Joomla to WordPress

WordPress hosting for sites migrating from Joomla.

Joomla and WordPress model content closely enough that an importer looks like the whole job, and differ enough that the parts it skips are the ones people notice.

Category tree mappedSEF URLs preservedFree migration
Structure planned firstExtensions replacedRedirects preservedDaily backupsFree SSL24/7 support
Closer than it looks, and not close enough

What an importer does and does not bring.

Articles and categories map reasonably well. Everything built on top of them does not.

A category tree that nests deeper than posts do

Joomla nests categories freely and an article sits in exactly one. WordPress posts take many categories and themes rarely render deep trees, so the hierarchy needs a decision before import.

Depth reviewedOne-to-many resolved

SEF URLs kept exactly as they are

Joomla's SEF routing produces paths WordPress would never generate, often with an article id in them. Adopting WordPress defaults changes every address the site has ranked for.

RewritesRedirects

Users move, passwords do not

The two hash passwords differently, so accounts transfer but credentials cannot. Every user resets on first login, and planning that email is part of the migration.

Accounts keptReset flow planned

Extensions replaced, not converted

K2, Phoca, JEvents and the rest have no WordPress equivalent to import into. Each is a functional gap until something is chosen to fill it.

Media pulled out of Joomla's structure

Images live under a different directory layout and are referenced with Joomla-specific paths. Left alone, the library imports and the articles still point at nothing.

The migration

Decide the structure, then import once.

The importers available will move articles. What they will not do is make the decisions about hierarchy, URLs and extensions that determine whether the result is maintainable.

  • Category tree mapped and depth agreed
  • SEF URL patterns reproduced with redirects
  • Extension replacements chosen before launch
  • Password reset communicated to users
Categories
Tree flattened and mapped
42 mapped
Articles
Imported and spot-checked
1,860
Media paths
Rewritten to the library
verified
Redirects
SEF URLs preserved
in progress
Performance

An older site, brought over cleanly.

Most Joomla sites being migrated have years of accumulated extensions behind them, and leaving that weight behind is much of the speed gain.

Mapped
category structure
Preserved
SEF URLs
NVMe
storage on every plan
MagicWP160 ms
Articles imported without indexes1500 ms
Media still on Joomla paths720 ms

Illustrative comparison of a category listing after import. Your numbers depend on article count and how the tree was mapped.

Configuration

What we change moving from Joomla

These differ from a standard WordPress site on the same plan, and each follows from two content models that resemble each other without matching.

SettingWhat we doWhy
Category mappingTree depth reviewed and reduced before the first importJoomla nests categories without limit and assigns each article to exactly one, while WordPress allows many per post and most themes stop rendering usefully a few levels down.
URL preservationJoomla SEF patterns reproduced with rewrites rather than replaced by defaultsSEF routing produces paths, often containing an article id, that WordPress would never generate, so accepting the defaults changes every ranking address at once.
User accountsImported with a forced reset and a planned notificationThe two systems hash passwords incompatibly, so credentials cannot transfer and an unannounced reset arrives as a wave of support requests instead of an expected email.
Extension replacementsChosen and installed before launch, not afterK2, JEvents and similar extensions have nothing to import into, so each one is missing functionality from the moment the site goes live unless it was planned for.
Media referencesRewritten from Joomla's directory layout to the media libraryArticle bodies reference images by Joomla-specific paths, so importing the files without rewriting the references leaves a library full of images no page displays.
Plans

Simple, transparent pricing.

Every plan includes free migration, daily backups, SSL and 24/7 support.

MonthlyYearly
Starter
For personal sites, blogs, and portfolios.
$20/mo
Billed $240 yearly · save $60
  • 1 WordPress site
  • 10 GB NVMe disk
  • Free SSL
  • Daily backups
  • One-click deployment
  • Support tickets
Start free trial
Pro★ Most popular
For growing businesses and busy stores.
$80/mo
Billed $960 yearly · save $240
  • 5 WordPress sites
  • 50 GB NVMe disk
  • Free SSL
  • Daily backups
  • One-click deployment
  • Priority support tickets
Start free trial
Enterprise
For agencies and high-traffic platforms.
$250/mo
Billed $3000 yearly · save $600
  • 20 WordPress sites
  • 200 GB NVMe disk
  • Free SSL
  • Daily backups
  • One-click deployment
  • Dedicated support
Start free trial
FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is there a reliable Joomla to WordPress importer?
Several will move articles and categories, and they are worth using. What none of them decide is category depth, URL structure or which extension replaces which — and those are what determine whether the result is maintainable.
Will my users have to reset their passwords?
Yes. Joomla and WordPress hash passwords incompatibly, so accounts transfer but credentials cannot. Plan the notification — an unannounced reset arrives as a support queue rather than as an expected email.
What happens to my K2 content?
It needs a destination chosen before import. K2 is its own content system rather than core Joomla, so nothing in WordPress corresponds to it — usually custom post types with matching fields.
Will my URLs stay the same?
If we plan for it. Joomla's SEF paths often contain an article id and look nothing like what WordPress generates, so they are reproduced with rewrites rather than replaced by the defaults.
My images imported but do not display. Why?
The files came across and the references did not. Article bodies point at Joomla's directory layout, so the paths have to be rewritten to the media library — which is a step, not something the importer does for you.

Move from Joomla with the structure and the URLs intact.

Free migration, a category tree mapped by a person, and every SEF address preserved.