Migrate an existing site
Move a site you run elsewhere into Willo. The free scan, the two paths, what carries over and what doesn't, redirects, and your domain.
On this page
If you already run a site on WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Webflow or another platform, Willo can move it across. It scans the site, shows you what it found, and then rebuilds it as a Willo site.
Either way, the site is rebuilt on Willo's own stack. Your old platform's code, such as themes, plugins and apps, does not come across. See Your code.
1. Start a migration
There are two ways in:
- In the dashboard, start a new business and choose the Migrate an existing site tab. Enter your site's address.
- From the website, go to willo.ai/migrate and enter your address there.
A migration always starts as a new business. You can't start one from an existing business's chat.
2. Choose a path
Willo asks how it should move your site. There are two cards and no default, because they make different things:
| Rebuild my site exactly as it is | Bring my content, build me a fresh site | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Your current site page for page: design, copy, images and page addresses. | Your posts, images and CMS entries word for word, in a new design. Marketing pages are rewritten on-brand. |
| What it doesn't do | Nothing is redesigned or improved. | Your current design is not copied. |
| How long | Usually under an hour after you confirm. | A short planning chat, then Willo builds. Timing depends on how much content you bring. |
On an exact rebuild, anything Willo can't match cleanly is flagged for you to review. On WordPress, Willo reads posts, pages, media, categories and tags from the site's own records, not from the rendered page.
The choice is made once. The scan card shows both paths again, with real counts, and you can still change your pick there. After you confirm, the path is fixed. To try the other path, start a new migration.
3. Read the scan
Press Scan my site. The scan is free and takes a few minutes, and nothing is built until you approve it. Two cards arrive in chat.
The site card shows:
- how many pages were captured
- the sections it found, such as blog posts, products or locations, with a count for each
- the contact and booking pages it found
- a store, if there is one, with the option to connect Shopify or Stripe
- sections it suggests skipping, such as duplicate copies of your posts
- whether your robots.txt hides pages from search, with a choice about keeping them hidden
- a warning if your site is bigger than one migration can cover
The brand card shows your business name, logo, colors and fonts as Willo read them. Tap a color to change it, or ask in chat. Logo and font changes come after launch.
If the cards look right, confirm.
4. Watch it run
A Migrating your site banner shows progress. You can look around or chat with Willo while it runs. When it finishes, the banner says your site is live at its Willo address on bywillo.ai, so you can compare it with your current site side by side. On the content path, your posts and entries are in the Content tab, where you can edit them.
What doesn't carry over
- Form backends. Your old form provider doesn't come with you. On an exact rebuild, simple newsletter and contact forms are replaced with Willo's own form, which delivers to your Contacts in Willo. Search and login forms are removed. Other forms are left inert, ready to wire up with Willo after launch.
- Checkout. Product pages carry over as pages. Until you connect Shopify or Stripe, their buy buttons link to your current store, so sales keep working.
- Member and login areas. These are set up new after launch, on your business's own backend.
Large sites
If your site has more addresses than one migration can cover, the site card says so. Skip sections on the card to bring it under the limit, or tick Migrate the first so many pages.
During an exact rebuild, Willo works on your most important pages first. One migration covers a set amount of work. When a large site doesn't all fit, Willo finishes the pages it has started, publishes them complete, and leaves out the rest. The banner then says how many pages didn't make this pass and names some of them.
Press Ask Willo about the remaining pages to bring the rest across in chat. Pages added after the migration are ordinary site work, which uses credits. See How credits work.
SEO and redirects
- Exact rebuild: your page addresses stay the same. Where one has to change, the old address redirects to the new one with a 301.
- Fresh site: your post addresses stay the same, so their search rankings carry over. An old page the new site doesn't recreate redirects to the closest new page, or to the home page when there isn't one.
- Both paths: the titles, descriptions and SEO metadata you have today carry over. Every page gets a canonical tag pointing at itself, the site gets a fresh
sitemap.xml, and duplicate addresses for one page redirect to a single address.
The migration never invents content. Missing meta descriptions, structured data and social preview images are flagged during the scan as work for after launch.
Connect your domain
The migrated site starts on its bywillo.ai address. Connecting your own domain needs a paid plan: Builder and up. Follow Connect a custom domain.
Before you cancel your old platform, check the banner for images or videos that still load from your old site. Ask Willo to copy them across first, or they stop showing when the old site goes. More in Migration troubleshooting.
Related: Your site, Your code.
Questions
Can I switch to the other path once a migration has started?
No. You can change your pick on the scan card until you confirm, but after that the path is fixed. To try the other path, start a new migration.
Does the migration change my current site?
No. Willo only reads your current site. It stays live and unchanged until you point your domain at the new one.