Moving from Squarespace to WordPress without losing your rankings

What the Squarespace export keeps, and what it misses

Squarespace’s export tool produces an XML file in WordPress format (WXR) that the WordPress importer can read. It contains basic pages and posts, with their categories and tags.

According to Squarespace’s documentation, only one blog is exported per file, and store pages, styles and custom CSS are not included. Other page types (galleries, events) come through more or less faithfully depending on the site version: check case by case. Finally, the file contains links to images hosted by Squarespace, not the images themselves.

301 redirects: prepared on WordPress

Squarespace files posts under the blog path (/blog/my-post, sometimes with the date in the address) and products under /shop/p/. WordPress will use different addresses: each old URL needs a 301 redirect to its new place, otherwise Google’s links lead to 404 errors.

Squarespace has its own redirects (URL Mappings), but they only work while the domain points to Squarespace. As with Wix, nothing can be set up server-side on WordPress before the DNS switch: the 301 plan is imported in advance into the Redirection or Rank Math plugin (or into .htaccess) and applies as soon as the domain points to the new host.

Checklist before the switch

Everything is prepared while the Squarespace site stays online. The domain only changes destination at the agreed time.

• List every URL: Squarespace sitemap, pages indexed in Search Console and pages that receive links
• Record the full DNS zone: MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verification TXT records
• If the domain is registered with Squarespace Domains, plan the DNS change (or transfer) from that account
• Check that no imported image still points to Squarespace’s servers
• Review staging and test every form with a real submission
• Import the 301 plan into WordPress and test it on a sample of URLs
• Keep the Squarespace subscription active until all checks are done

Checklist after the switch

DNS propagation usually takes a few hours. Checks are run on the live site.

• HTTPS certificate active on the domain, with and without www
• Email: one message sent and one received on each address, MX identical to the record
• Old URLs: each answers with a 301 to its new address, in a single hop
• Indexing allowed in Settings → Reading
• Search Console: property still verified, new WordPress sitemap submitted
• 404 errors: Redirection plugin log reviewed at D+7 and D+30, redirects added where needed

What a Squarespace to WordPress migration costs

The XML export saves time on posts, but most of the work is the same as elsewhere: layout, images, store, metadata and redirect plan. Price mainly follows volume and whether there is a store.

On top of the migration come WordPress running costs: hosting, domain name and any paid plugins, to compare with the Squarespace subscription you stop.

FAQ