How to Merge Posts from One WordPress Blog into Another

Merging two WordPress blogs sounds like a scary project, and it can be. But you just need a clear process, and then it becomes manageable.

Whether you want to combine content from multiple personal blogs or consolidate websites for your business, this guide will help you move posts from one WordPress site to another smoothly and safely.

Let’s clarify a couple of terms first:

• Source blog: The blog you are moving posts from.
• Destination blog: The blog you want to add posts to.

1. Back Up Everything

Before making any changes, back up both your source and destination blogs. This step is necessary because if anything goes wrong during the merge, you can restore your sites quickly without losing data. Back up both the database and your media files.

My host already backs up my websites several times a day, and it’s easy to download a copy from them anytime. Your host may do the same.

If not, or if you prefer, you can use freemium plugins like UpdraftPlus or Duplicator for easy backups, or manually export your database using tools like phpMyAdmin available via your hosting provider. Store these backups securely on your computer or cloud storage with clear filenames and dates.

2. Review and Organize Categories and Tags

Your two websites likely have different category and tag structures. To avoid confusion and duplication on your combined blog, review categories and tags on both sites before merging. Make a list or spreadsheet of all categories and tags.

Decide if you want to keep them as they are, merge similar categories, rename some, or delete unused ones. You can adjust categories and tags on your source blog before exporting posts by using bulk editing in the WordPress dashboard under Posts > All Posts.

If needed, WordPress offers a Categories and Tags Converter tool under Tools > Import that allows converting categories to tags or vice versa.

3. Plan Your Navigation and Structure

Think about how you want the merged content to appear on your destination blog. Consider menu organization, featured categories, and tag clouds. Will the imported posts need new categories? Do you want to highlight certain topics? Planning this helps keep your site user-friendly after the merge.

4. Export Posts from the Source Blog

From your source blog’s dashboard, go to Tools > Export. You’ll be given options to export all content or specific items like posts, pages, or media. Choose “Posts” if you only want blog posts.

You can also filter the export by date, author, or category if you want to split the export into smaller parts. After selecting your options, click “Download Export File.” This will save an XML file on your computer containing all selected posts.

5. Import Posts into the Destination Blog

Log into the destination blog’s WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Tools > Import and locate “WordPress” in the list. If it’s not installed yet, click “Install Now” then “Run Importer.”

Upload the XML file you exported earlier. During import, assign the imported posts to an existing user or create a new one. Make sure to check the box that imports attachments/media so images and other files linked in posts get imported too.

Wait while WordPress processes the import. Depending on how many posts you imported, this might take a few minutes.

6. Verify Imported Content

After importing, go to Posts > All Posts in the destination blog dashboard to confirm all posts are there. Randomly open several posts on the front end of your site to check formatting, images, categories, and tags.

If some media didn’t come through, you may need plugins like Auto Upload Images that help fix broken media links by fetching media from the old source URLs.

7. Clean Up Categories and Tags

Even after prior planning, some duplicates or unwanted categories/tags may appear. Use Posts > Categories and Posts > Tags screens to tidy these up.

Plugins such as Term Management Tools can help merge or delete duplicate terms quickly without manual editing.

8. Set Up Redirects from Old URLs

To keep visitors and search engines happy, set up 301 redirects from all old post URLs on your source blog to their new URLs on the destination blog.

If your source blog has a different domain, you can redirect all its traffic to the new domain via .htaccess or hosting control panel settings. This will typically redirect all posts by their URL slugs, so you won’t have to set up 301 redirects on a post by post basis.

For posts or pages moved individually, use a redirection plugin like Redirection or add manual redirect rules in .htaccess:

Redirect 301 /old-post-url https://newsite.com/new-post-url

This step prevents “page not found” errors and preserves SEO rankings by signaling that content has moved permanently.

9. Update Internal Links in Posts

Posts often link to each other internally. After merging, those links might still point back to the old domain or broken URLs.

Use search-and-replace plugins like Better Search Replace or Search & Replace to find old URLs (e.g., https://oldsite.com) and replace them with new URLs (https://newsite.com). Always back up your database before running these replacements.

10. Final Checks and Announcements

Browse your merged site carefully as a visitor. Check for broken images, formatting issues, navigation problems, or dead links.

Test redirects by trying several old URLs in a browser – they should take you directly to the new post locations.

Update menus, widget areas, and any featured content blocks to include the newly imported posts where appropriate.

Finally, write a blog post or make an announcement explaining the merge to your readers. Let them know where to find content and invite feedback if something isn’t working right.

Bonus Tips

If you use SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math, run their sitemap generation tools again so search engines get updated information about your merged site. Monitor Google Search Console for crawl errors after launch.

Keep backups handy for several weeks just in case issues appear later.

If you have custom post types or complex setups (like WooCommerce products), confirm that both sites have compatible configurations before importing.

Importing comments and users is possible when exporting “All Content” instead of just posts.

Common Questions

Will merging hurt SEO?
Expect a drop in traffic initially. But if you’ve done it correctly with proper redirects and internal link updates, merging usually improves SEO over time by consolidating authority and avoiding duplicate content.

What if I have thousands of posts?
Exporting/importing in smaller batches by date range or category helps reduce server load and prevents timeouts during import.

Can I merge pages too?
Yes! Just export pages along with posts if desired.

Can I merge media files separately?
Media attached to posts should import automatically if you check that option during import. For loose media files, consider downloading them manually or using plugins that migrate media libraries.