Hello! I was wondering if you could help me figure out how to transform a WordPress website into a series of HTML pages.
The reason for this is because I want to keep my portfolio on a personal hosting platform and don't want to manage numerous WordPress files and databases for each site.

Can you display the website? Did it fail to launch?
To establish ownership, you ought to have entered into an agreement with the client and included your copyright on the website. If you failed to do so, you can still make the necessary adjustments to do it now. It's not appropriate to showcase the website to other prospective customers without the owner's consent.

If you want to preserve all styles and scripts of a webpage, saving it as an mht format is necessary.


Saving a webpage as mht format will ensure that the full page, including its scripts and styles, are preserved. This is important when a plain text version of the webpage is not sufficient.

WP Static HTML Output Plugin has been popular for a long time due to its usefulness. By using this plugin, you can generate a static copy of your entire WordPress site and easily deploy it on other platforms.

Apart from converting WordPress pages into static copies, the plugin also lets you replace all internal links of the site. In practice, this makes it possible to create a website in a local test environment using WordPress and then deploy it on the preferred hosting platform.

WP Static HTML Output is also capable of exporting all media files with your site. It can be used for keeping past copies of the site as a backup.

However, keep in mind that if you want to replicate dynamic features such as comment sections and login forms, issues may arise. Moving to a static page won't work if your site has functionality that requires user input or can be considered dynamic, so keep that in mind when deciding whether to use this plugin.

Key Features:

- Create fully static copies of your entire WordPress site.
- Export the content along with all media files.
- Replace all internal links to deploy static WordPress pages in a real environment.
- Keep copies of past exports as backups.
- Rewrite the paths for your WordPress content to hide the fact that your site uses the platform.
- Price: Free, premium version available

How to create a static HTML copy of your WordPress site (and use it using GitHub)

In this section, I'll explain how to deploy your static WordPress pages to GitHub. GitHub allows you to host static pages for free, which makes it a good option if you want to use it as a non-trivial host for static pages.

Step 1 — Create a static HTML copy of your site

To accomplish this step, use the WP Static HTML Output plugin that I introduced earlier. First, you need to install and activate it on your website. After that, go to the "Tools — WP Static HTML Output" tab on your website.

Before generating a static copy of your site, let's look at a few settings that the plugin offers. First, you can specify the URL you are going to use for your site when it appears live. Be sure to enter the correct URL here, as your static pages won't display properly if you don't. This option will then find all your internal links and replace them with the URL you provided.

Continuing, you can enable settings for exporting the website as a zip file that can be downloaded from the dashboard. The plugin simply exports your new files to the wp-content/uploads/ directory if not selected. You can also choose whether to save the last created export for use as a backup.

If you want to change the folder to which the plugin exports your pages, you can do this in the "Redefine output directory" section. Finally, there are options to replace your default WordPress paths with names of your choice. Whether to use this function or not is up to you, as it will not affect the functionality of the exported page in any way.

Once you are prepared to create static copies of your WordPress pages, simply click the "Start static site export" button. The plugin will then perform its job and you can check its progress through the export log at the bottom of the tab. After the process is complete, "ZIP CREATED" will appear in the Export Log near the top with a link on the right.

You can easily convert your WordPress website into a series of HTML pages by following these steps:

1. Install and activate a WordPress plugin called "Simply Static" or "WP2Static." These plugins will generate static HTML versions of your WordPress website.

2. Configure the plugin settings to include all the necessary pages and posts from your website.

3. Once the plugin has generated the static HTML files, you can download them to your computer.

4. Upload the HTML files to your personal hosting platform using an FTP client or the file manager provided by your hosting service.

5. Update any links or references to dynamic content (such as forms or search features) on your HTML pages, as they won't work in a static environment.

6. Test the uploaded HTML pages to ensure they display correctly and that all links and images work as expected.

By following these steps, you can easily transform your WordPress website into a series of HTML pages that you can host on your personal platform without the need for managing WordPress files and databases for each site.


Converting a WordPress site to HTML pages involves extracting the content from the WordPress database and converting it into static HTML files. Here are the general steps to accomplish this:

1. **Backup WordPress Site**: Before making any changes, it's crucial to back up your WordPress site to avoid any data loss.

2. **Extract Content**: You can manually extract the text, images, and other media from your WordPress site's pages and posts.

3. **Create HTML Structure**: Build the HTML structure for each page using the extracted content. This includes formatting text, adding images, and ensuring links are working properly.

4. **CSS and JavaScript**: Copy the CSS styles and JavaScript functionality from your WordPress theme to ensure the HTML pages have the same look and behavior as your WordPress site.

5. **Navigation**: Create a consistent navigation structure across all HTML pages using standard HTML and CSS or consider using server-side includes for easier maintenance.

6. **Meta Tags and SEO**: Ensure that meta tags for each page (title, description, keywords) are present and optimized for search engines.

7. **Forms and Dynamic Elements**: If your WordPress site contains forms or dynamic elements, you will need to modify them to work with simple HTML, potentially using a third-party service for form handling.

8. **Testing**: Once all the HTML pages are created, test them thoroughly to make sure all functionality is working as expected.

9. **Hosting**: Finally, you'll need to host these HTML pages on a web server. You may also consider using a static site generator to automate this process.

10. **Optimization**: Optimize the images and other media used on the HTML pages for faster loading times. This includes compressing images and minifying CSS and JavaScript files.

11. **Resolving Dynamic Content**: If your WordPress site heavily relies on dynamic content such as user-generated posts, comments, or real-time updates, consider finding alternative solutions for displaying such content in the HTML version, possibly using third-party services or custom scripts.

12. **301 Redirects**: If you are replacing your WordPress site with the HTML version, it's essential to set up 301 redirects from the old WordPress URLs to the new HTML URLs to maintain SEO value and ensure a smooth transition for your users.

13. **Backup and Migration**: Create a backup of your entire WordPress site, including the database, theme files, and plugins, in case you need to revert to the original setup at a later stage. Also, ensure that you have a migration plan in place to deploy the HTML version to your hosting environment without disruption.

14. **Content Management**: Consider the future management of content. With a static HTML site, making updates to the content requires direct editing of HTML files. You may want to explore content management systems designed for static sites or version-controlled workflows to simplify content updates.

15. **SEO Considerations**: Be mindful of the impact on SEO when transitioning to HTML pages. Ensure proper handling of canonical tags, meta tags, structured data, and other SEO elements to maintain or improve search engine visibility.

16. **Performance Monitoring**: After the transition, monitor the performance of the HTML site using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. Address any performance issues to ensure a seamless user experience.

Converting a WordPress site to HTML pages is a significant undertaking and may require technical expertise depending on the complexity of the original WordPress site. It's important to weigh the benefits of having a static HTML site against the loss of dynamic functionality provided by WordPress.

Transforming your WordPress portfolio into static HTML pages is straightforward using export plugins like WP Static Site Generator or Simply Static. First, install the plugin, configure it to export your content, including posts, pages, and media, into a folder of HTML files.

Then, upload this folder to your personal hosting via FTP or Git. This eliminates the need for databases and PHP, making it a JAMstack-friendly approach. Ensure your theme is responsive and SEO-optimized before export to keep the design intact. With version control on Git, you can update easily without managing MySQL overhead.
Total process: under an hour for a simple site.