Search rankings survive the move
A URL inventory and a redirect plan protect the pages that already earn traffic, which is the part a migration most often loses.
WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress migration
Move your WordPress.com publication to hosting you control, with the content and editing workflow checked before the switch. Norml prepares the destination, transfers the agreed posts and pages, and reviews the themes, plugins, and subscriptions tied to your current account. The result is a maintained WordPress site with clear ownership of hosting, backups, and updates.
A few clients we’ve worked with
What we do
Move WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress with content and media checks, theme compatibility, domain planning, and an editor handoff.
What a migration actually moves.
Moving a site changes more than where the files live. It moves your URLs, your search history and every integration pointed at the old address.
Nothing is left behind
Content, media, forms and integrations are inventoried before anything moves, so the gaps are found before your customers find them.
There is a way back
A backup, verification checks and a rollback approach turn a bad launch into an inconvenience instead of an outage.
What the migration covers
The transfer route depends on your WordPress.com plan and current setup. A content export, a full backup, and a media archive contain different things.
- Solution
- Migrations
- Current platform
- WordPress.com
- Destination
- WordPress
Posts, pages and attachments
We inspect the available export and map authors, categories, tags, comments, and content into the new installation. The standard XML export points to media rather than containing the media files. We check that agreed images and downloads are copied and still work before retiring the source.
Theme and editor compatibility
The destination needs the theme, blocks, and plugins that support your pages. We check availability and licensing, then rebuild any unsupported pieces. Representative pages include galleries, embedded media, and reusable patterns so an apparently successful import does not conceal broken layouts.
Followers and paid features
Newsletter subscribers, followers, paid memberships, and other WordPress.com-connected features need their own handoff decisions. We review the available Jetpack or provider-supported route and preserve consent and access requirements. A transferred article archive alone does not establish that these relationships moved.
Domain and hosting operations
We configure the WordPress destination and plan domain, HTTPS, redirects, and email-record continuity. A custom domain and a wordpress.com address have different redirect options. We document the chosen setup and who will maintain the site after launch.
Client reviews
Read our reviews on Clutch ↗“Norml Studio's professionalism and responsiveness were impressive.”
“They were proactive in suggesting improvements we hadn't considered.”
“They delivered what they said they would, on time.”
“They focused on how to make our daily operations easier, not just on building features for the sake of it.”
“They understood that the app needed to be practical for someone sitting in a car, not just look good on a desktop.”
“Their level of dedication to the success of the project and GoPetZen's business as a whole is unique.”
What we need before the move
Account and hosting ownership
We need authorized WordPress.com access, your hosting destination, domain details, and an inventory of paid features. The content owner should identify drafts, private pages, and anything that should stay unpublished during the move.
A maintained destination
Self-hosting needs backups, updates, security controls, and recovery access. We agree the operating responsibilities and check that required themes and plugins can run on the selected host before transferring the full site.
How we prepare the move
Choose the transfer method
Compare the source plan and available exports with the destination requirements. Record which material belongs in a content import and which settings require separate setup.
Import and reconcile
Transfer representative content, validate attachment downloads, and review author and taxonomy mappings. Compare the full import against the approved inventory and resolve missing media or broken blocks.
Connect and hand over
Test editing, forms, links, search, and account features included in scope. Apply the domain and redirect plan, recheck the public site, and hand over hosting and publishing instructions.
The people who do this work.
No account layer between you and them. These are the Norml specialists this work runs through.
Artur Tsitou
DevOps & Backend Developer
Max Tymoshyn
Founder & Architect
Petr Savenok
Full-Stack Developer
Marina Omelchuk
QA Engineer
Let's chat
“I've spent 10 years working across development and marketing. I started as a developer, but design, SEO and advertising were already part of the job. That taught me to treat a website as one system: the business, the content, the design and the code have to work together. At Norml, I lead the architecture behind our work and stay involved wherever strategy, design, development and search meet.”
Max TymoshynFounder & Architect
Get startedRelated services.
Questions about the migration
Does the XML export include every image?
It contains references used by the destination to fetch media. We keep the source accessible for the transfer and verify the resulting media library. A separate archive or backup may be needed for files that are not captured by that process.
What happens to followers and paid features?
We check the transfer options for the specific feature and account. Subscribers, payment subscriptions, and access permissions are separate concerns. Any unsupported transfer is identified before the old account is changed.
Will the site look the same?
Content can retain its structure, but the destination theme, blocks, and settings determine the rendered pages. We review those dependencies and agree any necessary rebuild work before migration.
Share your current website, the features you rely on, and what needs to change. We will review the WordPress requirements and identify the content, rebuild work, and launch checks your move needs.