Move off WordPress.
Keep everything.
We migrate your posts, authors, categories, tags, media, subscribers, SEO metadata, and URL structure then hand you a faster, cleaner publishing stack that your editorial team will actually enjoy using.
<1s
Admin page loads
Even at 100k+ articles Redis-cached, indexed queries
6 wks
Typical migration
From kickoff call to live traffic cutover
0
Plugin licences after
All features built-in no Yoast, WP Rocket, MailPoet, or WooCommerce
100%
URL map preserved
301 redirects generated automatically for every migrated slug
The real cost of staying
WordPress wasn't built for newsrooms at scale.
Admin slows to a crawl
Every plugin adds DB queries. At 50k+ posts, even simple edits lag. Editors lose 30+ minutes a day waiting.
Plugin dependency hell
SEO, newsletters, paywalls, caching, security each is a separate plugin with its own breaking update cycle.
Licence costs compound
Yoast, MailPoet, Advanced Ads, WP Rocket, Wordfence easily $250–400/month just to match what Pressly ships built-in.
Security surface grows
Each plugin is an attack vector. WordPress powers 43% of the web and is the #1 CMS target for automated exploits.
No native streaming
Live streaming requires expensive third-party embeds with no integrated broadcast calendar or analytics.
No e-paper module
Digital editions need a separate paid SaaS subscription yet another tool your team has to learn and maintain.
What transfers
Every piece of your publication moves over intact.
We use your WordPress WXR export file or pull directly from the WordPress REST API. Every content type is mapped, validated, and imported with relationships preserved.
Posts & Pages
Full body content, publish dates, authors, featured images, and post status (published / draft / scheduled)
Categories & Tags
Full taxonomy tree with slugs, descriptions, parent relationships, and post associations
Author Profiles
Name, bio, avatar URL, email mapped to Pressly user accounts
Media Library
Image attachments, alt text, captions downloaded and stored in Pressly media
Subscribers
Newsletter subscriber list with opt-in status re-imported to Pressly newsletter module
SEO Metadata
Yoast/RankMath titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, Open Graph tags ported to Pressly SeoService
URL Redirects
Every old URL mapped to new slug 301 redirect table auto-generated to preserve search ranking
Navigation Menus
Primary, footer, and custom menus rebuilt using Pressly's drag-and-drop menu builder
What you gain
Everything your WordPress stack couldn't do built in.
Pressly isn't a lighter WordPress it's a purpose-built newsroom platform. Post-migration you unlock a full suite of modules your old stack couldn't offer without external tools.
Sub-second admin
Laravel query caching, eager-loaded relationships, and optimised indexes make the admin feel instant regardless of archive size
Native live streaming
YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook Live integrated with a broadcast calendar, live homepage widget, and chat toggle
E-Paper editions
PDF page-flip reader with full-text search, subscriber-only access, and share-link expiry zero third-party SaaS
AI writing assistant
GPT-4 draft assist, SEO headline scoring, auto-tagging, and social repurposing right inside the post editor
M-Pesa & Stripe paywall
Metered or hard paywall per article first-party M-Pesa Daraja integration, no middleware required
Text-to-speech audio
Browser Web Speech API per article with ElevenLabs upgrade path no API cost for the base feature
The process
From your first call to live traffic 6 weeks.
Discovery call
We map your current stack, URL structure, audience size, and post volume. You tell us what's most painful. We scope the engagement.
Tenant setup
Your Pressly tenant is provisioned with domain, chosen theme, and configured modules. Editorial team gets admin access to explore in parallel.
Content import
WXR file upload or REST API pull all posts, media, categories, authors, and subscribers imported and validated against the source.
SEO handover
Yoast/RankMath meta mapped to Pressly SeoService. 301 redirect table generated. Canonical URLs verified. Sitemap tested and submitted.
Editorial review
Your editors review content, theme, and menus in the sandbox tenant. We iterate on theme customisations and module configuration until sign-off.
Traffic cutover
DNS switch. Live monitoring for 48h. Redirect verification pass. Final editorial handover session with your team on the admin tooling.
Platform comparison
WordPress vs Pressly the honest table.
| Feature | WordPress | Pressly CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Admin speed at 50k+ posts | 🔴 Slow (5–15s loads) | 🟢 <1s (Redis + query cache) |
| SEO tools | 🟡 Yoast plugin ($99/yr) | 🟢 Built-in SeoService |
| Newsletter campaigns | 🟡 MailPoet plugin ($180/yr) | 🟢 Built-in campaign engine |
| Ad management | 🟡 Advanced Ads ($84/yr) | 🟢 Built-in ad slots + analytics |
| Page caching | 🟡 WP Rocket ($59/yr) | 🟢 Built-in Laravel caching |
| Security hardening | 🟡 Wordfence ($99/yr) | 🟢 Built-in (no plugin surface) |
| Paywall / subscriptions | 🔴 Complex plugin combos | 🟢 First-party M-Pesa + Stripe |
| Live streaming | 🔴 Third-party embed only | 🟢 Native with broadcast calendar |
| E-paper / digital editions | 🔴 Requires separate SaaS | 🟢 Built-in PDF page-flip reader |
| AI writing assistant | 🔴 Separate tool / API | 🟢 Built-in GPT-4 sidebar |
| Text-to-speech | 🔴 Plugin or SaaS required | 🟢 Built-in Web Speech + ElevenLabs |
| Multi-publication support | 🟡 WordPress Multisite (brittle) | 🟢 Native multi-tenant architecture |
| REST API | 🟢 WP REST API | 🟢 17 purpose-built endpoints |
| Analytics dashboard | 🔴 GA4 only (external) | 🟢 Built-in real-time analytics |
| Monthly platform cost (tools) | 🔴 $250–400+ in plugins | 🟢 $0 all built-in |
Where are you coming from?
We've handled every migration path.
From WordPress
WXR file upload or REST API pull. All post types, taxonomies, media, and authors. Yoast meta preserved. Redirects generated.
From Ghost
Ghost JSON export format. Posts, tags, authors, member subscribers, and newsletter audiences all transfer.
From Custom CMS
JSON or CSV export from your current system. We map your fields to Pressly post schema and handle the transformation layer.
From WordPress Multisite
Each Multisite subsite becomes its own Pressly tenant with full isolation, separate admin, branding, and subscribers.
Migration FAQs
We protect your SEO equity by generating a 301 redirect map for every migrated URL. Canonical meta is ported from Yoast or RankMath. Your sitemap is re-submitted to Google Search Console immediately after cutover. In most migrations we see traffic stable or improving within 30 days as the faster load times and cleaner HTML improve Core Web Vitals scores.
Most plugin functionality is covered natively in Pressly SEO, newsletters, ads, caching, paywalls, and streaming are all built-in. If you have a custom plugin that does something we don't cover, we'll scope it during the discovery call and either build it into the platform or recommend the best alternative.
We migrate the subscriber list and contact data. For active paid subscriptions, we work with your team to set up equivalent plans in Pressly's subscription module and communicate a migration path to your subscribers. Stripe subscriptions can be transferred directly; M-Pesa subscriptions are set up fresh in Pressly.
Our importer handles bulk insert in chunks of 50–100 with in-memory slug/category maps no per-item DB lookups. We've migrated publications with over 1 million posts. The import runs server-side with progress tracking; your team can keep working on WordPress until the switch.
No. Migration happens in a sandbox tenant in parallel with your live WordPress site. You only switch traffic (DNS) when editorial sign-off is complete. There is no downtime window required.
Yes. The base migration is a fixed one-time engagement. There are no ongoing migration fees. Pressly has no per-seat or per-article licence costs you run the platform for free after setup.
Ready to move?
Start with a 30-minute migration scope call.
We'll review your WordPress install size, current plugin stack, URL structure, and audience, then give you a fixed-price quote and timeline with no obligation.
What we'll cover:
- Post volume and media size estimate
- Plugin replacement checklist
- SEO risk assessment for your URL structure
- Theme selection and customisation scope
- Fixed-price quote + 6-week timeline
No commitment. We respond within 1 business day.