How to Export a WordPress Site Beginner's Guide

Do you want to export your WordPress website to another hosting company or just make a copy of your website?

Exporting your WordPress site is easier than you might think. There are many tools you can use to securely export a WordPress website.

In this step-by-step guide, we'll share everything you need to know to easily export a WordPress site.

Why export your WordPress site?

There are several reasons for 'export a WordPress site. For example, you can move your site to a new domain or web host, or you might just want save your blog posts to your computer .

You could also move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org . If you are unsure of the difference between these, check out our guide to WordPress.com vs WordPress.org .

There are many WordPress exporter tools that allow you to completely export your website files, WordPress database, themes, plugins, and media.

As this is a very common use case, many Large WordPress hosting companies have also created their own WordPress exporter tools.

Whether you want to export a WooCommerce store, a WordPress membership site, or a simple WordPress blog,here are the best ways. Just click on the quick links to go directly to a specific method.

• How to export a WordPress site with the built-in export tool
• How to export a WordPress site using Bluehost Site Migrator
• How to export a WordPress site using SiteGround Migrator
• How to export a WordPress site Using UpdraftPlus
• How to export a WordPress site from WordPress.com
• How to manually export a WordPress site using SFTP + phpMyAdmin
• Options for exporting from a non-WordPress site

Cow to export a WordPress site using the -in the export tool

WordPress has a built-in export tool that allows you to export your website. To use it, simply go to Tools »Export in your WordPress administrator.

Then you have to select the option "All content". This will export all of your posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, tags, navigation menus, and custom posts.

Note: This method exports only the WordPress database options for you. It will not include your plugins or theme files.

Go ahead and click the "Download Export File " option. It will not affect your website. It just creates a copy of your site.

You will need to download the file.

If you want to download this export to a new site, go ahead and login to the WordPress administrator of your new website. Then go to Tools »Import .

All of this 'first you need to install the WordPress importer.

Then just click on the " Run Importer "link. This will take you to a page where you need to select your exported file , then click "Download file and import ".

As long as the original website remains live, WordPress will be able to import your media files such as images from blog posts.

Tip: We also have guides on how to export navigation menus in WordPress and how export users to WordPress .

The downside of the Default Export Tool is that it forces users to go through many steps.

For example, you need to manually back up your plugin files, theme files, and in some cases your media files as well.

That 's why every the best companies for WordPress hosting have started building comprehensive WordPress site migration tools. There are also WordPress backup plugins with built-in site export and import functionality.

Let's take a look.

How to Export a WordPress Site Using Bluehost Site Migrator

This method only works if you use Bluehost for hosting your website.

The easiest way to move your WordPress site from your existing web hosting company to Bluehost is to use the Bluehost Site Migrator plugin.

Before starting, you need to register at Bluehost Web Hosting . They offer WPBeginner readers a great deal with 69% off hosting, along with a free domain name and SSL certificate.

For to get help creating your Bluehost account, see our step by step instructions on our Bluehost coupon page.

After signing up for hosting, Bluehost will automatically install WordPress for you . You can connect to the new site from your hosting dashboard.

Then you need to install and activate the Bluehost Site Migrator plug-in . For more details, see our guide step by step on how to install a WordPress plugin .

Upon activation, click on the Site Migrator link in your WordPress min ad, then click on the "Check compatibility " button.

It will take a few moments for Bluehost to check if your site is compatible. If so, you will see the message "Looks like we are compatible! " Just click the "Start transfer " button on this screen.

Your website will now be packed for migration. Don't worry, nothing on your site itself will change All your content will still be there.

Exporting yoursite may take a few minutes. After that you will see a "Welcome to the Bluehost family " screen.

Now click on the 'Connect to Bluehost ' button to log into your Bluehost account. You will see a note indicating that the migration is in progress.

Logging into your Bluehost account will link your website to This one. You will receive an email from Bluehost to let you know that they have started your transfer.

Just wait until you hear from Bluehost again. Then you can follow their instructions to finish setting up your site.

Tip: Depending on the size of your website, the migration may take several hours. You should avoid making any changes to your site until you have them talked about, as it may delay the export process.

If you want to move your site in a hurry, we recommend using one of the other methods like Updraft and the FTP process manual below.

How to export a WordPress site using SiteGround Migrator

The best way to move your WordPress site from 'another host to SiteGround consiste to use the Plug -in SiteGround Migrator .

First of all, you must register for a SiteGround hosting account . For help creating your account, see the step by step instructions on our SiteGround coupon page .

In your SiteGround dashboard, you must navigate to the WordPress» Migrator page .

Then go ahead and schoose your domain from the drop-down list. If you want to create your WordPress website in a subfolder of your domain, you can add it as a path.

Once you have selected your domain, click on the Generate button.

You will then see your token on the screen. Just leave this tab open or copy it somewhere safe as you will need it in step next.

Then go for it and install and activate the SiteGround Migrator Plug-in on your website. For more details, see our step-by-step guide at how to install a WordPress plugin .

When activating, click on the SG Migrator link in your WordPress admin. On this page enter your migration token and click the Start Transfer button.

You can also enter your email address if you want to receive an email. -mail once the transfer is complete.

If you move your site to a new domain, SiteGround will display a warning message.

You need to click Continue, so that the transfer process can continue. You will also see the progress on the screen.

Once done , you should see a message informing you that the transfer was successful. Then you can go ahead and verify your site before by changing your domain name servers to SiteGround.

How to exportr a WordPress site using UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is one of be st WordPress backup plugins on the market.

It's easy to use UpdraftPlus to export and import your WordPress sites.

First of all you need to install and activate the UpdraftPlus plugin . For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin .

Upon activation, navigate to the Settings »UpdraftPlus Backups page of your WordPress administrator.

Then you need to click the “Back up now” button.

You will then see a pop-up message with

UpdraftPlus will then create a copy of your website.

Once the backup is complete, you can download it to your computer by simply clicking the individual buttons in the backup table at the bottom of the page.

After that, you can easily restore this backup to your new WordPress site by following our step-by-step guide on how to backup and restore sites with UpdraftPlus .

How to export a WordPress site from WordPress.com

Many of our readers often search move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org to unlock more features and have full control over their site.

If you are using WordPress.com it is quite easy to export your site.

First, you need to login to your WordPress.com account and navigate to the Tools »Export page in your admin area.

Here you need to click on "Export " all 'to export your text content. This includes pages, posts, and comments (such as summaries.status of the investigation).

You can also upload all your media files, such as the images you included in your articles.

WordPress will display a download link for your export. Just click on it to download the exported files to your computer.

You can then upload this file to another WordPress.com site that you own, using the Tools »Import feature for that site.

Tip: If you move your site to WordPress.org, then you will need to create a website and install the WordPress.org software .

Our can also help you move your site from WordPress.com to WordPress.org with our free blog setup service . Follow the instructions on this page, and our friendly team will take care of everything for you.

How to manually export a WordPress site using SFTP + phpMyAdmin

The last option to export your WordPress site is to do it manually. We recommend it only to technologically savvy users. If you are a beginner, you should try one of the above methods instead.

EverythingFirst, you need to log into your existing website hosting account using SFTP (Secure FTP). For help with this, see our guide on using FTP to upload files to WordPress .

Next, locate your website root folder and download it to your computer. This can be time consuming if you have a large WordPress site.

Doing this exports all your website files like media downloads, plugins and themes. However, it does not export stock contenté in your WordPress database, such as articles and pages , comments and contact form entries .

To export your WordPress database, you need to log into the check your web hosting and search for phpMyAdmin. In Bluehost , you can find it by going to Advanced» phpMyAdmin .

Once you are in phpMyAdmin , you must click on the Export button at the top of your screen.

If you just want to export your entire tables database, then just click the Go button on the next screen. This will download a .sql file to your computer.

You can download this file on a new installation of WordPress.

If you are trying to export your database to a preexisting WordPress site, you need toselect the Custom option, then scroll down to check the box `` Add a DROP TABLE / TRIGGER '' statement.

When the database file is imported, the pre-existing databases with the same name will be deleted and overwritten with the new data. You can leave all other settings as default, then click the Go button.

Options for exporting a non-WordPress site

If you move your site from another website builder platform on WordPress, then you cannot export it usingthe above methods.

The options we have shared above are only for migrating from WordPress to WordPress.

However, we also have a step by step guide for other platforms as well:

• How to switch from Weebly to WordPress
• How to switch from Wix to WordPress
• How to switch from Joomla to WordPress
• How to switch from support to WordPress
• How to move from Tumblr to WordPress
• How to switch from GoDaddy Website Builder to WordPress

We hope this article has helped you learn how to export a WordPress site. You may also want to see our list of best WordPress plugins for all websites and our comparison des best email marketing services to increase your traffic.

If you liked this article, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us at Twitter and Facebook .