How to Migrate from Substack to WordPress (Without Losing Subscribers or SEO)

If you’re looking to migrate from Substack to WordPress, you’re not alone. Thousands of creators and agencies are making the shift each month to unlock greater control, flexibility, and revenue potential.

Substack makes it easy to start a newsletter. You sign up, write your first post, and build a following. But the moment you want to customize your design, add new income streams, or control how your content is delivered, you’re stuck. 

That’s why moving your newsletter from Substack to WordPress is such a powerful step forward. WordPress gives you full control over your publishing workflow. 

This guide walks you through the exact steps to move your newsletter from Substack to WordPress safely and professionally.

Why Move from Substack to WordPress 

Many creators outgrow Substack once their newsletter begins to scale. What starts as a quick way to publish and build an audience often becomes limiting when you want to customize the experience, grow your income, or take control of your subscriber list.

If you’re planning to migrate from Substack to WordPress, you’re stepping into a platform built for growth. WordPress gives you more control, more freedom, and more revenue options than Substack can offer.

Must Read: Substack vs WordPress: Complete Comparison for Creators and Agencies

Here’s what makes this move worth it:

You Own the Platform and Your Audience

When you publish on Substack, you’re building content on someone else’s infrastructure. That means limited control over branding, analytics, and data ownership. WordPress changes that. 

You control the entire site experience, from your domain name to the layout and subscriber flow. For creators, this means long-term sustainability. For agencies, it opens the door to creating branded, custom newsletter experiences for clients.

You Get More Ways to Make Money

Substack only supports paid subscriptions, and it takes a 10 percent fee from every transaction. WordPress gives you multiple revenue models. You can sell ebooks, courses, consulting, gated articles, or premium downloads. 

With tools like MemberPress, WooCommerce, or Easy Digital Downloads, you control pricing, access, and delivery. More importantly, you keep the revenue.

You’re Free to Design What You Want

Substack newsletters all look the same. On WordPress, you choose your theme, fonts, and layout. You can create a full website around your newsletter, build landing pages, or add an SEO-optimized blog. This flexibility matters when your brand identity grows. It also matters when you’re an agency trying to deliver custom client experiences.

You Can Integrate and Scale with Ease

Substack’s built-in analytics and email features are limited. With WordPress, you can use marketing automation, run split tests, track conversions, and integrate with tools like Google Analytics, ConvertKit, and HubSpot. You can connect CRM workflows, run lead gen campaigns, and manage everything from one dashboard.

You Future-Proof Your Publishing Stack

Once you move your newsletter from Substack to WordPress, you’re no longer locked into a platform’s roadmap. You can extend your site into a course portal, podcast hub, or digital storefront. WordPress grows with your ideas. And if you’re working with clients, this unlocks a service path that you can standardize and scale.

Takeaway: Substack is great for getting started. WordPress is where you build your business. If you’re serious about owning your content and maximizing revenue, the Substack to WordPress migration is the upgrade that gives you long-term control.

How to Migrate from Substack to WordPress

Making the decision to move your newsletter is the easy part. The challenge is ensuring that the migration process is smooth, that you keep your subscribers engaged, and that you do not lose traffic or search visibility. 

The good news is that the process is straightforward when broken into steps. With WordPress, you not only gain ownership of your content and audience but also the ability to scale your newsletter into a complete publishing business.

Let’s walk through each step of the Substack to WordPress migration so you can launch your new platform without downtime or unnecessary complexity.

Step 1: Export Your Substack Data 

Before you can import anything into WordPress, you need to download your newsletter data from Substack. This ensures you keep all your posts, images, and subscriber information.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Log in to Substack and open your publication’s Dashboard.

2. Go to Settings → scroll down to the Export section.

3. Click New export. Substack will prepare a .zip file containing:

• All your published posts
  
• Drafts and images
  
• A CSV file of your subscribers (emails, names, and other details)
  
  

4. Once it’s ready, Substack will email you a download link. Save this file securely on your computer.

Important: This export file is the backbone of your migration. The ZIP gives you your content, while the CSV is what you’ll use later to rebuild your subscriber list inside WordPress.

Step 2: Set Up Your WordPress Website 

The first step that you would take to move from Substack to WordPress is to have a blank WordPress site that will host your newsletter and future content. Traditionally, this would mean buying hosting, waiting for WordPress to be installed, and configuring your domain. That approach is slow and often confusing for non-technical creators.

However, the modern all-in-one cloud for WordPress platforms like InstaWP allows you to launch a fully hosted WordPress instance in seconds. Instead of starting with the technical setup, you start with content and design.

Here is how to set it up:

The first step in migrating from Substack to WordPress is creating a new WordPress site. Instead of going through a traditional hosting setup, you can do this instantly with InstaWP’s cloud platform.

Here’s how:

1. Log in to InstaWP and click Add Site from your dashboard. You’ve havent signed up to the platform, do it now. 

2. Choose how you want to start:

• From Scratch – launch a fresh WordPress install with your chosen PHP and WP versions.
  
• From Snapshot – reuse one of your saved site templates.
  
• From Store – start with a ready-made template.
  
• From AI – Use the best WordPress AI website builders, such as Kadence AI and ZipWP, to create a site.

Must Read: Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Website with Kadence AI on InstaWP

3. Configure your site by picking the WordPress version, PHP version (paid plans), and server location. You can also reserve the site so it doesn’t expire.
   
4. Add plugins or themes during setup from categories like SEO, Page Builder, eCommerce, or Security.

5. Select a plan: begin on a Sandbox plan for safe testing, then upgrade to Starter, Plus, Pro, or Turbo when you’re ready to go live.

6. Click Create Site. Your WordPress dashboard is now available, and you can log in instantly with Magic Login.
   

This gives you a fully hosted WordPress environment in seconds, ready to import your Substack content without worrying about hosting or downtime.

Step 3: Import Your Content into WordPress

Now that you have your Substack export and a blank WordPress site ready, the next step is moving those posts into your new WordPress site. 

InstaWP makes this easy because everything happens inside a safe sandbox first, so you can test formatting and links before going live.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Log in to your InstaWP WordPress dashboard.

2. Go to Tools → Import and install the WordPress Importer (if not already installed) 

3. Next, install and activate the Substack Importer plugin. This plugin handles Substack’s export format.

Note: You won’t be able to install this plugin if WordPress Importer is not active.

4. From the Import screen, select Substack and click Run Importer.

5. Upload your Substack .zip file that contains your posts and images, and enter the URL of the Substack newsletter’s URL if you need to import comments and author information. 

6. Assign authors. You can map posts to your existing WordPress account or create a new one.

7. Check Download and import file attachments to pull all images and media into WordPress.

8. Click Submit and wait while the importer creates posts.

Once it’s complete, visit Posts → All Posts in WordPress. You should see your Substack articles with titles, content, and images intact.

✅ Pro tip for agencies: Use InstaWP’s built-in Code Editor or DB Editor to quickly clean up formatting issues, update author names, or bulk edit slugs before pushing the site live.

Step 4: Migrate Your Subscriber List into WordPress

Your newsletter is nothing without its readers, so the next priority is moving your subscriber list from Substack into WordPress. Substack includes this data in the export file, making the process straightforward.

Here’s what to do:

1. Unzip your Substack export file and locate the CSV file (this contains names, emails, and subscriber status).
   
2. Choose your email marketing tool for WordPress; options include MailPoet, Constant Contact, ConvertKit, or FluentCRM. Each integrates seamlessly with WordPress forms and automation plugins.
   
3. Import the CSV into your chosen platform. Most tools have an “Import Contacts” option where you can upload the file and map columns like name and email.
   
4. Create a new subscriber list specifically for your migrated readers. This helps you keep them organized and run targeted campaigns.
   
5. Send a transition email from Substack before the move, letting readers know you’re moving to WordPress. This builds trust and reduces the chance of your emails being flagged as spam.
   
6. Set up a welcome campaign in your new system to re-engage subscribers and point them to your new WordPress site.
   

Agency Tip: InstaWP’s WordPress sandbox is perfect for testing form integrations and email workflows before pointing the domain live. You can verify that signups flow correctly into your email tool without risking deliverability issues.

Step 5: Point Your Domain to WordPress with InstaWP Domain Mapping

Once your content and subscribers are inside WordPress, it’s time to connect your custom domain so your audience can access the new site. With InstaWP’s built-in Domain Mapping, this process is much simpler than configuring DNS manually on a traditional host.

Here’s how to do it:

1. From the InstaWP dashboard, click on the site you created for your Substack migration.
   
2. In the site settings, select the Map Domain option. 

3. Enter your custom domain name. Choose whether this should be your Primary domain (main site address) or an Alias domain (secondary domain that redirects to the primary). Example: example.com as Primary, example.net as Alias.
   

InstaWP provides the exact A records or CNAME records you need. 

4. Log in to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.) and click on ‘Add Record ’ to add a new CNAME record.

In the DNS panel:

• Name / Host: enter your subdomain (e.g., www or @).
  
• Target / Value: paste the hostname InstaWP gave you (e.g., your-site-name.instawp.xyz).
  

Save the record.

5. Return to the Map Domain page in InstaWP and click on Map Domain to finalize. Once DNS propagates, you’ll see a success confirmation, and your site will be live at your custom domain with SSL enabled automatically.

🔑 Tip: Use Primary for your main website and Alias for any alternative domains you want pointing to the same site.

Tip for agencies: Domain mapping in InstaWP lets you build and test multiple client newsletters on temporary subdomains, then point them to the client’s live domain only when ready. This ensures zero downtime during migration.

Step 6: Customize Theme 

With your content and redirects in place, it’s time to give your WordPress site a look and feel that matches your brand. This is where WordPress offers freedom that Substack never could.

Choose from themes like GeneratePress, Blocksy, or Kadence for speed and easy customization. Agencies can create a starter design template inside InstaWP to reuse across multiple client newsletters.

1. From the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance → Editor (Full Site Editor) or Customizer if your theme supports it.
   
2. Adjust colors, fonts, and layouts to align with your brand identity.
   
3. Add key pages that make your site more professional:
   
   • About Page to share your story.
     
   • Contact Page with a form (built easily with WPForms or Fluent Forms).
     
   • Privacy Policy to ensure compliance.
     

Once you’re satisfied, connect your custom domain (as explained in Step 5).InstaWP will automatically apply SSL, and your site is now live for subscribers and new visitors.

Agency tip: InstaWP makes it easy to save this setup as a Snapshot. That way, the next time you migrate a client from Substack, you can launch a pre-built branded newsletter site in one click.

Step 7: Monetize with Paid Newsletters and Memberships

One of the biggest advantages of moving from Substack to WordPress is the control you have over how you earn. Substack limits you to subscription fees and takes a 10% cut of every payment. On WordPress, you decide the model and keep almost everything (minus standard payment processor fees).

1. Install your chosen WordPress membership plugin.
   
2. Create multiple plans, for example:
   
   • Free tier for casual readers
     
   • Monthly paid plan for premium content
     
   • Annual plan with a discount for loyal subscribers
     
3. Restrict access so only paid users can view certain posts, pages, or newsletters.
   

With WordPress, you can:

• Bundle your newsletter with courses, webinars, or eBooks.
  
• Sell digital downloads like templates or reports.
  
• Add consulting, community access, or coaching tiers.
  
• Integrate affiliate programs to create additional revenue streams.
  

Agencies can package these membership setups into reusable InstaWP templates. This lets you deliver subscription-ready client sites in minutes, turning migration projects into recurring revenue opportunities.

🔑 Pro move: Test your membership tiers and checkout flows inside an InstaWP sandbox before going live, ensuring everything works flawlessly.

Step 8: Turn This Into a Repeatable Client Workflow

For individual creators, migrating once is enough. But for agencies, Substack migrations can become a service offering you deliver again and again. The key is to standardize the process so you save time and increase profit margins.

Inside InstaWP, you can save the site you just built as a Snapshot. This snapshot acts as a reusable starting point that already includes:

• A clean newsletter theme with your preferred design
  
• SEO plugin preconfigured (AIOSEO, Rank Math, or Yoast)
  
• Subscription and membership plugin setup
  
• A forms plugin ready to capture emails
  
• Default pages like About, Contact, and Privacy Policy
  

🔑 Pro tip: Pair this workflow with InstaWP’s WaaS (Website as a Service) model. You can offer fully hosted newsletter sites on subscription plans, turning migrations into recurring monthly income.

Conclusion

Migrating from Substack to WordPress may feel like a big leap, but it’s the leap that gives you full ownership of your publishing business. With WordPress, you control the design, the revenue model, and the data. You’re no longer bound by Substack’s fees or limitations.

And with InstaWP, the Substack to WordPress migration process becomes fast, safe, and scalable. Instead of wrangling with hosting, staging setups, or DNS confusion, you can:

• Spin up a sandbox in seconds
  
• Import Substack content without downtime
  
• Map your custom domain with a click
  
• Test redirects and workflows before going live
  
• Save your site as a template for future client projects
  

Whether you’re an independent writer or an agency serving multiple clients, migrating from Substack to WordPress with InstaWP is the easiest way to unlock long-term growth and monetization.

Ready to take control of your newsletter?
👉 Launch your WordPress site on InstaWP today and migrate your Substack content in minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions