MOVE TO RUNALIO

Moving from WordPress.

Updated 30 September 2026. Builders change their menus often; if a step looks different, use the linked help article.

This guide covers both WordPress.com sites and self-hosted WordPress sites. WordPress can export your text, but images, forms and your domain each need their own steps.

Before you start

Keep your old site public and its plan active until you’ve copied everything. The export only links to your images, and WordPress.com makes a site private when its plan is removed or expires.
Don’t delete your WordPress.com site. Cancelling the plan is enough.
Your domain and email are separate from your website plan. Cancelling the plan doesn’t cancel them.

Save your pages and images

Text: Tools → Export → “All content” → Download Export File. This works on both kinds of site. The XML file holds posts, pages, comments, categories and tags, but not images, your theme or plugins.
Images, WordPress.com: sites with no plugins use Tools → Export Media Files → Download. On Personal or Premium with plugins, use the Export Media Library plugin. On Business or Commerce, go to Jetpack → Backup → Actions → View Files, open wp-content, select uploads and download.
Images, self-hosted: download the wp-content/uploads folder with your host’s file manager or backup tool, or with an SFTP program.
List your pages by opening yoursite.com/sitemap.xml (WordPress.com) or yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml (self-hosted).
Copy the text of your main pages (home, about, services, contact) into a document for Runalio.

Save your contacts and form messages

Jetpack Forms (WordPress.com and many self-hosted sites): Jetpack → Forms → Responses → Export → CSV. Check the Spam and Trash folders first.
WPForms (paid license only): WPForms » Tools → Export → Entries. Gravity Forms: Forms → Import/Export → Export Entries; check the status filter, because only Active entries are exported by default.
Contact Form 7 doesn’t store messages. If the Flamingo plugin is installed, go to Flamingo → Inbound Messages → Export. Otherwise your copies are the notification emails in your inbox.
Newsletter subscribers: Jetpack → Newsletter → ⋮ → Download as CSV. WooCommerce customers: WooCommerce → Customers → Download.

Store, blog and bookings

WooCommerce products: Products → All Products → Export → Generate CSV. Order summaries: Analytics → Orders → Download. Set the date range first, because some order statuses are left out by default.
WooCommerce Bookings 3.6 or later: Bookings → All Bookings → Export. If you use the Calendly block, keep using the same Calendly link.
Source store, blog and booking backends do not migrate automatically. Keep these exports and ask the coding agent to rebuild and connect the required workflows.

Recreate your site in Runalio

Sign in at portal.runalio.com. Choose the correct website in the website selector. The portal opens in your business dashboard. Choose Design space to chat with your coding agent.
Save the business name, contact details, services and prices in Business details and Services. These manual changes do not use AI tokens.
Use Import Website for a public URL you have permission to reuse, then choose pages and inspect the report. Importing replaces the working design while preserving the live site. Or use Add content to upload your text, brand guidelines, photos or video, or paste written content. Files appear in the Asset gallery; attach the relevant files to the chat.
Ask the agent to recreate the site using those files. Messages can contain up to 12,000 characters. For example: “Rebuild our cookie shop from this brief and these photos. Add About and Contact pages, use light blue and cream, and keep these exact prices.”
Review the actual website preview beside the chat. Use Desktop and Mobile preview, and expand the design space for more room. Ask for color, layout, wording or page changes. AI requests count toward the account’s shared monthly token allowance.
Test images, links, forms and any order or payment integration. Verify every price, claim, contact detail and required privacy notice.
Click Publish website for the reviewed version. Draft changes remain private until publication. Test the public site and send a sample inquiry.

Keep independent copies of your exports. Generated content can contain mistakes, and builder-specific forms or store backends do not move automatically. Do not upload passwords, secret keys or payment card information.

Your domain

WordPress.com domains are managed under Hosting Dashboard → Domains → your domain → Settings. Cancelling your plan doesn’t cancel the domain: it stays registered, and you can still edit its DNS.
Forwarding to your Runalio address: Domains → your domain → Settings → Domain forwarding → Add domain forwarding. Under Advanced settings, choose Permanent redirect (301); the default is a temporary redirect. This needs WordPress.com name servers.
Transferring the domain: Domains → your domain → Actions → Transfer. Switch the transfer lock off and click Get authorization code. The code is emailed to the domain’s contact address, so check it under “Contact details & privacy” first. Transfers aren’t possible for 60 days after you register or transfer a domain, and take 5–7 days. Don’t cancel the domain while the transfer is running.
Self-hosted sites: your domain is with a registrar or your web host; ICANN Lookup (lookup.icann.org) shows which. Forwarding and transfers happen there.

See your domain options in Runalio for what you can do today.

Your email

WordPress.com sells Professional Email (Titan) and Google Workspace, and offers free forwarding, which needs WordPress.com name servers.
The simplest option: keep the domain at WordPress.com on its name servers, and email carries on unchanged.
Before moving DNS or transferring, copy the MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verification records. WordPress.com says its email needs a domain registered or connected to WordPress.com. Move Google Workspace billing to Google, or ask WordPress.com support to move Professional Email billing to Titan, before the domain leaves.

Cancel your old plan safely

WordPress.com: Billing → Active upgrades → your plan → Cancel in the Cancel subscription section. Tick the confirmation box, then click Cancel subscription. This stops renewal and keeps the plan until it expires.
A refund needs Remove within the refund window: 14 days for yearly plans, 7 days for monthly plans, 96 hours for domains.
Don’t delete the WordPress.com site. Deleting requires removing all its paid purchases, including the domain and email, and a deleted site can only be restored for 30 days.
Self-hosted: keep your hosting until your Runalio site and your email are confirmed working, then cancel with your host.