How to Convert HTML to WordPress: 3 Ways That Work (2026)
By Steven Van ·
MiroMiro's guide compares building a theme, pasting content and exporting Elementor templates, and says what each method keeps and misses.
MiroMiro has published a guide to converting an HTML site or page to WordPress, comparing three methods by what each keeps and how much code it needs. The guide covers sites built from HTML files and live sites on other platforms, and it lists MiroMiro as the tool for the third method.
The three methods
- Build a custom theme: for developers. It keeps the design exactly and needs PHP, HTML and CSS. The guide says it takes anywhere from hours to days depending on the site.
- Paste content into WordPress: for content-heavy sites where the design can change. No code is needed, but the new theme sets the look, so the original design is not kept.
- Rebuild in Elementor from the live site: for small business sites, landing pages and client work. It keeps the design and needs no code.
Building a theme by hand
The guide splits the HTML into template files. Everything above the main content goes into header.php, everything below into footer.php, and the middle into index.php, with page.php or single.php as needed. A theme folder in wp-content/themes/ needs a style.css whose header comment names the theme. CSS and JS load through wp_enqueue_style() and wp_enqueue_script() in functions.php. Menus and widget areas use register_nav_menus() and register_sidebar() so content can be edited from the dashboard.
The Elementor route with MiroMiro
This method works when the HTML site is online, or can be opened in a browser locally. The steps are:
- Install WordPress and the free Elementor plugin, with a minimal theme such as Hello Elementor.
- Open the HTML site in Chrome, open MiroMiro and click Export.
- Pick a section (hero, pricing, footer) or the whole page, then choose Download and Elementor template.
- In WordPress, go to Templates, Saved Templates, Import Templates and choose the downloaded .json file.
- Open a page in Elementor, click the folder icon, go to My Templates and click Insert. Repeat per page.
The file holds the section's layout, fonts, colors, images and responsive rules, read from the page as the browser renders it. Each section arrives as one HTML block in Elementor. Its text, links and images can be edited, and it looks like the original on desktop and phones. For native Elementor widgets in a given section, the guide suggests rebuilding that section using the imported version as a visual reference. The same export works for sites on Webflow, Framer, Wix or Squarespace.
What does not transfer
In every method, forms and server logic such as contact forms, logins and checkouts need WordPress equivalents, for example a form plugin or WooCommerce. JavaScript widgets like sliders or custom animations may need a plugin or Elementor's own widgets. SEO settings have to be copied page by page, and the guide advises keeping the same URLs or adding 301 redirects to avoid losing rankings.
The guide also notes that copying a site's layout and structure as a starting point is normal, while copying its text, images and brand is not. Rebuilding a client's site with their permission lets you move everything.
