How to Transfer Your Website from Squarespace to WordPress
Export Your Site: Before I begin, I always export a site twice. To export your Squarespace site, go to SETTINGS and select “IMPORT/EXPORT”. Select EXPORT, and an XML file will download. This is what WordPress will read to import the content
Setup and Install WordPress: You will want to setup your Nameservers to point to your new hosting account, and install WordPress. I would suggest that you also install your themes and plugins at this time. You can also setup a temporary domain and then transfer everything if you don’t want your site to go down. It is completely up to personal preference. Typically sites have gone down for 30-45 minutes, so I try to do transfers late at night or on weekends.
Set your permalink structure: Under SETTINGS < PERMALINK, you will want to replicate your permalink structure to maintain the same structure of your SS site. The permalink guide in WordPress Codex outlines different structures if yours is complicated.
Under TOOLS < IMPORT. Select WORDPRESS IMPORTER since you are using an XML File.
Assign AUTHORS and select DOWNLOAD FILE attachments. The file will import, and during the import it takes time. Don’t change screens or browsers. I stretch at this time.
Once the import is complete, I download and install IMPORT EXTERNAL IMAGES plugin, and run it once. This plugin imports any images that for some reason didn’t make it.
If the import did not include the featured image for each blog post, I then run QUICK FEATURED IMAGES, and have the Featured Image for each post set.
After you’ve transferred everything over, you’ll be able to close your Squarespace account. I recommend that people wait a few days to make sure that there are no bugs with their new site. That’s it, you are done!
You will need to following things to transfer domain from Squarespace to WordPress
Domain Registrar Login: If your domain is registered through Squarespace, you’ll need to transfer it to another registrar. I’d recommend doing it as the same company as your hosting account (just for overall ease), but if not, check out Namecheap.
Hosting Account: Squarespace hosts your site. When you move to WordPress website, you’ll need to change hosts. I would strongly recommend you choose SiteGround’s shared WordPress hosting. If you are considering GoDaddy, you will have a slow, laggy site. I’ve stopped taking on custom clients who choose GoDaddy for the hosting. Using GoDaddy for hosting is like building a house without a foundation.
Permalink Structure: Note the permalink structure of your blog posts. Is it – domain.com/post-title or domain.com/date/post-title or something else? When you transfer your site (regardless of what platform you are going from), you want to make sure your site has the same permalink structure. This ensures that all those pinterest images, tweets, inbound links, etc. go to the correct post.
