How to migrate WordPress to Next.js without rewriting your site.

Three ways to move WordPress to Next.js

There are really only three approaches. They differ in what your editors have to give up.

Weighing headless? Read why headless WordPress doubles your stack.

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Audit what you have

   Run the free site check. It reads your site’s public REST index from your browser and lists the plugins Presscomet has bundled equivalents for. For a full report, run the importer with --analyze.

   https://Your WordPress site addressCheck my site — free →

   ✓ Runs in your browser✓ Read-only: your site is never touched✓ Free and open source
2. 2

   Step 2: Create an application password

   In wp-admin open Users → Profile → Application Passwords. Presscomet uses it to read drafts, private posts, users and settings over the REST API. You can revoke it once you’ve switched.

   No REST API, or the old site is already offline? There are other ways in:

   • Live site — REST API, with or without an application password
   • Companion plugin — for hosts that block the REST API
   • WXR export — the file from Tools › Export
   • SQL dump — mysqldump or wp db export, plain or .gz
3. 3

   Step 3: Run the importer

   In the admin it’s Tools › Import › WordPress (or Migrate an existing WordPress site in the installer). From a terminal, the same pipeline runs from your Presscomet checkout:

   $ pnpm --filter @presscomet/importer exec \
       tsx src/cli.ts --url https://yoursite.com \
       --user admin --app-password "xxxx xxxx xxxx"
   ✓ Activated SEO (replaces Yoast SEO)
   ▲ Migration complete in 84s.

   All CLI options+

   --url URL

   The old site’s address (also used for media and theme capture with a file source)

   --user U --app-password P

   Include drafts, private posts, users and settings

   --key KEY

   Read through the companion plugin

   --wxr FILE | --sql FILE

   Import from a WXR export or an SQL dump

   --analyze

   Report what would be imported and mapped, then stop

   --merge

   Update existing items and add new ones instead of replacing

   --no-media --no-theme --no-plugins

   Skip media, theme capture or plugin mapping

   --theme SLUG

   Use a bundled theme instead of capturing the current one

   --limit N

   Import only the first N items, for a trial run

   Prefer clicking? Here’s a recreation of the wizard:

   1. 1 Source
   2. 2 Review
   3. 3 Import
   4. 4 Switch

   newsite.example/wp-admin/admin.php?import=wordpress

   Migrate to Presscomet

   Where is the WordPress site you are moving?

   Live siteWXR exportSQL dumpCompanion plugin

   Connect over the REST API with an application password. Best when the old site is still online.

   Site addresshttps://fieldnotes.exampleApplication passwordabcd •••• •••• •••• •••• wxyz

   Capture the current theme so pages look identical Activate equivalent plugins and import their settings

   Connect and review
4. 4

   Step 4: Compare side by side

   The wizard’s last step runs a fidelity check: it crawls the old site and compares every URL on the new one — status codes and redirects, titles, meta descriptions, canonicals, content, menus, images and feeds — and lists the pages that differ. From a terminal, pnpm --filter @presscomet/importer verify adds desktop and mobile screenshot diffs. Fix, re-import, repeat.

5. 5

   Step 5: Switch DNS

   Import once more just before you switch: a re-import merges, so anything published since the first run comes across. Then point your domain at Presscomet. URLs keep their paths, and moved slugs get 301 redirects.

What transfers

Content

Posts, pages, custom post types, revisions, blocks, reusable blocks

Media

Every attachment and its sizes, alt text, files linked from content

People

Users, roles, capabilities and password hashes

Structure

Menus, widgets, taxonomies, permalink rules

SEO

Titles, meta descriptions, noindex flags, old-slug and Redirection redirects

Settings

Options, theme mods and the settings of plugins with a bundled equivalent

What doesn’t

• ×PHP code. Plugins and themes don’t execute. A theme’s output is captured; common plugins are replaced by bundled ones.
• ×WooCommerce. Stores are out of scope. Presscomet is for content sites.
• ×Multisite. Each site in a network migrates on its own.

From MySQL to SQLite

WordPress spreads a site across a dozen MySQL tables and a server you have to run. Presscomet keeps the same tables and columns — posts, postmeta, options and the rest — inside one SQLite file, nextpress.db. The admin, the REST API and the bundled plugins read those same rows; you just stop administering a database server. A backup is a copy of that file and the uploads folder.

Already have a dump? Point the importer at it, plus the live site for media and theme capture:

$ pnpm --filter @presscomet/importer exec tsx src/cli.ts \
    --sql backup.sql.gz --url https://yoursite.com

Launch checklist

Tick things off as you go. Progress is saved in this browser.

FAQ