Wix to Webflow migration: How to migrate a Wix website to Webflow in 10 steps

Wix has been a solid choice for many, but perhaps you've outgrown its capabilities. Or maybe you've encountered limitations with Wix that Webflow can better address. Whether you're seeking advanced customization options, superior support for complex animations, or enhanced performance and scalability, migrating from Wix to Webflow is a deliberate process that demands careful planning and execution.

Transferring your site from Wix to Webflow may sound intimidating, but trust me, it's entirely achievable and definitely worthwhile. Whether you're aiming for more creative control, improved SEO functionalities, or the ability to handle more advanced site features, this guide will take you through the process step-by-step. We'll cover everything you need to know, from preparing your content to adjusting design elements, ensuring a seamless transition. So, grab a coffee and let's embark on this exciting journey to transform your website!

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Why Migrate From Wix To Webflow?

So, you might be wondering why people are making the switch from Wix to Webflow:

• Webflow offers more flexibility and customization compared to Wix's limited design options.
• Webflow enables more creativity and unique designs without requiring deep coding knowledge.
• Its intuitive design interface makes it easy to create responsive designs that look great on any device.
• Webflow provides powerful CMS features, giving you more control over your content.
• Better SEO tools help you grow your online presence more effectively.
• Webflow is ideal for taking your website to the next level with advanced features and capabilities.

If still not sure if Webflow is for you, check out this article: How To Decide If Webflow Is Right For You

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Are there any downsides to Webflow in comparison to Wix?

Sure, Webflow is awesome, but like any platform, it's not perfect.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Learning Curve: Unlike Wix, which is very user-friendly, Webflow can take a bit of time to get used to, especially if you're not familiar with web design concepts.
• Pricing: Webflow can be more expensive compared to Wix, especially if you're looking at their more advanced features or hosting plans.
• No Built-In E-commerce: While Webflow allows you to create beautiful custom e-commerce experiences, it doesn't have built-in e-commerce capabilities like Wix does through its own platform.
• Limited Templates: Wix has a vast library of templates you can start from, while Webflow's template selection is more limited.
• Updates and Support: Wix frequently updates its platform and provides extensive support for a wide range of user issues, whereas Webflow, although providing good support, may not be as comprehensive in some areas.

Despite these downsides, many users find that the benefits of Webflow far outweigh the challenges.

If you're a startup, this article may be particularly useful for you: How To Make A Startup Website In 2024 In 5 Steps (+ Free Resources Included)

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When is the right time to migrate a website?

Deciding when to migrate your website from Wix to Webflow can depend on several factors. If you're starting to feel constrained by the limited design options and crave more creative freedom, it's a clear signal that it might be time to switch.

Additionally, if you notice that your site isn't performing as well in search engines as you'd like, the enhanced SEO tools in Webflow could offer the boost you need.

Another good indication is if you're planning to scale your website with more complex features and need a more robust CMS to support that growth.

Essentially, if you find yourself outgrowing Wix's capabilities and dreaming of possibilities that it can't deliver, that's your cue to consider migrating to Webflow.

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Common Mistakes Migrating From Wix To Webflow

• Not Backing Up Content: Make sure to back up all your content before starting the migration process. Losing data can create unnecessary headaches.
• Ignoring SEO Settings: Failing to properly set up SEO in Webflow can lead to a drop in search engine rankings. Ensure you transfer important SEO metadata and settings.
• Overcomplicating the Design: Webflow offers powerful design capabilities, but it's easy to get carried away. Stick to a design that enhances user experience.
• Skipping Cross-Device Testing: Always test your new site on different devices to ensure it’s truly responsive and offers a seamless experience for all users.
• Forgetting About Webflow Hosting: Remember that moving to Webflow also means migrating your hosting. Familiarize yourself with Webflow’s hosting options and ensure a smooth transition.
• Neglecting User Permissions: If your site has multiple contributors, make sure to set up appropriate user permissions in Webflow to maintain control over your content.
• Overlooking Redirects: To maintain SEO rankings and avoid broken links, set up 301 redirects for important pages that change URLs during the migration process.

Don't worry though - we'll go through all these and more!

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Step-By-Step Process For Migrating From Wix To Webflow

1. Benchmark Your Current Site

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Before making any moves, it's crucial to understand the current performance of your Wix site.

Take note of key metrics like page load times, SEO rankings, and user engagement. This will provide a benchmark to measure improvements after the migration.

1. Check Your Site's Speed: Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix are your best friends here. They’ll give you detailed speed test results, showing you how quickly your current site loads.
2. Assess SEO Performance: Use an SEO analytics tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush to analyze your site’s current SEO health. Look at keyword rankings, backlinks, and organic traffic stats.
3. Analyze User Experience: Dive into Google Analytics to see how users are interacting with your site. Pay attention to metrics like bounce rate, average session duration, and pages per session.

By gathering all this data, you’ll be well-prepared to measure the success of your migration and ensure your new Webflow site performs even better!

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2. Prepare Your Wix Site for Migration

Clean up any unnecessary content and make sure your site is organized. This will make the migration process smoother and help you focus on transferring only the essential elements.

Before you start migrating your content to Webflow, it's a good idea to conduct some thorough keyword research. This step can help you improve your content's visibility and drive more organic traffic to your new site.

1. Identify High-Value Keywords: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find keywords that are relevant to your niche. Look for keywords with a good balance of search volume and competitiveness.
2. Analyze Competitor Keywords: Take a peek at what your competitors are ranking for. Tools like Ahrefs' Site Explorer can show you which keywords are driving traffic to their sites. This can give you ideas for your own content strategy.
3. Optimize Existing Content: Armed with your new keyword data, go through your existing content and make necessary tweaks. Incorporate high-value keywords naturally into your headlines, body text, and meta descriptions without keyword stuffing.
4. Content Gaps: Identify content gaps on your existing site. Are there valuable keywords or topics that you haven't covered yet? Create new content to fill these gaps, ensuring it aligns with the interests and needs of your target audience.

By taking the time to do keyword research and optimize your content, you'll be setting your new Webflow site up for SEO success right from the start.

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3. Export Content from Wix

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Export your content such as text, images, and videos from your Wix site. This might require manually copying content or using any available export tools that Wix offers.

1. Go to CMS in your site's dashboard. Alternatively, you can click CMS in your editor.
2. Click the relevant collection.
   Note: If you have the optional Sandbox enabled, click Live Collection at the top if you want to export the Live collection instead of the Sandbox collection.  
3. Click More Actions and click Export to CSV. 
4. Choose which parts of your collection you want included in the file:
5. • The entire collection: Export all items and fields, including hidden and system fields. 
   • Filtered data: Export only the items that match the current filter.
   • Collection fields: Export the collection structure. Only the field names are exported, including hidden and system fields. This is useful if you want to create your content in a spreadsheet application and then easily import it to your content collection.
6. Click Export.
7. When your file is ready, click Download File.
   
   With all your content saved and organized, you're ready to start migrating it to your new platform. Just take it step by step, and soon enough, your new site will be up and running with all your valuable content intact.

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4. Set Up Your Webflow Account & Project

Sign up for a Webflow account if you haven't already. Familiarize yourself with the dashboard and explore Webflow's capabilities to better understand how to rebuild your site.

We wrote a whole article to help you decide which Webflow plan to choose: Webflow Pricing (2024): The Ultimate Guide To Pricing, Plans & Features

How to Set Up Your Webflow Account

• Sign Up: Head over to Webflow's website and sign up for an account. It's a simple process—just provide your email, create a password, and you're in!
• Create a New Project: After logging in, click on the "New Project" button to start building your site.
• Choose a Template: Webflow offers an array of templates. Pick one that matches the vision you have for your website. Don’t stress too much; you can always tweak it later.
• Name Your Project: Give your project a name that's easy to remember and relevant to your site's purpose.
• Set Up Your Workspace: Familiarize yourself with Webflow’s interface. Spend some time exploring the Dashboard, Designer, and Editor modes.
  

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5. Rebuild Essential Pages

Rebuild essential pages such as your homepage, about page, contact page, and any other important pages that drive traffic and conversions on your site.

Note that using a component library like Tilebit will help you build faster than ever before.

Difference Between Dynamic and Static Pages on Webflow

Understanding the difference between dynamic and static pages on Webflow is crucial for building an effective website.

Static Pages: These are pages whose content remains fixed unless manually updated. Examples include your homepage, about page, and contact page. For instance, once you design the "Contact Us" page with your business address, phone number, and contact form, it stays like that until you decide to make any changes. Static pages are perfect for content that doesn’t need frequent updates.

Dynamic Pages: These are powered by Webflow's CMS (Content Management System) and allow you to create templates that pull data from the CMS Collections you set up. For example, if you run a blog, each new blog post isn't manually crafted as a separate static page. Instead, you design a single "Blog Post Template" and each entry in your "Blog Posts" collection dynamically generates a new page with that template. This makes managing content a breeze, especially for websites with regularly updated sections like blogs, portfolios, or news feeds.

In summary, static pages are more stable and unchanging, ideal for evergreen content. Dynamic pages, on the other hand, are perfect for evolving content that needs to update regularly while maintaining a consistent design template.

6. Customize Design Elements

Customizing design elements in Webflow allows you to create a truly unique and engaging user experience that aligns with your brand's identity.

Here are some key tips to get you started:

1. Use Global Swatches: To maintain consistency across your site, use global swatches for colors. This way, if you need to update a color, you can change it in one place, and it will automatically update everywhere that color is used.
2. Custom Fonts and Typography: Webflow lets you upload custom fonts or use fonts from Google Fonts. Consistent typography is vital for brand identity, so select fonts that best reflect your brand’s personality and make sure to adhere to a consistent style throughout your site.
3. Interactions and Animations: Adding subtle animations and interactions can significantly enhance user experience when done correctly. Webflow's interaction tools let you create everything from simple hover effects to more complex, multi-step animations.
4. Responsive Design: Make sure your custom designs look great on all devices. Webflow lets you edit and preview your design for different screen sizes, ensuring a seamless experience whether your users are on a desktop, tablet, or mobile device.
5. Custom CSS: For those who are a bit more tech-savvy, Webflow allows the addition of custom CSS. This can be particularly useful for more advanced design tweaks that aren't possible through the standard UI.
6. Utilize Symbols for Reusability: If you have elements that need to be repeated across multiple pages (like a navigation bar or footer), use Webflow’s symbols feature. This creates a reusable component that you can update in one place, and it will automatically update everywhere it's used.
   

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7. Transfer CMS Content

If your site has dynamic content like blogs, set up CMS collections in Webflow. This will allow you to easily manage and update this type of content.

Then, you are ready to import.

Importing content into your Webflow website is a straightforward process that can save you tons of time, especially if you have a lot of data to enter. Here's a quick guide to get you started:

1. Prepare Your Content: First, make sure your content is well-organized. If you’re importing a CMS collection, use a CSV file where each column represents a field in your collection (like title, description, image URL, etc.). For static content, you might need to copy and paste directly.
2. Use the CMS Import Tool: Webflow makes it super easy to import CMS content. Go to your Webflow Dashboard, open your project, and navigate to the CMS Collections panel. Click on 'Import Data' and follow the prompts to upload your CSV file. Map the CSV fields to your CMS fields, and Webflow will do the rest.
3. Check for Errors: After importing, it’s essential to check if everything looks right. Sometimes, there might be a hiccup with how data gets mapped, so review your imported content and make any necessary adjustments.
4. Manual Content Addition: If you're adding static content or small amounts of data, you might prefer the good old copy and paste method. Simply open the relevant page in the Webflow Designer and paste your content into the appropriate elements.
5. Media Files: For images and other media, drag and drop them directly into the Webflow Designer, or use the asset manager for bulk uploads. Make sure that your file sizes are optimized for faster load times.

Following these steps will help ensure a smooth import process and get your site up and running faster!

For the rest of the pages (static pages), you can simply copy and paste that content.

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8. Import Media Files

Upload all your exported media files from Wix into your Webflow project. Organize them into folders for easy access. Key tips include:

• Properly name and organize all media files before uploading to save time later.
• Optimize images for the web to ensure faster load times and better SEO. Use tools like TinyPNG or JPEG-Optimizer.
• Use Webflow's asset manager for bulk uploads by dragging and dropping multiple files at once.
• Organize assets in the asset manager using folders categorized by project or type.
• Monitor file sizes and usage to stay within Webflow's storage limits. Periodically clean out old or unused files.

Following these tips will make managing your media in Webflow much easier!

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9. Configure Navigation

Rebuild your site’s navigation menu in Webflow. Ensure all links are pointing to the correct pages and that the navigation is consistent across all devices.

How to Configure Navigation on Webflow

• Create Your Navigation Menu: Go to the Designer view and drag a Navbar from the Add panel to your project. This will be the foundation of your site's navigation.  
• Add Links: Click on each menu item in the Navbar to create links. You'll have the option to link to pages within your Webflow project, external sites, or anchor links on the same page.
• Customize Text: Double-click on the menu text to edit it, making sure each item is clear and matches your site's structure.
• Style Your Navbar: Customize the look and feel of your navigation menu by using the Style panel. Adjust fonts, colors, spacing, and hover effects to match your site's design.
• Set Up Responsive Navigation: Ensure your navigation works seamlessly on all devices. Use the responsive settings in the Designer to adjust the layout for mobile, tablet, and desktop views.
• Test All Links: After setting up your navigation, click on each link to make sure they lead to the correct pages. Testing helps catch any issues before your site goes live.
• Save and Publish: Don't forget to save your changes and publish your site. Double-check your navigation on the live site to ensure everything is functioning as expected.

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10. Test Responsiveness

Test your new Webflow site on various devices and screen sizes. Make adjustments to ensure the site is fully responsive and provides a seamless experience for all users.

Testing the responsiveness of your Webflow site is crucial to ensure it looks great and functions well on all devices. Here's a step-by-step guide to comprehensively test responsiveness:

• Use Webflow's Responsive View: In the Designer, you can toggle between different device views (desktop, tablet, mobile landscape, and mobile portrait) using the icons at the top. This built-in tool helps you see how your site will look on various screen sizes.
• Check Breakpoints: Make sure to design specifically for each breakpoint in Webflow. Adjustments at each breakpoint help ensure your content looks good on all device sizes without unexpected shifts or overlaps.
• Test on Real Devices: While Webflow's views are incredibly helpful, nothing beats testing on actual devices. Open your site on different smartphones, tablets, and desktops to see how it performs in the real world. Pay attention to touch interactions, loading times, and any quirks that might not appear in the Designer.
• Browser Testing: Ensure your site works across a range of browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. Browser compatibility can reveal issues that device testing alone might miss.
• Interactive Elements: Test all interactive elements like buttons, forms, sliders, and navigation menus. Make sure they are easy to use on both touch and non-touch devices and respond as expected.
• Use Responsiveness Testing Tools: Take advantage of online tools like BrowserStack or Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to get a comprehensive analysis of your site's performance across various devices and browsers.
• Check Performance Metrics: Responsive design is not just about fitting content on smaller screens. Test the loading speed and overall performance on different devices. Slow-loading pages can hurt the user experience, especially on mobile connections.
• Adjust for Touch Input: Make sure all interactive elements are appropriately sized for touch input on mobile devices. Buttons should be large enough to tap easily without needing precision.
• Review Content Readability: Ensure that text is legible on all screen sizes. Check font sizes, line heights, and overall readability considering the screen real estate of different devices.
• Evaluate Images and Media: Ensure images and media adjust properly on various devices. Use responsive images and consider lazy loading to improve loading times and user experience on mobile.

By thoroughly testing responsiveness with these steps, you can provide an optimal user experience across a variety of devices and screen sizes

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Conclusion

By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your website offers a seamless and enjoyable experience for users, no matter what device they are using. Testing for browser compatibility, interactive elements, performance metrics, and content readability, among other factors, will help you identify and fix potential issues before they become problems for your users.

Remember, in today’s digital world, a responsive design isn't just a nice-to-have; it’s essential. By taking the time to thoroughly test and optimize your site, you're investing in a smoother, more satisfying user experience that can lead to higher engagement and better overall performance.