Import content from another site

If you want to move content from any WordPress site to any WordPress.com site, use the Import Content option. This option imports a copy of your pages, posts, and media to your site, but not plugins, themes, or other design elements. In this guide, you will learn how to import content from another WordPress site.

You can move content (posts, pages, comments, categories, tags, and more) from one WordPress site to another using an XML file. An XML file is a text file that stores structured data, like posts, pages, and media links, in a format that WordPress can read and import.

You will use the same steps to export your content regardless of whether your source site is a self-hosted WordPress site or hosted on WordPress.com.

To obtain an XML content file from a WordPress site (whether it’s hosted on WordPress.com or any other host), take the following steps:

1. In your site’s dashboard, navigate to Tools → Export.
2. By default, the “All Content” option will be selected; click the “Download Export File” button to export your content.
3. The export file will be saved to your default downloads folder on your computer.

If your export contains more than approximately 1000 pages or posts, you will receive an email with a single .zip file containing multiple XML files. Import each .xml file individually.

After you have created the XML file in step 1, you will use the file to import the source site’s content into your new site. The import will not delete or overwrite any existing content on the new site.

Follow these steps to import the XML file into your new site:

1. Visit your WordPress.com site’s dashboard.
2. Navigate to Tools → Import in the menu on the left side.
3. Scroll down to the WordPress option at the bottom of the page (not the WordPress.com option at the top unless you wish to perform a full migration of your entire site, including themes and plugins).
4. If you see an “Install Now” link, click it to install the WordPress importer. Otherwise, click the “Run Importer” link:

5. Click the “Choose file” button and select your .xml file from your computer.
   • If you have a .zip file, extract the file on your computer and locate the .xml file or files within the extracted folder. Import each .xml file from that folder.
6. If prompted, reassign the authors of the imported items to an existing user on the new site by choosing your username.
   • If you’re importing content from a site with multiple admins, authors, or other users, you can streamline the import process by adding those user accounts to your new site before importing.
7. Click the Submit button to start the import.

If your site has plugins installed, you will see additional options during the import:

Import/create authors: If the post authors from the source site do not exist on the destination site, you will have the option to import the author, create a new user, or assign posts to an existing user. When you create a new user, that only creates a WP Admin user. You can invite the user to create a WordPress.com account for full site access.

Import Attachments: Check this box to download and import file attachments. Sites without plugins will import attachments automatically.

Content Options: Check this box to change all imported URLs that currently link to the previous site to the new site’s address.

When you do a full site import, media files import automatically in the background after you complete the content import. XML files contain no actual images or media files. They contain links to those files, which will be uploaded to the new site after you import the XML file by following the steps above.

To verify media imported successfully, follow these steps:

1. Visit your site’s dashboard.
2. Navigate to Media in the menu on the left side of your dashboard.
3. Compare the number of items in your Media Library to the count from your original site.
4. If the counts don’t match, wait a few minutes and refresh the page. If still incomplete, check back in a few hours. Large media libraries can take several hours to import completely.
5. Review a few pages or posts to check that images display correctly.

If you imported specific content only, you will need to import media separately. See the guide on importing specific content for media import instructions.

After importing content and verifying media, review your site to ensure everything transferred correctly. Consider the following actions:

• Review the pages and posts that have been imported to your new site.
• Select a new homepage at Settings → Reading.
• Choose a new theme for your site.
• Add a domain to your site.
• Upgrade to a paid plan for more benefits.

If you receive a file size error when uploading, it may be due to one of the following reasons:

Reason: The XML content file is too large. Import files larger than 15 MB will not successfully import.

Solutions:

• Compress the .xml file. The importer accepts .zip files that contain a single XML file.
• Use the specific content export options to create smaller files.

Reason: The file is in tar.gz format. A tar.gz file contains directories with the database (SQL) and site files (media, plugins, themes, etc.). This format requires developer-level tools to import.

Solutions:

• Use our step-by-step migration tool.
• Request a free migration from our team.
• If you are comfortable with developer-level tools, use phpMyAdmin and SFTP to import your site.
• You can hire a developer to migrate the site for you.