WordPress Importer
View on WordPress.orgScores higher than 85% of indexed plugins
About
Import posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, tags and more from a WordPress export file.
Security History
What It Does
The WordPress Importer plugin reads a standard WordPress eXtended RSS (WXR) export file and brings the contained content into a target site, including posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, tags, and authors. It is the same tool the WordPress core team ships and maintains, so it integrates directly with Tools > Import in the admin. It is designed for one-off or infrequent bulk migrations rather than ongoing automated sync.
Who It's For
This plugin is best for site owners, agencies, and editorial teams moving content from an existing WordPress site to a new one, consolidating multiple blogs, or restoring from a WXR backup. It is also a fit for franchises, publishers, and small development shops that clone content between staging and production or replicate a reference site to a new domain. Anyone handling a one-time migration with a few thousand posts will find it more than adequate.
Who Should Skip It
If you need a daily or scheduled sync, want to move media files automatically, or are migrating from a non-WordPress platform such as Squarespace, Wix, or Blogger, this is not the right tool and you should look at a dedicated migration or import service. Developers comfortable with WP-CLI will also find the browser-based importer slower and less flexible than the command line for large datasets.
The Bottom Line
With 2 million active installs and a quality score of 78.03, the WordPress Importer is the default, no-frills choice for moving standard WXR exports between WordPress sites. Its low rating and effectively nonexistent public support threads are real drawbacks, but for a one-time, well-supported import task it remains the most trusted option. Treat it as a utility rather than a feature-rich migration suite, and you will not be disappointed.
Related Plugins
Pick this instead when your migration is primarily about moving widget configurations between sidebars rather than posts, pages, and taxonomies.
Pick this instead when you want to spin up a full starter site with theme settings, plugins, and demo content rather than import a custom WXR file.
Pick this instead when your source content is on Google's Blogger platform and you need a bridge that understands Blogger-specific export quirks.
Pick this instead when you are migrating from a legacy Movable Type or TypePad installation rather than another WordPress site.
Pick this instead when you need to map arbitrary XML structures into custom post types and fields, which the core importer does not support.