How to Leave Wix Without Losing Everything

So you've decided Wix isn't working for you anymore. Maybe the costs have crept up. Maybe your site is slow. Maybe you've hit the ceiling on what you can actually do with it.

Whatever the reason, you've got a problem: Wix doesn't want you to leave. There's no "export my website" button. You can't download your site as a neat package and upload it somewhere else.

But you can leave. It just takes planning. Here's exactly how to do it without losing your content, your domain, or your mind.

Step 1: Save your content before anything else

Wix won't export your pages for you, so you need to do this manually. It's tedious but essential.

For each page on your site:

• Copy all the text into a Google Doc or Word document
• Right-click and save every image (or download them from the Wix media manager)
• Note the page URL structure (you'll want to match these on your new site for SEO)
• Screenshot the layout if you want to reference the design later

If you have a blog:

• Wix lets you export blog posts via RSS. Go to yoursite.com/blog-feed.xml and save that file
• This gives you titles, content, and dates, but not images. Save those separately

If you have an online shop:

• Export your product catalogue from the Wix dashboard (Products > Export)
• Save all product images manually because the export only includes data, not photos

This is the most time-consuming part. Budget an afternoon for a site with 10–20 pages.

Step 2: Check your domain situation

This is where people often get caught out. There are two scenarios:

If you bought your domain through Wix:

• You own the domain, but Wix manages it
• You need to transfer it to another registrar (Namecheap, Google Domains, Cloudflare)
• Go to Settings > Domains in your Wix dashboard
• Unlock the domain and get the EPP/authorisation code
• Start the transfer at your new registrar (it takes 5–7 days)
• Don't cancel your Wix plan until the domain transfer is complete

If you bought your domain elsewhere and pointed it at Wix:

• You already own it at another registrar
• You just need to update the DNS records to point at your new host
• This is much simpler and takes effect within a few hours

Important: Your email might be tied to your domain. Make sure you know where your email is hosted before changing anything. If your email is through Wix, you'll need to set up email elsewhere first (Google Workspace is £5/month and takes 10 minutes).

Step 3: Choose where you're going

You've got options. Here's the honest version:

WordPress.org (self-hosted): The most flexible option. Thousands of themes and plugins. But you need hosting, and maintaining WordPress takes effort (updates, security, backups). Good if you're comfortable being slightly technical or have someone to manage it.

Squarespace: If you liked the builder approach but want something more polished. Better templates, better performance than Wix, but you're still on a platform you don't own.

Custom build (Next.js, Astro, etc.): Best performance, full ownership, no platform lock-in. Higher upfront cost but lowest long-term cost. This is what I build for my clients.

The choice depends on your budget, technical comfort, and how much control you want. There's no universally right answer.

Step 4: Build your new site

Whether you're doing this yourself or hiring someone, make sure you:

• Match your old URL structure where possible. If your Wix about page was /about, make your new about page /about too. This preserves any SEO value those pages have built up.
• Set up 301 redirects for any URLs that change. This tells Google "this page moved here" instead of "this page no longer exists."
• Rewrite your content rather than copy-pasting exactly. Take the opportunity to improve your copy, update outdated information, and tighten up your messaging.
• Optimise your images before uploading. Wix serves images through its own CDN, so the originals you saved might be uncompressed. Run them through a tool like Squoosh or TinyPNG.

Step 5: Go live (carefully)

Before you switch:

• Test everything on your new site. Every page, every form, every link.
• Check it on mobile. Then check it on a different phone.
• Run it through PageSpeed Insights to make sure performance is actually better.
• Set up Google Analytics and Search Console on the new site.

The switch:

• Update your DNS records to point your domain at the new host
• It can take up to 48 hours for DNS changes to propagate worldwide (usually much faster)
• During this window, some people will see the old site and some the new one, and that's normal

After the switch:

• Monitor Google Search Console for crawl errors
• Check that your redirects are working
• Submit your new sitemap to Google
• Keep your Wix account active for a month in case you need to grab anything you missed

Step 6: Cancel Wix

Once you're confident everything is working on the new site:

• Check your Wix renewal date and cancel before it auto-renews
• Download any remaining files from the Wix media manager
• Take a final screenshot of your Wix dashboard for your records
• Cancel the plan

Watch out for: Wix auto-renews, sometimes for multi-year terms. Check your billing settings and cancel well before the renewal date.

Is it worth the hassle?

Honestly? Yes, if your business has outgrown Wix.

A faster site means better Google rankings. Owning your code means no more lock-in. And the monthly savings add up: most custom sites cost less to host than a Wix premium plan.

The migration takes effort, but you only do it once. The benefits last for years.

If you want help with the transition, that's exactly what my Website Rescue service is for. I'll handle the technical migration while you focus on your business.