As a blogger, you always want what’s best for your blog, even if that means moving away from your comfort zone. I was very comfortable being on the Blogger platform. I knew my way around it and knew enough HTML to make changes if I wanted to. I loved my blog and I wasn’t unhappy on Blogger. So why make the switch?
The Decision to Move from Blogger to WordPress
This year has been a year that I’ve been actively growing my blog. My traffic has been steadily increasing, I’ve been getting many more opportunities, I’ve been improving my content, and my social media numbers are on the rise. Everything was going well, but I could see where things still needed to improve. I didn’t think I could go as far with my blog on Blogger than I could on WordPress. I know there are bloggers who stay on Blogger and have great success. The switch isn’t always necessary for everyone. For me, I felt the need to take a leap.
I’ve heard great things about WordPress for a long time. I loved how professional other blogs looked and the plugins sounded amazing! Almost everyone who has switched has talked about what a good decision it was. In the short time I’ve been on WordPress, I’ve already found a ton of things I’m loving about it that I didn’t have with Blogger. There are so many more bells and whistles. Now, getting back onto Blogger, it feels like old news!
How I did it by myself!
So, as I mentioned, I made the move entirely by myself. It wasn’t that hard, but there were quite a few steps. I had a great set of step-by-step instructions to follow from Blogelina’s DIY Guide. Blogelina will do the transfer for you, if you’d like, for $149. You can find both options here (the DIY guide is at the bottom of the page).
For me, the DIY guide was the best option. I’m such a D-I-Y-er when it comes to my site. It was only $37 and it included great instructions with pictures, which made everything so easy! I was able to do it all within a couple hours. I had over 350 posts to transfer. If you have more posts, don’t have the time, or are worried about doing it yourself, then you should probably have it done for you. You can read about both options and make your decision based on what’s best for you. Blogelina even offers a $1 blog set-up package if you’re looking to start a new blog!
With the DIY guide you do get a year of free hosting. I decided to go with my own and I chose Bluehost. They have been really helpful throughout the whole process and I only pay $3.95 per month for hosting. I highly recommend Bluehost!
After the move
Since I only made the switch earlier this month, I’m still working on getting situated. I’m going through old posts, setting up SEO, and grouping posts into simple categories. I’m also still working on the design and tweaking it so it’s just right.
This has been a HUGE transition. I haven’t been posting as much because I’m spending a lot of time working on everything while also learning all that I can about WordPress. I can’t wait to be done so I can just focus on my content. I’m almost there!
I’ve written down all of the things I’ve had to do after the transfer. I’ll be making a separate post about that once I’ve finished.
*This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links were used.
Contact: ashley@peekandponder.com
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I’m getting ready to make the switch. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
No problem! It was the best thing I’ve done for my blog. I’m in love with WordPress! My traffic more than doubled too.
Congrats on making the move! Your site looks great! Love to help you with any WordPress questions, should they arise.
Way to go Ashley! WordPress is the better blogging platform and I always highly recommend it to my customers and friends 🙂 Great post! Thank you for sharing and shared for you as well 🙂
Congrats on making the move. I did my move about 4 months ago, so far I am getting use to WordPress and can not imagine going back to blogger. Yes its a learning curve but I think its worth it in the long term.