5 Steps to Transitioning From HTML to WordPress Site
With the ever-increasing popularity of the WordPress platform, it is only obvious that more and more people will prefer developing a website on this platform. Although adopting WordPress is a good choice, does it means you'll have to throw away your current static HTML site? Especially since many developers today are choosing HTML5 for their website development projects, it's easy to become puzzled at deciding whether migrating to WordPress is worth a try or not.
Transitioning from an HTML site to WordPress depends on your needs, however, I (personally) prefer running my site on the WP CMS – because of the ease it provides in managing my site. So, if you too want to move to the WordPress platform, remember that you don't really need to get rid of your HTML site; rather you can move your entire site into WP while retaining your content, design and other elements.
Let us now look at the steps you need to follow when migrating your website to WordPress:
1. Plan Your Website Requirements
The very first step requires planning what exactly you want to keep and what you don't when migrating to WordPress. Planning how you would perform the migration process beforehand will help you migrate successfully. Some of the things you must consider while the migration process are:
2. Setup Your WordPress Install
If you haven't installed WordPress yet, then your next step is to set up a WP install. There are two ways that can be used to achieve such a need. As a developer, you should install the software on your local system. But, if you are a non-technical person then you can ask your hosting provider to help you upload a one-step WordPress install package (not to mention, change your web host if it can't provide WordPress installation service).
3. Import Your Website Content
So, once you have successfully installed WordPress start importing your HTML website content into your WordPress install. You can do so, by using the traditional “Copy” and “paste” method in WORD document. Put it simply, you can copy your HTML site content and paste it into a WORD text document; and then, copy and paste that content into your WP site in the “Text” side of each page or post.
Unfortunately, there aren't any importing tools available online. However, you can ask your hired HTML to WordPress conversion specialist to accomplish such task for you.
Note: Keep a note of your HTML website existing and new URLs. This is because you will need to redirect (or edit) your old URLs to keep your SEO rankings intact. Moreover, this also avoids 404 error from occurring in the first place.
One you've migrated all the content, you need to create a navigation menu. For this purpose, open up your WordPress admin dashboard screen and navigate to Appearance → Menus. That's it; you can start making entries on WordPress navigation menu.
4. Work on Your WordPress Website Design
You can choose to use your existing HTML website design for your WP site, or you can create a WordPress theme from scratch. In case you are interested in creating a new theme, then you can consider using a pre-built WordPress theme from sources such as WordPress Theme Directory from WordPress dot org, or can pick premium themes from Theme-Forest or Elegant-themes and other such sites.
You can even consider creating your custom theme using PSD to WordPress conversion service.
5. Install the Purpose-Built Plugins
Lastly, you can install plugins that help add embed enhanced functionality to your site. For example, you can install cache plugins (such as W3 Cache) to boost your website performance. Likewise, you can install SEO by Yoast plugin to improve your site's search engine ranking.
Most importantly, use creates a backup of your site using the Backup plugins such as Backup Buddy or Vault-press.
Wrapping Up
Remember before making your WordPress site go live, make sure to test your site for broken links, review all your web pages and posts, check out the structure of your site and functionality essential for running your site successfully. Hope that this article will give you, at least, basic idea of how you can transition from a static HTML website to a dynamic platform such as WordPress. So, converting html site to WordPress theme would be a great option.
Transitioning from an HTML site to WordPress depends on your needs, however, I (personally) prefer running my site on the WP CMS – because of the ease it provides in managing my site. So, if you too want to move to the WordPress platform, remember that you don't really need to get rid of your HTML site; rather you can move your entire site into WP while retaining your content, design and other elements.
Let us now look at the steps you need to follow when migrating your website to WordPress:
1. Plan Your Website Requirements
The very first step requires planning what exactly you want to keep and what you don't when migrating to WordPress. Planning how you would perform the migration process beforehand will help you migrate successfully. Some of the things you must consider while the migration process are:
- Will you use the current domain name or would like to create a separate one?
- Will you retain your existing URL structure?
- Do you plan on using the current website design for your WordPress site as well?
- Would you like to change your existing web hosting provider to a new one? And so on.
2. Setup Your WordPress Install
If you haven't installed WordPress yet, then your next step is to set up a WP install. There are two ways that can be used to achieve such a need. As a developer, you should install the software on your local system. But, if you are a non-technical person then you can ask your hosting provider to help you upload a one-step WordPress install package (not to mention, change your web host if it can't provide WordPress installation service).
3. Import Your Website Content
So, once you have successfully installed WordPress start importing your HTML website content into your WordPress install. You can do so, by using the traditional “Copy” and “paste” method in WORD document. Put it simply, you can copy your HTML site content and paste it into a WORD text document; and then, copy and paste that content into your WP site in the “Text” side of each page or post.
Unfortunately, there aren't any importing tools available online. However, you can ask your hired HTML to WordPress conversion specialist to accomplish such task for you.
Note: Keep a note of your HTML website existing and new URLs. This is because you will need to redirect (or edit) your old URLs to keep your SEO rankings intact. Moreover, this also avoids 404 error from occurring in the first place.
One you've migrated all the content, you need to create a navigation menu. For this purpose, open up your WordPress admin dashboard screen and navigate to Appearance → Menus. That's it; you can start making entries on WordPress navigation menu.
4. Work on Your WordPress Website Design
You can choose to use your existing HTML website design for your WP site, or you can create a WordPress theme from scratch. In case you are interested in creating a new theme, then you can consider using a pre-built WordPress theme from sources such as WordPress Theme Directory from WordPress dot org, or can pick premium themes from Theme-Forest or Elegant-themes and other such sites.
You can even consider creating your custom theme using PSD to WordPress conversion service.
5. Install the Purpose-Built Plugins
Lastly, you can install plugins that help add embed enhanced functionality to your site. For example, you can install cache plugins (such as W3 Cache) to boost your website performance. Likewise, you can install SEO by Yoast plugin to improve your site's search engine ranking.
Most importantly, use creates a backup of your site using the Backup plugins such as Backup Buddy or Vault-press.
Wrapping Up
Remember before making your WordPress site go live, make sure to test your site for broken links, review all your web pages and posts, check out the structure of your site and functionality essential for running your site successfully. Hope that this article will give you, at least, basic idea of how you can transition from a static HTML website to a dynamic platform such as WordPress. So, converting html site to WordPress theme would be a great option.