How to Export a WordPress Site in 2024: A Step-by-Step Guide

Migrating your WordPress website or creating a reliable backup is a crucial skill for any website owner or developer. Whether you’re moving to a new host, changing domains, or simply safeguarding your content, understanding how to export a WordPress site effectively will save you headaches and ensure a smooth transition.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through several methods to export your WordPress site, ensuring that your data, structure, and design remain intact. From using WordPress’s built-in tools to more advanced plugins, I’ll break down everything you need to know about exporting your site in 2024.

Why Exporting a WordPress Site Matters

There are many scenarios where exporting your WordPress site becomes necessary:

• Migration to a new host: Whether your current hosting provider no longer suits your needs or you’re moving to a faster or more secure server, exporting your site is the first step in the migration process.
• Creating backups: Regular exports allow you to keep a backup of your content, themes, and plugins. In the event of a disaster, you can restore your site without losing valuable data.
• Testing in a new environment: Developers and designers often export sites to test major changes on a staging or local environment before implementing them on the live site.

Exporting not only ensures that you have a solid backup of your site but also guarantees peace of mind, knowing that your content is safe.

How to Export a WordPress Site Using Built-in Tools

WordPress offers a simple, built-in export tool that is great for small to medium-sized sites or if you only need to export specific content.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to “Tools” > “Export”.
3. You’ll see options to export “All content,” “Posts,” “Pages,” or “Media”. Choose the option that fits your needs.
4. Click “Download Export File” to save an XML file of your selected content.

This XML file contains your posts, pages, categories, tags, and comments. However, this method has its limitations. It doesn’t export themes, plugins, or settings, which means it’s only useful for partial exports. For a more comprehensive backup, you’ll need to explore plugin options.

Learn More: SiteGround Migration Mastery: Quick & Easy Website Transfers (2024)

Exporting WordPress Site Using Plugins

While the built-in tool is a good start, plugins offer a more robust solution. Here are some of the best WordPress export plugins for exporting your entire site:

1. UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is one of the most popular backup and migration plugins for WordPress. It allows you to export not just your content but also your themes, plugins, and databases. Here’s how to use it:

• Install and activate UpdraftPlus.
• Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups.
• Click Backup Now, select the components you want to include (files, database, etc.), and start the export.

The beauty of UpdraftPlus is its ability to automatically upload backups to cloud storage platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox, ensuring your site is always backed up.

2. All-in-One WP Migration

This plugin simplifies the entire export process by packaging your entire site into one easy-to-use file. Here’s how:

• Install All-in-One WP Migration.
• Go to All-in-One WP Migration > Export.
• Choose to export to a file, FTP, Google Drive, or other locations.

The best part is that this plugin also allows you to reimport the site easily, making migrations a breeze.

3. Duplicator

Duplicator allows you to create a copy of your WordPress site, including all themes, plugins, content, and the database, into a single package. Here’s how:

• Install Duplicator.
• Go to Duplicator > Packages, then click Create New.
• Follow the wizard to create a package, then download it to your computer.

Duplicator is especially useful when moving large WordPress sites, as it compresses everything into one downloadable file that can be easily re-imported to a new host.

Manual WordPress Site Export: A Technical Approach

For those comfortable with a more technical approach, manually exporting your site offers greater control, especially for larger websites.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Access your files via FTP: Use an FTP client like FileZilla to connect to your site’s server. Download the wp-content folder, which contains your themes, plugins, and uploads.
2. Export your database via phpMyAdmin: Log in to your hosting cPanel and access phpMyAdmin. Select your WordPress database and click Export. Choose the SQL format for the export.
3. Reimporting the site: To reimport the site to a new server, upload the files to the new host via FTP and import the database using phpMyAdmin. You’ll need to adjust the wp-config.php file to point to the new database.

While this method provides full control, it’s not recommended for beginners, as it requires knowledge of file structures, databases, and hosting configurations.

Learn More: How to Reset WordPress Website: The Ultimate Guide for 2024

Handling Large Sites: Best Practices

Large WordPress sites often pose challenges during export. Timeouts, incomplete exports, and other errors are common. Here’s how to avoid these issues:

• Use plugins designed for large sites: Plugins like Duplicator Pro or All-in-One WP Migration Premium are better equipped to handle large databases and file sizes.
• Break up exports: Some plugins allow you to export databases and media separately, reducing the likelihood of server timeouts.
• Increase server resources: If you run into errors, consider increasing your server’s PHP memory limit or max execution time by contacting your hosting provider.

Reimporting Your Exported WordPress Site

Once you’ve exported your site, reimporting it is the final step. Depending on the method you used to export your site, the reimport process may vary:

• Using the WordPress import tool: If you used the built-in export tool, go to Tools > Import, install the WordPress importer, and upload the XML file.
• Using a plugin: If you used a plugin like All-in-One WP Migration, reimporting is as simple as navigating to All-in-One WP Migration > Import, selecting the file, and clicking Import.

Common issues during reimport include missing media files or broken links. Be sure to update your permalinks and test all internal links to ensure a seamless migration.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Exporting Your WordPress Site

Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:

• Not backing up before starting: Always make a backup before any export process, even if you’re exporting for migration.
• Exporting only content: Many users forget to export themes and plugins, which can result in a broken site when reimporting.
• Ignoring internal links: After importing to a new domain, remember to update internal links and permalinks to avoid broken links.

Conclusion

Exporting your WordPress site is a critical skill, whether for migration, backup, or testing. With this guide, you now have a clear understanding of how to use WordPress’s built-in tools, export plugins, and even manual methods to ensure a smooth and successful export.

For website owners and developers looking to take their site management to the next level, consider leveraging our Digital Solutions to make site exports, migrations, and backups easier than ever.

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