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How to Split Large XML Files in WordPress (Free Tool)

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Is your WordPress export file too large to import into your new website?

WordPress comes with built-in import and export functionality that uses the XML file format. Sometimes, the exported XML file is larger than your web host’s upload limit.

In this article, we will show you how to split large XML files in WordPress.

How to Split Large XML Files in WordPress

Why Split Large XML Files in WordPress?

When moving your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org or moving content from a self-hosted WordPress website to a new host or server, you will need to export your WordPress content.

WordPress allows you to export your entire WordPress website as a single XML file that contains all of your posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, and tags.

This is known as a WXR file and stands for WordPress Extended RSS.

You Can Export Your Website to an XML File

However, sometimes, you may find that this file size is larger than the upload limit allowed by your WordPress hosting provider.

If the XML file size is too large, then you will see an error message, and you will not be able to import your website data into the new WordPress installation using the default WordPress importer.

This limit can vary depending on your hosting provider and plan.

There Is a Limit to the Size of XML File That Can Be Imported

While you can ask your web hosting company to temporarily increase the file size limit, most shared hosting companies will not allow it. So, the only other option you have is to split the XML file into smaller files manually, which is hard work.

Luckily, there’s an easy online tool that can help you automatically split large WordPress XML files. Plus, this XML splitter is completely free to use.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how to split large XML files in WordPress, step by step.

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How to Split Large XML Files in WordPress

Once you have exported your WordPress site to a single XML file, you need to open the Free WordPress WXR File Splitter Tool website.

This platform is the best WordPress XML splitter tool, as it is designed to easily divide a large WordPress export file into small chunks.

Once there, you can upload your XML file to the free tool by dragging it onto the area labeled ‘Click or drag a file to this area to upload’. Alternatively, you can click the ‘WXR File’ button and then select the XML file.

Upload the XML File to the Free WXR File Splitter Tool

After that, you need to move the ‘New file size’ slider to your website’s maximum upload size or smaller. The goal is to create multiple files that are small enough to be uploaded to your host without surpassing the limits.

When you are ready, you need to press the ‘Submit’ button. Your large file will be split into smaller files of the correct size.

Download the Split Files in a Zip File to Your Computer

Finally, you will need to press the ‘Download’ button to download the files to the default download location on your computer. The files will be contained in a single file, which will need to be unzipped so that you can import them into your new WordPress website.

Make sure to import the files in the correct order to ensure that all your content is imported correctly.

Once you have imported your XML files, you may want to:

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to split large XML files in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to create a free business email or check out our list of the best drag-and-drop WordPress page builder plugins.

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Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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14 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
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  2. Aaditya Sharma says

    WordPress WXR File Splitter not working in windows 10, can you suggest me any other software or can we split .sql database any other method or software??

  3. Amit Virani says

    In wordpress version 1.10.11 it allows me to upload maximum file size 32 mb but when I upload a 20 mb xml file it shows error 500 Internal Server Error

  4. Edos Ubebe says

    Hello,

    I want to say thank you so much for this awesome post, you just saved my life. Thank you.

  5. ahmed says

    i have 121 mb xml file K downloaded from blogspot to my computer , and i can not split that file with the tool in the article , it give me erroro massege , and right now i have no idea what i have to do …. i can not upload the file to wp as it is over the allowed size ( 62 mb ) …is there any way to get xml file uploaded or splitted
    thanks

  6. Bill says

    I discovered (fortuitous accident), that with large XML files, you can just run the importer multiple times. This uploads content in batches.

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