How to Migrate a WordPress Site to WordPress.com (Free Migration)

WordPress.com can migrate a site from any host, copying your content, media, plugins, and theme. You can let its team do it for free (usually within 2 to 3 business days), or do it yourself with the Migrate to WordPress.com plugin. Your live site stays online either way.

Before you begin

• Destination: A fresh WordPress.com site on a paid plan. The migration erases and replaces whatever is on it. See how to sign up for WordPress.com.
• Source site: Deactivate incompatible plugins and update the rest so they run on current WordPress and PHP.
• Custom code: Changes to wp-config.php or functions.php do not transfer.

Option 1: Let WordPress.com migrate it

Start the migration setup (Step 1 below), then click Get started on the "Let us migrate your site" screen instead of doing it yourself.

Option 2: Do it yourself

Step 1: Run the importer

1. Log in to the destination site and go to Tools → Import.
2. Under the WordPress.com option, click Run Importer.
3. Enter your source site's URL and click Check my site.
4. Click I'll do it myself at the top right of the "Let us migrate your site" screen.

Step 2: Install the plugin on the old site

Click Install plugin in the wizard to download it. On your source site, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, upload the file, and activate it. (You can also search the plugin directory for "Migrate to WordPress.com".) Back in the wizard, click Next.

Step 3: Add the migration key

1. Copy the migration key from your destination site.
2. On the source site, click Migrate to WordPress.com in the sidebar, enter your email, accept the terms, and click Continue.
3. Paste the key and click Start migration.

It takes from 10 minutes to several hours, and you get an email when it is done. Do not edit either site in the meantime.

After the migration

• Remove administrators and plugins you no longer need, and check that premium plugin and theme licenses carried over.
• Connect or transfer your domain, and make it the primary site address.
• Replace the temporary address (like yoursite.wpcomstaging.com) in your content with your domain using a search-and-replace plugin, or WP-CLI on Business and Commerce.
• Update payment gateways and form services to the new domain.
• Move subscribers separately; they and post likes do not transfer.

See what WordPress.com costs over five years on the WordPress.com renewal price page.

Source: Migrate a WordPress site to WordPress.com (WordPress.com Support, reviewed October 2026).