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Move a WordPress site to Domma CMS

Export the site from WordPress, import it with the free importer built into every Domma CMS site, check what it made, rebuild what it could not bring, then move your domain.

About an hour for a small site BeginnerFree

RelatedWhat the importer bringsPricing

You will do

Bring your pages, posts, media, menus and more into Domma CMS with redirects for the old addresses, then switch over when it all checks out.

You need

  • Admin access to your WordPress site
  • A Domma CMS site, signed in as an administrator. On a site we host, ask us to switch the importer on first
  • A current backup of the WordPress site and its database

Step 1: Keep a safe copy

Back up the WordPress site's files and database, and keep its hosting running until the new site is live and checked. Note who can change the domain's DNS and email settings.

Step 2: Export from WordPress

In WordPress, go to Tools › Export, choose All content and download the file. It holds your pages, posts, media list, menus, authors, products and custom post types.

Two optional extras:

  • If the old site may go offline before you import, download its wp-content/uploads folder as a zip from your hosting's file manager. Otherwise the importer downloads the images from the old site itself.
  • If you want your widgets, install the free Widget Importer & Exporter plugin in WordPress and export a .wie file. A WordPress export does not include widgets.

Step 3: Switch on what the content needs

The importer puts content where it belongs, so switch those Tools on first: the Blog for posts and comments, and the Shop for WooCommerce products. Anything without a home is listed in the preview with what to switch on, and you can import again afterwards.

Step 4: Upload and read the preview

In Domma CMS, go to Tools › Maintenance › Import from WordPress and upload the export, plus the uploads zip and .wie file if you have them. Nothing changes yet. The preview shows every part of the site and what will happen to it:

  • Pages keep their addresses, and the WordPress home page can become your home page. The page already there is kept as a draft at /previous-home.
  • Posts, media and menus, with what each becomes.
  • Products, with prices read in the Shop's currency. The export does not say which currency WordPress used.
  • Custom types, such as events or team members: choose a collection, pages or skip for each.
  • Users: authors matched to existing users by email, and a role for the new accounts.
  • Widgets: one block per widget area. Footer areas go into the footer unless you switch them off.

Work through each card and change anything you want done differently.

Step 5: Run the import

Choose Run import. Large sites take a few minutes; you can leave the page and come back. When it finishes, the report lists what was made, what was skipped and what needs rebuilding by hand, such as page-builder layouts, shortcodes and plugin widgets. Each run's report is kept.

New users cannot sign in until they set a password. Switch on the invitation email in the Users card to send each of them a link, valid for 7 days. Otherwise send password resets from Users when you are ready.

Running the import again is safe. It updates what it made, never duplicates it, and leaves anything you have edited since alone unless you choose Overwrite.

Step 6: Rebuild what the export does not hold

An export holds content, not the theme or what plugins do. Work through the report's rebuild list:

  • Design: pick a theme in Content › Theme and adjust its colours and fonts.
  • Forms: rebuild contact and booking forms with Forms. Old submissions are not imported, because they hold people's details.
  • Shop settings: set up payment, tax and shipping in the Shop. Orders, customers and coupons stay in WordPress.
  • Connections: reconnect analytics, mailing lists and maps.

Step 7: Check every page and address

Review the important pages at desktop and phone widths. Submit every form, and test checkout with a test payment if you sell online.

Then visit the old addresses that bring you the most visitors, including old ?p=123 links. Each should land on the right new page. The importer adds redirects for every address that changed; add your own in SEO for any it missed.

Step 8: Switch over and keep watching

Point the domain at the new site. Keep the old hosting and backup until the new site has run smoothly for a while. Check for missing pages (404s) in the first weeks, and add redirects for any old addresses that still turn up.

Prefer us to do it?

We offer paid help moving WordPress sites. We run the import, rebuild what it cannot bring across and check the redirects. We review the site and send a scoped price before any work starts.

Ask for a migration assessment or see what the importer brings across.