Import a whole website
Upload a website zip in Settings → Import a website, choose the options, and read the report that shows what was imported.
System → Settings → Import a website turns an import-ready website zip into a real PageShift site in a minute or two. Only Administrators can import a website.
What the import does
- Every page becomes a PageShift page you can edit by clicking, in the site's own design.
- The site's colors, fonts, logo and buttons go into Design Settings.
- The header and footer become Site Layouts, and the main menu becomes a real menu.
- Blog articles become blog posts; their authors and reviewers go into People.
- Forms become Form Builder forms that send to Leads.
- Prices found on the pages go into Prices.
- Each page's title, description and structured data fill its SEO settings, and old addresses redirect to the new pages.
Import the zip
Make a backup first if the site already has content (see Backups and updates). PageShift also makes a database backup by itself before the import.
Go to System → Settings and open the Import a website tab.
Under Website zip, click Choose File (1) and pick the zip, for example
summit-ridge-roofing.zip.Check the three options (2). For a new site, leave all three ticked:
Option What it does Start fresh: remove the sample pages and posts of this new site Removes the welcome pages and sample posts a new PageShift site comes with. It's ticked by itself when sample content is found Replace pages that already use the same address If a page already exists at an address (for example /about-us/), the imported page replaces it. The old one is kept as a draftPublish the imported pages right away Untick it to import everything as drafts, so you can check them before visitors see them Click Import the website (3) and keep the page open. It says "Importing… this takes a minute or two."
When it's done, a message says how many pages, blog posts and site layouts were imported, and in how many seconds.
Read the report
The Last import card lists what happened, one line each, with a badge: OK is fine, Check and Note need a look, Fix needs action.
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| page(s) built with PageShift | How many pages, and how many parts became editable widgets. "Imported sections" keep their exact look and are edited by clicking too |
| blog post(s), Authors, Reviewers | The articles, and the people found in them |
| Site Layouts | The header, footer, blog post layout, blog list, search results and 404 page |
| Menu | How many links went into the header menu. Check means none were found: build the menu in Menus & Footer |
| Brand in Design Settings | The main color, background, text color and font found, and whether the logo was found |
| form(s) now in Form Builder | The forms, now sending to Leads |
| old address(es) redirect and redirects.txt | The redirects made. See Keep old addresses working |
| The site's own files load for visitors | PageShift checked that the styles, scripts and fonts load. If your host blocks them, the line says which files to ask your host to allow |
| Design Settings use the imported brand | If you changed the design since, click Restore the imported design in Design Settings to go back |
| No theme is replacing the imported header and footer | If a theme is switched on, its layouts show instead of the imported ones |
| Prices | The prices found and how many places show them |
| Not imported because a page already uses the address | Shown when Replace was off and a page already existed |
| Tracking codes found | Analytics or pixel codes in the original pages. They keep working: don't add them again |
| Links to files that were not in the zip | Pictures or files the pages link to but the zip didn't include. Upload them in Media and fix the links |
| Files skipped | Files that aren't allowed, such as PHP |
Next steps and the list of imported pages
The Next steps card has links to open the site, edit the home page, check the design, layouts and menu, and test each form. Follow What to check after an import for the full list.
Below the report, Imported pages and posts lists every imported page and post with its address, and links to Edit with PageShift (or Edit post) and View.