---
title: "How to Transfer a Website from Squarespace to WordPress"
description: "Squarespace has risen in popularity within recent years. But many users reach a point where they want more customization capabilities for their website(s). Many decide to migrate to the WordPress CMS..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/website-transfers/how-to-transfer-a-website-from-squarespace-to-wordpress/
date: 2018-09-18
modified: 2026-04-23
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["Website Transfers"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# How to Transfer a Website from Squarespace to WordPress

Squarespace has risen in popularity within recent years. But many users reach a point where they want more customization capabilities for their website(s). Many decide to migrate to the WordPress CMS ([WordPress.org, not WordPress.com](https://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/)) [for many reasons](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/blog/why-is-wordpress-so-popular-5-features-that-make-it-so-great/) such as how easy it is to learn and its capabilities for novice and experienced users alike.

Squarespace has an export function specifically for WordPress, although it doesn’t fully **migrate a Squarespace website into WordPress**. The following will export:

- Regular pages
- Blog pages (as WordPress posts)
- Gallery pages
- Text, Image, and social media blocks
- Comments

## Install WordPress

1. **Install WordPress** [manually](/support/edu/wordpress/installing-wordpress-manually/) with [via Softaculous](/support/edu/wordpress/install-wordpress-using-softaculous/).
2. Install and customize a [preferred **WordPress theme**](/support/product-guides/softaculous/install-software-softaculous/).
3. Install any preferred and [recommended **plugins**](/support/edu/wordpress/recommended-wordpress-plugins) such as for [backups](/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/recommended-wordpress-backup-plugins/), [security](/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/recommended-security-plugins/), and [optimization](/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/helpful-wordpress-plugins/).
4. [Modify your **primary menu**](/support/edu/wordpress/creating-custom-wordpress-menus/) to match your Squarespace website.

## Import Squarespace File

After installing WordPress, we’ll need to **download the Squarespace export file** to import into WordPress.

1. [Login your Squarespace website](https://www.squarespace.com/).
2. Select **Settings**, **Advanced**, and **Import / Export**.[![Select Settings](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-1-settings.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-1-settings.png)[![Select Advanced](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-2-advanced.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-2-advanced.png)[![Select Import / Export](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-3-import-export.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-3-import-export.png)
3. Select **Export**, the **WordPress** logo, and **Download** the XML file. What’s available in the export file will be listed.[![Select Export](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-4-export.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-4-export.png)[![Select WordPress](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-5-export-wp.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-5-export-wp.png)[![Select Download](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-6-export-download.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-6-export-download.png)
4. In WordPress, after downloading your **Squarespace export file**, select **Tools** and **Import**.
5. **Select WordPress** to install and activate the [WordPress Import Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-importer/).[![Select Install Now](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-7-import-wordpress.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-7-import-wordpress.png)
6. Select **Run Importer** at the top of the screen.[![Select Run Importer](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-8-importer.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-8-importer.png)
7. Browse for your RSS file before selecting **Upload file and import**.[![Browse file for import](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-9-import-file.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-9-import-file.png)
8. Make any preferred changes on the **Import Settings** and assign an author to the imported posts. You can create an author or use an existing user.[![Import file](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-10-import-settings.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/imh-squarespace-xfer-10-import-settings.png)The imported content should now show in their respective sections in WordPress.

## Import Content Manually

For anything the RSS feed doesn’t import, **copying text from your Wix site to individual WordPress pages and posts** will be the only option for migrating content.

1. [Create a new WordPress page or post](/support/edu/wordpress/create-edit-pages-posts-wordpress/).
2. Copy the text from a page on your Wix website and paste it into the **WordPress visual editor**.
3. **Edit the WordPress page or post** to your preference.
4. **Save Draft** or **Publish** to save your work.

### Import Images

There are two ways to **import images from your Squarespace website**:

1. **Use a WordPress plugin** such as [Save & Import Image from URL](https://wordpress.org/plugins/save-import-image-from-url/) to import directly from Squarespace.The easiest way to get an image URL:**Chrome**: Right-click the image and select **Open image in a new tab**.**Firefox**: Right-click the image and select **View Image**.**Generic**: Right-click the image and select **Inspect Element** to view the URL within the source code.
2. Download then **manually upload all media files** to your [WordPress media library](/support/edu/wordpress/add-new-media-wordpress-351/).

**Note**: Although you can upload images using [FTP or cPanel File Manager](/support/website/how-to-upload-files-server/), only media files uploaded to the WordPress media library can be selected from it.

## Fix Permalinks

**Permalinks determine the format of your website URL’s**. You’ll likely want to change this to match the URL’s from your older website to ensure users don’t get 404 errors while trying view any saved links. The most common options are *Post name* and *Month and name*. You can [reset these settings at any time](/support/edu/wordpress/reset-permalinks-wordpress/).

1. While logged into your WordPress site, hover over **Settings** and select **Permalinks**.[![Select Permalinks](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/reset-permalinks/wordpress-settings-permalinks-1.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/reset-permalinks/wordpress-settings-permalinks-1.png)
2. Here you can choose a common setting or create your own structure.[![Edit permalinks settings](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/reset-permalinks/wordpress-permalinks-settings-page.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/images/stories/wordpress/reset-permalinks/wordpress-permalinks-settings-page.png)
3. Your changes take effect immediately after pressing **Save Changes**.

## Change DNS Settings

After copying all data from Squarespace to your WordPress site, you’ll need to **update your domain settings**.

If you **registered a domain with Squarespace**, you’ll need to [change the A record at Squarespace.com](https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/205812348#toc-open-advanced-dns-settings) to match your [server IP shown in cPanel](/support/website/how-to-find-your-shared-ip-address-of-your-server-in-cpanel/) or [transfer your domain](/support/domain-names/transfer-domain-name-to-inmotion-hosting/) to us or elsewhere before changing the nameservers to *ns1.inmotionhosting.com* and *ns2.inmotionhosting.com*.

If you **bought your domain elsewhere** and pointed it to Squarespace, you’ll need to remove the Squarespace A and CNAME records. Afterwards, change your domain’s A record to match your [server IP shown in cPanel](/support/website/how-to-find-your-shared-ip-address-of-your-server-in-cpanel/) or nameservers to *ns1.inmotionhosting.com* and *ns2.inmotionhosting.com*.

**Note**: We recommend checking your WordPress website [using a hosts file modification](/support/website/modifying-your-hosts-file/) to ensure everything works before changing any DNS settings. Note that DNS changes may require ~4-24hrs to take effect.

If you **used a Squarespace subdomain** – e.g. *example.squarespace.com*, you’ll need to [purchase a domain](/support/domain-names/registering-a-new-domain-name/) to connect with your web hosting. In the meantime, you can use your [temporary URL](/support/website/using-your-temporary-url/).

You can always [contact our live support](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/contact) if you have issues migrating your website or implementing features similar to your Squarespace site related to [Secure Sock Layer (SSL)](/support/website/ssl/auto-ssl-guide/), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), [analytics](/support/edu/phpbb/google-analytics/), [domain settings](/support/domain-names/dns-nameserver-changes/), and more. You can also check out our [WordPress portal](/support/edu/wordpress/) to learn more.