Squarespace offers useful export options, but an export is not the same as a complete working WordPress website. A safe move combines the platform's available exports with a controlled rebuild of the design, features and SEO structure that do not transfer automatically.
Start with a complete site inventory
List every page type and feature before exporting anything: standard pages, blog posts, products, galleries, portfolios, forms, members areas, bookings, newsletters, custom code and integrations. Record the existing URLs and identify which pages already attract traffic.
Use Squarespace's export tools where they help
Squarespace can export certain content in a WordPress-compatible XML file, while Commerce product data can be exported separately to CSV. Those tools can save time, but they do not recreate the Squarespace theme, styling or every page/feature inside WordPress.
Check media carefully
After importing content, verify that images and other media are actually stored in the new WordPress Media Library rather than still being referenced from Squarespace-hosted URLs. Do this before cancelling the old plan.
Rebuild the design and platform-specific features
Custom CSS, section layouts, forms, gallery behaviour, portfolio structures and other Squarespace-specific elements may need to be recreated. If you love the existing design, the WordPress version can remain visually familiar; if not, the migration is also an opportunity to improve it.
Treat Commerce as a data migration project
For a shop, products are only part of the picture. Review variants, images, stock, customer data, orders, subscriptions, taxes, shipping, payment gateways and any integrations before deciding how much can be moved automatically and what requires manual work or a specialist import route.
Map URLs, redirects and SEO
Preserve good URLs where possible and redirect changed ones individually. Carry over titles, descriptions, headings, copy, internal links and tracking. After launch, crawl the WordPress site, check Search Console and make sure old URLs return the intended permanent redirects rather than 404s.
What often does not export cleanly
Expect to review layouts, style settings, custom CSS, forms, galleries, portfolio structures, product presentation, members features and integrations individually. Some information can be exported as content while the behaviour still needs to be rebuilt. Treating the exported XML as the entire migration usually leads to a WordPress site that is technically imported but commercially incomplete.
Keep Squarespace available until the checks are finished
Do not cancel immediately after the WordPress import. Compare page counts, images, product data, forms and URLs against the live Squarespace site. If old content or media is still being loaded remotely, cancelling too early can reveal gaps only after the original source is gone. A short overlap gives the migration team a much safer verification window.