Squarespace
Squarespace is a hosted website builder. It handles hosting, security, and updates, and sites are built from templates in a visual editor. There is no self-hosted version and no direct database access. Squarespace does offer a site export in a WordPress-compatible XML format, but it covers only part of a site, so moving to WordPress is part import and part rebuild.
How it models content
- Pages are built from sections and blocks (text, image, gallery, form, and so on) in the visual editor
- Blog pages are collections of posts, each with its own URL, tags, and categories
- Collections also cover products, events, portfolios, and galleries
- Commerce handles products, inventory, and checkout on plans that include it
- Design is stored as template settings and site styles, not as editable theme files
What the export includes
Squarespace’s built-in export produces an XML file that the WordPress importer can read. Based on Squarespace’s own documentation, it generally covers:
- Basic pages and their text, image, and embed blocks
- One blog page, with its posts, tags, categories, and comments
- Gallery pages, which import as pages with images
It generally leaves out:
- Product pages and store data (products can be exported separately as a CSV)
- Event pages, album pages, and additional blog pages beyond the first
- Audio and video blocks, and most custom blocks
- Site styles, template design, and custom CSS
Images are usually not packaged inside the XML file. They stay on Squarespace’s servers and are referenced by URL, so the WordPress importer’s option to download and import attachments needs to be used while the Squarespace site is still live. Export options change from time to time, so check Squarespace’s current help documentation before starting.
Squarespace and WordPress compared
| Squarespace | Closest in WordPress |
|---|---|
| Pages (sections and blocks) | Pages (block editor or page builder) |
| Blog page and posts | Posts, with categories and tags |
| Products and Commerce | An e-commerce plugin such as WooCommerce |
| Events collection | An events plugin |
| Forms blocks | A forms plugin |
| Template and site styles | Theme (no transfer possible) |
| Built-in SEO fields | Core fields plus an SEO plugin |
What moving involves
- Export the site XML from Squarespace’s settings and, if the site sells products, export the product CSV separately.
- Set up WordPress on your own hosting and install the WordPress importer.
- Import the XML with the option to download attachments turned on, so images are copied to the new site.
- Rebuild page layouts, since Squarespace design does not carry over.
- Recreate products, events, forms, and any other content the export skipped.
- Map old Squarespace URLs to new WordPress URLs and set up 301 redirects. Squarespace blog URLs often include a blog page slug that will not match WordPress’s permalink structure by default. See 301 redirects in WordPress.
- Keep the Squarespace site live until images, redirects, and forms are tested on WordPress.
A mostly-blog Squarespace site moves fairly cleanly. A site built around Commerce, events, or complex layouts is closer to a rebuild. For a side-by-side look at the hosted builders, see Wix, Squarespace and WordPress compared, and for a similar hosted platform, the Wix notes.
Current status
Actively developed and widely used by small businesses, creatives, and personal sites. Squarespace continues to add features across its site builder, commerce, and scheduling tools.