A lot of small businesses already have a website, and a lot of those websites run on WordPress. Often it was built years ago by someone who has moved on, and now it needs plugin updates, theme updates and security fixes that nobody wants to touch.
Starting over from scratch is a big ask when you have years of posts and pages. So the website AI in C Building can move a WordPress site over for you.
How it works
Paste your WordPress site's address into the "Create a new website" box, say you want it moved, and confirm that you own the site or have permission to move it. That is the whole start. If you already have a C Building website, you can also give the address to the website AI in the editor chat.
The AI reads the old site's public content through the WordPress REST API. You don't install a plugin, and there is no export or backup file to upload. The old site has to be publicly reachable with its REST API turned on: most WordPress sites have it on by default, but some security plugins block it, and if yours does, the AI tells you. The AI can only read public content, so password-protected or private content is not part of the move.
A small blog takes a few minutes. Hundreds of posts can take an hour or more; the AI can pause and carry on in your next message without losing any work. If you would rather see a sample first, ask it to move only the newest few posts.
What moves over
- Posts go into Articles. Every post lands in the website's Articles section with its images and files (copied into your media library), dates, categories, tags, authors, and SEO title and description. Imported posts arrive as drafts and show on your site once you publish them. We describe that section in our blog runs on C Building's own articles system.
- Pages become pages. Your WordPress pages are rebuilt as pages of the new site. On a very large site, the AI does the important pages first and lists the rest for you.
- Addresses stay the same. Every article, category and list page keeps its original address, which matters for your search rankings. Other old addresses, such as old slugs, tag pages and ad links, go into the site's redirect table as 301 redirects.
- Videos are your call. The AI asks where each video should live. For a move, we recommend the media library.
What to check after the move
- Go through the pages like a customer would. Fix anything you want by telling the AI, or click on the page and change it yourself.
- Publish your articles. Imported articles arrive as drafts. Look them over, then publish them, or ask the AI to publish them for you.
- Reconnect outside services. Paid or authorized services from the old site, such as payments, email, SMS, social login, a CDN or paid plugin licences, have to be authorized again after the move. Plugins themselves don't come along.
- Check the redirects on the published site. The redirect table is checked on the published site before your domain moves, so old links keep working once it does.
- Move the domain when you are ready. Your old WordPress site keeps running until then, so there is no rush. Connecting your own domain needs the Pro plan.
Why we built it this way
Reading the old site through its REST API means there is nothing to install, export or upload, and nothing on your old site changes. Because the website AI does the move, it can ask you about what only you can decide, such as where videos should live, and tell you plainly when something stops it, such as a security plugin.
Old posts often bring in visitors from search. Keeping each article, category and list page at its original address, and redirecting the other old addresses, helps keep those rankings.
And after the move, you edit the site like any other C Building site, by chatting with the AI or clicking on the page. No plugins to update, no theme to maintain.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install anything on my WordPress site?
No. The website AI reads your site's public content through the WordPress REST API, so there is no plugin to install and no export or backup file to upload. The site has to be publicly reachable with the REST API turned on (most sites have it on by default); if a security plugin blocks it, the AI tells you.
How long does the move take?
A few minutes for a small blog. Hundreds of posts can take an hour or more, and the AI can pause and continue in your next message without losing work. You can also ask it to move only the newest few posts first.
Will my old site keep running during the move?
Yes. The AI only reads your old site's public content. Your WordPress site keeps running until you move your domain to the new one.
Will I lose my search rankings?
Every article, category and list page keeps its original address. Other old addresses, such as old slugs, tag pages and ad links, are redirected with 301s from the site's redirect table, which is checked on the published site before the domain moves.
What happens to my videos?
The AI asks you where each video should live. For a move, the media library is the recommended place.
Wrapping up
Moving off an old WordPress site shouldn't mean rewriting it. Tell the website AI where your site is, check the result, and keep editing it the easy way. You can try C Building free, with no credit card and no time limit.
Still deciding? Read WordPress vs an AI website builder. If your current site isn't on WordPress, see turning your existing website into one you can edit yourself.