WP To Dynamic HTML (Portable Export)

Export WordPress pages and posts to portable static HTML files with optional asset copying and split ZIP archives.

Description

WP To Dynamic HTML (Portable Export) creates static HTML copies of your WordPress site that can be viewed offline or deployed to any static hosting provider.

The plugin:

• Exports the configured home page as index.html (either a static front page or posts page, depending on your Reading settings) [file:59].
• Exports selected pages and, optionally, all published posts as individual .html files based on their slugs.
• Renders content using your active theme templates internally (no external HTTP loopback), so it works even when the server blocks self‑requests [file:59].
• Rewrites internal links to point at the corresponding .html files.
• Copies referenced CSS, JavaScript, images, and fonts into an assets/ folder with relative paths.
• Creates one or more ZIP archives of the exported HTML and assets, splitting into parts kept safely below ~9 MB each to respect strict hosting limits.

This is useful for:

• Moving a small content site to static hosting.
• Creating a downloadable offline copy of a site.
• Archiving a point‑in‑time snapshot of your content.

Note: Forms, search, comments, and other dynamic PHP features will not work in the exported static version; only the rendered HTML, CSS, JS, and media are preserved.

Installation

1. Upload the plugin folder wp-to-dynamic-html to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory, or install it as a ZIP via the WordPress Plugins screen.
2. Activate the plugin through the "Plugins" menu in WordPress.
3. Go to Tools → Export Portable HTML in the WordPress admin area.

Usage

1. Open Tools → Export Portable HTML.
2. Review the detected home page type (static page or latest posts).
3. Select which pages to export. The home page is always included as index.html.
4. Optionally enable "Include posts" to export all published blog posts.
5. Choose whether to:
   • Copy assets (CSS/JS/images/fonts) into an assets/ directory.
   • Split ZIP archives so each part remains under your hosting size limit.
6. Click Start Export.
7. Watch the progress log as:
   • The home page is exported first.
   • Selected pages and posts are exported one per request.
   • ZIP archives are created at the end.
8. When finished, download the contents of: wp-content/uploads/wp-dynamic-html-export/

Inside that folder you will find:

• index.html – exported home page.
• *.html – one file per selected page/post.
• assets/ – copied theme/plugin assets (if enabled).
• wp-export-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS-partN.zip – HTML ZIP parts.
• wp-export-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS-assets-partN.zip – assets ZIP parts (when splitting is enabled).
• README.txt – instructions for using the exported files.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will contact forms or comments work in the exported HTML?

No. The export contains static HTML, CSS, JS, and media. PHP‑based features such as forms, comments, and search require a dynamic WordPress backend and will not function in the static copy.

Why are there multiple ZIP files?

On hosts with strict per‑file limits, large ZIPs can be rejected or time out. The plugin therefore splits HTML and assets into multiple ZIP parts, each kept under roughly 8 MB raw size so that the final .zip files remain safely below a 9 MB limit.

Why do some large media files not appear in assets?

To keep exports fast and within execution limits, files larger than a configured threshold (e.g. 5 MB) are skipped when copying assets. Very large media should be hosted separately or optimized before export.

Does the plugin modify my live site?

No. It only reads your content and templates to generate static files into the uploads directory; it does not alter posts, pages, or theme files.

Screenshots

1. Export settings screen showing page selection and options.
2. Progress view with per‑page log and progress bar.
3. Example exported folder structure with index.html and assets/.

Changelog

1.0.0

• Initial stable release.
• Internal rendering of pages/posts using theme templates (no external HTTP).
• Per‑item export via AJAX to respect PHP max execution time.
• Asset copying into assets/ subfolders with relative URLs.
• Internal link rewriting to .html files.
• ZIP creation with optional splitting into parts under ~9 MB.
• Added README generation describing exported folder contents.

Upgrade Notice

1.0.0

This is the first stable version. If you previously used experimental builds, remove old versions and replace them with this release to ensure correct per‑page exports and ZIP splitting behaviour.