An Alternative to Sermon Manager

Move from Sermon Manager to Series Engine

If you're a user of the Sermon Manager plugin for WordPress and are looking to move to a new tool, it's easy to make the switch to Series Engine and take all of your valuable sermon archives with you.

We only support importing from Sermon Manager v2.4.3+.

How to Import Sermon Archives from Sermon Manager

It may have taken years to build your sermon archives in Sermon Manager, but it only takes seconds to bring them over to Series Engine. Here's a detailed walk-through...

  1. Install Series Engine on the site where you're using Sermon Manager. Sermon Manager must be active on the site during the import. You can purchase a Series Engine license here.
  2. Log in to WordPress and navigate to "Series Engine > Import and Export."
  3. Back up your Series Engine data first (if you're already using it with other content) by running the exporter at the top of the page. In the rare instance that something messes up, you can reinstall Series Engine and import that backup to bring you right back to where you left off.
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and follow the instructions for the one-click importer.
  5. After a brief loading process (typically just a few seconds), you will see a success message. Your sermons, series, topics, preachers, files, scripture, and services are now ready to use with Series Engine.
A Few Notes About How the Import Works

None of your Sermon Manager data will be harmed. If you're worried about starting the import, don't be. Series Engine just copies the data into its own database, so in the rare instance that something messes up, your Sermon Manager plugin and data will be just how you left it.

Messages and Series will be associated with a new Series Type. You don't have to use it, but Series Engine will automatically created a "Sermon Manager Content" Series Type (just in case you want to embed that content without including any existing Series Engine Messages or Series).

Services will be imported as Series. Series Engine doesn't track service information, so a Series will be created for each service in case you want to embed that content seperately.

Sermon notes will automatically become the "featured file" for the Message. If you want to change that after the fact, you can in the "Links/Downloads" section of a Message.

Your scripture references will get an upgrade! All scripture references will be upgraded to full Bible.com/Bible app links. Series Engine will use the default Bible translation in Settings > Series Engine.

You'll want to add graphics for your Series. Message images will port over fine, but you'll likely want to go in and add graphics for your Series (to be used in the Series Archives views, Podcasts, and other places throughout the plugin).

You'll eventually want to edit your Speakers. Preachers will be imported as Speakers, which will be transparent to your visitors. At some point, you will want to edit those Speakers and properly break up the "First Name" and "Last Name" values for proper alphabetical sorting. Sermon Manager stores all name information as a single field, so that's why they're imported oddly.

All of your media should move just fine. Your audio links, video links, and "iframe" or "embed" based embed codes will move over fine. If you previously used a shortcode-based embed code system for video files, those won't work with Series Engine, so you'll want to replace those codes.

Have Questions?

Please fill out the form at the top of our Questions page, or send an email to support@seriesengine.com