If you have a website that was built with Adobe Muse—and still have it online—you’ve likely be stuggling with the question of what to do with the thing. If the site is important to yourself, your business or your organization, now is the time to move on to something better. Below you’ll find some background on Muse, its current issues and notes on migrating to WordPress.
A Brief History of Adobe Muse
Adobe Muse was launched in 2012 as a website building solutions for designers. As a “no-code” option it gained traction among creative professionals, especially those already using Adobe’s Creative Suite (and later Creative Cloud products) as it offered a familiar interface and integration with tools like Photoshop and Illustrator.
After 2015 Muse was capable of creating a mobile-friendly, responsive websites (if somewhat awkwardly). Widgets provided by various third-party sellers extended the capabilities of the core product offering additional features such as form creation, slideshows, splash pages (remember those?) and galleries. Eventually, the platform gathered a community of designers customers who were were willing forego various features and capabilities for relative ease of use in creating basic sites.
According to BuiltWith, Muse powered at least 300,000 active websites at its peak in 2018.
Timeline of the Muse Shutdown
Adobe made the decision to discontinue Muse back in 2018 as part of a general move to cloud-based solutions.
- March 2018: Adobe announced that Muse would be discontinued, with no new feature development planned.
- March 26, 2020: The final version of Adobe Muse (2018.1) was released, marking the end of all updates and bug fixes.
- March 26, 2020: Adobe stopped selling new Muse licenses.
- March 26, 2020: Technical support for Muse officially ended.
- May 26, 2020: Adobe Business Catalyst is shuttered. Muse users hosting their sites through ABC are required to find an alternative.
- 2020-date: While existing Muse sites continued to function, users no longer received updates, security patches, or official support from Adobe.
The gradual shutdown offered users time to explore alternatives, however, not all users had successfully migrated to new platforms by the deadline. It is likely that the pandemic played a role in delaying such plans for many. BuiltWith still shows over 100,000 active Adobe Muse sites (44,000 in the USA) as of the end of 2024. At this point however, Adobe Muse sites are starting to show significant signs of decline and disrepair.
The Many Issues Plaguing Adobe Muse in 2025
With its discontinuation, Adobe Muse users are faced with a very real set of issues:
- Original Adobe Muse software is unavailable. If you are lucky to have a copy installed that still runs, it probably won’t for much longer.
- Security vulnerabilities that will never be patched. Any security issues in the exported Muse code or its supporting code libraries, will not be patched by Adobe.
- Compatibility issues with modern browsers. As the web moves on, these sites are frozen in time.
- No technical support when problems arise. Even directly editing Muse code with is rather inefficient as it was mostly meant to work with the Muse software.
- Limited functionality compared to current web standards. Expanding your site or deploying new features is rather unlikely.
At this point, if you still have a Muse website, there is every reason to move on and locate a new platform. You are on “borrowed time” as they say.
While Adobe’s discontinuation of Muse may feel like personal abandonment, it also presents an opportunity to upgrade your site to a more sustainable, powerful platform. WordPress offers former Muse users a massive ecosystem of tools, themes, and plugins that can not only replicate your existing site but enhance it in ways Muse never could.
Migrating from Muse to WordPress
While a successful migration requires planning and effort, the long-term benefits—including better content management, improved SEO, expansion and ongoing support—make WordPress a great choice for your new site.
If you decide to migrate to WordPress you have three options: do it yourself, hire an experienced professional to complete the job, or run a hybrid project where you and the professional both contribute. In any case, I would review the following general procedure. It will help you co-manage the project if you hire a web design or developer. If you try the DIY approach the checklist should provide a top-level overview of the core steps and considerations that require your attention, but it may not have sufficent detail for success depending on your level of expertise.
Muse to WordPress Migration: Basic Checklist
1. Evaluate Your Current Site
Before beginning the migration process review everything, for example:
- Take inventory of all pages and content on your Muse site
- Record a list of your pages, their URLs, page titles and meta-descriptions, and the site’s navigation structure
- Identify key design elements you want to preserve
- Document any special functionality your site utilizes
- Back up all your Muse files and assets
- List out any needed changes that have been on the back burner
2. Choose a Hosting Provider
WordPress requires web hosting to function. I provided hosting for my web design and developement clients, and maintain relationships with a number of hosting companies. A consumer would need to select a reputable hosting provider—ideally one that specializes in WordPress. Look for hosts and hosting packages that offer:
- One-click WordPress installation
- Regular backups (for example, daily automatic backups for the trailing 30 days, plus the ability to make an ad hoc backup when you need one)
- SSL certificate support (ideally as a free included feature)
- Good performance metrics (hard to test without previous experience with the host)
- Reliable customer service (also a bit difficult to judge without prior first hand experience)
3. Select and Customize a WordPress Theme
Find a WordPress theme that aligns with your current design aesthetic and requirements. Consider:
- Premium themes from marketplaces like ThemeForest
- Popular free themes found WordPress.org
- Drag-and-drop page builders like Elementor or Divi that offer visual editing
- Consider custom theme development if your design requirements are highly specific
4. Recreate Your Site Structure
Build out your site structure in WordPress:
- Create pages that match your Muse site architecture
- Set up menus and navigation to mirror your current site
- Establish categories and tags if you’re utilizing blog functionality
5. Transfer Content and Images
Move all your content into WordPress:
- Copy text content from your Muse site to the corresponding WordPress pages using the available page builder (Elementor, Divi, Bricks, etc.)
- Size and optimize your images, upload them to WordPress
- Recreate forms and other interactive elements using WordPress plugins
- Set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones to maintain SEO value and avoid 404 Page Not Found errors
6. Implement Special Features
Replace any special features from your Muse site:
- Contact forms can be recreated with plugins (for example, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Ninja Forms, etc.)
- Galleries can be built using plugins like Envira Gallery or by using your theme’s gallery features
- Interactive elements can often be replicated with plugins or custom code
7. Test Thoroughly
Before launching your new WordPress site:
- Test all functionality across different devices and browsers
- Check for broken links
- Verify that all forms work correctly
- Ensure proper redirects are in place
- Test site speed and performance
8. Launch and Monitor
Once testing is complete:
- Update your DNS settings to point to your new WordPress site
- Monitor analytics to ensure traffic is properly transitioning
- Address any post-launch issues promptly
Need Help?
If you have a Muse website and need help migrating to WordPress, contact me anytime. I’ll perform a quick assessment of your current website and outline the migration process for you.
Are you a former Muse user who has already made the switch to WordPress? Share your experience in the comments below!
