content-import

Content Import Skill

Import existing content when redesigning a site.

When to Use

• User is redesigning an existing site
• User has an export file (WordPress XML preferred)
• User provides a URL to their existing site

Content Sources (in order of preference)

1. WordPress XML Export (Preferred)

The most complete option — includes posts, pages, categories, tags, menus, and metadata.

How to get it: Tools → Export in WordPress admin (or Settings → Export on WordPress.com)

import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
from html import unescape

def parse_wordpress_xml(xml_path):
    """Parse WordPress XML export file."""
    tree = ET.parse(xml_path)
    root = tree.getroot()

    ns = {
        'wp': 'http://wordpress.org/export/1.2/',
        'content': 'http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/',
        'excerpt': 'http://wordpress.org/export/1.2/excerpt/',
    }

    content = {
        'site_title': '',
        'site_description': '',
        'posts': [],
        'pages': [],
        'categories': [],
        'tags': [],
        'menus': [],
    }

    channel = root.find('channel')
    content['site_title'] = channel.findtext('title', '')
    content['site_description'] = channel.findtext('description', '')

    for item in channel.findall('item'):
        post_type = item.findtext('wp:post_type', '', ns)
        status = item.findtext('wp:status', '', ns)

        if status != 'publish':
            continue

        entry = {
            'title': item.findtext('title', ''),
            'slug': item.findtext('wp:post_name', '', ns),
            'date': item.findtext('wp:post_date', '', ns),
            'content': unescape(item.findtext('content:encoded', '', ns) or ''),
            'excerpt': unescape(item.findtext('excerpt:encoded', '', ns) or ''),
        }

        if post_type == 'post':
            entry['categories'] = [c.text for c in item.findall('category[@domain="category"]')]
            entry['tags'] = [t.text for t in item.findall('category[@domain="post_tag"]')]
            content['posts'].append(entry)
        elif post_type == 'page':
            content['pages'].append(entry)
        elif post_type == 'nav_menu_item':
            content['menus'].append({
                'title': entry['title'],
                'url': item.findtext('wp:postmeta[wp:meta_key="menu_item_url"]/wp:meta_value', '', ns),
            })

    for cat in channel.findall('wp:category', ns):
        content['categories'].append({
            'name': cat.findtext('wp:cat_name', '', ns),
            'slug': cat.findtext('wp:category_nicename', '', ns),
        })

    return content

2. Scrape Existing Site (No Export File)

If user doesn't have an export file but provides their site URL, scrape key pages:

def scrape_existing_site(base_url):
    """Scrape starter content from an existing site."""
    from urllib.request import urlopen
    from html.parser import HTMLParser
    import re

    content = {
        'site_title': '',
        'site_description': '',
        'pages': [],
        'navigation': [],
    }

    # Pages to attempt scraping
    key_pages = [
        ('/', 'Home'),
        ('/about', 'About'),
        ('/about-us', 'About'),
        ('/services', 'Services'),
        ('/contact', 'Contact'),
        ('/contact-us', 'Contact'),
    ]

    for path, default_title in key_pages:
        try:
            url = base_url.rstrip('/') + path
            # Use WebFetch tool to get page content
            # Extract: title, main heading, body text, images
            page_content = fetch_and_parse(url)
            if page_content:
                content['pages'].append({
                    'title': page_content.get('title', default_title),
                    'slug': path.strip('/') or 'home',
                    'content': page_content.get('main_content', ''),
                    'headings': page_content.get('headings', []),
                })
        except:
            continue

    # Try to extract navigation structure from homepage
    try:
        nav = extract_navigation(base_url)
        content['navigation'] = nav
    except:
        pass

    return content

What to extract when scraping:

• Site title and tagline (from <title> and meta description)
• Navigation menu structure (from <nav> elements)
• Homepage hero text and CTA
• About page content
• Services/offerings list
• Contact information
• Key headings and body copy

3. Other Import Formats

Support other formats when provided:

• JSON — Parse and map to content structure
• CSV — For posts/products with title, content, category columns
• Markdown files — Convert to WordPress content
• HTML files — Extract content from static site

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Content

Ask user:

1. Do you have a WordPress XML export file?
2. If not, what's the URL of your existing site?

Step 2: Parse/Scrape and Summarize

## Content Found

**Site:** [Site Title]
**Tagline:** [Description]

| Type | Count |
|------|-------|
| Pages | X |
| Posts | X |
| Menu Items | X |

### Pages
- Home — [brief description of content]
- About — [brief description]
- Services — [brief description]
- Contact — [brief description]

### Navigation Structure
- Home
- About
- Services
  - Service A
  - Service B
- Contact

Step 3: Use Content to Inform Design

DO NOT add content to the blueprint — it bloats the file size.

Instead, use imported content to:

• Inform navigation structure — Build header/menu based on actual pages
• Match content length — Design layouts that fit real content (not lorem ipsum)
• Identify key sections — Hero text, CTAs, service offerings
• Set site title/tagline — Use in mockups and theme preview

The Playground preview shows the theme structure with placeholder content. The user imports their real content after deploying to their live site.

Important Notes

1. Content informs design, not blueprint — Don't inject content into Playground (bloats file size)
2. Templates use dynamic blocks — Theme pulls content from database, not hardcoded
3. User imports separately — After deploying theme, user imports XML on live site
4. Preserve structure — Use navigation structure to inform header/menu patterns

Integration with Other Skills

1. Import content first
2. Use design-mockups skill informed by actual content structure
3. Use wp-block-themes skill to build theme with dynamic templates
4. Use theme-deploy skill — user imports content separately on live site