As the WordPress content management system (CMS) is getting popular each day hence so many website owners are now converting their static HTML website into a WordPress powered website. If currently you are running a HTML website and wants to expand your business then it is strongly recommended that you should migrate your static HTML site to WordPress website. In this way, you can meet the needs of your growing business in most efficient way and also face the challenges in most effective way.

Other than converting HTML site to WordPress there is also sometime requirement to convert PSD to HTML for which first you need a PSD file. After converting your PSD file into HTML site then you can also convert it into WordPress site which will be a professional, easy to use and user friendly site.

When we talk about converting your static HTML site into a WordPress website, you should keep these three things in mind:-

- Select a reliable website hosting service provider which supports PHP

In this step you need a mysql database. Hence choose a database name, a user name and a complex and strong password for your database account.

- You also might have to use .htaccess file

Now install WordPress in a sub-folder. Start this process by installing WordPress into any sub-folder. For e.g. /mycms/.

After you complete the WordPress installation, go to the Settings and then Privacy. You will see in the privacy settings windows by default the option - “allow search engines to index this site” as selected. Now uncheck this option and select the second option so that the search engines don’t index your website until you are ready for moving your current website to the WordPress platform.

As your WordPress website is in a sub-folder hence you can initiate the development of your website while your current site will remain in active state.

- Keeping your Old URLs

You have to make sure that your new website URLs remain the same just like your old website URLs as it is very important. For this change the default structure of your website permalinks by going to settings -> Permalinks and then selecting “Custom Structure”.

Also keep in mind that while development of your new website, the URLs will look something like /mycms/page-url/html, similar to your old website URL.

Now in next step, move all of the static website into the new WordPress site. This will require you to copy all the HTML code from the current or old static website and then pasting it into the WordPress code screen.- Modifying the Layout of the Website

- Modifying the Layout of the Website

Either you choose to convert the old static HTML website to the WordPress powered website with same layout or you can change the layout of your current website theme. For this you can search on internet for a free nice looking or a premium theme as per your budget and business requirements. Now customize the theme according to your business requirements.

After you are satisfied with the layout of your website and placed all of the content of your old static site into the new WordPress site successfully then follow the below steps to make your website go live on internet:-

• Either rename your current index.html file stored in the root directory or delete it.
• Now copy both index.php and .htaccess file from the newly created WordPress sub-folder to your current website root directory.
• Now go to Settings -> General and then change your website address into the domain name and then delete the /mycms folder i.e. The WordPress sub-folder.
• Either remove or rename all of your old static website’s .html files.
• In last step, go to the privacy settings and choose the default option, means allowing the search engine to access and index the website again.
  
  Conclusion

If you will follow the above mentioned points then you will be able to transform your static HTML website into a WordPress powered website without any issue. But if you are not confident and skilled enough to do this process yourself and you feel you can lose your old site data during the conversion process then you can consider taking some professional help by hiring a WordPress developer who has experience and expertise in HTML to WordPress conversion services.