The first step in migrating to an ultra-fast and secure website with ZeroPress is extracting your current content. Fortunately, WordPress includes a native tool for this that doesn’t require installing any additional plugins.
In this article, we’ll guide you step-by-step to generate a clean XML file ready to be transformed to Static Site Architecture (Jamstack).
Why do we need an XML?
The XML (eXtensible Markup Language) file is the standard data exchange format for WordPress. It contains the entire textual structure of your site:
- Your Posts and Pages.
- Associated Categories and Tags.
- Essential metadata (authors, publication dates, comments).
Note: The XML file does not contain your physical images (
.jpgor.pngfiles), but it does contain references to them. ZeroPress will handle media extraction later in the process.
Step by Step: Exporting your Content
1. Access the WordPress Dashboard
Log in to your administration panel (usually yourdomain.com/wp-admin). You will need the Administrator role to perform this action.
2. Go to Tools > Export
In the left sidebar menu, look for the Tools section and click on Export.
3. Select “All content”
By default, WordPress will offer to export different post types separately. For a complete ZeroPress migration, ensure you select the All content option.
This option guarantees that no important pages, navigation menus, or custom post types are left behind, allowing the migration tool to process everything.
4. Download Export File
Click the blue Download Export File button.
Your browser will download a file with a name structured like this:
yourdomain.wordpress.2026-02-24.xml.
Save this file in a secure location (e.g., in a new folder called ZeroPress_Migration).
Tips for Very Large Sites
If your website has thousands of articles and you’ve been publishing for years, the XML file might become very large, and the download process could be interrupted due to memory limits (memory_limit) on your WordPress PHP server.
If this happens:
- Try exporting by date ranges or by content types (first Posts, then Pages). ZeroPress supports uploading multiple XML files simultaneously.
- Ask your hosting provider for help to temporarily increase the
max_execution_timeandmemory_limitof your installation.
Seeing timeouts, a white screen, or an empty file? See our full guide on fixing a WordPress XML export that’s too large or failing.
Exporting Your Images and Media
The XML file references your images but doesn’t contain the actual files. To migrate your media, you need a copy of your wp-content/uploads folder. You have two options:
- Via file manager or FTP: Connect to your server (cPanel File Manager, or an FTP client like FileZilla), open
wp-content/, and download the entireuploadsfolder as a.zip. - Via a backup plugin: If you don’t have FTP access, a free plugin like Export Media Library lets you download all uploads as a single archive straight from the WordPress dashboard.
Keep this archive next to your XML file — you’ll upload both to ZeroPress in the next step, and your images are recovered and converted to WebP automatically. For the full walkthrough, see how to migrate your WordPress images and media to a static site.
Will This Preserve My SEO?
Yes — and this is the part that worries most people migrating away from WordPress. The export keeps your post slugs and structure intact, so ZeroPress can rebuild your site on the same URLs you already rank for. Point your domain to the new static site and your existing search rankings carry over; nothing gets lost in the move. For the handful of URLs that do change, you can set up redirects during setup so no link ever breaks.
What’s Next?
Congratulations! You now have your content safely extracted from the WordPress database.
The next step in your journey toward extreme performance is Importing your site to ZeroPress using our intelligent Dashboard.