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A few weeks ago I made a move… no it wasn’t as stressful and overwhelming as moving to a new home, but it was one that made me nervous every time I pondered it. I moved my blog from Blogger to WordPress.
This was not a move I made quickly. I’ve been thinking, debating, asking questions and seeking wisdom from other bloggers who had made the move and researching every possible article/post on how to make the move on my own.
The main reasons I decided to move… issues with Blogger this last years (days down, disappearing posts and comment issues), knowing Blogger really owned my blog as it sat on their server and the overwhelming positives I heard from everyone who had made the move… no one regretted it.
Why I made the move on my own… no $$$ and even if I did, I’m cheap… if I can do it on my own I will or at least I’ll try.
Now, I’m no expert at this! I’ve done this once and I think I’ve done it pretty well (from what I can tell logistically), but if you want to make this move on your own too… make sure you do your research too. There were moments I was freaked out and wishing I had the money to just hand over to someone to figure it all out for me.
One piece of wisdom I’ll share. I wish I had done this earlier. The fact that I had so much to lose (# of blog post, # of comments, followers, subscriber #’s, etc) made this even more nerve-racking. If you LOVE blogging (like I do) and want to secure and control your blog then you might want to consider the move too.
First step… you need to have your own domain and you need a host. I already had my own domain (domestically-speaking.com) but I purchased hosting and moved my domain over to my host.
I chose Bluehost. I have to tell you I’ve been thrilled with Bluehost. In the weeks of all the behind the scenes chaos, every time I chatted online with someone from Bluehost they were so helpful and quick!
I also chose to purchase the Genesis framework and the child theme Pixel Happy from Studiopress. I’m still working on learning the new language of wordpress and how to customize it to how I want, but I’m thrilled with what I’ve learned so far.
OK… so the details. Here are a list of the sites I found most valuable as I made the move. Some have the same info, some give more details, but they were all a vital part of me being able to make the wordpress on my own.
Blogging with Amy ~ Great place to start to help you evaluate if you want to make this move on your own, plus I’ve found a bunch of other great wordpress tips & video tutorials on her site.
Beautifully Invisible – a great step-by-step… this one is a great hand-holding tutorial
Rosalilium ~ a great overview to show you what is involved
My Pregnancy Baby ~ great steps to not lose any friends/followers
Nanny Goats in Panties ~ used for maintain permalinks and redirecting traffic
I’m pretty quick at learning computer stuff, but a month plus later I’m still in learning mode. If you feel pretty confident at computer stuff, I’d say you could make the move on your own. The actual steps are not difficult, it’s the worry that you haven’t done something. All of the sites above do a very thorough job at going over all the steps I used.
Overall blogger was great to me. It was a great place for me to start, but as things grow, things need to change.
I hope this helps you if you are considering making the move.
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Hi Friends & thank you bunches for visiting! :-)
I am so grateful for each and every one of you who visit me, inspires me, and have left me sweet comments letting me know that I've inspired you too. You can contact me here .
thank you so much for this. I have been wanting to make the move but I hesitate. I already own my domain as well but it is set up as a website and I really want to merge the two (blog and website) on wordpress.
I am new at blogging, just a year now so I should get it done before I have too much to move comfortably. So now to take a week and just focus on it. thanks again!
Good stuff! I just shared it on my FB page!
I just did the exact same thing! Switched from blogger to wordpress. The switch happened last night and my new blog design is installed. I’m still working out the kinks and have been frustrated with a few things, but overall am really happy with my decision! Come check out my new blog!
athomeinthenorthwestblog.com
Jen
Thanks, Maryann, for this post. I’ve been wanting to move to WordPress, too, but I didn’t want to pay someone to do it. I look forward to researching the articles you’ve mentioned. I’ve pinned this to my Blogging Resources board, too.
Wow it looks great. I hope to follow you soon. Just a few more (big) steps to sort out.
Congratulations on your new digs! And thank you so much for the link love! May your blog live long and prosper.
I started blogging a year ago last Sept, I knew NOTHing.
I relied entirely on my cousin’s vast knowledge.
She started me on WordPress–insisting I “would learn!” Just be patient.
Blogger may be easier to begin (as I’ve been told) but I’m realizing more and more, I owe my cuz’ a HUGE THANKS!
Very interesting to continue reading how many of you keep making the move.
Catherine
Wow, what timing this post is for me. My blog on blogspot was just trashed today as I got curious & toured the dynamic view option. ALL my info lost! I had to completely rebuild (as best I could), but so much is lost & I can’t find most of the tools I need to rebuild!!! I am sooo tempted to switch!
I am hoping to finally start my own blog this year and even as small as it will be, I am terrified since I will be trying to post tutorials and start an etsy account. Getting more info like this really helps me out. I am curious though… since you have a domain name and such, did this move impact anything on the client side as far as you can tell? I am still receiving these updates in my RSS feed so I am guessing with the domain name, that played a large part in the seamless move? Or seemingly seamless?
I am so on the fence about this..especially when my blog was disabled a few weeks ago – panic! These are amazing tips. Thank you for sharing!
Woo!!! I followed the nannie goats panties link and was able to finally redirect my old blog into my new one!! I am so stoked!!
Perhaps one day I will switch over to wordpress… but for now, I’m so happy with this!
Thanks so much for sharing your move and all the information!!
Maryann!
Like the other comments, I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while. My blog traffic has recently increased dramatically and I feel like I’m almost “outgrowing” blogger and I too don’t like the fact that blogger “owns” my blog as it’s on their server.
While making the move, did anything change on your blogger blog? Like were readers able to tell things were being fiddled with? Just trying to decide if I can take my time doing this.
Thanks so much, Mallory @ Classy Clutter
My favorite product on Burlap Fabric is the 10 inch burlap roll. I'm planning to do some DIY wedding decor for my wedding next fall and this would be a great start!
Oops! Disregard that last comment which was clearly for a different post!
Love this info. Is your host server like godaddy? I have my domain name through godaddy. I need to read all your links. Thanks for the encouragement!
Ah, thanks so much for this! It’s helping me gather up the courage!!!!! Just not sure if I’m really ready to dive in the deep end