How to migrate your site from Squarespace to CanSpace

Like Wix, Squarespace is a closed platform that doesn't let you export your site to any standard format. There's no Squarespace-to-WordPress tool that preserves your design and layout — migrating means rebuilding. Squarespace does have a partial blog-and-products export that makes the rebuild less painful than Wix, though.

What Squarespace lets you export

Squarespace offers a limited XML export that includes:

• Blog posts — titles, content, authors, dates, categories, tags. Can be imported into WordPress directly.
• Static pages — page titles and body content (as best as the export can extract from their block-based editor).
• Comments on blog posts.
• Products (separate CSV export from the Commerce section) — names, descriptions, prices, SKUs, variants, inventory.

What it doesn't include: your site design, custom CSS, page layouts beyond basic body content, galleries and slideshows (images export, but not their presentation), forms and their submission history, member data, or anything from the site-wide styling.

Your two rebuild options on CanSpace

Option 1: SiteJet

SiteJet is our included AI-assisted site builder. For marketing/small-business Squarespace sites, it can regenerate something close to your old design in under an hour based on your description. Best if:

• You want fast.
• Your Squarespace site is a straightforward marketing or portfolio site.
• You're comfortable picking a fresh SiteJet template and customizing from there.

Option 2: WordPress

The standard modern rebuild target. More setup, but the export from Squarespace imports reasonably well into WordPress. Best if:

• You want long-term flexibility — open platform, portable, hire any developer.
• You have specific needs (WooCommerce, membership, advanced SEO, LMS).
• Your Squarespace site has lots of blog content (the Squarespace XML export imports into WordPress natively).

Export from Squarespace

Blog and pages (XML)

1. Log in to Squarespace and go to your site's Settings.
2. Click Advanced → Import / Export Content.
3. Click Export, then choose WordPress as the format.
4. Squarespace packages your blog posts, pages, and comments into an XML file. Download it.

Squarespace's export only handles one blog page. If you have multiple blog pages (e.g. a main blog and a news section), you can only export one — the other needs to be migrated manually.

Products (Commerce sites)

1. Go to Commerce → Products in Squarespace.
2. Click ... (or the gear icon) → Export All.
3. Download the CSV. This contains product names, descriptions, variants, prices, SKUs.

Images and media

Squarespace doesn't include images in the XML export. Either:

• Right-click and save each image from the live site (feasible for small sites).
• Use a bulk downloader like Image Cyborg or a browser extension to grab all images from each page.
• After the WordPress import, use a plugin like Import External Images which automatically downloads images still referenced via Squarespace URLs into your WordPress media library.

Member / customer data

If you use Squarespace member areas or have customer accounts from Commerce, export those separately from Contacts in the Squarespace dashboard.

Import into WordPress

1. Sign up for a CanSpace hosting plan and install WordPress via cPanel → Softaculous.
2. Pick a theme close to your Squarespace aesthetic. For clean, minimal sites like most Squarespace designs, Astra, Kadence, or GeneratePress are good starting points — all free.
3. Import the XML: in WP admin, go to Tools → Import, click WordPress (install the importer if prompted), and upload the XML file. Map authors and click Submit.
4. Import images: the XML contains references to images on Squarespace's servers. Install and run the Import External Images or Auto Upload Images plugin to download them into your WordPress media library.
5. Import products (if applicable): install WooCommerce, go to Products → Import, upload your Squarespace CSV. WooCommerce maps most fields automatically; verify variants and inventory after import.
6. Rebuild static pages. Squarespace's static pages usually need manual rebuilding — the XML import often produces a plain-text version without layout. Use your copied text content plus a block editor or page builder (Kadence Blocks, GenerateBlocks) to recreate the design.

Email

Squarespace Email is resold Google Workspace, so your email history lives in Google's servers, not Squarespace's. After setting up new mailboxes on your CanSpace plan, you can copy the existing messages over — full walkthrough in How to migrate your email from a non-cPanel provider. Since Squarespace Email is Google Workspace, the Gmail IMAP settings and app-password requirements from that article apply directly.

Domain and DNS

If your domain is registered through Squarespace, you have three options:

• Transfer the domain to CanSpace. See How do I transfer a domain to CanSpace?. You'll need an EPP code from Squarespace.
• Transfer to a dedicated registrar (Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.) then point it at us.
• Keep it at Squarespace and just change nameservers to CanSpace. Works, but Squarespace will try to keep charging you for the domain even after you've left their hosting — transferring out avoids that.

Switch DNS only after your new site is rebuilt and verified. Until then, the old Squarespace site keeps serving your domain.

Need help rebuilding?

We don't handle site design ourselves, but plenty of Canadian and international freelancers specialize in Squarespace-to-WordPress rebuilds. Upwork, Fiverr, and similar platforms have experienced designers who can rebuild from your exported content in a few days.

Related articles

• What's included in our free website migration
• How do I launch the free site builder (SiteJet)?
• How do I install WordPress
• How do I transfer a domain to CanSpace?

Ready to leave Squarespace? Open a support ticket