How to Migrate WordPress to Squarespace 2024 - Step By Step Tutorial For Beginners

Moving a website from one platform to another can be challenging and may negatively impact your SEO, website traffic, and speed if you do it wrong. In this article, I will explain step-by-step, clearly with images, how to migrate WordPress to Squarespace website, transfer your domain, and maintain your site’s URL to keep your site traffic.

Migrate WordPress to Squarespace:

Before start migrate your website to Squarespace, it is better to keep your WordPress website active until you finish optimizing everything about your website on Squarespace now let’s explain how to move your website to Squarespace make sure to follow all the steps.

Table of Contents

1.create your new website on Squarespace

The first step is to create your website on Squarespace if you don’t have one yet start with the free 14-day trial that includes access to nearly all Squarespace features or purchase one of Squarespace’s plans. Enter your Squarespace account and click on templates.

Now choose a template to get started. There are 2 options. You can choose a pre-made one or create your template by build with AI, as you see in the picture. Make sure to choose a template that works for you and fits your requirements. I recommend doing your research before choosing any template.

once you choose your template now you need to export content from WordPress and import it into your Squearspace website that is what we will explain in the next step.

2.Export content from WordPress

To export content from WordPress, go to your dashboard in the left sidebar, click on Tools > Export.

Now, once we want to export all our website content, choose all content and click on the button below to start downloading the export file. The file name it will like this formual websitename.wordpress.dateofexport

In the next step, we will import the download export file into our Squearspace website.

3.Import content to Squarespace

Enter to setting on your Squarespace account and scroll down, click on Import & Export Content, then click on import and choose WordPress, as you see in the following pictures below.

Squearscapce gives you 2 options to import your WordPress website: Basic and Advanced. We will choose the second option, which is the most recommended from Squarespace, and our content will be uploaded correctly.

Click on Add File and choose the file that you export from WordPress. Click on “Begin Import.” It will take a few minutes to successfully import all the content on your Squarespace website.

After your website is imported successfully, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t look the same as it did on WordPress. Take time to redesign and enable each page, create the website header and footer, and choose the right fonts, colors, and other design options.

4.transfer domine to Squarespace website

Moving your domain to Squarespace can be a little tricky if you don’t know how to do it. You have two options on Squarespace: transfer a domain or connect it to your website.

Transferring a domain to Squarespace means that you will manage the domain in Squarespace instead of the domain provider platform. You have to follow many steps to transfer your domain to Squarespace, and it takes about 15 days to complete the process. The Article Below from Squarespace shows everything about transferring your domain; it is the best resource I found to help you.

Transferring a domain to a Squarespace site.

Connecting your domain with Squarespace might be a good option for most people, especially if you are happy with your domain provider and it doesn’t take that long to transfer your domain.

Connecting means redirecting the domain to your Squarespace website from your current domain provider, like GoDaddy, Namecheap, WordPress, etc., and it will work fine with Squearspce. You can follow the steps below to connect your domain.

First, enter settings and click on Domains & Emails > Domains

Then Click on USE A DOMAIN I OWN

Here, enter the domain that you want to connect to your Squerspace website

As you see Squarespace gives me 2 options in the domain I entered Squarespace shows that the best and recommended option is to transfer the domain because it respects the requirements of the platform. Once I want to connect my domain I will choose the second option

now choose your domain provider and click on Connect Domain

The last step is to manage your DNS Settings on your domain provider follow all the steps from the article below:

Connecting a third-party domain to your Squarespace site

Note: Most domains connect to a site in 24 hours, but it can sometimes take up to 72 hours.

5.Customize Squarespace URL format

Once you move your website from WordPress to Squarespace, you may also want to create URL redirects to ensure old links work because Squarespace uses different URL formatting than WordPress. Here is an example below of a blog post URL:

WordPress – http://www.yourdomain.com/blog-post
Squarespace – http://www.yourdomain.com/blog/blog-post

this is an example of how URL works on Squarespace if someone visits an inactive page we need to use the redirects to send him to the active one and this can be for permanent changes (301 redirects) or temporary changes (302 redirects)

to customize your URL enter URL Mappings which you can make changes and solve all those issues go to your settings and click on Developer toools then URL Mappings as you see in the pictures below.

Inside this field in URL mappings, write this text formula

/old-url -> /new-url 301

The formula redirects traffic from the old links and inactive pages to our new website’s works and active pages. The URL in the formula includes the first part of the URL (www.yourwebsite.com), just the part after the first slash, and the type of redirects (301 or 302) depending on each redirect you want to do.

the same work of restricting multiple blog posts, events, or products.

each item has its own URL that includes the page’s slug followed by the item’s slug (for example, /blog/example-post).

like this formula here: /blog/[name] -> /posts/[name] 301

Instead of www.mydomainname.com/blog-post-name, it will be www.mydomainname.com/blog/blog-post-name. All that works the same in all Squarespace pages.

This is how to redirect URLs work on Squarespace. I recommended visiting the article below from Squarespace to get a dive into everything about URL redirection, and you can contact the support if you are stuck with any one of the steps to migrate your WordPress to Squarespace website.

Moving from WordPress to Squarespace – Squarespace Help Center