How to Import and Export WordPress Users (Step-by-Step Guide)

Have you ever needed to migrate your WordPress users from one website to another? This article will show you how to import and export your users, making the migration process smooth and hassle-free.

Managing a WordPress site often means handling lots of users, whether they’re customers, subscribers, or team members. At times, you may need to move these users to another site, create a backup, or keep your data organized. That’s where exporting and importing WordPress users becomes incredibly useful.

Manually adding each user one by one can be slow and error-prone. But what if you could migrate all your users in just a few clicks? That’s precisely what the Import Export WordPress Users and WooCommerce Customers plugin helps you do.

So, here we will guide you through importing and exporting your WordPress users using this free plugin. Let’s get started.

Whether you run a blog, an online store, or a membership site, your users are at the heart of your WordPress website. But as your site grows, you may need to move, back up, or share user data. This is where importing and exporting WordPress users becomes incredibly useful.

Migrate to a New Website: When moving your WordPress site to a new domain or server, you’ll want to transfer all existing users, such as customers, subscribers, and admins, without asking them to re-register. Exporting and importing users ensures a seamless migration.

Set Up a Staging or Development Site: Developers often work on staging sites before pushing updates live. Importing existing users into a staging environment helps test functionality and customer flows without disrupting your main site.

Manage Multiple Stores or Sites: If you operate more than one WordPress site (for example, multiple WooCommerce stores), exporting and importing users makes it easy to share customer accounts across platforms. This saves users from having to create separate logins for each site.

Backup and Security: User data is sensitive and valuable. By exporting your WordPress users, you always have a backup copy of your database that can be restored in case of accidental data loss or a security breach.

Simplify User Management: Bulk exporting and importing users allows you to handle hundreds or even thousands of accounts at once, saving hours of manual work and reducing the chances of errors.

This is going to be a two-phase process.

• Firstly, we will export WordPress users from a source website to a CSV file.
• Then, we will import WordPress users from the CSV into the destination website.

Before we begin, ensure you have installed the free WordPress User Import Export plugin by WebToffee.

Step 1: Install the WebToffee Import Export WordPress Users Plugin

• From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New Plugin
• Search for ‘Import export WordPress Users’ by WebToffee.
• Install and Activate the plugin.

Step 2: Select User as Post Type for Export

Once you have installed the plugin,

• Go to WebToffee Import/Export(Basic) > Export.
• Here, you can select User/Customer as the post type.

Step 3: Select an Export Method

Normally, you can see three options in this window. Since this is probably your first time, you might not see all of them.

• Quick export: Export data as per default specifications.
• Advanced export: This process involves filtering, column selection, and advanced options that you can customize to obtain your required CSV file.
• Based on a pre-saved template: Export data according to your previously saved specifications.

Step 4: Filter WordPress User Data

Customizing your data has never been easier. Want to limit the number of users? Want to skip a couple of users you don’t want on your new site? Or are your requirements rather specific and explicit? No worries.

You can filter data that needs to be exported by choosing from the available criteria.

Step 5: Map and Reorder User Export Columns

Here, you can see the plugin column name on the left and its corresponding CSV column name on the right. By default, both are the same. However, you can customize the CSV column names by editing the right text field.

You also have the freedom to reorder the columns as you like. This can be helpful if you want to align the export file with a specific structure required by another system or for easier readability in spreadsheets.

Step 6: Advanced Options/Batch Export

• Enable the Export guest users checkbox to include guest customers in the export file and choose the number of records processed in one batch.
• Enter a file name for the exported file.
• Set the delimiter to differentiate the columns in the CSV file. (Comma will be set as default)
• Click on Save Template to save the configurations you have made for future use (optional).
• Click on Export to export users/customers to a CSV file.

A pop-up will appear saying Export file processing completed.

• Click the Download file to download the CSV file to your local storage.

Now that you’ve successfully exported your users, let’s move on to the next step: import them to your new site with the same plugin.

With just a few easy clicks, you can smoothly transfer your entire user base, ensuring no data is lost. Let’s go through the process to ensure this transition is handled correctly.

Step 1: Select User/Customer as Post Type for Import

• Go to WebToffee Import/Export(Basic) > Import.
• Here, select Users/Customers and click the Select import method button.

Step 2: Select an Import Method

The options are similar to the export method, such as quick and advanced imports. Let’s proceed with the Advanced import option.

But there are additional fields, too, which we will discuss.

• Choose File for Import – You can drag and drop the CSV file you want to import, or simply click anywhere on the dotted rectangle box to upload the file from your local storage.
• Delimiter – Set the character used to separate columns in the export file.

Then, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Map Import Columns

If you provide the columns’ default names, the plugin automatically identifies the required fields.

You can also manually set the column names as per the CSV file.

Do you want to make some quick changes to your data without going through the CSV file? The simplest way is to use the Evaluate field. You can access it by clicking the pen icon near the required column name.

It takes the input data from the CSV, computes it using the given expression, and then creates the output. The best part is that you can see the sample calculation in real-time. Leave no room for errors.

• Expression: Any operators +*/-()&@ or string constants can be used along with the attributes to obtain your desired result.
• Output: Sample output will be displayed here based on the first record from the input file.
• Input: Select the column you want to modify from the dropdown window.

Proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Advanced Import Options

What do you want to do if the user already exists on the site? Do you want to skip that user import or update it using the data from the current CSV file?

There are several advanced export options. We will examine each in detail.

• If user exists: One can either Skip or Update the entry.
• Retain user passwords: WordPress stores passwords in an encrypted format. If you want to Retain the password of an old user, you will have to choose Yes. However, if you manually add user details to the CSV, they will be in plaintext format, so you should select No in those cases.
• You can also set the import in batches of options.

• Click Save Template to save your current user import configurations as a template for future use.

• Click on Import to proceed.

After importing, a pop-up will appear with a Finished message and the number of failed imports (if any).

A confirmation message alone isn’t enough; you should always verify the import.

Start by going to Users > All Users and check that the correct number of users have been added with accurate usernames, emails, and roles. Next, open a few profiles to confirm that any custom fields, such as phone numbers, company names, or membership levels, are populated correctly.

Finally, if your site displays user data on the front end, such as in a directory or forum, confirm that the imported details appear as expected.

This plugin lets you import and export WordPress users from CSV with a few clicks. If you are looking for advanced features, try the premium version of this WordPress users import export plugin. It has additional customization options, support for multiple file types, automated import-export scheduling, frequent updates, and support from a team of experts.

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