Move a publisher.
Keep editing its stories.
Macedon Weekender is a fictional magazine used to test an ordinary publishing job: import from WordPress, repair the details, edit a story and keep publishing after the source is turned off.
The complete small publishing job
- Import into an empty app. Composer's content recipe created an independent application. The native EmDash wizard imported eight posts, three pages and three original media files from genuine WordPress 7.1.3.
- Reconcile before cutover. The wizard rewrote eight media URLs. Exact media-byte matches guided the conversion of featured-image references, restored alt text/captions and the category parent. Native saves and explicit publication kept the four nonpublic stories private or scheduled.
- Make a second owner change. Two native rich-text edits retained every original paragraph, the first owner note, the app-owned image and the downloadable guide. Each saved change remained private until Publish changes was confirmed.
- Stop the source and check again. A fresh unauthenticated browser checked the seven public and four nonpublic addresses, all original media bytes, both themes and phone/desktop layouts. No request reached the retired source.
A migration decision you can inspect
| Requirement | This example establishes |
|---|---|
| Content and editing | Original text and bylines; native revisions, explicit publication and nonpublic visibility. WordPress private and pending stories become native drafts. |
| Media and links | Destination-owned files with matching bytes, working guide links and reviewed image descriptions. |
| Old addresses | The bounded original article/page paths and visibility-aware legacy ID redirects. |
| Broader WordPress behaviour | Elementor, ACF, WooCommerce, dynamic blocks, full metadata/comment parity and future scheduling need their own trials. |
| Deployment and recovery | This is an isolated local application. Hosted access, production cutover and provider restore remain separate gates. |
The earlier trial upgraded the same destination database and media from EmDash 1.2 to 1.3.1. This continuation separately exercised a fresh 1.3.1 import. Neither establishes universal WordPress plugin compatibility.