Download and import a ZIP file

PREREQUISITES: To use this functionality, the Export/Import module must be activated. For more information, see Activate and deactivate modules. If you have installed Sitefinity CMS using the light NuGet package, you need to additionally install the Telerik.Sitefinity.Packaging NuGet package to enable this functionality. For more information about light vs. all modules packages, see Work with decoupled modules.

IMPORTANT: You should not use this procedure to transfer data between different environments that are part of the Continuous Integration scenario. For more information, see Continuous delivery.

If you have a multisite instance, you export structures and data per site. Before downloading the ZIP file or before uploading it, select the site where you want to download or upload the file.

If you are working in multilingual environment, you can only import content that is in the same culture as the exported content. If you are exporting content that has more than one translation, the Sitefinity target instance imports just the translations, for which it has a match.

If you are using load balancing, you can download a ZIP file, only when your configuration files are stored on a shared location.
For more information, see Configure the App_Data folder to be on a shared file location.

If you want to export a ZIP file from an instance that is part of a Network Load Balancing scenario, you must request the node by IP. You should also do this when you import the file. 

Sitefinity CMS supports importing and exporting Zip files up to 2 GB. If you want import a bigger file, consider importing it in parts.

To download parts of your website or your entire website, perform the following: 

1. Navigate to Administration » Export / Import. 
2. In the left pane, select Download ZIP file. 
3. Select what you want to export.
   For more information about available content, see Elements supported for export.

   NOTE: For all of the pages, classifications, and modules, including static and dynamic, you can choose to export only their structure, together with its configurations, or you can choose to export both the structure and all of its content items.

   IMPORTANT: When selecting to export a module or pages, make sure you include all of its dependent types. For more information, see Dependency of exported items. 

4. Click Export to ZIP file. 
   A progress bar appears, indication the status of the export. 

RESULT: The .zip file is automatically downloaded to your local file system.  
If the size of the created ZIP file exceeds 2GB, you cannot import it in another Sitefinity CMS instance. In this case, you can export the desired structures and content in more than one iterations. 

To import parts of another website in your current Sitefinity CMS instance, perform the following: 

1. Select the website where you want to import structures and data. 
2. Navigate to Administration » Export / Import. 
3. In the left pane, select Import ZIP file. 
4. Click Choose file and select the file for import.
   The ZIP file must have been created with the export functionality of Sitefinity CMS. If you have created the file using a different algorithm, the system displays an error message.
   The file that you want to upload must not exceed 2GB. 
5. Click Upload and import.
   A progress bar appears indication the status of the import. 

RESULT: Your site structure and content are imported and available to be used.

Although using ZIP files is convenient, there are Sitefinity CMS features that are more suitable for particular tasks: