How to Move a WordPress Site to EmDash

EmDash has a built-in import wizard for WordPress. It brings across your content, and you rebuild the design. This guide walks through the process.

What comes across, and what doesn’t

Comes across	Needs work
Posts and pages	Your theme and design
Categories and tags	Plugins and what they add
Images and other media	Blocks that plugins draw on the server
Authors	Shortcodes, which you should check by eye
Custom post types	Extra custom fields, unless you use the exporter plugin

Posts that were scheduled, pending or private in WordPress arrive as drafts.

Before you start

1. Back up your WordPress database and your wp-content/uploads folder.
2. Set up an EmDash site. See how to install EmDash.
3. Write down your current page addresses, menus and redirects. You’ll need them later.

Step 1: Choose how to export

EmDash can read your content in two ways:

• A WordPress export file. In WordPress, go to Tools, then Export, choose All content, and download the file. This is the simplest route.
• The EmDash Exporter plugin. Install it on your WordPress site. It can also bring menus, your site title, your logo, and some custom fields.

Step 2: Open the import wizard

In your EmDash dashboard, choose Import in the sidebar. You can also go straight to /_emdash/admin/import/wordpress. Here’s what it looks like in EmDash 1.4:

Pick one of the three ways in:

• Paste your migration key, if you installed the EmDash Exporter plugin. The plugin makes the key under Tools, EmDash Migration in WordPress.
• Enter your WordPress site address. EmDash checks which import options your site supports.
• Upload WordPress export file, the .xml file from step 1.

Step 3: Review and map your content

EmDash analyzes your content and shows what it found. For each type of content, confirm where it should go. Posts go to posts, and pages go to pages.

Then match your WordPress authors to EmDash users. Authors you don’t match are kept as guest bylines, so no content is lost.

Step 4: Run the import, then the media step

Start the import. If your site has images, EmDash offers a media step afterwards. It downloads the files, stores them, and updates the addresses inside your content.

Step 5: Check everything

Before you switch your domain over:

• Compare the number of posts and pages on both sites.
• Read a sample of posts, especially ones with galleries, embeds or shortcodes.
• Check that images load from your new site, not the old one.
• Check authors, categories and tags.
• Make sure drafts aren’t visible to visitors.

Step 6: Keep your addresses working

If a page’s address changes, set up a redirect from the old one. This protects your search rankings and stops visitors from hitting dead links.

The simplest plan is to keep the same addresses wherever you can.

A simpler alternative

If your site is a small blog and you’re the only writer, you may not need a CMS at all. See how to move from WordPress to Astro, or read Astro vs EmDash to decide.

Frequently asked questions

Will my WordPress theme come across?

No. EmDash themes are Astro projects, so your design has to be rebuilt or replaced with an EmDash template.

Will my WordPress plugins work in EmDash?

No. WordPress plugins don't run in EmDash. Content from blocks that a plugin draws on the server won't display after the import, so you'll need to rebuild or remove those parts.

Do I have to take my WordPress site offline first?

No, and you shouldn't. Keep WordPress running until you've checked the new site carefully.