Export WordPress to Wix to HTML

I'll be honest, moving from WordPress to Wix usually isn't the right call. But people do it, and sometimes for legitimate reasons. Let's talk about how and why.

First, why someone would want this.

WordPress requires maintenance. Updates, security patches, plugin conflicts, hosting management. Some people just want a website that works without thinking about it. Wix handles the infrastructure.

The learning curve hit them. WordPress has a lot of concepts, themes, plugins, PHP, databases. Wix is visual. Drag this here, type that there. For non-technical users, that's genuinely easier.

They got hacked. Happens more than you'd think. Recovering from a WordPress hack is stressful. Moving to a managed platform feels safer.

Now, how migration actually works.

Wix has an import tool for WordPress blogs. Go to your Wix dashboard, find Import Blog, connect your WordPress site. It pulls in posts, titles, content, images, publish dates. Works reasonably well for blog content.

Pages don't import cleanly. Wix's importer is really designed for blogs. Static pages come over as drafts with content stripped of formating. You'll be rebuilding these manually.

Your design doesn't transfer at all. WordPress themes and Wix templates are completely different systems. Pick a Wix template that matches your style and recreate the look.

Plugin functionality disappears. That contact form plugin? That SEO plugin? That gallery plugin? None of it exists in Wix. You'll use Wix's built-in versions or their app market alternatives.

Comments are tricky. Wix doesn't import WordPress comments. If you have years of discussion on posts, that's gone. You could screenshot them? But there's no good solution here.

The downsides you should know.

Wix sites are slower. WordPress, properly optimized, loads faster than Wix. Not by a little, significantly. Google cares about page speed. Your SEO might suffer.

You can't leave Wix easily. WordPress lets you export. Wix doesn't. Once you're on Wix, your site is stuck there. The lock-in is real.

Wix costs more than self-hosted WordPress over time. Basic WordPress hosting is $5/month. Wix's comparable plan is $17/month. Over five years that's $720 extra.

If you're determined to move, here's my advice: export your WordPress site to HTML first. Keep a local copy of how everything looked. Use that as reference while rebuilding in Wix. At least you won't lose your content entirely.

But honestly? If WordPress complexity is the issue, static HTML might be the better answer. Export your WordPress site, host it on Netlify for free. Same result as Wix, no maintenance, without the lock-in or monthly fees.