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Learn How to Download and Migrate a Weebly Site to Rad Web Hosting! This article provides a guide demonstrating how to download and migrate a Weebly site to Rad Web Hosting. Recently, Weebly announced it was ending support for business in over 60 countries, leaving many users searching for how to proceed. Migrating a Weebly website to Rad Web Hosting is possible, but there is one important limitation: Weebly does not export every part of every site as a fully portable website. Weebly’s export/archive feature can generate a ZIP file of your site, but blog pages and store pages are not included because they depend on Weebly’s database. Some Weebly-specific features, such as contact forms and slideshows, may also stop working after export and need to be rebuilt on the new hosting account. This is one reason why we recommend against using proprietary website builders like Weebly. This guide explains how to download your Weebly site, upload it to Rad Web Hosting, test it, and point your domain to the new server. Before You Begin You will need: Access to your Weebly account Shared Hosting from Rad Web Hosting Access to your Rad Web Hosting cPanel account Access to your domain DNS settings Your Rad Web Hosting server IP address Your cPanel username and password A ZIP file tool on your computer Optional: an FTP client such as FileZilla You should also decide whether you want to: Host the exported Weebly site as a static HTML website, or Rebuild the site in WordPress on Rad Web Hosting For simple brochure-style sites, the static HTML method may work well. For blogs, stores, forms, galleries, or sites you plan to update often, rebuilding in WordPress is usually the better long-term option. How to Download and Migrate a Weebly Site to Rad Web Hosting To download and migrate a Weebly site to Rad Web Hosting, follow the steps below: Download Your Weebly Site Log in to Weebly Go to your Weebly account and open the website you want to migrate. Enter the Weebly Site Editor for that site. Open the Site Settings Inside the Weebly editor, look for Settings. Then go to the General section. Find the Archive or Export Option Scroll down until you find the site archive/export option. Depending on your Weebly/Square dashboard version, this may be labeled something like: Archive Export Site Site Archive Email Archive Weebly’s support documentation says the archive is delivered by email as a ZIP file. Email the Site Archive to Yourself Enter your email address and request the archive. Weebly should send you an email containing a download link for the ZIP archive. Download the ZIP file to your computer. Extract and Review the ZIP File After downloading the ZIP file, extract it on your computer. You should see files and folders similar to: index.html about.html contact.html files/ uploads/ css/ js/ images/ The exact file structure may vary. Open the index.html file in your browser to preview the exported site. Understand What May Not Migrate Cleanly Before uploading the site to Rad Web Hosting, review the export carefully. The following Weebly features may not work after migration: Blog posts Store/product pages Shopping cart functionality Checkout pages Weebly contact forms Newsletter forms Membership/login areas Search features Some slideshows or interactive widgets Apps installed from the Weebly App Center Weebly specifically notes that blog and store pages are not included in the archive export, and that some components may not work outside the Weebly editor. For these items, you will usually need to rebuild the functionality inside Rad Web Hosting using WordPress, WooCommerce, a form plugin, or custom HTML/PHP. Prepare Your Rad Web Hosting Account Log in to Rad Web Hosting cPanel Log in to your Rad Web Hosting client area and open your hosting service. Then access cPanel. Locate the Website Document Root For your main domain, the website files usually go inside: public_html For an addon domain or subdomain, the document root may be something like: public_html/example.com or: example.com You can confirm this in cPanel under: Domains or: Addon Domains Back Up Existing Files If there is already a website in the destination folder, make a backup before replacing anything. In cPanel File Manager: Open the website’s document root. Select the existing files. Compress them into a ZIP file. Download the backup to your computer. This protects the existing website in case you need to roll back. Upload the Weebly Site to Rad Web Hosting There are two common ways to upload the site: cPanel File Manager or FTP. The cPanel File Manager method is usually easiest. Option A: Upload Using cPanel File Manager Open File Manager In cPanel, click: File Manager Then open: public_html or the correct document root for your domain. Upload the Weebly ZIP File Click Upload. Upload the ZIP file you downloaded from Weebly. Extract the ZIP File After the upload finishes: Return to File Manager. Select the ZIP file. Click Extract. Extract the contents into the website document root. Make sure the site files are directly inside the document root. For example, this is correct: public_html/index.html public_html/about.html public_html/contact.html public_html/files/ This is usually incorrect: public_html/weebly-export/index.html public_html/weebly-export/about.html If the files were extracted into an extra folder, move the contents of that folder into public_html. Confirm the Homepage File Exists Your homepage should usually be named: index.html Make sure index.html is located directly inside the document root. Option B: Upload Using FTP You can also upload the extracted Weebly files using FTP. Use the FTP credentials from your Rad Web Hosting account or create a new FTP account in cPanel. Typical FTP settings: Host: yourdomain.com Username: your cPanel or FTP username Password: your cPanel or FTP password Port: 21 Protocol: FTP Upload the extracted Weebly files into: public_html or the appropriate document root. Test the Site Before Updating DNS Before pointing the domain to Rad Web Hosting, test the migrated site. Option 1: Use a Temporary URL Depending on your hosting configuration, you may have a temporary URL available. If available, use it to preview the website. Option 2: Use Your Computer’s Hosts File You can preview the site before changing public DNS by editing your local computer’s hosts file. Add an entry like this: 123.123.123.123 yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com Replace 123.123.123.123 with your Rad Web Hosting server IP address. Then visit: https://yourdomain.com or: http://yourdomain.com This lets only your computer see the site on the new server before the rest of the internet does. Fix Common Issues After Upload Issue 1: The Site Shows a Directory Listing This usually means there is no homepage file in the document root. Check that this file exists: index.html It should be directly inside public_html or the correct domain folder. Issue 2: The Site Loads Without Images This usually means the image paths are broken. Check that all folders from the Weebly ZIP file were uploaded, especially folders like: files uploads images css js Also make sure filenames and folder names were not changed during upload. Issue 3: Contact Forms Do Not Work Weebly contact forms usually do not work after exporting the site because they depend on Weebly’s platform. Recommended solutions: Rebuild the site in WordPress and use a WordPress form plugin Replace the form with a Rad Web Hosting-hosted PHP form Use a third-party embedded form service Replace the form with a mailto link temporarily Example temporary contact link: Email Us Issue 4: Blog Posts Are Missing Weebly blog content is not included in the standard site archive export. Recommended options: Manually copy blog posts into WordPress Rebuild the blog using WordPress Use archived pages or browser-saved copies where available Hire Rad Web Hosting or a developer to assist with manual content migration Issue 5: Store Pages Are Missing Weebly store pages are also not included in the export archive because they depend on Weebly’s database. Recommended options: Rebuild the store in WooCommerce Export product data from Square/Weebly if available Recreate products manually Use WHMCS, WooCommerce, or another eCommerce platform hosted at Rad Web Hosting Point Your Domain to Rad Web Hosting Once the site looks correct on Rad Web Hosting, update your domain DNS. You have two main options: Change your domain’s nameservers to Rad Web Hosting nameservers. Keep DNS where it is and update the A record. Square/Weebly notes that if you are moving to another host but keeping DNS managed through Weebly/Square, you can point the domain using A records or CNAME records instead of changing nameservers. They also note that DNS changes can take 24–48 hours to fully propagate. Option A: Change Nameservers to Rad Web Hosting This is usually the cleanest option if you want Rad Web Hosting to manage your DNS. At your domain registrar, replace the existing nameservers with the nameservers provided by Rad Web Hosting. They may look similar to: ns1.serverprovider.net ns2.serverprovider.net ns3.serverprovider.net ns4.serverprovider.net Use the exact nameservers provided in your Rad Web Hosting welcome email or client area. After changing nameservers, DNS propagation may take several hours and can take up to 24–48 hours. Option B: Update Only the A Record Use this option if you want to keep DNS hosted at Weebly, Square, or another DNS provider. Update the domain’s main A record: Type: A Name: @ Value: Your Rad Web Hosting server IP Then update the www record. Common setup: Type: CNAME Name: www Value: yourdomain.com or: Type: A Name: www Value: Your Rad Web Hosting server IP Use the DNS configuration recommended by Rad Web Hosting for your account. Install SSL on Rad Web Hosting After DNS points to Rad Web Hosting, install SSL. In cPanel: Go to SSL/TLS Status. Select your domain. Run AutoSSL. Once SSL is issued, your site should load securely at: https://yourdomain.com Force HTTPS After SSL is active, force HTTPS. In cPanel, open: Domains Then enable: Force HTTPS Redirect for the domain. Alternatively, you can add a redirect to .htaccess: RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !on RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} Check the Migrated Website After DNS and SSL are working, review the full website. Check: Homepage Navigation menu Internal links Images Buttons Contact page Forms Mobile layout Footer links Social media links Download links Embedded videos Analytics scripts SEO titles and descriptions 404 errors You should also test the site from a phone using mobile data, not just Wi-Fi, to confirm DNS has updated outside your local network. Optional — Rebuild the Site in WordPress For many Weebly migrations, the best final result is to rebuild the site in WordPress on Rad Web Hosting. This is especially recommended if your Weebly site has: Blog posts Forms Products Store pages Membership features Frequent content updates SEO needs Landing pages Custom marketing pages Basic WordPress Migration Workflow Install WordPress in cPanel using WordPress Toolkit or Softaculous. Choose a lightweight theme. Recreate the main pages. Copy text and images from the Weebly site. Rebuild forms with a WordPress form plugin. Rebuild blog posts manually or with available exports. Rebuild store products in WooCommerce if needed. Set up redirects from old URLs to new URLs. Test the site. Launch by updating DNS. Add Redirects for Changed URLs If your Weebly URLs are different from your new Rad Web Hosting URLs, create redirects. Example .htaccess redirect: Redirect 301 /old-page.html https://yourdomain.com/new-page/ This helps preserve SEO value and prevents visitors from landing on broken pages. Keep the Old Weebly Site Temporarily Do not cancel your Weebly account immediately. Keep it active until: The Rad Web Hosting version is fully tested DNS has fully propagated SSL is working Forms have been replaced Blog/store content has been handled Search engines have had time to crawl the new site You are confident nothing important is missing A safe overlap period is usually at least a few days, longer for larger or business-critical sites. Quick Migration Checklist Use this checklist to track the migration: Log in to Weebly Export/download site archive ZIP Extract ZIP locally Review exported files Identify missing blog/store/form content Log in to Rad Web Hosting cPanel Open File Manager Go to public_html or correct document root Back up existing files Upload Weebly ZIP Extract ZIP Confirm index.html is in the document root Test site before DNS change Fix missing images or broken links Replace Weebly forms Rebuild blog/store content if needed Update domain DNS Run AutoSSL Enable Force HTTPS Redirect Test desktop and mobile versions Add redirects for changed URLs Keep Weebly active temporarily Cancel Weebly only after confirming migration success Recommended Migration Path For a small brochure-style Weebly site, the fastest path is: Export Weebly ZIP → Upload to Rad Web Hosting → Extract into public_html → Point DNS → Enable SSL For a business website, blog, or online store, the better long-term path is: Export Weebly ZIP → Use it as a content reference → Rebuild in WordPress on Rad Web Hosting → Redirect old URLs → Launch The second option takes more time, but it gives you a cleaner, easier-to-manage website that is no longer dependent on Weebly’s editor or platform limitations. Conclusion You now know how to download and migrate a Weebly site to Rad Web Hosting.

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