How to migrate from WordPress to a modern website
Quick answer
To migrate from WordPress: export your content and pages, list your current URLs, rebuild each page on the new stack, set up 301 redirects for any URLs that change, move your forms and media, test everything on a staging URL, then switch your domain over. Plan the DNS switchover for a low-traffic window to avoid any visible downtime.
Before you start
Migrating off WordPress is mostly about content and URLs, not code. If you protect those two things, the move is safe. Here's the order that works.
Step by step
- Export your content. Pages, posts, images, and any structured data (products, jobs). WordPress has a built-in exporter; media you download directly.
- Map your URLs. From Search Console, list every indexed page. Decide which stay identical and which change.
- Rebuild on the new stack. Recreate each page's content and structure. This is where speed and security improve.
- Set up redirects. Every changed URL gets a 301 to its new home — one to one.
- Move forms and integrations. Contact forms, WhatsApp links, analytics, and any embeds.
- Test on staging. Review the whole site on a temporary URL before anyone sees it.
- Switch the domain. Point DNS to the new site during a quiet window; the change propagates within minutes to hours.
What to leave behind
- Unused plugins (most of them).
- Bloated page builders that slowed the old site.
- The public /wp-admin login — the biggest security win of leaving WordPress.
Avoiding downtime
Because the new site is fully built and tested before the domain switch, visitors never see a broken page. The old site stays live until the moment you flip DNS to the new one.
If doing this yourself sounds like a lot, that's exactly the job Manage Your Web does: we handle the export, rebuild, redirects, SEO preservation, and domain switchover — and hand you a dashboard to manage it afterward.
The Manage Your Web editorial team writes practical guides for small-business owners on websites, migration, hosting, SEO, and getting more customers online — reviewed for accuracy and free of jargon.