How-to-Import-and-Export-WordPress-Users-header

How to Import and Export WordPress Users


Are you planning to move your brand to another website from your current WordPress account? This would mean starting from scratch to build a new customer base for your business, which could be very challenging.

However, you won’t need to worry about losing your customer base as you can easily import and export your WordPress users to your website to start the new site with your loyal subscribers and customers.

In this article, we’ll dive into how you can export and import your WordPress users. To make sure you understand the information and make the most of it, polish up your knowledge by getting more familiar with WordPress terminology

When You Might Need to Import and Export Users in WordPress

The following are some of the most common situations when you’d need to import and export your WordPress users:

  • When you decide to consolidate two different websites and merge their content and user base
  • When you purchase a new website and use its content and audience for your original website
  • When you need to import user information for an email list or business CRM
  • When you need to duplicate your subscriber list for a new website or second business site
  • When you want to migrate a website out of a Multisite community and run it as a standalone site, or the other way around
  • When you require offline access to your customer data to contact them

Besides, if you’re operating a WooCommerce store or a membership website, you might be interested in keeping all of your customer data and ensuring they get a seamless experience on your new website.

How-to-Import-and-Export-WordPress-Users-inner-1

Exporting Users in WordPress

The first thing you need to do is make sure you’ve installed and activated the Import and Export Users and Customers plugin in WordPress. If you’re new to the WordPress environment, check out our detailed guide on how to install and upload plugins in WordPress.

  • Once you have activated the plugin, go to Tools under Dashboard, select Import and export users and customers in your WordPress admin account, and switch to the Export tab.
  • Next, you can choose which users you need to export. For example, you can export your users by selecting the user role and exporting your customers from membership plugin, WooCommerce customers, or all website users.
  • You can also see the option to filter website users by date, which helps you export users created in a particular date range.
  • Leave the remaining fields with their default values and click Download. Your downloaded CVS users export file will be saved on your computer.

You can also open the file with software that supports spreadsheet format, like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, to be able to easily work on the data or rearrange it for internal use. 

Importing WordPress Users

This WordPress plugin not only makes it easy for you to export your users, but you can also import the users or subscribers back to the same or different website.

  • If you’re trying to import users to a different WordPress site, you’ll have to install the same plugin onto the new website.
  • Next, go to Tools > Import and export users and customers > Import.
  • On the same page, click on Choose File and upload the CSV file you downloaded earlier.
  • Finally, you can configure the plugin settings based on your own requirements. For example, you can import a certain group of users based on any specific user role. You can choose what you want to do with the remaining data fields, and send emails to the imported users with the login link and their account credentials.
  • Once you’ve reviewed all the available options, click on Start Importing. This will initiate the importing WordPress users process and show you the list of imported users.
  • You can also find the list of users important under Users on the All Users page.

WordPress Plugins for Exporting and Importing Users 

Using plugins is the easiest and most reliable way for you to import and export your WordPress website users. They will help you to easily export users from any WordPress website to a downloaded file and then you can use the same file to import users to your new website. Here are a few WordPress plugins you should check out when you need to export or import website users.

How-to-Import-and-Export-WordPress-Users-inner-2

The Import Export WordPress Users Plugin

If you need a WordPress plugin that allows you to import and export users, then the Import Export WordPress Users plugin is the ideal option for you. This plugin comes with the necessary features to export all of your website users, and you can also use this plugin to sort your data and specify the information you’ll need.

The plugin generates a CS file, which means you can easily upload the same file when you want to import users onto another website. It also helps you maintain the address record to be more organized when processing future orders, as this plugin also helps you easily manage your WooCommerce customers.

The WP All Export Plugin

You can use the WP All Export plugin to easily export all user data from WordPress. There’s also an alternative plugin that is used for import. You can use both plugins very easily with an add-on. The WP All Export and WP All Import plugins take care of your needs for exporting and importing WordPress user data. This plugin also offers a wide range of customization options that let you achieve your goals smoothly. You can opt for the paid premium version of both plugins with more advanced features for professional users.

The Import and Export Users to CSV Plugin

The Import and Export Users to CSV plugin helps you import or export a CSV file with just a single click. It also allows you to configure the user data you’ll export. The automated process makes importing and exporting much easier for users.

The plugin allows you to import CSV users’ files directly to your website or list of customers into WooCommerce. You can export users and customers into a CSV file by filtering based on role or registered date.

Sending Email to Imported Users

If you’re moving user accounts, you may want to inform users about this change. You can let your users know by sending them an email. Your plugin can help you send an email during the importing process, and you can even customize the email message.

  • To send your users an email, go to Tools. Under Import and export users and customers, click on the Mail Option tab.
  • The plugins email the new login details to the users by default. You can choose to add your personalized message, making it easier for the users to understand why they’re being sent this information.

Make sure the sending email notification option is enabled on your WordPress website. If your users or customers’ list is too long, the plugin may not make notifications available. You can try to send emails in WordPress using the SMTP plugin to ensure the maximum deliverability of your emails.  

Data Protection Considerations

One of the important steps in importing and exporting WordPress users is to check before exporting that you have the required permissions to initiate this process. Having the necessary permission is not likely to be a problem for the team directly involved in managing the website, but if you export your website customers’ or subscribers’ data, you may only be allowed to use this data on the same site.

Before you proceed with this process, check your account permissions. It’s also important to look into the laws and regulations in your city or state regarding using website customers’ or subscribers’ data to avoid any issues later on. It may also make sense for you to take legal advice to be on the safe side.   

Exporting and Importing WooCommerce Customers

Many plugins used for exporting and importing website users will help export all WooCommerce customers, but they often won’t provide all the additional information and user fields available in WooCommerce, like customers’ physical addresses. If you need this additional information and complete customer records, use the WooCommerce Export Customer List CSV plugin. 

This plugin helps you choose the specific data fields you want to export and what rows of customer data you need. You’ll get a CSV file downloaded when you run the export. This plugin is very helpful for store owners who require offline access to their customers’ records instead of people who just want to migrate the customer data to another website. 

You can also sign up for the paid pro version of the plugin for some additional features like setting the frequency of your automatedly generated emails and downloading customer records based on the registration date range.

Exporting and Importing Users in WordPress Multisite

The WordPress Multisite feature is an excellent tool for people with multiple websites. It offers a single sign-in access point to manage all your websites from one platform. However, when using WordPress Multisite, simple processes like exporting users require extra consideration. That’s why you need to ensure that all website users are on the network that needs to export or only from one website when you’re exporting users on a WordPress Multisite. 

The Import Export WordPress Users plugin can benefit people using the WordPress Multisite feature. It allows you to export user data from one of the websites from your network and then import the same data onto a website that’s on another multisite network or even a standalone site.  

Exporting and Importing WordPress Subscribers

Most plugins used to export user data will help you export all subscribers to your website. But if you use options like the Jetpack plugin to build up newsletter subscribers or included WordPress.com subscribers, you may have to look for another solution.

If you’re using the Import Export WordPress Users plugin, it will export all user roles – if you’ve stored the users’ data on your website, it will be collected when you run the export. However, when you use plugins like the mailing list plugin to collect subscribers’ data and share these records to any service outside of your WordPress network, you can export data from there instead of your WordPress site. If you’ve gathered any followers from WordPress.com using Jetpack, you can export these records using Jetpack’s subscriptions module.     

Bulk Exporting Users

Most WordPress plugins for exporting user data will allow you to bulk export your users’ records in WordPress. When using the Import Export WordPress Users plugin, you can specify the specific number of records you want to export from the website. This means you can easily export any number of user records.

Key Takeaways 

If your website is part of your business model, you’re likely to need to export your WordPress user data to access your website user records offline or import them to another website when expanding operations.

If you’re using the Import Export WordPress Users plugin, you can export your users’ records, use the data offline, and import it onto another site if required. In the case of a WooCommerce website, you might want to use the WooCommerce Export Customer List CSV plugin to gather all of your customers’ data like physical addresses for marketing or internal strategy.

Make sure you have sought your users’ permission for a specific purpose before using their data, and choose the WordPress plugin that offers all the necessary features you need. 

Last modified on: August 23rd, 2023

Categorized as Web Hosting

Julia is a Content Coordinator for HostPapa, with a special focus on editing copy and all things blog-related. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching Oscar-nominated movies, and drinking iced lattes.

decorative squiggle

Skyrocket your online business with our powerful Shared Hosting

Shared Hosting from HostPapa is suited for all your business needs! No‑risk 30‑day money‑back guarantee. 99.9% uptime guarantee. 24/7 support. Free setup & domain name.†

Related Posts

HostPapa Mustache