You can move a WordPress site by exporting the contents as an .xml file, then importing the file to a different WordPress site. For example, if you are leaving the university you can export a blog from Blogs at UMass Amherst, then import the content to a different hosting service.

When moving a blog keep in mind:

• If you are leaving the university, be sure to attend to this task before you lose login access to your site on Blogs at UMass Amherst.
• The XML file contains all posts and pages.
• Media (images and other attachments) is not included in the .xml file. If the source site is live you will have the option to copy over the Media Library to the destination site.  
• Once the content is imported you may need to choose a theme, activate plugins and set up widgets and menus.
• Imported content will be added to whatever content is already on the site. You may want to unpublish or delete the Sample Page and “Hello World” Post that come with a new WordPress site.

Export Your WordPress Site

1. Log in to the Dashboard of the site you wish to copy and in the left Toolbar go to Tools > Export. The Export page opens.
2. On the Export page, under Choose what to export, select All content, and click Download export file. Opt to save the file to your computer.
3. On your computer, locate the XML file. The file will be called "nameofyoursite.WordPres.yearmonth-day.xml."

Import a WordPress XML File

To import a WordPress .xml file to another WordPress site in three steps.

Step One: Add Authors if Needed

1. Log in to the Dashboard of the site into which you will import the .xml file.
2. Before importing, if you wish to add additional authors or administrators, in the left Toolbar, go to Users > Add Users. Users must have a UMass Amherst NetID. For details, see Add Co-Authors and Member to Your Blog.

Step Two: Activate the Import Plugin

1. In the left Toolbar, go to Plugins. The Plugins page opens.
2. On the Plugins page, locate and activate WordPress Importer.

Step Three: Import the XML file

1. In the left Toolbar, go to Tools > Import. The Import page opens.
2. On the Import page, under WordPress, click Run Importer. The Import WordPress page opens.
3. On the Import WordPress page, click Browse and select the .xml file to import, then click Upload and import file. The page changes to ask if you wish to assign authors or import attachments..
4. Under Import Author (optional), for each author from the old site use the drop-down menu to select an existing author on the new site to whom you wish to assign authorship for posts.
5. Under Import Attachments, check Download and import file attachments.
   Unless you have very few images on your old site, choose this option! Otherwise you’ll need to manually download images and attachments from the old site, upload the files to the new, and re-insert them on the pages, posts, or in Customizer options where the images were used.
   IMPORTANT: To import media, this step requires the source site to be live online.
6. Click Submit. The import may take some time, depending on the number of pages and amount of media to import. A success message will appear when complete.
7. Be sure to check the imported site’s theme, plugins, widgets, menus and other custom settings by comparing against the source site.