Jan 16, 2026
Why People Are Migrating to Framer in 2026
The shift toward Framer has accelerated in 2026, with designers, startups, and agencies increasingly moving their websites off legacy platforms. The reasons are consistent — Framer offers faster page speeds, more design control, built-in hosting, and a visual editor that eliminates the gap between design and development.
WordPress sites require constant plugin updates, security patches, and hosting management. Webflow's pricing has climbed while its learning curve remains steep. Squarespace and Wix offer simplicity but limit customization. Framer sits in a unique spot — professional-grade design tools with the simplicity of a managed platform.
But migrating a website is a serious undertaking. Done poorly, you can lose search rankings, break incoming links, and create a frustrating experience for your visitors. This guide walks through exactly how to migrate to Framer from any platform while preserving your SEO and minimizing downtime.
Pre-Migration Checklist
Before touching anything, complete this preparation work. Skipping these steps is the number one cause of migration headaches.
Audit your existing site. Make a complete list of every page on your current website, including blog posts, landing pages, legal pages, and any hidden pages. Use a tool like Screaming Frog or simply crawl through your sitemap. You need to know exactly what content exists so nothing gets left behind.
Export your content. Copy all text content, download all images and media files, and export any CMS data (blog posts, products, team members, etc.). For WordPress, you can use the built-in export tool. For Webflow, export your CMS collections as CSV files. For Squarespace, use their data export feature. Store everything in organized folders.
Document your URL structure. Write down every URL on your current site. You'll need this to set up 301 redirects later. Pay special attention to blog post URLs, category pages, and any pages that rank well in search results.
Record your SEO metadata. For every page, note the meta title, meta description, and any structured data or schema markup. You'll want to recreate these exactly on your new Framer site to preserve your search presence.
Check your backlinks. Use a tool like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Search Console to identify which pages on your site have incoming links from other websites. These pages are your highest priority for redirect mapping — broken backlinks mean lost authority.
Migrating From WordPress to Framer
WordPress is the most common platform people migrate from, and for good reason — the maintenance burden alone drives many site owners to look for alternatives. For a deeper comparison, see our Framer vs WordPress breakdown.
Step 1: Export your WordPress content. Go to Tools → Export in your WordPress dashboard and download the full XML export. This includes all posts, pages, comments, and media references. For your media library, use a plugin like "Export Media Library" to download all images in their original quality.
Step 2: Set up your Framer CMS. Create CMS collections in Framer that match your WordPress content types. At minimum, you'll need a Blog collection with fields for title, date, content, featured image, and category. Our Framer CMS guide walks through the setup process in detail.
Step 3: Recreate your pages. Build your key pages in Framer — homepage, about, contact, services, and any other important pages. You can start from a template to speed this up, then customize it to match your brand. Our guide on customizing Framer templates covers this process.
Step 4: Migrate blog content. For each blog post, create a new CMS item in Framer with the title, content (formatted in HTML), date, and featured image. If you have dozens of posts, this is the most time-consuming step. Copy the content carefully and reformat any WordPress-specific shortcodes or blocks into clean HTML.
Step 5: Upload and optimize images. WordPress often serves unoptimized images through plugins. When uploading to Framer, take the opportunity to compress your images properly. Framer's built-in image optimization handles a lot automatically, but starting with well-sized originals makes a difference.
Migrating From Webflow to Framer
Webflow to Framer migrations are increasingly common as designers seek more intuitive design tools. For a feature comparison, see our Framer vs Webflow analysis.
Step 1: Export CMS data. In Webflow, go to your CMS collections and export each one as a CSV file. This gives you structured data for blog posts, portfolio items, or any other dynamic content.
Step 2: Download assets. Webflow doesn't have a bulk media export, so you'll need to download images manually or use a site scraper to pull all media assets. Save them in organized folders that match your content structure.
Step 3: Recreate the design. This is actually where the migration gets exciting. Framer's design tools are more intuitive than Webflow's, and many designers find they can rebuild their site faster than expected. Focus on recreating the layout structure first, then add styling and interactions.
Step 4: Set up CMS and import content. Create matching CMS collections in Framer, then manually add your content items. While there's no direct CSV import in Framer's CMS, the structured data from your Webflow export serves as an organized reference for manual entry.
Step 5: Rebuild interactions. Webflow interactions don't transfer to Framer, but Framer's animation system is powerful in its own right. Rebuild your key animations and scroll effects using Framer's visual interaction tools.
Migrating From Squarespace or Wix
Migrations from Squarespace and Wix tend to be simpler because these platforms offer less complex content structures. For platform comparisons, check out our articles on Framer vs Squarespace and Framer vs Wix.
Squarespace: Use Settings → Advanced → Import/Export to export your content as an XML file. Squarespace's export includes blog posts, pages, and basic content. Download your images separately from the media library. Then recreate your site structure in Framer and manually transfer your content.
Wix: Wix doesn't offer a native content export, which makes migration more manual. You'll need to copy content page by page — text, images, and any CMS data. For blog posts, copy the title, content, date, and featured image for each post individually. It's tedious but straightforward.
For both platforms, the design rebuild is usually an upgrade. Templates and design capabilities in Framer far exceed what's possible in Squarespace or Wix, so most people see the migration as an opportunity to significantly improve their site's design and performance.
Handling SEO During Migration
This is the most critical part of any migration. Poor SEO handling during a migration can tank your search rankings for months. Here's how to protect your organic traffic.
Set Up 301 Redirects
301 redirects tell search engines that a page has permanently moved to a new URL. For every old URL on your current site, you need a corresponding redirect to the equivalent page on your new Framer site.
Framer supports redirects on Pro plans and above through Site Settings → Redirects. Map each old URL path to the new one. For example, if your WordPress blog posts lived at /blog/2024/03/post-title and your Framer blog uses /blog/post-title, create a redirect from the old path to the new one.
Pay special attention to pages that have strong backlinks or high search rankings. These are your most valuable pages, and broken URLs mean lost authority that can take months to recover.
Preserve Meta Titles and Descriptions
Copy your existing meta titles and descriptions exactly to your new Framer pages. Don't use the migration as an opportunity to rewrite everything at once — preserve what's working, launch the new site, and then optimize titles and descriptions gradually based on performance data.
Submit Your New Sitemap
Once your Framer site is live, go to Google Search Console and submit your new sitemap (Framer generates one automatically at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml). Also use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing for your most important pages. This accelerates the process of Google discovering and indexing your new site structure.
Monitor Search Console Closely
For the first 2-4 weeks after migration, check Google Search Console daily for crawl errors, 404s, and indexing issues. Some ranking fluctuation is normal during a migration, but persistent errors indicate redirect or configuration problems that need immediate attention.
For a comprehensive SEO setup guide, our Framer SEO guide covers everything from basic configuration to advanced optimization techniques.
DNS and Domain Transfer
If you're keeping the same domain (which you should for SEO purposes), you have two options:
Option 1: Update DNS records. Keep your domain at its current registrar and simply update the A record and CNAME record to point to Framer's servers. This is the fastest approach and causes minimal downtime — usually just a few minutes.
Option 2: Transfer the domain. Move your domain registration to a different registrar. This isn't required for migration but some people prefer to consolidate. Be aware that domain transfers can take up to 7 days and you need to unlock the domain at your current registrar first.
For most migrations, Option 1 is the way to go. Change the DNS records right when you're ready to launch the Framer site, and your domain will point to the new site once DNS propagates (typically 1-4 hours).
Post-Migration Checklist
After your Framer site is live on your domain, run through these checks:
Test every redirect. Manually visit your old URLs (or use a bulk redirect checker) and verify they all land on the correct new pages. A single broken redirect on a high-traffic page can hurt your rankings.
Check all internal links. Make sure every link within your site points to the correct new URL. Broken internal links hurt both user experience and SEO.
Verify forms and integrations. Test every contact form, email signup, payment flow, and third-party integration. These are easy to overlook during migration and often need reconfiguration.
Test on mobile. Load every important page on a phone and tablet. Framer handles responsive design well, but verify that nothing looks broken at smaller screen sizes.
Check page speed. Run your new site through Google PageSpeed Insights. Framer sites are typically faster than WordPress or Webflow, so you should see improvement here — but verify it.
Update external references. Update your domain in Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, social media profiles, email signatures, and any directories or listings that link to your site.
Common Migration Mistakes to Avoid
Forgetting redirects. This is the single biggest mistake. Every old URL needs a redirect. Even pages you think "nobody visits" might have backlinks or organic traffic you don't know about.
Changing the URL structure unnecessarily. If your blog posts lived at /blog/post-title, keep that same structure in Framer. Every URL change requires a redirect, and simpler mapping means fewer chances for errors.
Migrating and redesigning simultaneously. It's tempting to completely overhaul your design during migration, but doing both at once makes it harder to diagnose problems. Migrate first with a design that's close to your original, launch, verify everything works, and then iterate on the design.
Not backing up the old site. Keep your old hosting active for at least 30 days after migration. If something goes wrong, you can revert quickly. Don't cancel your old hosting the same day you launch on Framer.
Ignoring analytics continuity. Make sure your analytics tracking code is installed on the new Framer site before launch. A gap in analytics data makes it impossible to compare pre and post-migration performance.
Website migration is one of those tasks that rewards careful preparation. The actual switch to Framer is the easy part — it's the planning, redirect mapping, and post-launch monitoring that determine whether your migration is seamless or costly. Take the time to do it right, and you'll come out the other side with a faster, better-looking site without losing the search authority you've built.
