Introduction
According to the WordCamp data, there are 75+ million websites that use Wordpress. Such a popularity can be easily explained by the variety of features this platform and numerous plugins and add-ons provide.
Despite that, Wordpress still isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” solution, and for certain reasons, there may be a need to switch to another website building platform. So, a certain number of website owners decide to migrate to Webflow.
Why switch to Webflow?
The reasons for the transition from Wordpress to Webflow may vary from project to project, since every website and every business is unique and is driven by its own goals and objectives. Nevertheless, we can outline some of the common reasons for such a switch:
- You may want the advanced customization opportunities without having to be limited by the platform’s templates;
- You may need to implement complex animations and interactions;
- You may require the convenient assignment of classes to elements (say, if you need a heading of red colour with 36 point Helvetica font, you create it just once and use it in the future as many times as you need).
- MOST IMPORTANTLY: Webflow generated websites with very clean code, which means your site will load at blazing fast speeds. This is great for the user experience and page speed is a key SEO ranking factor.
From WP to Webflow: migration process
Although it may seem scary at first, migrating your Wordpress content to Webflow isn’t that difficult. Even if your Wordpress site is content heavy, the migration process will literally take just a couple of steps from you.
Let’s look at the migration process in more detail.
Export your WP content
First, you need to export the content from your Wordpress site and save it somewhere. Normally, Wordpress exports content as an XML file. However, there is an easy way to export it as a CSV file as well. To do this, you can use a Wordpress plugin, such as WP CSV.
After you download it, install, and activate, you can proceed with configuring your export settings. Go to WP CSV plug-in settings and specify which content you wish to exclude from the export. Everything you don’t specify will be exported.
After you’re done with the settings, hit “Export” button and download the CSV file with your content.
Import your content into Webflow
Importing your content starts with the collections Panel in your Webflow project. If you don’t have a project yet, then you will need to create it.
Next, create a new collection and then import the CSV file that you exported previously.
Match the fields from your database with the fields in your Collection. Create your own fields if needed.
Have you exported more than one collection? If so, repeat the process described above for the additional ones.
If any of the fields weren’t mapped, feel free to edit them manually.
Do you want to test this import feature at first? The good news is that you can do this for free (provided that your CSV contains 50 items or less). If you need to migrate more than 50 items, be sure to check that your Webflow project has a CMS or Business hosting plan. Otherwise, you won’t be able to import the CSV with 50+ items.
A special note on images
Before you proceed with migration of your website from Wordpress to Webflow, it would be good for you to understand how images work on import.
Actually, there are two ways they can work. Let’s take a closer look at them.
1. Images are mapped to the image fields in the CMS
If this is the case, then Webflow will upload the images automatically. All you should take care about is just mapping the fields correctly. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
2. Images are mapped to rich text fields
Those images that are mapped to a CMS rich text field are imported by means of the source URLs of those images. So, in order to make the images display correctly on your Webflow site, you need to make sure that the source URLs for those images are functional.
Therefore, we recommend you to download the images from rich text fields and upload them to CMS manually. This way they won’t break in case the original site is down.
Now you’re all set!
Congratulations, you have successfully imported your Wordpress content to Webflow CMS! That’s it! You can now enjoy the advanced customization opportunities that Webflow provides and re-create the design for your website.
