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The dependable way to move from Medium to WordPress is to download your Medium archive first, import it with the tool that matches your WordPress destination, and then audit posts, media, authors, status, links and search signals on a staging copy. WordPress.com has a documented Medium importer; self-hosted WordPress needs a compatible Medium-specific importer or selective manual work.
Choose the migration route before touching your live site
Your destination determines the import method and how much control you have over URLs and server files.
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| Route | Best fit | Important limitation or check |
|---|---|---|
| Medium archive plus WordPress.com importer | A WordPress.com site and a complete account archive | Medium publication exports use a separate support process; inspect the imported result. |
| Medium archive plus a self-hosted Medium importer | A self-hosted WordPress installation | Confirm maintenance, WordPress compatibility, media handling, privacy and redirect features; test before production. |
| RSS import | A limited transfer of recent public content | Medium says paywalled stories are not available as full stories in RSS, so RSS is not a complete archive. |
| Manual copy and repair | A small collection or a few import exceptions | It takes longer and requires separate checks for rights, images, embeds, formatting and canonical settings. |
For a large or valuable publication, keep the original Medium site available while you test. There is no published universal success rate or guaranteed media-completeness figure for these routes.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →1. Preserve your Medium content and inventory it
Before editing or deleting anything, record the Medium profile or publication, approximate story count, drafts, authors, images, embeds, tags and important inbound links. Save a copy of this inventory with the export archive so you can compare source and destination.
Download an ordinary Medium account archive
- Sign in to Medium.
- Open Settings, then Security and apps.
- Choose Download your information and select Export.
- Wait for Medium’s email containing the archive download link.
- Download the archive and keep the untouched ZIP as your rollback and reference copy.
The archive is the stronger starting point for a complete move because an RSS feed may omit full text for paywalled stories.
Handle a Medium publication separately
Publication owners may need to request a backup from Medium support rather than using the ordinary account export. The WordPress.com guidance recommends requesting the HTML version for WordPress import. Keep the support-provided files unchanged before working on a copy.
2. Prepare WordPress before importing
Decide whether you are using WordPress.com or a self-hosted WordPress installation, then create the destination structure before uploading content.
- Create or confirm destination users for every Medium author.
- Decide how Medium tags, publication sections and drafts will map to WordPress taxonomies and statuses.
- Choose the destination domain and URL pattern before you begin redirect planning.
- Take a fresh WordPress backup and, preferably, import into a staging site first.
Do not confuse WordPress’s built-in WXR importer with a Medium archive. WXR is WordPress’s own export format; a Medium ZIP or HTML archive requires a Medium-capable workflow.
3. Import the archive with the matching tool
WordPress.com
- In the WordPress.com dashboard, open Tools and then Import.
- Select the Medium importer.
- Upload the Medium archive when prompted.
- If the archive contains multiple authors, assign each source author to the appropriate WordPress.com user.
- Wait for processing to finish, then save the import report for the audit.
Self-hosted WordPress
Evaluate a current Medium-specific importer that can read your archive. One WordPress.org directory listing describes support for a ZIP archive, individual story HTML files, and public profile or publication RSS. At the time reported, that listing showed fewer than 10 active installations and zero reviews. Those figures describe adoption and review status, not quality or failure rates.
- Install the candidate importer only on staging or after a verified backup.
- Check its last update, supported WordPress and PHP versions, permissions and privacy practices.
- Import a representative sample before attempting the full archive.
- Confirm what it does with images, embeds, drafts, authors, dates, tags and redirects.
Do not build a new workflow around obtaining a Medium API token. Medium’s current API guidance says it will not issue new integration tokens or allow new integrations; existing tokens may continue to work, but a new migration should not depend on one.
4. Audit the imported site before publishing
An importer can complete without proving that every story element transferred correctly. Compare the destination with your inventory and inspect different types of stories.
Use a representative test set
- One older and one newer story.
- Stories with several images, captions, galleries or downloadable files.
- Stories containing code, blockquotes, lists, tables or unusual formatting.
- Stories with embeds, paywall history, custom subtitles or publication branding.
- Drafts, scheduled items and posts written by each author.
Check each imported post
- Title, subtitle, body order and paragraph or heading structure.
- Image files, dimensions, captions, alt text and whether the files are local in the WordPress media library.
- Embeds and code blocks on desktop and mobile.
- Author, publication date, status, tags and categories.
- Outgoing links and links between stories.
- Any importer warnings, skipped files or duplicate posts.
Repair omissions manually or repeat the import from a clean staging copy. Avoid repeatedly importing into production, which can create duplicates that are harder to reconcile.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.5. Decide what should happen to Medium URLs
Content import and search-engine URL handling are separate jobs. First choose the authoritative home for each story: Medium, WordPress, or a controlled transition.
Canonical links
A canonical link tells search engines which copy is authoritative when substantially identical content appears at more than one URL. Medium documents canonical settings on a Medium story, but that documentation does not verify the canonical tag generated by your WordPress theme or SEO plugin. Inspect the HTML of representative WordPress pages and confirm that each canonical points to the intended WordPress URL before changing the source.
Redirects
A cross-domain redirect requires control of the old URL or a setup that explicitly supports it. An importer cannot automatically redirect every Medium address to a different WordPress domain. If a plugin claims canonical or redirect support, test the actual response code, destination URL, chains and query-string behavior with several old links before relying on it.
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Inbound links and bookmarks
List high-value Medium URLs and plan replacements before launch. If you cannot control a particular Medium URL, leave a clear, useful notice or canonical arrangement where your setup permits it rather than assuming the old address will redirect.
6. Understand what RSS can and cannot do
Medium provides profile, publication and topic feeds, which can be useful for a limited latest-content workflow or for recovering public posts. Medium explicitly notes that stories behind its paywall are not available as full stories in any RSS feed. A feed therefore cannot substitute for the account or publication archive when completeness matters.
Launch checklist
- The original archive and inventory are stored safely.
- Every destination author has a deliberate WordPress account mapping.
- Representative old, new, media-heavy and embed-heavy stories have been reviewed.
- Images, captions, embeds, code and internal links work on the front end.
- Draft and published statuses match your editorial plan.
- Canonical tags show the intended authoritative URLs.
- Tested redirects return the expected status and do not form chains.
- WordPress backups and a rollback plan are ready before DNS or publishing changes.
The Bottom Line
Download the Medium archive first, use WordPress.com’s Medium importer or a carefully vetted self-hosted importer, and treat content QA and URL planning as mandatory separate stages. RSS and a new API token are not reliable substitutes for a complete archive.
Quick Recap
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