Moving WordPress content from one site to another sounds complicated, but WordPress includes a built in export and import system that handles most of it for you. Whether you are moving to a new host, setting up a staging copy, merging content from an old blog, or simply keeping a backup of your posts and pages, the Tools menu gives you a straightforward way to download your content as a file and upload it somewhere else. This guide walks through the full process step by step: exporting all content or just posts and pages, importing on the destination site, handling images and other media correctly, understanding the limits of single page exports, and checking everything after the import so nothing goes missing quietly.
What Does the WordPress Export Tool Actually Export?
The WordPress export tool creates an XML file, often called a WXR file, that contains your content and much of the structure around it. For posts and pages, it includes titles, content, excerpts, publication dates, slugs, authors, categories, tags, comments, and custom fields. It also includes navigation menu items and media library entries when you choose the full export option. What it does not include is equally important to understand. It does not export your theme, your plugins, your plugin settings, your widgets, or your site settings such as the site title and permalink structure. Those live outside the content export, so you will need to set up the theme and plugins separately on the destination site.
Think of the export file as a moving box for your writing, not a clone of your whole website. If you expect the destination site to look identical after an import, you will be disappointed, because the theme and design must be installed and configured there first. But if your goal is to move the actual content, the built in tool does that job well, without needing extra software. For a full site move that includes the database and files, different methods apply, such as the approach in our guide on how to move WordPress from localhost to a live server, which covers the database side that a content export does not touch.
How Do You Export All Content From WordPress?
Exporting is simple once you know where the tool lives. Log in to the WordPress dashboard of the site you want to export from, then go to Tools, then Export. You will see a screen with a choice: export all content, or export a filtered selection. If you choose All content, WordPress bundles your posts, pages, comments, custom fields, terms, navigation menus, and custom posts into a single XML file. Click the Download Export File button, and your browser will save the file to your computer. Keep that file safe, because it is now the only copy of the exported content outside the original site.
The full export is the best choice when you are moving a whole site content set to a new installation, or when you want a content backup that covers everything in one file. Large sites can produce large export files that hit upload limits on the destination later, so note the file size after downloading. If the file is huge, splitting the export by content type or date range can make the import easier. Before any major move, also keep a separate safety net, such as the method in our guide on how to back up a WordPress database without a plugin.
How Do You Export Only Posts or Only Pages?
Sometimes you do not want everything, only the blog posts, or only the pages, or posts from a particular author or time period. The export screen lets you filter before downloading. Choose Posts, and you can narrow the export by category, by author, by date range, and by status, such as published or draft. Choose Pages, and you can narrow by author, by date range, and by status in a similar way. This filtering is useful when you are merging content from two sites, moving a single author work to a new blog, or archiving old posts without touching the pages.
- Go to Tools, then Export, in the source site dashboard.
- Choose Posts or Pages instead of All content.
- Apply filters for category, author, date range, or status if needed.
- Click Download Export File and save the XML file somewhere safe.
Filtered exports keep your import tidy, because the destination only receives what you selected. One common mistake is exporting posts and assuming pages came along too, or vice versa. Posts and pages are separate content types, so if you need both, run two exports and import both files. Also check the status filter: if you only export published content, your drafts will stay behind on the old site.
How Do You Import Content on the Destination Site?
Importing happens on the destination site, under Tools, then Import. WordPress does not install every importer by default, so the first time you open that screen you will see a list of importers, including the WordPress importer, with an Install Now link beside it. Click that link, wait for the installation to finish, and then click Run Importer. You will be asked to choose the XML file you downloaded earlier and upload it. After the upload, WordPress shows an import options screen, which is where the important decisions happen, so do not rush past it.
On the options screen, you will be asked what to do with the authors in the file. You can map each old author to an existing user on the new site, or create a new user for them, or assign all imported content to your account. Mapping authors correctly matters if you want bylines to stay accurate. You will also see the crucial media option, covered in the next section. Once you confirm, WordPress processes the file and reports success, or lists items it could not import. Large files can take several minutes, so stay on the page until it finishes. If you are setting up a test copy first, our guide on how to create a WordPress staging site without a plugin pairs well with this workflow.
How Should You Handle Images and Media During Import?
Media handling is where most imports go wrong, so pay close attention to one checkbox: Download and import file attachments. When this option is checked, WordPress tries to download each image and file referenced in the export from the old site and add it to the new site media library, updating the links in posts and pages to point to the new copies. When it is left unchecked, the posts and pages still import, but their images keep pointing to the old site, or break entirely once the old site goes offline. For a proper move, you almost always want this box checked.
For the download to work, the old site must still be online and publicly reachable during the import, because the new site fetches the files from the old URLs. If you have already taken the old site offline, or blocked it behind a password, the media download will fail even though the text imports fine. Run the import while the old site is still live, or reupload missing images manually afterwards. After import, spot check several posts with images, and check the media library count against the original site. Featured images deserve a special check, because a post can look imported while its featured image silently failed. The official documentation at wordpress.org explains the importer in more detail.
Can You Export a Single Page or a Single Post?
The built in export tool does not offer a one click option for a single page or a single post. The finest filters it provides are by content type, category, author, date range, and status. If you need just one post, the practical workaround is to narrow the export by date range to a single day, or by category if that post is the only one in its category, and then delete the extra imported items on the destination, or simply import the small file and keep only what you need. It is a little clumsy, but it works reliably for occasional one off moves.
For frequent single item moves, or for exports that need extra control such as filtering by a custom field or exporting in a different format, a dedicated export plugin is the usual answer. In general terms, export plugins extend the built in tool with finer filters, scheduled exports, and formats beyond XML, at the cost of adding another plugin to maintain. Choose a well maintained plugin with recent updates, test it on staging first, and avoid installing several export plugins at once. For most users, the built in tool plus a careful filter is enough.
What Should You Check After the Import?
An import report that says success does not guarantee that everything looks right, so run a short checklist before you announce the move or delete the old site. Start with counts: compare the number of posts, pages, and media items on the new site with the numbers on the old site. Then open a sample of posts and pages across categories, check that titles, content, images, and formatting survived, and click a few internal links to confirm they point to the new domain rather than the old one. Check menus, because menu items import as content but may need to be assigned to a menu location in the theme before they appear in the header.
- Compare post, page, and media counts with the original site.
- Open sample posts and pages and check images, formatting, and featured images.
- Click internal links to confirm they use the new domain.
- Check menus, categories, tags, and author bylines.
- Fix permalinks by visiting Settings, then Permalinks, and saving once.
Finally, visit Settings, then Permalinks, on the new site and click Save Changes even if you change nothing. This refreshes the rewrite rules and fixes the common problem where imported posts return 404 errors despite existing in the dashboard. If some images are still missing, reimport with the media download option checked while the old site is still online, or upload those images manually and reattach them. Only delete or shut down the old site once the new site passes all these checks, because the old site is your fallback if anything needs to be reimported. With that discipline, the built in export and import tools give you a reliable, free way to move WordPress content without touching the database directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does exporting WordPress content also export my theme and plugins?
No. The export file contains posts, pages, comments, categories, tags, menus, and media references, but not your theme, plugins, plugin settings, or site settings. Install and configure the theme and plugins separately on the destination site before or after importing the content.
Why are my images missing after import?
The usual cause is the media download option being left unchecked, or the old site being offline during import. Reimport with Download and import file attachments checked while the old site is still live, or upload the missing images manually and reattach them to the affected posts.
Can I export only posts from one category?
Yes. On the export screen, choose Posts, then filter by category, author, date range, or status before downloading. You can run separate exports for different categories if you need to move content in stages.
What should I do if the import file is too large to upload?
Split the export into smaller files by content type, category, or date range, and import them one at a time. You can also ask your hosting provider about raising the upload limit, but splitting the export is usually faster and avoids timeout problems on large sites.
Last updated: October 2026.
