Moving from WordPress.com to a self-hosted WordPress site gives you more control over hosting, plugins, themes, performance, and support. It is not a one-click server move, though. Treat it as a content migration and a controlled domain cutover: export what the platform can export, build and test the new site, then move visitors only after the important checks pass.
This checklist is written for a standard WordPress.com site moving to a hosting account where you control WordPress. If you have ecommerce orders, membership data, a large subscriber list, a custom domain with business email, or a heavily customized theme, plan for a staged migration and get the relevant owner or provider involved before changing DNS.
Start by defining what must move
Write down the assets that matter before opening any export tool: posts, pages, media, menus, users, comments, forms, subscribers, analytics integrations, premium themes, and plugin-dependent features. A WordPress content export is useful, but it is not a complete clone of a site. WordPress.com explains that its export covers written content and references to images, not the original theme, design customizations, plugins, or the image files themselves. Keep that distinction in the plan.
Use the existing WordPress backup schedule guide to decide what must be protected on the destination after launch. Do not cancel a WordPress.com plan, redirect an old address, or transfer a domain until the new site is verified and a restore path is documented.
Prepare the destination before exporting
- Choose a host and create a fresh WordPress installation on a temporary address, staging site, or other non-public location.
- Update WordPress, the selected theme, and required plugins before importing. The safe WordPress update checklist is a useful pre-launch reference.
- Set a sensible permalink structure and confirm that HTTPS is working before adding content.
- Create administrator accounts for the people who will maintain the destination. Use separate named accounts, not a shared login.
- Record the current DNS records, especially the website record and any mail-related records. A web-host change should not accidentally interrupt business email.
Keep the destination out of search until the content and domain plan are ready. A temporary host URL is useful for testing, but it should not become a second indexed copy of the site.
Export content from WordPress.com
Use WordPress.com's current export guidance to create an export of the content you intend to move. Save the export file somewhere access-controlled and label it with the source site and date. For a large site, split the export by author, date, or content type if the platform cannot complete one large request.
Before moving on, compare the export scope with your inventory. Pay attention to image-heavy posts, pages created in a site editor, contact forms, paid themes, products, and any feature that was supplied by a WordPress.com plan. Exported content can be imported, but design and service-specific features usually need to be rebuilt or reconnected on the destination.
Import into self-hosted WordPress and check media
On the destination, use the WordPress importer for the export file. The official WordPress export and import documentation explains the standard content-transfer format. Assign authors deliberately and use the attachment-download option only when it is appropriate for your site and the source is still reachable.
After import, review the media library and open representative pages from every major content type. Confirm that featured images, in-content images, PDFs, and downloads resolve from the destination. The media library storage checklist helps catch oversized copies and missing image sizes before launch.
Rebuild what a content export does not include
Expect to recreate the active theme settings, menus, widgets or block areas, plugin configuration, analytics, forms, redirects, caching, and performance settings. Start with the pages that receive the most traffic or generate the most leads. For broader host-to-host work, keep the WordPress migration planning guide nearby, but do not copy database credentials, private keys, or old server settings into the new site without review.
If the WordPress.com site has subscribers, plan that separately. WordPress.com's current subscriber-migration guidance uses Jetpack-connected source and destination sites and has account-owner requirements. Verify the subscriber count and consent expectations after the transfer rather than assuming an article export moved that data.
Plan the domain cutover without breaking email
A domain registration transfer and a DNS change are different tasks. In many migrations, it is safer to leave the registrar where it is initially and point only the website records to the new host once testing is complete. Keep mail records unchanged unless email is also moving, and test the site from more than one network after the change.
Do not rush the old WordPress.com address into a redirect until the new URL structure is confirmed. If paths change, map the important old pages to their closest new equivalents. WordPress.com's site-redirect guidance notes that matching permalinks matters when redirects are expected to work beyond the homepage.
Verify before calling the migration finished
- Open the homepage, top pages, top posts, search, contact flow, and any checkout or member area.
- Confirm that the preferred domain loads on HTTPS and that the alternate host or temporary URL is not being indexed.
- Check menus, forms, media, downloads, page titles, canonical URLs, and social-sharing previews.
- Review administrator accounts, plugins, theme licenses, and scheduled tasks.
- Run a backup, verify it completed, and test a restore process appropriate to the new host.
- Watch error logs, uptime, and search-console coverage after the cutover instead of assuming a successful import equals a successful launch.
When to get help
Pause for expert help when the move includes WooCommerce orders, a membership or learning system, custom code, a large subscriber database, business email, or a domain that cannot tolerate downtime. For routine WordPress troubleshooting before or after a move, start in FixItPhill WordPress Support. A careful migration is mostly about keeping the scope visible, testing the destination before DNS changes, and retaining a recovery option until the new site proves itself.
