You can migrate a Squarespace website, but there is no complete one-click export. Squarespace’s XML export covers selected content—primarily for WordPress—while products, contacts, some media, styling, domain and email settings, and subscriptions need separate handling. Build the new site and check its content, URLs, redirects, and email before canceling the old site.
What Squarespace exports—and what it does not
Squarespace’s native export creates an XML file intended for importing supported content into WordPress. Its listed coverage includes layout pages, one blog and its posts, text and image blocks, and certain gallery pages. The guide also lists up to 1,000 comments per post among supported export content. The export is not a full copy of the site: many page types, store pages, product blocks, video blocks, styling, custom CSS, and drafts are excluded. See Squarespace’s export guide for the current coverage.
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Other data has its own export route. Squarespace documents CSV exports for products and contacts, but does not continuously sync that data with another platform. Bulk image and uploaded-video export is unavailable; individual images can be downloaded from the asset library. Plan to rebuild excluded content and verify that media is actually stored on the destination, rather than assuming an imported page means its images were copied. The details are in Squarespace’s import and export guidance.
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Choose a destination that fits the site you have
WordPress is the destination supported by Squarespace’s native XML export, but importing supported content does not recreate the Squarespace design. Expect to rebuild styling and excluded pages, and account for hosting and maintenance if you choose self-hosted WordPress. If the main goal is moving a store to Shopify, Shopify provides a separate Squarespace migration workflow.
Before choosing, check the practical fit for your site:
- Content: Which pages, posts, and content types can be imported, and what must be rebuilt?
- Commerce and contacts: How will product and contact CSV data be handled, and what needs to be recreated?
- Media: Will images and videos be copied into the destination, or will pages depend on links to the old site?
- URLs: Can you preserve existing paths or configure redirects for changed ones?
- Operations: Do you want a managed service, or are you prepared to manage WordPress hosting and maintenance?
These are migration trade-offs, not a basis for assuming one platform is cheapest or universally best.
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Prepare an inventory and URL map
Before importing or rebuilding, make a record of what the current site contains and what must keep working. A spreadsheet is useful for mapping each existing address to its destination.
- List pages, blog posts, products, contacts, forms, and integrations.
- Record image and video locations, custom CSS, and any content type that the export does not cover.
- Note the domain registrar, DNS records, email provider, and every paid Squarespace subscription or add-on.
- For each important page or product, record the old URL, intended new URL, and whether a redirect is required.
Save or export material that will not follow the destination’s import route. This inventory also gives you a checklist for the final launch review.
Build the new site and bring content across
- Keep the Squarespace site published. Its export guide requires an active, published site. Do not cancel the site plan before you have completed the move and checked content and media.
- Export supported content. In Squarespace, open the export controls described in the official export guide and create the XML file. If the site has more than one blog, select the primary blog for the export.
- Import into the destination. Follow the destination platform’s import instructions. For a Shopify store move, use Shopify’s migration instructions rather than treating the WordPress XML route as a complete commerce migration.
- Handle excluded data separately. Export products and contacts as CSV where applicable, then import or recreate them using the destination’s supported process. Rebuild excluded page types, store elements, styling, custom CSS, and drafts as needed.
- Check media on the destination. Open representative pages and verify images load. For self-hosted WordPress, check whether the files exist in its media library; if the importer only retained Squarespace URLs, download the files you need and upload them to WordPress. Download individual images from Squarespace’s asset library where necessary.
Do not deactivate the old site merely because the new pages appear to load: a page can still display an image served from Squarespace.
Preserve URLs and reduce avoidable search disruption
Keeping the same domain and matching old URL paths on the new platform where sensible reduces the number of addresses that must change. For every path that does change, configure a permanent 301 redirect from the old URL to its closest relevant destination—not simply to the home page. Include blog posts and products, whose URL formats may differ between platforms.
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Google recommends preparing a URL mapping and configuring redirects for moves that change URLs. Its site-move guidance explains the process. Squarespace also provides SEO guidance for a site move or redesign. Once the new site is live and redirects are in place, request indexing and monitor errors in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
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Redirects help visitors and crawlers reach moved pages, but they do not guarantee that rankings will stay unchanged. A platform or URL change can affect search visibility, so check important landing pages and search errors after launch.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Move the domain without confusing it with the website
A domain registration transfer and a site migration are separate jobs. Moving registration does not move the site’s hosting or cancel the Squarespace website plan. Squarespace says an outbound domain transfer can take up to 15 days, and the authentication code should arrive within 24 hours. These are Squarespace’s stated process times, not guarantees for every transfer. See Squarespace’s domain-transfer instructions.
You can either transfer the domain registration to a new provider or leave it with its current registrar and update DNS to point to the new host. Before changing either, save the existing DNS records so you can restore or reproduce needed settings.
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- Record current DNS settings, including records used for email and verification.
- If transferring a Squarespace-managed domain, unlock it and request the authentication code using the steps in Squarespace’s transfer guide.
- Submit the code to the new provider and allow for the stated transfer window, or update DNS at the existing registrar if you are not transferring registration.
- Test the domain against the new site and verify email and other services that rely on DNS.
Do not treat a completed domain transfer as confirmation that the Squarespace site subscription has ended; the site plan is managed separately.
Keep email and subscriptions working
If Google Workspace is attached to the domain, the Workspace subscription remains managed through Squarespace unless you cancel it. After a domain transfer, configure the necessary MX records with the new registrar or DNS provider to keep mail routing correctly. Record existing MX and TXT records before changing DNS, then verify sending and receiving after the change. Squarespace’s domain transfer FAQ covers domain-related email considerations.
Review billing independently from the domain and content move. Squarespace says subscriptions cannot be transferred between Squarespace sites. Email Campaigns, Digital Products, and Acuity add-ons also cannot be moved; its guidance says those add-ons must be canceled and repurchased on the new site. Check Squarespace’s subscription guidance before changing plans.
Launch checklist: when it is safe to retire the old site
- Destination pages, posts, products, contacts, and key forms have been checked.
- Images and other required media load from the destination or another location you intend to keep.
- Old URLs either still work at their original paths or redirect to the correct new pages.
- The domain resolves to the new site, and email works after any DNS change.
- Search indexing has been requested where appropriate, and Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are being checked for errors.
- You understand which Squarespace plan and add-ons remain active, and have handled cancellations or replacements deliberately.
Only after these checks should you cancel the Squarespace website service. Squarespace states that transferring a domain does not itself move hosting or cancel the site; see its domain transfer guide.
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