From Typepad to WordPress: Your Fast, Safe Migration Plan

Typepad has announced it will permanently shut down on September 30, 2025. After that date, access to accounts, blogs, and content ends. If you are still on Typepad, the clock is not your friend. Export your data and move now to avoid permanent loss.

What are your options?

You have three realistic paths:

1. Migrate to WordPress: Import your Typepad export file into WordPress, preserve your content, keep publishing, and set up redirects for SEO. WordPress provides a documented importer for Movable Type and Typepad content.
2. Switch to another hosted platform: Tools like Ghost or Squarespace can work, but the import process is less direct from Typepad and URL parity is trickier than with WordPress. You will likely spend more time fixing links and archives.
3. Create a static archive: Snapshot the site as static HTML and host it on object storage or simple hosting. This preserves history quickly, but you lose dynamic features and future publishing on that archive.

Why WordPress is the best destination

1. Mature import path: WordPress and WordPress.com document the import process for Typepad, with maintained plugins and guides. Less friction, fewer surprises.
2. Longevity and ecosystem: WordPress powers a large share of the web and has a deep plugin, theme, and services ecosystem. You get more tools, more support, and more future-proofing.
3. SEO and structure control: You can match or redirect old URLs, manage categories and tags cleanly, and submit fresh sitemaps to search engines.
4. Flexibility: Start simple, then add memberships, newsletters, ecommerce, or custom workflows when ready.

The migration, step by step

Use this as a checklist. Do a small test first, then scale.

1. Export everything from Typepad: In Typepad, go to Settings, then Import/Export, and download the Movable Type format export for each blog. Save copies in multiple locations.
2. Choose your WordPress destination:
   1. WordPress.com if you want managed hosting, support, and quick setup. Their migration post also reiterates the Typepad shutdown timeline and next steps.
   2. Self-hosted WordPress if you want maximum control, custom plugins, and server access.
3. Create the new site and import: In WordPress, go to Tools, Import, choose “Movable Type and TypePad,” install the importer if prompted, then upload the export file. On WordPress.com, follow their Typepad import guide, or use a plugin on plugin-enabled plans.
4. Bring images across: Some exports reference images rather than embedding them. Use an importer that fetches external media, or run a second pass to sideload images into the WordPress media library. Verify image counts on a few older posts.
5. Fix internal links and formatting: Search for absolute Typepad URLs in your content and update them to the new domain. Validate special characters, code blocks, and long lists.
6. Map URLs and set redirects: Compare Typepad permalink patterns with your WordPress structure. Add redirect rules to preserve SEO and ensure old links continue to work.
7. QA and launch: Check a representative sample of posts, categories, tags, comments, and images. When satisfied, point DNS to the new site, enable HTTPS, submit your sitemap to Search Console, and monitor logs for 404s.

Pros and cons, straight up

Move to WordPress

1. Pros: best import path from Typepad, strong SEO control, huge ecosystem, future-proof.
2. Cons: small cleanup effort after import, plus redirect work.

Move to a different platform

1. Pros: polished hosted experiences, simple maintenance.
2. Cons: weaker Typepad importers, more manual cleanup, and fewer flexible SEO tools.

Static archive only

1. Pros: fastest preservation, minimal cost and risk before the shutdown date.
2. Cons: no new publishing on that archive, limited search, and no native comments.

Timing matters

Typepad confirms access ends on September 30, 2025. Do not assume a grace period. Export your data immediately, run a test import, then complete the full migration.

Need help?

Zluck can handle the migration end to end: exports, media capture, WordPress setup, importer configuration, URL mapping and 301s, QA, DNS cutover, and post-launch monitoring. If you want a quick safety net first, we can also create a static archive while we prepare the live WordPress site. If you have a large archive or custom Typepad templates, we will design redirects and content normalization that preserve your history and your rankings.

Ready to move off Typepad without drama? Contact-us right now. We will secure your content now, then deliver a clean WordPress site that is ready for the next decade.