Moving your website from Joomla to WordPress can seem challenging. However, it’s a smart move that will improve flexibility and ease of use.
Joomla is a decent content management system. Yet, many users find WordPress more powerful and user-friendly.
Switching from Joomla to WordPress is common. We will guide you through the migration process step by step.
By following this article, you’ll learn how to move your site smoothly. Your website will be up and running on WordPress in no time.
Why Switch From Joomla to WordPress?
Joomla and WordPress are open-source software written in the PHP programming language. They use the MySQL database and have similar hosting requirements.
However, Joomla is more complicated to use, and fewer extensions and designs are available.
On the other hand, WordPress is the most popular website builder in the world. It is easier to use and offers tons of extensions and design choices. See our comparison of Joomla vs. WordPress for more details.
When we say WordPress, we are talking about the self-hosted WordPress.org platform and not WordPress.com. Yes, they are two very different platforms.
WordPress.com is a hosted solution that offers limited features of WordPress, whereas WordPress.org is the famous platform that everyone has come to love and use. You can see our complete comparison of WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org to see the main differences, but in short, you want to use WordPress.org.
Now that being said, let’s take a look at what you will need to move a Joomla website to WordPress:
Step 0: Getting Started
The requirements for both Joomla and self-hosted WordPress are quite similar. You’ll need a domain name and a WordPress hosting account to start with WordPress.
Chances are that you already have a domain name and website hosting account for your Joomla website. You can use them for your WordPress website as well.
If you want to move to a different hosting provider, then we recommend using Bluehost.
Bluehost is one of the top hosting companies in the world and an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.
Plus, WPBeginner readers can get up to 61% off web hosting with Bluehost, which includes a free domain name and SSL certificate. Basically, you can get started for only $1.99 per month.
Note: At WPBeginner, we believe in full transparency. If you sign up with Bluehost using our referral link, then we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you (in fact, you will save money and get a free domain + SSL certificate). We would get this commission for recommending just about any WordPress hosting service, but we only recommend products that we use personally and believe will add value to our readers.
Step 1: Install and Set Up WordPress
WordPress is famous for its 5-minute install. Many good WordPress hosting companies will automatically install WordPress for you. Or, you can find 1-click WordPress installers inside your hosting account dashboard.
If you’ve signed up for a Bluehost account, WordPress will automatically be installed for you. Simply click the ‘Edit Site’ button next to your website in your hosting account.
This will bring you to the WordPress admin panel.
It will look like this:
Need more instructions? Follow our complete WordPress installation tutorial for step-by-step instructions.
Step 2: Import Your Joomla Website to WordPress
Now that you have installed WordPress, you can import content from your Joomla site.
First, install and activate the FG Joomla to WordPress plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, go to the Tools » Import page from your WordPress dashboard. You will see a list of import tools available for your WordPress installation. Click the ‘Run Importer’ link below the Joomla (FG) importer tool.
This will launch the Joomla (FG) importer script, and you will be asked to provide your Joomla website information.
First, you need to enter your Joomla website URL and then its database settings.
You can find your database information from your Joomla website’s admin area.
Simply go to the System » Global Configuration page and click on the ‘Server’ tab.
This page will show you all the necessary database information, such as the database username, database name, database tables prefix, etc.
The only information it doesn’t show is the database password. If you don’t remember your Joomla database password, then you can find it inside the configuration.php file in your Joomla website’s root folder.
You can access this file by connecting to your website using an FTP client and opening it in a text editor like Notepad.
After entering your database information in the Joomla importer, click the ‘Test database connection’ button. If everything is entered correctly, then you will see a success message.
Below, you will find additional options to control what you want to import, including featured images, content images, and more. If you are unsure, then leave these options as they are.
Click on the ‘Start / Resume Importer’ button to continue.
The importer will now start fetching content from your Joomla website. This may take a while, depending on how much content you have.
Once done, you will see a success message.
Now that you have imported content to your WordPress site, the next step is to check for internal links that might be pointing to your old website. The Joomla FG importer will also fix that for you.
You need to scroll down to the bottom and click on the ‘Modify Internal Links’ button.
You can now visit your WordPress website to see the imported content in action.
Things to Do After Moving Joomla to WordPress
After moving your website from Joomla to WordPress, you will need to perform a few tweaks to finish the WordPress migration process and set up your new platform.
Step 3: Setting Up Redirects and Permalinks
Your old Joomla website may have a URL structure different from that of your WordPress site. This means that people finding your articles in search engines will now see a 404 error page.
To fix this, you need to set up permalinks and properly redirect users and search engines to the new URLs.
First, you need to visit the Settings » Permalinks page in WordPress. Under the ‘Common Settings’ section, click on the ‘Post Name’ option.
Then, click on the ‘Save Changes’ button.
Next, to set up redirects, you will need to install and activate the Redirection plugin on your WordPress site. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Tools » Redirection page.
In the ‘Source URL’ field, you will enter your old Joomla URL, and in the ‘Target URL’ field, enter your new URL, as shown in the screenshot below.
Make sure to select the ‘301 – Moved Permanently’ option, and then click on the ‘Add Redirect’ button to save your changes.
WordPress will now redirect the old Joomla website URL to your new WordPress permalink structure.
Repeat the process to add redirects for any other pages or posts. Remember to visit the old URLs to make sure that they are redirecting properly to the new URLs on your WordPress website.
For more details, see our guide on how to set up redirects in WordPress.
As an alternative, you can also use All in One SEO (AIOSEO) to redirect pages and posts from Joomla to WordPress. AIOSEO comes with a powerful Redirection Manager that lets you set up full site redirects.
AIOSEO also offers 404 error tracking to easily catch any broken links that may occur when moving your site from Joomla to WordPress.
Other powerful features include unlimited keywords, schema markup, custom breadcrumbs, local SEO modules, WooCommerce SEO, and more.
Step 4: Setting Up WordPress Theme
WordPress gives you access to an enormous collection of themes that you can use. Themes control the appearance and design of your WordPress website.
There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available that you can install on your new WordPress site. However, not all themes are suitable for all kinds of websites, and this abundance of choices can make beginners feel a bit confused.
We have made this easier by doing research and hand-picking the best WordPress themes. Here are some of our theme showcases that you can visit to find the perfect theme for your website:
- Best free WordPress blog themes
- Best WordPress business themes
- Best minimalist WordPress themes for writers
- Best magazine-style WordPress themes
- Best WordPress themes for photographers
Need help installing your new theme? See our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress theme.
Step 5: Install Essential WordPress Plugins
Plugins are the best part of using WordPress. WordPress plugins allow you to add new features and functionality to your website.
You can use WordPress plugins for backups, improving security, setting up caching, starting an eCommerce store, working on your search engine optimization, and more. If you can think of a feature, chances are that there is already a WordPress plugin for it.
There are thousands of free and paid WordPress plugins and add-ons that you can use. Since it’s easy to get overwhelmed with choices, we have created an ultimate guide on how to pick the best plugins for your website.
To help you out even more, here are a few of the top plugins we recommend installing on your new WordPress website:
- WPForms – The best WordPress form builder that makes it easy to create contact forms, payment forms, registration forms, surveys, and more.
- SeedProd – A powerful drag-and-drop website builder for WordPress. You can use it to create custom WordPress themes and page layouts. No coding is required.
- AIOSEO – One of the most popular SEO plugins for WordPress. It helps you optimize your entire site for better search engine rankings in less than 10 minutes.
- MonsterInsights – The best analytics plugin for WordPress that lets you know how many visitors are coming to your site, where they come from, and what they do on your site.
- OptinMonster – A powerful conversion optimization toolkit that will help you turn website visitors into email subscribers and customers.
For more plugin recommendations, here’s our list of the essential WordPress plugins you should install on all your WordPress websites.
Step 6: Learning WordPress
If you are not a WordPress expert, then don’t worry. WordPress is fairly easy to use. However, occasionally, you may come across new things to learn. This is where WPBeginner can help.
WPBeginner is the largest WordPress resource site for beginners. We have lots of helpful content that is created specifically for beginners, business owners, and bloggers.
The following are a few of the helpful resources you will find on WPBeginner (all of them are completely free):
- WPBeginner Blog – The central place for all our WordPress tutorials and guides.
- WPBeginner Dictionary – Our WordPress glossary is the best place to familiarize yourself with the WordPress lingo.
- WPBeginner Videos – New WordPress users can start with these videos to master WordPress.
- WPBeginner on YouTube – Need more video instructions? Subscribe to our YouTube channel, which has more than 300,000 subscribers and 56 Million+ views.
- WPBeginner Blueprint – Check out the plugins, tools, and services we use on WPBeginner.
- WPBeginner Deals – Exclusive discounts on WordPress products and services for WPBeginner users.
Many of our users use Google to find answers on WPBeginner by simply adding ‘wpbeginner’ at the end of their search terms.
We hope this article helped you move your site from Joomla to WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to create a free business email address and our picks of the most useful tools to manage and grow your WordPress site.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Sarah Clarke
I successfully moved my site from Joomla to WordPress. Thanks for sharing this important piece of information.
monu
I am very new to this field. I want to transfer my joomla website to wordpress. I have 3 domains parked on 1 hosting. When I installed wordpress for one of my domain which was working on joomla already, other website started working strangely.
Can anyone assist me what should I do to use wordpress in place of joomla.
clare
Converting a hacked joomla site. Will this bring over the nasty that infected it?
Helene
How is the current existing WordPress site affected by the import of Joomla data? Do photos transfer over without premium?
Does having a copy of the imported data live on another domain affect SEO?
Thanks so much WPBegginner you guys have been so great!!
Helene, WPnewbie
xain
i have a lot of products in my joomla website and i want to move them to my wordpress site and i want to keep links for seo…
How can i move the products not articles?
kindly help with it
Thanks
Amin
Hi
I have question, i have a lot of products in my joomla website and i want to move them to my wordpress site and i want to keep links for seo…
How can i move the products not articles?
Faisal
Hello All,
I am completely new in this field. I find one classified template on Joomla. and its almost related to my requirement. they using plugins for DJ-monster.
I am new on this. I want to start my classified web business on wordpress using woocommerece. can I use joomla classified template offline in my laptop and then transfer it in to wordpress or not. with DJ-monster plugins.
this is the joomla template which i want to use.
please your answer and guidelines will make life easier. as I am only the one person who investing limited budget on this business.
many thanks in advance
regards
faisal
Alen
Hello,
great stuff shown here.
I have a question. Is it possible to somehow “migrate” from joomla to wordpress if the joomla version is no longer online? I have everything stored locally.
Thanks
WPBeginner Support
Yes, there might be a few hiccups but its possible. Try to import your old joomla site into a WordPress installed locally first.
Admin
Josh
Hey WPBeginner thanks for a great article!
I plan on moving my site from Joomla to WP but most pages on the Joomla site has a .html extension on the end of the URL.
From my research it seems that it’s hard or not possible for WordPress pages to have .html extensions, only posts.
Is there a way around this or should I just migrate the content and create the pages without the .html extension on the URL? I’m scared this will effect rankings and will take some time to get indexed by Google.
Regards
Josh
Abhi
Hi you can use wordpress plugins to have .html extension of page and posts
like the below one :
Add HTML Extension to Specific Pages
this may solve your problem
Cheers… (y)
Moshe
I want to migrate a decent size online magazine that’s on Joomla to WP,
Can you recommend someone that can do the actual migration for me?
Moshe
John Loty
thanks for the article…I have, on the Joomla site, a customized theme/template…(home page)…Not sure of the correct term…I am assuming that I have to select or create a WP theme on the fresh WP site and that the import process will fit what it can and that I will have to make “adjustments” to get it all into WP?
Is there a particular step to prepare for receiving content that was in the customized theme on Joomla? Ta
WPBeginner Support
WordPress comes with a couple default themes pre-installed. The latest of the default themes will be automatically activated on your site when you install WordPress. You can import content from your Joomla site and then adjust or change your WordPress theme.
Admin
FAD
Hi John,
There is a way. you must need to implement and activate the theme and installed.
Post that, you can see the latest imported content and with new layout.
Let me know, if any help required.
Chad
Hi There, will this plugin allow me to import my members list from Joomla to WordPress?
Michael
Any answer here? Can I import the member list from Joomla to Wordpress if I use this plug-in?
FAD
Hi MICHAEL,
Yes, you can import members. Might need to go for premium plugin.
Let me know, if any doubts.
Regards,
FAD.,
Arbel Martin
This looks great!
Was wondering if by importing the Joomla site, if it erases all the data from the Joomla site.
For instance,
I would like to create a copy of the joomla site on a test Wordpress domain and edit it. Once the site is ready to replace the original Joomla site, then I would point it to the Wordpress site.
Would this be possible with this method?
Thank you!
-Arbel
Helene
Did you get an answer?
Thanks!! ☺
Helene
Riska Glenn
Thanks for sharing, this article help me to migrating
I was install wordpress on mydomain/dir and completely import content from Joomla using FG joomla to wordpress plugin. My question, how to move all content and database to public directory?
Did you have article about it?
Thanks before
Lyle
Thank you so much for the link to the FG Joomla! to WordPress plugin!
Worked like a charm to import my 292 J! articles into my WP posts. Easy, quick and perfect!
jyoti
which version are you talking about?
Abdo
my is Joomla 2.5 and the import required a password..where i can find
Laureleye
Do modules transfer with the other content? If not, do you have any recommendations on how to transfer modules from Joomla to a WordPress page?
Scott
I don’t think this is possible.
WPBeginner Staff
Yes, once you have imported your content from you can delete the importer plugin.
hummble
Again, might be a silly question but I am new-ish to WP. I have my site all migrated and set up with content (mostly) as I want it for now. Moved my old joomla site to a protected folder on the same server just in case I should ever need to refer to it again.
Now my plugin manager keeps bugging me that there is a new version of the Joomla to Wordpress available. But I shouldn’t need that, right? I’m all done with it. Can I delete the plugin without messing with the data it migrated for me?
sushant
can i migrate database from joomla to wordpress? If so, how?
Ru
if i import my website from Joomla to WordPress, the Joomla site will exist or will be automatically deleted?
prabin04
well, import doesn’t mean move .. so your site will exist
WPBeginner Staff
You will need access to either phpMyAdmin on the server, or FTP access to modify configuration file.
Johny
May be dumb question but I only have access to Joomla Admin panel, not the installation directory. Is there a way to find DB password from admin panel without having access to configuration file?
Perry Mensah
You can install an extension for joomla file system. com_extplorer can do it for you.
WPBeginner Staff
Linda at the end of the import process you can fix your internal links by clicking on the modify internal links button.
linda
maybe a dumb question, but how do I make the url go to my new wp-site instead of my old-joomla one? I guess I have to change that somewhere in my webhosting. But where?
Karen
Are there any issues with moving a Joomla site to Wordpress on my local server to do development and then moving the new site back to replace the old site?
Kuba
Only 1 item imported but joomla site contain many articles. My Joomla version is 3.2.1
H. Olden
This is a great add to your articles and it worked like a charm. In fact, imported 5 years of data off my old Joomla 1.5 install and brought the site back up on WP. Thanks for posting…
WPBeginner Support
We are glad that you found it useful. Thanks for the feedback.
Admin
Dani M
Do you know if there is a way of exporting the look and feel of the site not just the info?
chrys
Hi,
I read in the previous comments that it’s better to have a new database when migrating on the same server. But what does it mean? If my host only provide me with one database, I’ll buy another and when I install wordpress in a new directory I give the details of the new database and when migrating joomla I give the joomla database code in the plugin. Thoses database are completely independent aren’t they? Then I move up the wordpress directory at the root and I’m done? All my content will have gone on my new database won’t it?
By doing that, assuming I have kept the same domain name, I guess only my wordpress site will be live, but what about the old links that are still visible on google? Don’t I risk a duplicate content and be blacklisted? i’m a bit confused..
Thanks !
crooso
i have joomla site, i need convert all them to wordpress.
can i do export ALL THE THINGS into wordpress without deleting joomla site,
WPBeginner Support
Yes you can and you should first import everything in WordPress. If you deleted your Joomla site before starting then you will not be able to import anything.
Admin
babu
hi iam nagababu i want to Migrate my existing Joomla website (1.5) to WordPress and i have one question can you please help me
First what i have to do
may i need to uninstall Joomla and fresh installation Of wordpress in existing domain
Can you please clarify this
WPBeginner Support
If you have joomla installed on the location where you would want to install WordPress then the best way to go is to create a new directory and then install WordPress in that directory. Once you have successfully migrated your Joomla site you can change your Domain’s settings to point to to the directory where WordPress is installed.
Admin
Kannan
Hi there,
When you say a new directory, do you mean a new folder under public_html? Thank you.
WPBeginner Support
Yes.
Anoo
Thanks for this article ! Great Job !!
I have little different issue here,I’m facing a technical confusion !
Problem
One of our client want to purchase a WordPress theme and do a fresh installation on server ! (This can be done easliy)
but the old website is working with joomla and it has around 8 other websites running on its “subfolder”
eg : http://www.example.com ( main web) , http://www.example.com/abcd, http://www.example.com/1234 etc
all web is working on joomla.
This is sort of redirection done !
My task
I have to install and develop the main web ,and connect the other webs as it is
how to reconnect the sub installations on WordPress ?
eg : http://www.example.com ( will run on wordpress ) but can’t change the subdomains which is running on joomla
it should work as http://www.example.com/abcd even after the installation
What hosting people told me
They said, i can’t do this because different platforms , but there should be a solution right ?
Could you help me ?
Thanks in advance !
Links : (http://www.nispana.com) has to install wordpress , Sub domain, can’t change any installation (http://www.nispana.com/buildindiasummit/)
Ahmad
Thank You for Such a Useful Post
Khaled ababneh
Anyone can help, I get this error
Import Joomla (FG)
This plugin will import sections, categories, posts and medias (images, attachments) from a Joomla database into WordPress.
Compatible with Joomla versions 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.1
Dan
thank you! this saves me a lot of time!
Sanjin
Please say that you have some similar method to move Drupal site to Wordpress! ! !
I manage the Drupal site with simple membership content. When users register they can download some PDF files. I have a database of users with just main informations about them and that is all. So I would like to move the site with all members data to the Wordpress. Could somebody tell me there is a easy way to do it? :o)
Thanks to the WPB stuff for doing a great job!
Debasis Sabat
I think this plugin is useful for migrating joomla article to WP post/page, but i do not think this will do anything for joomla component/module/extension.
anda
Hello, I have a question, mabye stupid but i really don’t know how this works. I want to move a joomla site on a wordpress platform (on the same server). I have to create a new database and user for wordpress, or do i use the same database and user?
Thank you very much!
WPBeginner Support
It is better to create a new database and user.
Admin
anda
Thank you so much, you’re doing a great job!
Ali
Really thanks for your helping
Nico
Great post! But is there a way to import links from the Joomla Weblinks Component to Wordpress?
Girendra
We keep getting the error “Fatal error: Class ‘PDO’ not found” when we try to run this plugin. We had SiteGround enable PDO globally (VPS) and we have confirmed that the extension is enabled.
Any help will be much appreciated.
Girendra.
WPBeginner Support
Contact plugin support.
Admin
Jimrelay
Hi, Thanks for the article it was great,
I just have a question, maybe is obvious, but you didn’t mention if this IMPORT, do not ERASE all that information from your actual Joomla site? Because I has been working on a Wordpress Demo page, and I don’t want to erase anything from my original Joomla site… just make a copy of the content and images…
Thanks in advance for your answer…
Jimrelay
WPBeginner Support
No it will not delete any thing from your Joomla site.
Admin
Wesley
Great article, helped me immensely to migrate my site from Joomla to WordPress.
Good job!
Thanks also to Jack Cola and Zimbrul for additional comments.
Muneeb
Thank you for the article!, but i wanted to know how would we convert the theme from joomla to wordpress, we want to keep the design as well including navigation, sidebar, content each and everything. Basically it will look like the same website but with a different CMS in the background.
Can you suggest us something with this regard?
Jack Cola
Keeping your theme the same theme will be harder, as they is no way to convert it. You will need to contact the theme developer to see if they offer the same theme on Wordpress.
I know programs such as Artisteer allow you to export the same theme from Wordpress and Joomla, so if your theme was built using that program, just export the Wordpress version.
Jack COla
I have just completed moving my website from Joomla to Wordpress. I problably spent 30+ hours getting it perfect, testing, ensuring there are no 404 errors.
Problems I found were:
-Needed to perform the migration on a local host to ensure as the URL structure would stuff up.
-Image redirects will result in 404 errors (which I manually had to change – only effects those -images ranking high on Google Image or those evil hot linkers.
-Comments needed to be migrated
Pash
Hi Jack
How did you migrate the comments over? I did my site a few years back and didn’t manage to migrate the comments but now I have to do our corporate intranet and it’s important that the comments get moved over too.
Zimbrul
Another error you may get into is regarding the database. If your sites are on different hosts you may have problems connecting to Joomla database and you won’t be able to complete the process.
Steve Eilertsen
Thank you for your awesome high quality Wordpress articles.
They are much appreciated and demonstrate the true spirit of the Internet
DJ Wade-O
I needed this post about 8 Months ago. lol. Glad you guys made this post though. My site has taken off since I made the switch!