template that used the same asset.
The new page works, but the old URL returns 404
Confirm that the old path is in the redirect map, that the rule is active on the live domain, and that no earlier rule creates a loop or chain. Send the old URL to the closest matching page, not automatically to the homepage.
The site looks unstyled
This is expected when the XML content arrives without Squarespace style settings or custom CSS. Finish the WordPress theme and template setup, then check whether any imported HTML depends on classes or scripts that no longer exist.
Forms submit but nobody receives the message
Test delivery from the live domain, inspect spam and service logs, verify the notification address, and confirm that the form’s anti-spam and consent settings are valid. A visually identical form is not a successful migration until a real test reaches its destination.
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Verify the staging site’s no-index setting, robots rules, canonical URLs, and access controls. Remove any staging URLs from the sitemap and correct indexing settings before DNS is changed.
The domain does not resolve after the switch
Recheck the DNS or nameserver values against the destination’s instructions, allow time for DNS propagation, and keep the Squarespace site available until the domain consistently reaches WordPress from multiple networks.
When professional migration help is justified
A specialist can reduce risk when the site is large, revenue-critical, or technically unusual. Consider professional help for extensive custom CSS, animation-heavy layouts, memberships, complex integrations, large media libraries, substantial ecommerce catalogs, or a redirect map with thousands of high-value URLs. Provide the specialist with your URL inventory, analytics priorities, export file, integration list, and launch acceptance checklist so the work can be verified rather than judged only by visual similarity.
Quick Recap
Final launch order
- Leave Squarespace public.
- Build and import on a temporary or staging address.
- Rebuild unsupported content, design, media, forms, and commerce.
- Match permalinks and install one-to-one 301 redirects.
- Test representative desktop and mobile pages, forms, checkout, SEO files, and 404 handling.
- Change DNS or nameservers to the WordPress destination.
- Recheck the live domain, redirects, indexing, and analytics.
- Cancel the old Squarespace site only after all required images and other source-dependent assets have been copied and verified.
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