Export and import WordPress articles without losing authors, media or control

Write down the transfer boundary

Make a short inventory before exporting: which articles, which dates or authors, whether comments belong in the transfer and whether unpublished work should be included. Record a few representative source URLs and the expected number of items in each selected group.

Suppose a fictional gardening publication is merging its composting section into an existing magazine. It needs those articles and their illustrations, not the source site’s contact page, abandoned drafts or unrelated contributor accounts. A boundary written in those terms is easier to verify than “copy everything and tidy it later.”

Keep the export private. It can contain unpublished text, author information, comments and custom-field values. A file prepared for import is not automatically safe to put in a public downloads folder or send to an unrelated service.

Back up the destination before changing it. If it already receives orders, submissions or edits, plan how recovery would preserve that newer activity. Restoring the entire database later could undo legitimate changes made after the backup.

Export with filters you can explain

On the source installation, open Tools → Export. The official Export screen guide describes All content and the filters available for posts and pages, including author, date and status. Select the scope that matches the inventory and download the export file.

All content is broader than the articles visible on the homepage. A filtered export is narrower, so check that it contains the intended records rather than assuming a category or date selection means “everything this article needs.” Preserve the original export unchanged and name the file so you can identify its source, date and scope.

If the package seems unexpectedly small or an expected article is absent, recheck its actual content type, status, author, category and publication date against the chosen filters. Do not run an import just to discover whether the selection was right.

For the fictional merger, list a recent composting article, an older one and one with several images. Those become deliberate acceptance examples; they are not a substitute for reconciling the complete inventory.

Prepare a destination that can represent the content

Use a protected test copy before importing into a public site. Confirm its site identity and database so a trial cannot accidentally modify another publication. Decide who is authorized to review private drafts and exported comments.

A custom recipe, portfolio or other content type needs its corresponding registered type and supporting functionality at the destination. The WordPress Importer listing describes the content it handles, but importing records does not install the plugin or theme that makes a specialist feature work.

Check the current importer requirements and compatibility information against the destination’s WordPress and PHP versions. Follow Tools → Import → WordPress to install or run the appropriate importer, as documented on the Import screen. Avoid adding several competing import tools while diagnosing the first attempt.

Keep a destination record with the existing article, media and term counts, the backup reference and the intended author mapping. It gives you a baseline if the process stops halfway through.

Map authors deliberately

The import handbook describes mapping exported authors to existing destination users or creating new users. Choose the author for each contributor instead of accepting an accidental catch-all assignment.

For the fictional magazine, an existing contributor account may be the right destination for that person’s older work. A shared editorial account might be appropriate only when the publication has a truthful attribution policy. Do not attribute someone else’s article to the importing administrator merely because that is convenient.

Content attribution and permission to sign in are separate decisions. Review any newly created account’s access through the destination’s normal user-management process; do not assume an imported byline transfers passwords or recreates the source site’s permissions.

After importing, open representative articles and their author archives. Check both the public byline and the account selected in the editor. A correct-looking title does not prove the author mapping was correct.

Handle media as a separate transfer and verification task

The attachment-download option asks the importer to retrieve files described by attachment records; the XML itself is not a self-contained folder of images. Keep the source files reachable through an authorized transfer route while the import runs. Authentication barriers, missing files or host limits can prevent retrieval.

Do not publish private uploads or remove access controls broadly to make an importer work. If the source is restricted, arrange a supported transfer method with the responsible administrator. Never put credentials into image URLs or a shared export.

Distinguish three questions: was the attachment record included, did the destination retrieve the file, and does the imported article now use the intended destination URL? WordPress can include attachment references in exports, but coverage and URL rewriting depend on the content and tool version. A successful post count does not settle those questions.

Inspect a featured image, an inline image, a gallery or background if used, and a linked document. Open their actual file addresses. A picture can appear because the new article still requests the old host; that is a remaining dependency, not proof that the media moved.

Maintain an exception list with the source article, old asset URL, intended destination and specific failure. Repair those references through a supported process. Avoid an unreviewed database-wide replacement that could alter unrelated links or structured data.

Check publication status before the public site sees it

The official importer code carries source status and date fields into post creation. Do not assume an import turns every item into a draft. Published source articles can become publicly visible on an unprotected destination.

Review draft, private, password-protected and scheduled examples where they are part of the agreed scope. Check the saved status and dates in the post settings sidebar, then check the public result without editor privileges where appropriate.

Keep unpublished material out of public archives, feeds and navigation. If the transfer needs a different publication plan, prepare it explicitly; do not improvise status changes across an unknown batch on the live site.

Review categories, links and presentation

Reconcile source terms with the destination’s existing structure. Two sections with similar labels may represent the same editorial topic or different ones. Review their slugs, hierarchy and actual assignments before merging anything. Our categories and tags guide explains that decision.

Test old internal links inside imported articles and links from menus or resource lists. An imported article can have a new address even when its text is intact. Check any custom blocks with their required functionality available, and compare a representative table, caption and downloadable resource.

If the destination is a network, confirm which individual site receives the content. The Multisite and separate-installations guide explains those boundaries. Shared administration is not permission to import into every site.