AudienceBench

How to Move a Legacy beehiiv Website to the New Builder (2026)

Still on beehiiv's legacy site builder? The 1-click migration tool vs the manual route, rebuilding custom pages, keeping /c/ URLs, plan limits, and the one-way publish.

By AudienceBench Editorial · Published · Pricing & docs checked

If your beehiiv publication is old enough, its website may still run on the legacy Website Builder. beehiiv says that builder is “only available to publications created before July 15, 2025” and is “no longer being updated.” Every legacy help article now opens with the same advice: migrate to the newer builder.

You have two ways to do it: a 1-click migration tool that copies your site over for you, or a manual migration that you rebuild page by page. Either way, the real work is the same: custom pages don’t come across on their own, your old /c/ page URLs need a plan, and publishing the new site is one-way.

This guide is based on beehiiv’s 1-click migration article, its two-part manual migration guide, its legacy-URL and redirect articles, its Advanced Website Builder publishing, pages, and template articles, and beehiiv’s public pricing page. We checked all of them on October 23, 2026.

How we researched this: Everything below comes from beehiiv’s help center and pricing page. We haven’t migrated a legacy beehiiv site ourselves, so we can’t show real screens or tell you how long it takes. Several of beehiiv’s migration articles were written months ago and use older builder names. We point out where that matters.

About our links: beehiiv links on this page are affiliate links (/go/beehiiv). That’s the only program we earn from here. Our recommendations would be the same either way.

The short version

QuestionAnswer (per today’s sources)
Who has the legacy builder?Publications created before July 15, 2025 that haven’t migrated. It shows as Website → Builder (Legacy)
Where does my site end up?In the drag-and-drop builder beehiiv now calls the Advanced Website Builder. The migration articles still call it the “new Website Builder” (more on names below)
Fastest route1-click migration tool: click New builder in the dashboard banner, confirm, and click Start migration
More controlManual migration (Part 1 and Part 2): pick a template, re-enter colors and fonts, then rebuild pages
Do custom pages move?The manual guide says no. They “must be recreated manually.” The 1-click article doesn’t say either way
Old /c/page-name URLsOne wildcard redirect: old path /c/*, new path /$1 (paid plans). Or nest pages under a disabled c page
Can I undo it?No. beehiiv says publishing the new site “replaces your legacy site, and this change can’t be undone”
Plan limits that bitePublished custom pages: Free 1, Lite 5, Pro unlimited. Redirects: Free none, Lite 10, Pro unlimited

Start on beehiiv

Are you on the legacy builder?

beehiiv’s manual migration guide (Part 1) says it’s for people who created their account before July 15, 2025 and haven’t yet migrated their website. In your dashboard, click Website. You’ll see one or two options:

  • Builder: the newer builder, which beehiiv says is “available to all.”
  • Builder (Legacy): only for accounts created before July 15, 2025.

If you only see Builder, you’re not on the legacy builder and this guide isn’t for you. See beehiiv Website Builder vs Advanced Website Builder instead.

A note on names. beehiiv now has three site builders. The legacy builder is the oldest. The migration articles (written January to August 2026) send you to what they call the “new Website Builder,” a drag-and-drop builder with AI Chat. Since September 21, 2026, beehiiv calls that builder the Advanced Website Builder, and uses the plain name Website Builder for a newer, simpler template builder. The details match Advanced: AI Chat, a layers-style editor, page-by-page publishing, and a “Migrate from legacy beehiiv site” option in Advanced’s template switcher. So when a migration article says “new Website Builder,” read it as Advanced Website Builder.

Do you need a paid plan to publish Advanced? beehiiv’s builder-choice article says Advanced needs a paid plan to publish only for publications created on or after September 21, 2026. Older publications “keep publishing access.” Every legacy publication predates that, so by beehiiv’s wording the rule shouldn’t apply to you. But several Advanced articles are still labeled “All Paid Plans.” If you’re on Free, check before you start (see “What we couldn’t confirm” below).

Option 1: the 1-click migration tool

beehiiv’s 1-click article (updated Jan 23, 2026; marked All Plans) says the tool is “designed to quickly move your existing site into the new builder while preserving key settings and structure.” You get a starting point to review, edit, and publish.

  1. Log in and find the banner at the top of your dashboard. Click New builder.
  2. If you’ve already started a site in the newer builder, beehiiv asks you to pick Go to editor (keep working on it) or Re-migrate from legacy site (start the migration over).
  3. If you re-migrate, beehiiv shows a notice explaining what to expect. Check I understand and want to proceed with migration.
  4. Optional: check Auto-publish after migration only if you want the migrated site live right away. beehiiv describes it as for when you’re “ready to make your site live immediately.”
  5. Click Start migration. When it finishes, the builder opens with your site “ready to review, edit, or publish.”

Our suggestion: leave Auto-publish unchecked. Publishing replaces your legacy site for good (see below). It’s safer to review the migrated pages first, especially your custom pages, navbar, and signup flow.

Want a different look afterward? Go to Settings → All settings → Themes → Switch Templates. That restarts the onboarding flow. Your purpose is preselected as Migrate from legacy beehiiv site but greyed out, so pick Link in bio, Simple blog, or News site to continue. (Advanced’s template article labels the path Site settings → Themes → Switch Templates. Same place, different label.) beehiiv’s template article says switching templates doesn’t delete posts or pages, but you may need to review layouts, colors, and fonts.

Option 2: migrate manually

beehiiv’s two-part manual guide (Part 1 updated Jan 15, 2026; Part 2 updated Aug 25, 2026; both All Plans) is for people who want more control. Your legacy site stays live the whole time, and your work in the newer builder stays a draft until you publish.

Before you start: write these down

beehiiv’s “5 things to know before migrating”:

  1. Colors. Note your legacy palette under Legacy Website Builder → Styles → Global Colors.
  2. Fonts. Note them under Styles → Typography.
  3. Custom pages must be recreated manually. Keep your legacy pages open in another tab to copy from.
  4. Navigation. If custom pages were in your legacy navbar, you’ll need to add them to the new navbar again.
  5. The new layout. Your chosen template appears on a canvas with editing tools around it.

Part 1: template, colors, fonts, pages

  1. Go to Website → Builder. Onboarding starts with template selection.
  2. To match the legacy look most closely, beehiiv suggests the Atlas Collective template under the Advanced tab. (This advice is from January 2026. The current onboarding starts with a site purpose, so the tab may look different.)
  3. Color palette: paste your legacy hex codes, or pick a preset.
  4. Typography: pick your legacy fonts again.
  5. Pages: all pages are selected by default. The homepage is required. beehiiv reminds you that legacy custom pages won’t appear here.
  6. Click Start building, then go through the editor tutorial (or Skip onboarding).
  7. Click Finish onboarding, not Publish Site. beehiiv warns that clicking Publish Site here makes your site go live “with only default pages and no further customization.”

What’s different in the new builder, per Part 1: the legacy builder only had Home, Signup, and Upgrade pages. The new one adds Archive, Recommendations, and Authors pages by default. You can also style dynamic pages: one design for all surveys, one for all web posts.

Rebuilding custom pages

For each legacy custom page:

  1. In the legacy builder, open the page’s 3 dots menu → Edit and copy its content.
  2. In the new builder, click the Pages icon. Under Custom Pages, click New Page +.
  3. In the template library, choose Start from scratch → Set title and URL. Reuse the title and URL from your legacy page, then click Create page.
  4. Paste the content in and note the new page’s URL for your navbar.

You can create as many custom pages as you want, but publishing them is limited by plan. beehiiv’s Advanced pages article says Free can publish 1, Lite up to 5, and Pro and Enterprise unlimited. During a free trial you can publish unlimited custom pages, but they’re unpublished when the trial ends. If you had a lot of custom pages on the legacy builder, count them before you start.

External links (a legacy “External Page” that just points to another URL) don’t need a page at all. Part 2 says you can add external links straight to the navbar.

  • Navbar and footer. Click the navbar or footer, then Edit Navbar or Edit Footer in the Design panel (or double-click it). Click a navbar item and paste a custom page URL or external link. Changes save automatically.
  • Featured posts. beehiiv says featured posts “are not specifically available” in the new builder. To get something similar, insert a post component and choose Free Selection in the Post Selection modal, then click the posts you want.
  • Settings. Go to Settings → Site settings. Under Configure, beehiiv says you’ll find “all the same options” you had on the legacy site, plus more.
  • Signup flows. The new builder lets you create more than one signup flow, set a default, and assign a flow to any subscribe form.

Keep your old /c/ URLs working

beehiiv says every legacy custom page URL has /c/ in it, like yourdomain.com/c/page-name. Pages you build in the new builder don’t. beehiiv’s legacy-URL article (updated Aug 25, 2026; marked All Paid Plans) gives two fixes:

Option 1, a wildcard redirect (beehiiv recommends this):

  1. In the new builder, go to Settings → Site settings → Configure → Redirects.
  2. Click + Build redirect (or the Build redirect tab if you’ve made redirects before).
  3. Old path: /c/*. New path: /$1.
  4. Keep Enable this redirect checked and click Build redirect.

That one rule sends /c/about to /about, /c/sponsor to /sponsor, and so on. It only works if you reused the same page slugs when you rebuilt your pages. One wildcard counts as one redirect, so it fits inside Lite’s limit of 10. More on how wildcards work: beehiiv site redirects.

Option 2, a disabled “c” page:

  1. Create a custom page from scratch with Title and URL both set to a lowercase c.
  2. Open its 3 dots menu → Disable → Disable Page.
  3. Drag each custom page that should keep /c/ onto the c page. It nests underneath and its URL becomes /c/page-name.

This keeps the old URLs exactly, with no redirect. beehiiv still recommends Option 1 because redirects are “easier to manage” and “more reliable long term.”

Two timing notes from beehiiv’s redirect docs:

  • Redirects “take effect immediately on your published site,” and beehiiv says to publish your site before creating them. The legacy-URL article says legacy URLs redirect correctly “once you publish your site.” Either way, test your /c/ links right after you publish.
  • Automatic redirects (created when you change a page’s URL) only work for pages built in the new builder. They won’t cover your legacy pages.

Publishing: the point of no return

Part 2 is blunt: publishing “makes the new site live and replaces your legacy site, and this change can’t be undone.” And: “After you publish the new site, you can’t revert to legacy site settings.”

  1. In the builder, click Publish (top right).
  2. Choose All Pages or select specific pages.
  3. Click Publish to live site.

Pick All Pages for the migration. Both Part 2 and the Advanced publishing article say that if you don’t choose pages, only the page you have open gets published. The publishing article adds that pages you don’t enable return a 404 on the live site.

Before you click Publish, check:

  • Every legacy custom page is rebuilt, with the same slug if you plan to use the /c/* redirect.
  • Your navbar and footer links point to the new pages.
  • Colors and fonts match (or you’ve picked a new look on purpose).
  • You’ve previewed desktop and mobile.
  • Your plan covers the number of custom pages and redirects you need.

Which route should you pick?

1-click toolManual migration
EffortLowest. beehiiv builds the starting pointHigher. You pick a template and rebuild pages
What carries over“Key settings and structure” (beehiiv’s words; no full list)Only what you re-enter: colors, fonts, pages, navbar
Custom pagesNot stated. Review after migrationRebuilt by hand
Legacy site while you workStays live unless you choose Auto-publishStays live until you publish
Best forSimple sites with few custom pagesSites you want to redesign, or with many custom pages

Our take: try the 1-click tool first, without auto-publish. If you don’t like the result, you can Re-migrate or switch templates. Either way, run through the manual guide’s checklist for custom pages, navbar links, and /c/ URLs before you publish.

Where beehiiv’s docs disagree

  • Builder names. The migration articles say “new Website Builder.” Since September 21, 2026, that builder is called Advanced Website Builder, and “Website Builder” means a different, simpler builder. The Advanced publishing article itself still says it’s “still called ‘Website Builder’ in some accounts.”
  • Plan labels. The 1-click and manual migration articles say All Plans. The legacy-URL article, the redirects article, and the Advanced pages and publishing articles say All Paid Plans. beehiiv’s pricing table shows Site redirects as not included on Free.
  • Account vs publication. Part 1 says the legacy builder is for accounts created before July 15, 2025. Other legacy articles say publications created before that date.
  • Redirect timing. The redirects article says to publish before creating redirects. The legacy-URL article has you build the /c/* redirect first and says it works once you publish.
  • Menu labels. The 1-click article says Settings → All settings → Themes. The Advanced template article says Site settings → Themes.

What we couldn’t confirm

These aren’t answered in today’s official docs. Ask beehiiv support if they matter to you:

  • Exactly what the 1-click tool copies. beehiiv says “key settings and structure.” It doesn’t list whether legacy custom pages, navbar links, signup pages, or featured posts come across.
  • Whether a Free legacy publication can publish the migrated site in Advanced, given the “All Paid Plans” labels. The builder-choice article suggests yes for older publications.
  • How Free publications can keep /c/ URLs. Redirects aren’t on Free, and the legacy-URL article (including the “c” page workaround) is marked paid. We don’t know if the disabled c page counts toward Free’s one published custom page.
  • When legacy publications get the simpler Website Builder. beehiiv says publications created before September 21, 2026 won’t have it “until the full rollout is complete,” with no date.
  • Whether beehiiv will ever force a migration or turn off the legacy builder. The docs only say it’s no longer updated.

What it costs

You can migrate on any plan, per the migration articles. The plan matters for custom pages and redirects:

PlanPublished custom pagesSite redirectsPrice at 1,000 subscribers (yearly / monthly billing)
Free1Not included$0 (up to 2,500 subscribers)
Lite510$49 / $59 per month
ProUnlimitedUnlimited$95 / $109 per month

At 2,500 subscribers, Lite is $69/$79 and Pro is $129/$149. At 10,000, Lite is $119/$139 and Pro is $199/$239. Prices were unchanged from our October 22 check. Full breakdown: beehiiv pricing explained.

For most legacy sites, Lite is enough: 5 custom pages and room for the /c/* wildcard plus a few one-off redirects. You’d need Pro for more than 5 custom pages or more than 10 redirects.

Try beehiiv · Website Builder vs Advanced Website Builder · beehiiv site redirects · Set up a custom domain · beehiiv pricing explained

Sources

All sources below were checked October 23, 2026.