You want to back up your content, move your blog posts to a new site, or transfer a copy of your site to someone else. In all these cases, you’ll end up needing to “export,” and that’s exactly where the confusion arises: WordPress has a built-in export feature that includes far less than people expect. Anyone who thinks they’ll end up with a complete site will discover—at the worst possible moment—that settings, plugins, and sometimes even images are missing. That’s why we’ll first explain the key distinction that determines everything, and then outline the correct approach for each situation.
The Crucial Distinction: Content Export vs. Full Backup
WordPress’s built-in export feature creates a content export: an XML file (a structured text file) containing your pages, posts, comments, categories, and menus. What it does not include: your theme, your plugins, their settings, your site settings, and your user passwords. And the biggest surprise: your media files aren’t actually included either. The export file contains only references to your images; the files themselves remain on the old site and are retrieved from there when imported to the new site. If the old site ever goes offline, those images will be lost.
A full backup, on the other hand, includes everything: all files (WordPress itself, themes, plugins, uploads) plus the entire database (which stores both content and settings). This allows you to fully restore or migrate the site, exactly as it was.
The rule of thumb: if you want to secure your site or migrate it, you’ll need a full backup. If you just want to transfer your content to another WordPress installation, the content export is the right—and lighter—tool for the job. This article covers that second approach; for the full version, see our A Complete Guide to WordPress Backups and Migration the comprehensive reference work.
Exporting the content
- In the dashboard, go to Tools and click Export.
- Choose what you want to export: all content, or just posts or pages, filtered by category, author, or time period if desired.
- Click "Download Export File." You will receive an XML file that you can save to your computer.
That's the entire export. The file size often comes as a surprise: since it doesn't contain any media files, the file for a large site is usually only a few megabytes.
Importing to the new site, including media
On the destination WordPress site, go to Tools and then Import, and install the WordPress importer. During the import, you’ll make two choices that make all the difference. First, assign the authors: content from authors who don’t exist on the new site should be assigned to an existing account. Second, and this is the most important checkbox in the entire process: “Download and import file attachments.” Check that box, and the importer will retrieve the images from the old site and place them in the new site’s media library. This requires that the old site is still online and accessible at that time. Therefore, always plan the migration so that the old site goes offline only after the import—including media—has been successfully completed.
After the import, check three things: Are the images actually in the new media library (and not secretly still loading from the old address)? Are the internal links correct? And is the permalink structure of the new site the same as the old one, so that the URLs of your content don’t change?.
When you need to bring parts with you separately
Because the content export is intentionally limited, there are situations where you’ll need to do some additional work. Media separately: If the old site is already offline or unreliable, download the wp-content/uploads folder via the file manager or FTP (file access to your hosting) and upload it to the new site, so the importer doesn’t have to retrieve it from anywhere else. Settings and plugins: These are never included in a content export; make a note of your plugin list and deliberately reconfigure the new site, which is often an advantage when moving to a fresh site. Exporting the database separately—via phpMyAdmin in your hosting panel or using `wp db export` via WP-CLI (WordPress’s command-line interface)—is part of the full backup process and is best left to advanced users; Those working at that level usually follow the complete migration procedure outlined in the backup guide right away.
At Surver: With our managed plans, we automatically perform full backups of your site every day. So you don’t need to use the export feature for backup purposes; save that for what it’s really good at: transferring content. And if you’d like a copy of your full backup to manage yourself, our support team is here to help you seven days a week.
Make an informed choice, and exporting will be easy
In summary, the choice is always the same: content export for moving texts and posts between WordPress sites, and a full backup for anything that puts the site itself at risk. Once you have a clear understanding of that distinction, you can effortlessly use both tools side by side. This makes the export a great annual habit to add to your regular backups: a single XML file on your own computer containing all your content is an inexpensive extra layer of protection, and fits neatly into the maintenance schedule outlined in our A Complete Guide to WordPress Management.
