Migrate WordPress to Ghost, step by step

From Ghost’s WordPress migration guide, checked on 30 October 2026. The guide doesn’t say how images are handled, so check them in your trial import.

If custom post types carry real weight on your site, such as case studies or events with their own fields, Ghost has no direct equivalent, and you would be flattening them into posts and tags. Read Ghost vs WordPress before going further. Also decide where it will run: Ghost(Pro) or self-hosted. A self-hosted install must have Mailgun for bulk newsletters.

Write down what you have, so nothing important disappears by accident.

wp post-type list --public=true
wp post list --post_type=post --format=count
wp post list --post_type=page --format=count
wp plugin list --status=active
wp option get permalink_structure

Check the post count against the 2,500 limit and the export size against 100 MB. For each active plugin, note what it does and what replaces it on Ghost. Contact forms, in particular, need a replacement, because Ghost’s built-in forms are for sign-ups. Export your indexed URLs from your sitemap and Search Console, because you’ll compare against that list at the end.

1. Set up a staging Ghost site, separate from the one you will launch.
2. Log in to WordPress, then in Ghost Admin go to Settings, Advanced, Import/Export.
3. Enter your WordPress site’s public URL and continue.
4. Use the link to open WordPress’s export settings, select all content, and download the XML file.
5. Upload the file to the migrator and review the post and page counts it reports.
6. Import, then read a sample of your oldest, longest and most media-heavy posts.

If the file is over the limit or the structure is unusual, use TryGhost/migrate instead. Check for leftover shortcodes, missing images and broken embeds, then fix what you can in WordPress or in the import process, since repeat imports are the cheap way to get this right.

Ghost themes use Handlebars. Starter plans on Ghost(Pro) can’t use custom or Marketplace themes, so a custom design means Publisher or above. Build against the imported posts instead of placeholder text, because real headlines and old images show the problems. Validate the theme with GScan, Ghost’s own validator.

Export subscribers from your WordPress plugin or email platform, clean the list, and format it as a CSV for Ghost’s member import.

email,name,note,subscribed_to_emails,stripe_customer_id,complimentary_plan,labels,created_at
ana@example.com,Ana Example,,true,,false,"from-wordpress, customer",2024-05-01T09:00:00.000Z

• Only email is required.
• Keep each person’s real opt-in state in subscribed_to_emails. Don’t turn everyone on.
• For paid subscribers, connect Stripe first, then use a customer ID or auto in stripe_customer_id.
• Label the batch, so you can find these members later.

Ghost also has guides for moving from Mailchimp, Substack, Kit, Beehiiv and others, if your list lives there. Importing a list has deliverability consequences as well, covered in Ghost newsletter setup for B2B.

Ghost’s redirects tutorial gives common WordPress rules. A redirects.yaml file holds them, and you upload it in Ghost Admin. Use the rules that match your permalink setting:

301:
  ^\/category\/(.*): /tag/$1
  ^\/[0-9]{4}\/[0-9]{2}\/[0-9]{2}\/(.*): /$1
  ^\/[0-9]{4}\/[0-9]{2}\/(.*): /$1

Then test the list you exported in Step 2. Every old URL should land on a live page with one redirect. Pages that have no new home need a decision, such as a redirect to the nearest page, instead of a pile of 404s. Don’t use this file for www, HTTPS or trailing-slash rules, since Ghost’s tutorial sends those elsewhere.

1. Freeze publishing on WordPress and run the final import.
2. Import the final member list, and check the member count.
3. Connect Stripe and test a real paid sign-up, if you sell subscriptions.
4. Send a test newsletter to your own addresses, and read it in several mail clients.
5. Point DNS at Ghost, and confirm SSL.
6. Run the URL list again on the live domain, and resubmit your sitemap in Search Console.
7. Keep the WordPress site and a backup available until you’re sure nothing is missing.

A blog with standard posts and a clean permalink setup is a reasonable project to do yourself. Get help when you have custom post types, a large back catalogue, page-builder content or paying members. Our Ghost development service covers the theme, the move and the redirects, and we quote at a fixed price once we have seen your content. Tell us about your site. We have no published Ghost case study. Most of our work is delivered under NDA, so many projects cannot be named.