WordPress alternatives for small businesses
WordPress is the most portable of the common platforms. People usually leave because of the upkeep, not the lock-in. Here is what you can take.
What you can take from WordPress
Tools, then Export gives you an XML file of your posts, pages, comments, categories and tags. Read WordPress on this.
- Posts, pages, comments, categories and tags
- Media files
- On a self-hosted site, every file and the database
The XML export does not carry your theme or plugins, and on WordPress.com a full backup needs a Business or Commerce plan.
What to ask before you switch
What happens to your address?
Your domain is what people and Google know you by. Find out where it is registered and how to move or point it before you change anything else.
What happens to your URLs?
Every old page needs a new home or a redirect. A page that disappears takes its search traffic with it.
Who does the work?
Moving a site is a project. Decide who writes down every page, moves the content, tests the forms and checks it after launch.
Your real options
Your content moves easily. Your theme and plugins do not run anywhere but WordPress, so the design and features get rebuilt.
Another website builder
You build and maintain the site yourself, on someone else's platform. Before you commit, look up what that platform lets you take with you. This is the same question you are asking now.
WordPress on your own hosting
You hold the files and the database, so you can move them. You also take on the hosting, the updates and the security yourself, or you pay someone to.
How WordPress exports workA site someone builds and runs for you
We rebuild your site on our platform and run it. You tell us what to change and a person does it. Call the office in Doylestown and someone picks up.
Talk to usLeaving WordPress
Does the export include my images?
Not as files. On WordPress.com the file holds links to your media, and media exports separately. Keep the old site public while you import, because the new site copies images from it.
Why would I leave WordPress?
That is your call. If the updates, plugins and security are the problem, a managed site takes that off your plate. If they are not, WordPress may be the right place to stay.
Still have questions? Call the office or send us your site and a person will take a look.
Where these facts come from
Checked against the official help pages on November 2, 2026. Platforms change these pages, so read the source before you act on it.
Find out what you actually own
Type in your address. We tell you what it is built on, what you can take and what you would lose. It is free and takes a few seconds.