How to Seamlessly Transfer Your Content from Joomla to WordPress

Migrating your website from Joomla to WordPress is a strategic decision that can transform your online presence and streamline your content management. As websites evolve and business needs change, many organizations find themselves seeking more flexible, user-friendly content management systems with broader support and integration options.

This guide will walk you through the entire process of transferring your content from Joomla to WordPress while preserving your SEO value, content integrity, and user experience.

Why Migrate from Joomla to WordPress?

Before diving into the technical aspects of migration, it’s important to understand why WordPress has become the preferred platform for so many website owners. The decision to migrate from Joomla to WordPress should be based on your specific business needs, but there are several compelling advantages worth considering.

Market Share and Popularity

The content management system (CMS) landscape clearly shows WordPress’s dominance. WordPress currently holds 62.7% of the CMS market share, while Joomla holds just 2.4%.

This substantial market gap has significant implications for website owners. A larger market share translates to a more extensive ecosystem of developers, plugins, themes, and resources available to support your website’s growth and maintenance.

Why Market Share Matters

A CMS with higher market share typically offers better long-term stability, more regular updates, extensive security support, and a larger community of experts available for assistance when needed.

User-Friendly Interface

One of the most significant advantages of WordPress is its intuitive editor and dashboard, which reduces the learning curve compared to Joomla. This user-friendliness makes content creation and website management more accessible to team members regardless of their technical expertise.

The WordPress block editor (Gutenberg) provides a visual, drag-and-drop approach to content creation that many find more intuitive than Joomla’s interface. This accessibility can lead to more efficient content workflows and reduced training time for new team members.

Extensive Plugin Ecosystem

WordPress offers over 70,000 free plugins available in its official repository.

This vast ecosystem allows you to extend your website’s functionality without custom development in most cases. From SEO tools to e-commerce capabilities, form builders to security enhancements, the WordPress plugin directory has solutions for virtually any feature you might need.

Enterprise-Grade Scalability

WordPress is used by high-traffic publishers like TIME Magazine and TechCrunch, demonstrating its ability to handle significant traffic and content demands.

This scalability makes WordPress suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small blogs to enterprise-level websites with millions of monthly visitors.

E-commerce Capabilities

If your website includes or will include e-commerce functionality, WordPress offers robust solutions. WooCommerce, the leading WordPress e-commerce plugin, powers 17% of all e-commerce sites on the web. This mature e-commerce platform provides extensive customization options, payment gateway integrations, and shipping solutions for online stores of all sizes.

Preparing for Migration: Pre-Migration Steps

A successful migration requires thorough preparation. Before beginning the technical process of transferring content from Joomla to WordPress, complete these essential pre-migration steps to ensure a smooth transition.

Backing Up Your Joomla Website

Before attempting any migration, create a complete backup of your Joomla website. This critical step provides a safety net in case anything goes wrong during the migration process. Tools like Akeeba Backup provide comprehensive backup solutions for Joomla websites.

A complete backup should include:

• Database contents – All your articles, users, categories, and settings
• Media files – Images, videos, documents, and other uploaded content
• Template files – Theme layouts and design elements
• Extensions – Any installed modules, components, or plugins
• Configuration files – Your site’s core configuration settings

Auditing Your Current Content and Structure

Before migration, take inventory of your existing Joomla content and structure. This audit helps identify what needs to be transferred and uncovers potential migration challenges before they occur.

Create a spreadsheet documenting:

• Content types – Articles, custom post types, landing pages
• Content organization – Categories, sections, tags
• User accounts – Admin, editor, contributor roles
• Extensions – Active plugins and their WordPress equivalents
• Custom functionality – Any custom-coded features
• Forms and interactive elements – Contact forms, calculators, etc.
• URLs and permalink structure – For redirect planning

Setting Up a Development Environment

We recommend performing the migration in a staging environment rather than directly on your live site. This approach allows you to test and refine the migration process without affecting your current website’s availability.

Your development environment should include:

• A separate subdomain or local development setup
• A fresh WordPress installation
• Access to your Joomla database
• Migration tools and plugins installed

Professional Migration Recommendation

While DIY migration is possible, working with experienced WordPress migration specialists can save time, reduce risks, and ensure all content and functionality transfers correctly. Professional migration services typically include testing, SEO preservation, and post-migration support.

Choosing the Right Migration Method

There are several approaches to migrating from Joomla to WordPress. The best method depends on your website’s complexity, your technical comfort level, and your timeline requirements.

Using Automated Migration Plugins

For most standard Joomla websites, automated migration plugins offer the simplest and most efficient transfer method. These tools handle much of the heavy lifting by automatically mapping Joomla content structures to appropriate WordPress equivalents.

Common migration plugins include:

• FG Joomla to WordPress – A popular plugin that transfers articles, categories, images, and more
• CMS2CMS – A premium migration service with automated tools
• WP All Import – For importing XML exports from Joomla

The automated approach works well for standard Joomla installations without extensive custom development. However, custom content types, complex relationships, and highly customized sites may require additional manual intervention even when using these tools.

Manual Migration Process

For websites with extensive customization or specific migration requirements, a manual migration process may be necessary. This approach typically involves:

1. Exporting content from Joomla in a structured format (SQL, XML, CSV)
2. Creating equivalent content structures in WordPress
3. Importing and mapping the content to WordPress
4. Manually transferring media and additional assets
5. Recreating functionality using WordPress plugins or custom code

While more time-intensive, manual migration offers complete control over how content is transferred and structured in the new WordPress environment.

Hybrid Approach

Many successful migrations use a hybrid approach – leveraging automated tools for standard content while manually handling custom elements. This balanced method often provides the best results, especially for medium to large websites with some customization.

Step-by-Step Migration Process

Below is a detailed walkthrough of the migration process using the FG Joomla to WordPress plugin, one of the most comprehensive tools for this specific migration path.

Setting Up Your WordPress Environment

Before beginning the content transfer, properly configure your WordPress installation:

1. Install WordPress – Set up a fresh WordPress installation on your development server
2. Choose and install a theme – Select a theme that can accommodate your content structure
3. Configure basic settings – Set up permalinks, user accounts, and reading settings
4. Install essential plugins – Add core functionality plugins needed for your site

For optimal results, configure your WordPress permalinks to match your Joomla URL structure as closely as possible. This helps maintain SEO value and prevents broken links after migration.

Transferring Content from Joomla to WordPress

When using the FG Joomla to WordPress plugin:

1. Install and activate the plugin in your WordPress dashboard
2. Navigate to Tools → Import → Joomla (FG)
3. Enter your Joomla database connection details:
   1. Database host (usually localhost)
   2. Database name
   3. Database username
   4. Database password
   5. Table prefix (typically jos_ or j_)
4. Configure import options:
   1. Select content types to import (articles, categories, users)
   2. Choose media import settings
   3. Set author mapping preferences
   4. Configure redirect options
5. Run a test import to check for any issues
6. Execute the full import process

The import process duration depends on your website’s size. For larger sites, the process might need to be run in segments to avoid timeout issues.

Moving Media Files and Attachments

Media files require special attention during migration:

1. Configure media settings in the migration plugin to import images
2. Verify media paths are correctly mapped from Joomla to WordPress
3. Run the media import process after content migration
4. Check for missing images after import and manually transfer if needed
5. Update image references in content if paths have changed

After import, review your media library in WordPress to ensure all files transferred correctly and image references in content are working properly.

Post-Migration Tasks

After transferring your content, several crucial tasks will finalize your migration and ensure your new WordPress site functions correctly.

Checking and Fixing Broken Links

Content migration often results in some broken internal links due to structural differences between Joomla and WordPress:

1. Scan for broken links using tools like Broken Link Checker plugin
2. Fix internal links pointing to old Joomla paths
3. Update menu structures to reflect your new WordPress organization
4. Check media embeds for broken references

Setting Up Redirects

Preserving SEO value requires proper redirection from old Joomla URLs to new WordPress URLs:

1. Create a comprehensive URL mapping of old to new URLs
2. Implement 301 redirects using .htaccess (for Apache) or web.config (for IIS)
3. Use a redirection plugin like Redirection or Simple 301 Redirects to manage redirects
4. Test redirects from various old URL patterns

SEO-Friendly Migration Strategy

When possible, maintain the same URL structure or implement proper 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones. This approach preserves your search engine rankings and ensures users following old links still reach your content.

Testing Your New WordPress Website

Thorough testing is essential before launching your migrated WordPress site:

• Functionality testing – Verify all features work as expected
• Content review – Check that all content transferred correctly
• Design consistency – Ensure theme properly displays your content
• Form testing – Verify contact forms and other interactive elements
• User account verification – Test user roles and permissions
• Mobile responsiveness – Check performance across devices
• Performance testing – Measure load times and optimize as needed

Enhancing Your New WordPress Website

After completing the core migration, take advantage of WordPress’s capabilities to enhance your website.

Essential WordPress Plugins

Consider adding these core plugins to improve functionality:

• SEO plugins – Yoast SEO or Rank Math for search engine optimization
• Security plugins – Wordfence or Sucuri for website protection
• Caching plugins – WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache for performance
• Backup solutions – UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy for regular backups
• Analytics integration – MonsterInsights or Site Kit by Google

WordPress’s extensive plugin ecosystem offers solutions for virtually any functionality you need.

Optimizing for Performance and SEO

Maximize your new WordPress site’s potential:

1. Implement a comprehensive SEO strategy using WordPress SEO plugins
2. Optimize images by compressing and properly sizing them
3. Configure caching to improve page load speed
4. Minify CSS and JavaScript files to reduce load times
5. Set up XML sitemaps for better search engine indexing
6. Implement schema markup for enhanced search results

Understanding the benefits of WordPress as a content management system will help you leverage its full potential for your business website.

Common Challenges and Solutions

Even with careful planning, you may encounter challenges during migration. Here are solutions to common issues:

Handling Custom Content Types

Joomla’s custom content types don’t always have direct equivalents in WordPress:

• Challenge: Complex content structures in Joomla extensions
• Solution: Use Custom Post Types in WordPress to recreate similar structures
• Tools: Custom Post Type UI plugin or custom code to define content types

For very complex content relationships, consider using Advanced Custom Fields or Pods Framework to recreate customized content structures in WordPress.

Resolving Theme and Design Inconsistencies

Visual presentation often requires adjustment after migration:

• Challenge: Design differences between Joomla template and WordPress theme
• Solution: Customize your WordPress theme or choose a theme closer to your original design
• Approach: Use a child theme for customizations to maintain compatibility with theme updates

After migration, you might want to explore how WordPress can help boost your brand awareness through its extensive customization capabilities.

Database Character Encoding Issues

Character encoding problems can cause garbled text after migration:

• Challenge: Special characters appearing incorrectly in migrated content
• Solution: Ensure both databases use the same character encoding (preferably UTF-8)
• Fix: Search and replace problematic characters post-migration if needed

User Migration Complications

Transferring user accounts might present challenges:

• Challenge: Different user role systems between Joomla and WordPress
• Solution: Map Joomla user groups to appropriate WordPress roles
• Note: Passwords typically need to be reset after migration due to different hashing methods

Conclusion

Migrating from Joomla to WordPress is a significant undertaking that requires planning, technical knowledge, and attention to detail. However, the benefits of WordPress’s user-friendly interface, extensive ecosystem, and ongoing development make it a worthwhile investment for most website owners.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can successfully transfer your content while maintaining SEO value and improving your content management capabilities. Whether you choose to perform the migration yourself or work with professionals, understanding the process helps ensure the best possible outcome.

Remember that migration is also an opportunity to evaluate and improve your website structure, content quality, and user experience. Use this transition to build a stronger digital presence on the WordPress platform.

Ready to Migrate?

If you’re considering a migration from Joomla to WordPress, our team of custom WordPress website design specialists can help you plan and execute a seamless transition. Contact us for a free migration consultation to discuss your specific requirements and timeline.