Moving off Modern Events Calendar (MEC) is a data conversion, not just a plugin swap. MEC documents events as linked records: a WordPress event post and a matching row in the site’s prefixed mec_events table. If you move only one side, MEC says the event is incomplete and will not appear on the front end. Even when events import, recurrence, bookings, linked venue and organizer details, and presentation may not carry over as expected.
Before removing MEC, verify its uninstall data-retention setting, export events and bookings separately where needed, and test the destination on a staging copy. The official documentation reviewed does not establish complete field parity for any specific destination.
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What MEC stores for an event
MEC’s SQL-import guidance describes each event as two linked pieces: its WordPress event post and a corresponding row in [wp_prefix]_mec_events. The row’s post_id must match the event post’s ID. Modern Events Calendar Support warns that importing only one side leaves an incomplete event that will not show on the front end.
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What MEC lets you export
MEC documents event exports and booking exports separately. The available formats are not, by themselves, a promise that every field will round-trip into another plugin.
| Data | Documented export formats | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Events | iCal, CSV, MS-Excel, XML, JSON | Confirm that the chosen format includes the fields your destination needs. |
| Bookings | CSV, MS-Excel | Plan a separate booking migration check; do not assume an event export contains reservations. |
Keep exports alongside a full database-and-files backup. Exports are useful migration inputs, but they are not a substitute for a restorable copy of the original site.
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What may change or be lost after switching
Event plugins can represent dates, recurring series, locations, tickets, and reservations differently. Treat the following as items to verify against your own destination rather than guaranteed MEC migration defects.
Recurring events, exceptions, and timezones
Compare recurring schedules, end dates, exceptions, and displayed timezones for representative events. A destination may import event details without reproducing the original recurrence behavior exactly.
Bookings and tickets
Check booking ownership and status, payment or invoice details, and links between bookings and tickets. MEC documents bookings as a separate export, so verify reservations independently of event records.
Venues, organizers, and custom fields
Confirm that linked venue and organizer records arrive with their address and contact fields. Compare custom fields and metadata on sample events, including fields supplied by extensions or custom code.
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Images and front-end presentation
Verify featured images, calendar views, shortcodes, widgets, templates, and theme overrides. Moving event data does not automatically move the presentation layer that made the old calendar look or behave a particular way.
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URLs and discoverability
Inspect individual event URLs, redirects, category archives, feeds, and structured output after the switch. These depend on the site and destination configuration; the reviewed MEC documentation does not guarantee URL continuity.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.If you are moving to The Events Calendar
The Events Calendar (TEC) documents a different storage model: tec_events stores event rows, tec_occurrences stores occurrence rows, and tec_series_relationships records event-to-series relationships. TEC says its internal table design can evolve and recommends using its ORM APIs rather than depending directly on table internals. Copying MEC rows into TEC tables is therefore not a supported general conversion strategy.
TEC’s migration guidance for its own custom event-data system says recurring events with RSVPs cannot be migrated through that process, and complex recurring rules with multiple patterns may split into separate recurring events. That describes TEC’s migration behavior; it is not a guarantee about every MEC-to-TEC import.
TEC support has distinguished its MEC import extension from WordPress’s built-in export/import tools: the extension is intended for importing from MEC, while the built-in tools are described for moving events between sites already using TEC. The support discussion is historical, so check the extension’s current maintenance and compatibility with your installed versions before relying on it.
A safer migration sequence
- Back up the whole site. Make a full database and files backup, verify that it can be restored, and create a staging copy for the conversion.
- Build a representative inventory. Record current counts and sample single, all-day, multi-day, recurring, past, unpublished, ticketed, and booked events.
- Check MEC retention and exports. In MEC’s settings, find “Remove MEC Data on Plugin Uninstall” and verify its state in the installed version before uninstalling. MEC’s Lite readme advises disabling this option before uninstalling Lite when moving data to Pro. Export events and bookings separately where required.
- Use the destination’s supported migration route. Follow its current importer or migration procedure. If SQL is involved, preserve the MEC post/table relationship and use the correct prefix; do not write directly into a destination plugin’s private tables without an explicitly supported method.
- Compare the staging site with your inventory. Check counts, recurrence, timezones, venues, organizers, bookings, custom fields, images, URLs, the front-end calendar, and individual event pages.
- Keep rollback available. Retain the source backup and a way to restore the old setup until the destination has been reviewed in production-like use.
Choosing between migration routes
When deciding between a plugin importer, an export-and-import workflow, or a custom conversion, compare the same practical requirements for each route:
- Which event fields it preserves.
- Whether recurrence and timezone behavior survive.
- How it handles bookings and tickets.
- Whether venues and organizers remain linked.
- What happens to images and event URLs.
- Whether the process is repeatable and can be rolled back.
- Whether it is maintained and compatible with the MEC and destination versions you run.
The available official documentation confirms MEC’s export formats and parts of its storage model, but does not provide a complete comparative scorecard or a universal field-by-field map. Your staging comparison is where site-specific compatibility must be established.
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