[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Joomla is a fantastic Content Management System (CMS) that comes with a lot of good features. However, it may come a time when you’ll want to migrate to the popular WordPress either because you have outgrown Joomla, or you just want the simplicity and versatility that comes with the CMS. Migrating a website from Joomla to WordPress can be a little challenging, but this guide will show you how to do so painlessly using the FG Joomla to WordPress plugin. From there, you will enjoy more flexibility with a wider variety of themes and plugins.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”Prerequisites”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Contents
Prerequisites
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Before you can transfer your Joomla site, you’ll first need to have WordPress up and running. The requirements for both Joomla and WordPress are quite similar. To install WordPress, you’ll need a domain and a website hosting account. Both the domain name and hosting account you have used with Joomla can be used for WordPress as well. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”Step 1: Install WordPress”][vc_column][hrel_numbered_heading title=”Step 1: Install WordPress”][vc_column_text]Since WordPress is the most popular CMS for websites, almost all hosting providers make it super-easy to install the platform. Regardless of your hosting provider, you should be able to install WordPress with just a few clicks.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”Step 2: Install FG Joomla to WordPress Plugin”][vc_column][hrel_numbered_heading headingnumber=”2″ title=”Step 2: Install FG Joomla to WordPress Plugin”][vc_column_text]FG Joomla to WordPress is a widely used plugging that automates the process of migrating from Joomla to WordPress. It helps migrate your articles, categories, sections, images, media, tags, users, menus, and links automatically.
To install the plugin:
1.) Log in to WordPress as a super user.
2.) From the left navigation menu, hover over Plugins and select Add New[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1092″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]3.) WordPress will give you a suggestion of popular plugins. Go to the search option and enter FG Joomla to WordPress. If you entered the search string without errors, FG Joomla to WordPress should be in the results. Click Install Now.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1093″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]4.) Click Activate to make the plugin useable.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1094″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”Step 3: Get Your Joomla Database Settings”][vc_column][hrel_numbered_heading headingnumber=”3″ title=”Step 3: Get Your Joomla Database Settings”][vc_column_text]To get the parameters that you’ll need to import your database, you first need to log in to the Joomla control panel. From there:
1.) Go to System and click Global Configuration[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1095″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]2.) Now, click on the Server tab, and you will see your Database Settings.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1096″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Leave this tab open as we will need to copy each of these parameters and paste them on WordPress. The values that we’ll need are:
- the host
- database username
- database name and
- database tables prefix.
You can also get these from the Joomla configuration.php file which is located in the Joomla root folder.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”Step 4: Connect Joomla to WordPress”][vc_column][hrel_numbered_heading headingnumber=”4″ title=”Step 4: Connect Joomla to WordPress”][vc_column_text]Now, head back to WordPress.
1.) From the left navigation menu in the WordPress Dashboard, hover over Tools then select Import.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1098″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]2.) You will get a number of import options. Look for Joomla (FG), then click Run Importer.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1099″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]On the upper side of the screen, you’ll see an Empty WordPress Content button. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1100″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]This button is used for clearing any content that you may have added or previously imported to WordPress. This may be posts, pages, menus, categories, tags, users, etc. It’s ideal to have a blank WordPress installation before importing your Joomla database. However, make sure you perform a back-up before clicking the button.
3.) From there, scroll down to Joomla web site parameters and add the URL of your live Joomla website. This is used to pull the media off the site.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1101″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]4.) Under Joomla database parameters, you will now be required to paste the values that you copied from Joomla database settings in step 3 above.
5.) After that, click Test the database connection to ensure everything is configured properly.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1102″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”Step 5: Importing Your Content”][vc_column][hrel_numbered_heading headingnumber=”5″ title=”Step 5: Importing Your Content”][vc_column_text]Under the behavior section, you can specify the items that you’d like to import alongside your Joomla posts and pages. Below is a quick guide for each of the sections.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Import Introtext & Archived Posts
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]For these, you can just leave the default settings. I’m guessing you don’t need to import your archived posts. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Media
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]FG Joomla to WordPress lets you automate the process of importing any images and videos that are on Joomla. This is quite helpful, especially if your site has lots of media items. You can tick the options available to suit your preferences. The Force Media Import option lets you specify the timeout for each individual image or media file to avoid getting stuck in case of any problems with a specific file. However, if you only have a few items, it’s recommended that you transfer your images manually so that you can optimize them first (if you hadn’t). You can download them from the posts, give them a descriptive name, and resize to fit your new theme.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Meta Keywords
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This option lets you import your Joomla keywords as tags in WordPress, which is good for SEO and a good way to organize your content. You can also leave it unchecked if you wish to create new tags for your posts. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Create Pages
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This option converts your posts into pages. Whether it’s useful depends on the type of website you are running, but you may not need it in most cases. If you have customized everything and your database connection was successful, you can now go ahead and migrate your Joomla content to WordPress. Click the Start/ Resume the Import button to get things rolling.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1103″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]If the migration process completed smoothly, your content should already be in WordPress. That’s not all though! Your internal links (those pointing to other pages within the site) need to be modified to ensure that they are all working properly. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”Step 6: Modify Your Internal Links”][vc_column][hrel_numbered_heading headingnumber=”6″ title=”Step 6: Modify Your Internal Links”][vc_column_text]FG Joomla to WordPress lets you do this with just the click of a button. Scroll down past the log to the After migration section and click Modify internal links. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1104″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]WordPress will notify you when the modification is complete.
After that, everything will be all set. All you need to do now is install a theme and any plugins that you require. You can then customize your “new” website to your linking![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
