How to Migrate from Squarespace to WordPress (2026)

Why Leave Squarespace?

Squarespace is a polished website builder with beautiful templates, but its limitations become apparent as your needs grow. Common reasons for migrating to WordPress include: high monthly costs ($16-$52/mo), limited plugin/extension ecosystem, slow page load times due to heavy templates, restricted SEO customization, and lack of true content ownership.

Cost Comparison

Squarespace Personal costs $16/mo ($192/yr). Business costs $33/mo ($396/yr). Commerce Basic costs $36/mo ($432/yr). Meanwhile, SiteGround WordPress hosting starts at $2.99/mo ($35.88/yr), and Hostinger starts at $2.99/mo. Over 3 years, migrating from Squarespace Business to SiteGround saves over $1,000. WordPress + WooCommerce (free) replaces Squarespace Commerce without the monthly platform fee.

Performance Issues

Squarespace sites are rendered through their proprietary framework with heavy CSS/JS bundles. Average Squarespace page loads take 3.0-5.0 seconds, with LCP scores frequently exceeding 3.5 seconds. WordPress on optimized hosting (LiteSpeed or Nginx with caching) consistently achieves 1.0-2.5 second loads. For SEO, page speed is a direct ranking factor — migrating can measurably improve your Google positions.

Flexibility Limitations

Squarespace offers around 30 template families with limited customization beyond their design parameters. WordPress has 10,000+ themes and 60,000+ plugins. Need membership functionality? WordPress has MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, and WooCommerce Subscriptions. Need advanced forms? Gravity Forms, WPForms, and Formidable Forms. On Squarespace, you are limited to their built-in features and a small selection of third-party integrations.

Pre-Migration Checklist

Squarespace offers a built-in XML export for blog posts and basic pages, which makes it one of the easier proprietary platforms to migrate from. However, not everything exports — complete this checklist before starting.

1. Understand What Squarespace Exports (and What It Does Not)

Squarespace XML export includes:

• Blog posts (all content, tags, categories)
• Basic text pages
• Gallery pages (as image links — images remain on Squarespace servers)
• Comments (if you use Squarespace comments)

Squarespace XML export does NOT include:

• Product pages (Squarespace Commerce)
• Audio/video files
• CSS customizations and design settings
• Custom code blocks
• Form submissions
• Album pages, cover pages, and event pages
• Index pages

2. Download All Media Files

Images in the export are linked to Squarespace's CDN (images.squarespace-cdn.com). They will break when you cancel Squarespace. Download everything:

• Right-click and save individual images from each page
• Use HTTrack Website Copier (free) to bulk-download all site media
• For product images (not included in export), manually download from Squarespace admin

3. Export Squarespace Content

1. Log into Squarespace → Settings → Advanced → Import/Export → Export
2. Choose WordPress format
3. Download the XML file when the export completes
4. Save this file — you will import it into WordPress

4. Document Your SEO Setup

• Record all page titles and meta descriptions (Squarespace SEO settings per page)
• Note your URL structure (Squarespace uses /blog/post-title format)
• List any custom 301 redirects configured in Squarespace (Settings → Advanced → URL Mappings)
• Screenshot your Google Search Console performance for baseline comparison

5. Set Up WordPress Hosting

Purchase hosting and install WordPress before starting migration:

• SiteGround ($2.99/mo): Best support for migration issues, free migrator plugin, daily backups. Recommended for Squarespace migrants who want hands-on help.
• Hostinger ($2.99/mo): Best value with LiteSpeed servers, free domain, and free migration service on Business plan.
• Cloudways ($14/mo): Managed cloud for high-traffic sites. Best performance for image-heavy portfolios migrating from Squarespace.

Step-by-Step Migration

Step 1: Import Squarespace XML into WordPress

1. In WordPress dashboard, go to Tools → Import
2. Find "WordPress" in the importer list and click "Install Now," then "Run Importer"
3. Upload the Squarespace XML export file
4. Assign authors — either map to an existing WordPress user or create new ones
5. Check "Download and import file attachments" — this attempts to pull images from Squarespace's CDN into your WordPress Media Library
6. Click Submit and wait for the import to complete

Important: The image import often fails for some files. After import, manually check posts for broken images and re-upload them from your local backup.

Step 2: Fix Content Formatting

Squarespace exports content as basic HTML, but formatting often needs adjustment:

• Headings: Check that heading hierarchy (H2, H3) is preserved correctly
• Image alignment: Re-align images that may have lost their positioning
• Galleries: Squarespace galleries export as simple image links. Recreate them using WordPress gallery blocks or a plugin like Envira Gallery
• Custom code blocks: These do not export. Re-add any custom HTML, CSS, or JavaScript manually
• Embeds: YouTube, Instagram, and other embeds may need to be re-inserted using WordPress embed blocks

Step 3: Recreate Pages Not Included in Export

Several Squarespace page types do not export. Recreate them manually:

• Product pages: Export product data from Squarespace Commerce as CSV, then import into WooCommerce using its product importer
• Event pages: Recreate using The Events Calendar plugin (free)
• Cover pages: Recreate as WordPress pages using your theme's full-width template or Elementor
• Index pages: Recreate using WordPress page templates or a page builder

Step 4: Set Up URL Redirects

Squarespace and WordPress use different URL structures. Map old to new:

• Squarespace blog: /blog/post-title → WordPress: /post-title/
• Squarespace pages: /page-name → WordPress: /page-name/ (often the same)
• Squarespace products: /shop/product-name → WordPress: /product/product-name/

Use the Redirection plugin to create 301 redirects for every URL that changes. This preserves your Google rankings and prevents 404 errors for bookmarked pages.

Step 5: Configure SEO

1. Install RankMath or Yoast SEO plugin
2. For each page and post, re-enter the meta title and description from your documentation
3. Configure XML sitemap settings in the SEO plugin
4. Add schema markup (Article schema for blog posts, Product schema for e-commerce)
5. Set canonical URLs if any pages have duplicate content

Step 6: Design and Theme Setup

Your Squarespace design does not transfer. Choose a WordPress theme that matches your aesthetic:

• For portfolios: Flavor theme or Flavor Portfolio (similar minimal aesthetic to Squarespace)
• For business sites: Astra Pro or Kadence Pro (highly customizable, fast loading)
• For blogs: GeneratePress or Flavor (clean typography, reading-focused)
• For e-commerce: Storefront (official WooCommerce theme) or Astra with WooCommerce module

DNS & Domain Transfer

If Your Domain Is Registered with Squarespace

If you purchased your domain through Squarespace (or transferred it to Squarespace):

1. Option A — Change nameservers: Squarespace Domains → select domain → DNS Settings → scroll to Nameservers → switch to custom nameservers → enter your new host's nameservers
2. Option B — Transfer domain out: Squarespace Domains → select domain → Transfer Away. Squarespace provides the authorization/EPP code. Initiate transfer at your new registrar (Cloudflare Registrar at $10.11/yr recommended).

Note: Squarespace domains registered through Google Domains (acquired by Squarespace in 2023) follow the same process through the Squarespace Domains dashboard.

If Your Domain Is Registered Elsewhere

If your domain is at a third-party registrar (Namecheap, Cloudflare, GoDaddy):

1. Log into your domain registrar
2. Update nameservers: remove Squarespace nameservers and enter your new host's nameservers
3. Or update only the A record to point to your new host's IP (and CNAME for www)
4. DNS propagation takes 2-48 hours (typically 2-4 hours)

Pre-Switch DNS Checklist

• Lower TTL: If your registrar allows it, set TTL to 300 seconds 24 hours before switching. This speeds up propagation.
• Test on new host first: Verify your WordPress site works using the server IP or temporary URL before touching DNS.
• Keep Squarespace active: Do NOT cancel Squarespace until DNS has fully propagated and your site is verified on the new host. Keep it active for 7+ days after switching.
• Monitor propagation: Use whatsmydns.net to check global DNS propagation.

SSL Certificate

Squarespace provides automatic SSL. On your new WordPress host:

• Most hosts auto-provision Let's Encrypt SSL within 1 hour of DNS propagation
• If SSL does not activate, manually trigger it from your hosting control panel
• Install the Really Simple SSL plugin in WordPress to ensure all URLs use HTTPS
• Check for mixed content warnings in browser developer tools

Email Configuration

Squarespace does not provide email hosting — if you use Google Workspace (common with Squarespace), your email is independent of hosting. Just ensure your MX records for Google Workspace are configured on the new host's DNS. If you use email forwarding through Squarespace, recreate those forwards on your new host or through your email provider.

Post-Migration Verification

Immediate Checks (First 24 Hours)

• All pages load correctly: Visit every page on your site. Check for broken images, missing content, layout issues, and font problems.
• SSL working: Confirm every page loads over HTTPS. Check for mixed content warnings in browser console.
• Navigation menus: Verify all menu links work and point to the correct pages. Squarespace menus do not export — you should have recreated them in WordPress.
• Forms: Submit test entries on every contact form and verify emails are received.
• Blog post formatting: Spot-check 10-20 blog posts for correct formatting, images, and embedded content.
• Mobile responsiveness: Test on phone and tablet — your new WordPress theme may render differently than Squarespace.

SEO Verification

• 301 redirects: Test every old Squarespace URL to confirm it redirects to the correct WordPress page. Use Screaming Frog to bulk-test.
• Google Search Console: Submit your new WordPress sitemap. Monitor for crawl errors, 404s, and indexing issues over the next 2 weeks.
• Meta data: Verify meta titles and descriptions are correct on all key pages using RankMath or Yoast.
• Schema markup: Run your homepage and a blog post through Google's Rich Results Test to verify structured data is valid.

Performance Benchmarks

Compare before/after metrics:

• GTmetrix: Run full tests from multiple locations. Compare LCP, TBT, and CLS against your Squarespace baseline.
• TTFB: Use KeyCDN Performance Test. Expect 40-60% improvement from Squarespace to optimized WordPress hosting.
• PageSpeed Insights: Test both mobile and desktop. Target 90+ on desktop, 70+ on mobile.

Two-Week Checklist

• Monitor Google Analytics for traffic patterns — verify no significant drops
• Check Search Console for any new 404 errors or crawl issues weekly
• Confirm automated backups are running (UpdraftPlus or host backup)
• Test all integrations — analytics, email marketing, payment gateways
• Review site in incognito mode for cache-related issues

Cancel Squarespace

After 14 days with no issues:

1. Squarespace Account → Settings → Account & Billing → Cancel
2. Squarespace offers a 14-day refund window on annual plans
3. Download a final XML export and any remaining media files before canceling
4. If your domain is still at Squarespace, transfer it out before canceling your account

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

More guides: SiteGround Review 2026 • Hostinger Review 2026 • Best WordPress Hosting 2026 • Migrate Wix to WordPress