How to export a site

Export a site when you want a copy of it outside ContentForge: to host it somewhere else, to move its content to another platform, or to keep a backup file. Exporting is free.

How to export a site

1. Open the site in Mount Olympus and go to Settings → Export site. It's also at the bottom of the SEO/AEO dashboard's menu.
2. Under What to export, choose Static website, Content pack or ContentForge backup (explained below).
3. Set the options for that type.
4. Click the export button (Export static website, Export content pack or Export ContentForge backup). It shows Starting…, then the export appears under Exports.
5. The export runs in the background. You can close the editor.
6. When it's ready you get an email with the download links and an Open Exports button. The Exports list shows the size, how long it's kept, and a Download button.

A big site comes in several zip files (Part 1, Part 2…). Unzip them all into the same folder.

What to export

• Static website: every page as plain HTML with its images, fonts and files, ready for any web host. Includes redirect files and a README on hosting and pointing your domain.
• Content pack: blog posts and pages as a WordPress import file, spreadsheets (CSV) and the media library.
• ContentForge backup: a complete copy of the site to keep, or to restore as a new site on ContentForge. Leaves out passwords, tokens and connections.

Options

• Version (static website and content pack): The live site (default) or Latest draft. The latest draft includes changes and pages that aren't live yet. A backup always uses the latest draft.
• Contact forms (static website):
  • Send by email (default): the form opens the visitor's email app, addressed to the email you enter. It starts as the site's Business Info email.
  • Keep them for a form service: the forms keep their look. The README explains how to connect one.
• New address (static website, optional): where the site will live, like https://www.example.com. Canonical addresses, the sitemap and social share images point there. Leave it empty to keep the current address.

What's in a static website export

• Every page, dynamic item pages, the blog with its posts, tag pages and older-posts pages, popups, the 404 page and the legal pages.
• Images, videos (client videos as MP4 files), fonts, style sheets, the site icon, sitemap.xml, robots.txt and llms.txt.
• Links between pages work, also when you open index.html straight from your computer.
• The menu, phone menu, sub-menus, popups, tabs, sliders and the blog search keep working.
• Analytics and tracking codes, the cookie banner and your custom code stay on the pages.
• Google reviews, RSS feeds, calendars and events show what they showed on the export date.
• URL redirects as a _redirects file (Netlify and similar hosts), a .htaccess file (Apache, most shared hosting), an nginx snippet and a spreadsheet.
• A site with other languages: every Live language's pages at their own addresses (/es/...), with the language links in sitemap.xml and each language's blog feed.
• README.html: what works, what doesn't, how to upload the site and how to point your domain at the new host.

Things that need ContentForge's servers don't come along: form responses in ContentForge, site stats, scheduled posts, and reviews refreshing by themselves. Some motion effects (3D carousels, particle images, cursor effects, slider autoplay) show their content without the motion, and maps show the address with a directions link.

What's in a content pack

• wordpress.xml: blog posts (title, address, date, content, excerpt, featured image, categories and tags, author) and pages with their content, ready for WordPress's Tools → Import → WordPress.
• On a site with other languages, every page once per language. The pages and SEO spreadsheets have a language column, and in wordpress.xml each post and page is marked with its language (WordPress language plugins like Polylang can read it).
• Spreadsheets (CSV): pages, SEO settings, Business Info, each collection, redirects, and form responses (one file per form).
• media/: the site's media library in its folders, as original files.

What's in a ContentForge backup

The whole site as one file: pages, sections, design, settings, collections, blog posts, redirects, forms and translations. It never holds passwords, tokens, form connections (Google Sheets, HubSpot, Mailchimp), the form webhook, domains, form responses or stats. Images stay in ContentForge; the file links to them.

To turn it back into a site, see How to restore a site from a backup file.

Examples

• Client is leaving: export a Static website of the live site with their new domain as the New address, and hand them the zip and README.
• Moving the blog to WordPress: export a Content pack and import wordpress.xml in WordPress.
• Keep a file before deleting: export a ContentForge backup of an old site before you delete it, so it can come back after the 30 days in Recently deleted.

Limits and what it can't do

• A static export renders up to 3,000 pages.
• Zip parts are up to 200 MB each, and up to 2 GB per export. A single file over 300 MB (a very long video) is left out and listed in the README.
• Up to 5 exports can run at once per agency.
• Download links work for 7 days. After that the files are deleted. Export again for a fresh copy.
• The live site needs the site to have been published. Use Latest draft for a site that was never published.
• Moving the site? Upload it to the new host first, then change your domain's DNS records, then disconnect the domain in ContentForge, so the site is never offline.

Who can use it

Only agency owners and admins can export. Other team members and client people don't see Export site (in Settings or the Site Dashboard).

Troubleshooting

• "Only agency owners and admins can export a site": ask an owner or admin to run the export.
• "Choose what to export": pick one of the three types.
• "Enter the email address forms should send to": with Send by email, type a valid email address, or choose Keep them for a form service.
• "The new address should look like https://www.example.com": fix the New address, or leave it empty.
• "This site hasn't been published yet — choose “Latest draft”.": switch Version to Latest draft.
• "Your agency already has 5 exports in progress — wait for one to finish.": wait, or cancel one with the X on its row.
• "Couldn't start the export": try again in a moment.
• An export says "Stopped:" with a reason: it didn't finish. You get an email too. Fix what it says and export again.
• The download link doesn't work: it's over 7 days old. Export again.