Migrating your WordPress blog to VeloCMS
Complete guide to importing your WordPress content, images, and settings into VeloCMS using the WXR import tool.
VeloCMS can import WordPress content from a WXR export file (WordPress eXtended RSS). This includes posts, pages, categories, tags, and images. The import preserves your post slugs and published dates so existing links and search rankings are maintained.
Step 1: Export from WordPress
In your WordPress admin, go to Tools → Export. Select 'All content' and click 'Download Export File'. This downloads a .xml file. If your blog has media files (images), those are linked in the XML by URL — VeloCMS re-hosts them from your WordPress site during import, so your WordPress site must remain live during migration.
Step 2: Import into VeloCMS
In Admin → Tools → Import, click 'Import from WordPress' and upload the .xml file. The import runs as a background job. Large sites (1000+ posts) can take 15–30 minutes. You can navigate away — the import continues and you will see a completion notification.
Step 3: Review imported content
After import, go to Admin → Posts. All imported posts appear in draft status regardless of their WordPress status — this lets you review before publishing. Check a few posts for formatting: Gutenberg blocks are converted to VeloCMS rich text format. Most common blocks (paragraph, heading, image, list, quote, code, embed) translate cleanly. Custom Gutenberg blocks and third-party blocks are converted to plain text with an import note.
WordPress shortcodes ([contact-form-7], [gallery], etc.) are not auto-converted. They will appear as raw text in the imported post. You need to replace them with VeloCMS equivalents (contact forms, page builder blocks, etc.) manually.
Step 4: Redirect old WordPress URLs
If your WordPress site used different URL patterns (e.g. /2024/01/my-post/ vs /my-post/), you need redirects to preserve search rankings and inbound links. Go to Admin → Settings → Redirects and add 301 redirects from old paths to new ones. If you had fewer than 50 posts, do this manually. For larger sites, contact support for the bulk redirect import tool.
Handling WordPress plugins
WordPress plugins do not migrate — they are WordPress-specific PHP. For common plugin use cases: WooCommerce → use VeloCMS Shop; Contact Form 7 → use VeloCMS page builder contact form block; Yoast SEO → VeloCMS has built-in SEO with AI scoring; Mailchimp for WordPress → use VeloCMS newsletter with Mailchimp integration; Akismet → comment moderation is built-in to VeloCMS comments.
After migration
Once you are happy with the imported content: (1) publish the posts you want live, (2) point your custom domain to VeloCMS, (3) submit your sitemap (yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) to Google Search Console, (4) keep your WordPress site in maintenance mode for 2–4 weeks to allow old Google-cached URLs to redirect correctly, then take it offline.