Need help exporting content to migrate to WordPress.org

  • Unknown's avatar
    hollythornton1 · Member ·

    Hi, I am in the process of migrating from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. I have tried exporting/importing my website but not all of the content is contained within the .xml file. I have been told that I need to download a full backup of my website files in either a .zip or .tar and database in .sql. Please could you assist with this?

    WP.com: Yes
    Correct account: Yes

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    delfrag · Member ·

    Hi there,

    Have you followed this guide?

    1. not all of the content is contained within the .xml file. 
    “This XML file (also referred to as WXR file) contains your posts, pages, comments, categories, tags, and links to images. It does not include the site’s design, themes, and plugins, but you can use a migration plugin for that.”

      2. I need to download a full backup of my website files in either a .zip

    “You will receive a .zip file to save to your computer with the .xml file inside of it. This file contains your posts, pages, comments, categories, tags, and references to your site’s images.

    Larger sites will include more than one XML file to ensure that your export process will be fast and complete successfully. When importing into another site, you’ll need to unzip the file and import each of the .xml files individually.”

    3. or .tar

    “Your media library will be downloaded as a .tar archive. On Mac OS X you can unpack this archive by double-clicking on the icon. For Windows you might need to download a program like 7-Zip to allow you to do this.”

    database in .sql

    As for this, you don’t have access to your database in WordPress.com, but if you are trying to move your subscribers to WordPress.org, then you can do this through Jetpack . Please check this guide.

    <br>(You can also collect the email addresses of those who subscribed to via email, but this will not include subscribers through the reader)

    I hope this helps!

    Good luck

  • Unknown's avatar
    hollythornton1 · Member ·

    Hi, yes I have followed the guide pointed out. I feel I did not explain myself correctly. I have downloaded the .xml file (from Export > Export Content). It is my understanding that this should contain all my blog posts and content posted to the blog previously). However, when uploading to WordPress.org, only some of the blog posts/content are being uploaded. I have opened the .xml in my documents and it seems to contain reference to all my posts so not sure why this is. The team over there at WordPress.org/my hosting site have suggested that the problem is with the core .xml file downloaded from WordPress.com and thus have suggested that I need to request an alternative file from the team at WordPress.com – they have specified that this needs to be a “file containing the full backup of the website which needs to be in the format of either a .zip or .tar and database in .sql.” From the way they have requested this, they have implied that the usual .xml export file is not sufficient. I hope that makes more sense?

    I’m unfortunately not able to use the migration plugin or Jetpack as I only have a free account with WordPress.com.

  • Unknown's avatar
    delfrag · Member ·

    Hi,

    I have some questions:

    Didn’t your .xml come in a compressed .zip file?

    Also, have you checked that your file size is not bigger than the max permitted when uploading?

    Again, just as a remainder, .sql database files are not available in WordPress.com

    Im trying to find out more about your issue. In the meanwhile i’ll tag the staff to see if they can offer this alternative file.

    Have you tried downloading again and/or downloading the missing content? You can filter which parts of your blog you want to download, so maybe you can do an export with all the missing parts.

    https://wordpress.com/support/export/#export-errors

  • Unknown's avatar
    hollythornton1 · Member ·

    Hi, thanks so much for getting back to me.

    Yes, the .xml came in a compressed .zip which I then extracted for importing.

    The .xml is only 760kb and the max upload is 512mb so well within? It’s only a small amount of data in the scheme of things.

    Re .sql – okay this is good to know. This is what my hosting provider have told me is required since the .xml is apparently not sufficient. I’m not sure why they are saying this but they are refusing to provide me with any alternative options.

    Yes, I have tried re-downloading and importing the content several times now with no luck. I have tried both as one bulk and as as individual parts but neither is working. What I can’t understand is why some posts have pulled through perfectly and others just aren’t appearing at all.

    Any help would be much appreciated. I am getting so fed up and the people at my hosting are just blaming it on the .xml file!

  • Unknown's avatar
    delfrag · Member ·

    Ok, so for what I’ve read you’ll need a plugin that allows you to import your .xml files to your new site, since .xml are not allowed for upload. The .zip file just contains more .xml files so it won’t work.

    This is a plugin you’ll need in WordPress.org so the free account on WordPress.com is not a limitation.

    XML and CSV
    Here are some resources that can help guide you in importing XML or CSV content into WordPress.org
    The WP All Import plugin can import any XML or CSV file. It integrates with the WP All Export plugin.
    With the WP CSV to DB plugin you can insert CSV file content into a WordPress database.
    CSV Importer plugin
    Really Simple CSV Importer plugin

    Hope this helps!

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