Faux Leather Jacket: MakeMeChic (similar here) // Joggers: Target (sold out, similar here) // Converse: TJ Maxx (old, similar here) // Backpack: Embrazio
I have been meaning to get this post up since January. I know, I know, it’s April. Back in January I decided that I wanted to start the year fresh, and my blog was one of the things on my list to be changed to be brand spankin’ new. I wanted to go from Blogger to a self hosted site to be able to call this blog my own, and to be able to get more serious about my blog. If you have been following me for a while, you already know about my bad experience of using a web designer that I ended up letting go of because of the lack of basically everything a free lancing web designer should be. I decided to do everything on my own. I knew it would be stressful, and I knew that I was in no way qualified to be doing this and that I might mess something up. Which I’m sure I did mess something up because I’ve noticed a few issues here and there. However, I did everything on my own and I wanted to give a little tutorial and some helpful websites that I used. Now, keep in mind, I’m not an expert and I highly recommend you using the websites I add to this post, because my tutorial is going to be extremely minimal and from what I can remember. Also, the linkup is at the bottom like usual!
Tutorials I used for this migration **please reference these, my tutorial is based off of these and they give more detailed instructions.
Step 1: Really think about it
Ok, so the reason why I say this, is because if you are thinking about becoming self hosted and doing it yourself, it’s a lot to do on your own and it’s a big step. It can also become expensive, depending on what your budget is for your blog. If you are doing this as a hobby and aren’t making any income from your blog, you may think twice about switching. I personally don’t know if it was a good idea or not because I haven’t been doing it long enough to be able to compare. I was on blogger for almost 5 years, and only on Self Hosted WordPress for a little over two months. It was a lot for me to take in, in the beginning. I’m going to be completely honest, I’m still getting used to WordPress all together. There are days where I think it was a mistake to switch, and there are days where I think it was the best decision for my blog. It’s really based on how much patience I have that day to be completely honest.
Step 2: Picking a Hosting Site/Domain
To be completely honest, I would not be able to tell you which hosting site is best or the differences between all of them. I wanted to switch to Self Hosted WordPress (not WordPress.com, .com is NOT self hosted) but the old web designer kept pushing for Squarespace, but I won’t be selling anything on my blog any time soon, so I decided I wanted to switch to WordPress. I chose to go through Bluehost thanks to this tutorial. I already had a domain, so once everything was set up I had to move my domain from GoDaddy to Bluehost. I had help from their support teams. Apparently my domain was locked on GoDaddy and I needed to have them unlock it so that I could move it over to Bluehost. Then you set up WordPress from here.
Step 3: Backing up/exporting your Blogger blog
- Settings
- Other
- Backup Content
- Save to your computer
Step 4: Importing your Blogger blog to WordPress.org
- Tools
- Import
- Blogger Importer
- Activate Plugin and Run Importer
Ok, so this is where I had some trouble. One tutorial told me to use the Blogger Importer Plugin and it wouldn’t work. It kept giving me an error message. So I switched to this tutorial. I used the Blogger Importer Extended, which would have probably worked, if it wasn’t for the large amount of content on my Blogger blog. So after the importer extended plugin running for quite some time. I contacted Bluehost support to see if maybe they could help. They ended up helping me and I ended up going back to the regular Blogger Importer plugin and it uploaded immediately.
Step 5: Setting up permalinks
- Settings
- Permalinks
- Month and Name
Step 6: Setting up redirection
- Go to your blogger account.
- Template
- Turn Mobile Off
- Revert Classic Template
After switching to classic template, you will see ‘Edit Template HTML’ textarea. You need to replace everything in this text area with the following code. Make sure that you replace http://www.example.com with your own domain name.
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<html> <head> <title><$BlogPageTitle$></title> <script> <MainOrArchivePage> window.location.href="http://example.com/" </MainOrArchivePage> <Blogger> <ItemPage> window.location.href="http://example.com/?blogger=<$BlogItemPermalinkURL$>" </ItemPage> </Blogger> </script> <MainPage> <link rel="canonical" href="http://example.com/" /> </MainPage> <Blogger> <ItemPage> <link rel="canonical" href="http://example.com/?blogger=<$BlogItemPermalinkURL$>" /> </ItemPage> </Blogger> </head> <body> <MainOrArchivePage> <h1><a href="http://example.com/"><$BlogTitle$></a></h1> </MainOrArchivePage> <Blogger> <ItemPage> <h1><a href="http://example.com/?blogger=<$BlogItemPermalinkURL$>"><$BlogItemTitle$></a></h1> <$BlogItemBody$> </ItemPage> </Blogger> </body></html> |
- Save your template, and you have successfully implemented redirection on your Blogger blog.
- Install the Blogger to WordPress plugin on your new site. This is the plugin that will help you with your 301 redirect.
- Once the plugin is installed {on the new site}, go to the settings. It’s going to give you a bunch of code. Make sure you first check off all the boxes for the additional features and hit save. That code is to put on the Blogger blog so it redirects.
Step 7: Redirect Feeds
- Settings
- Other
- Post Feed Redirect URL (Usually it is http://your-site.com/feed/ (don’t forget to replace your-site with your own domain name).
***
I’m sure I might have missed a few things here and there, so I would highly recommend using the two sites I linked in the beginning of this post. My post is just to give you an idea of what I had to do, and an overview. There was a lot of back of forth with the different companies like Bluehost, GoDaddy, and Google. It took me some time to do this. I’ll give an update towards the end of the year of what my thoughts are on WordPress because like I said earlier, I really can’t make any decisions just yet because it hasn’t been long enough, I also did mess a few things up but I’m fixing the mistakes as I go. For now though, don’t forget to link up!
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**Please note, this post contains affiliate links.
xoxo Monica
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Style Elixir // The Fashion Canvas // Walking in Memphis in High Heels // I do deClaire //The Pleated Poppy // Pumps and Pushups // Elegantly Dressed & Stylish // Elegance and Mommyhood // Posh Classy Mom // Lady in Violet // Glass of Glam// Shelbee on the Edge // Foxy Domestic Side
I migrated over last February ( on my own) A few tense moments but I do not regret it at all
I was so nervous when I was doing it. I was just hoping that I wouldn’t mess anything up and lose everything. I still did something wrong with Google Ranking but I will eventually figure it out.
I cheated and got my migration with my template! xx
That’s what I was supposed to do but unfortunately that fell through back over the summer.
Monica, first of all, this outfit is spot on! I love every bit of it from head to toe! So cool. And second, thank you for sharing your experience with this migration. I started out self hosted on WordPress and I am so glad that I did. I also use Bluehost as my hosting site and I have been really happy with them so far. Except for my recent hacking issue, but there wasn’t much they could do for me at that point anyway. I have had to contact their help desk multiple times in the past three years and they have resolved my issues quickly. And like you, I do everything myself…as inexperienced as I am…but I like the control. And I reach out for help when I need it! By the way, I really love the new look of your blog!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
Thank you so much! I was so comfy in this outfit haha. Also I wish I would’ve started out on WordPress because it was so stressful moving everything over. Bluehost has been good to me so far.
Love this edgy look! I switched to a self-hosted wordpress site a couple of years ago and I’m so glad I did. I highly recommend SiteGround WordPress for a hosting. Thanks for the link up!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
I actually heard about SiteGround too, but chose to go with Bluehost. I wonder what the differences are. I’ll have to look it up.
A really interesting post. I’m going to bookmark. My blog is selfhosted with go daddy but I use blogger for my template etc. One day I may move but mine is a hobby and not a business.
http://www.muttonstyle.com
My blog is also more of a hobby, but I do make enough off of it to claim at the end of the year so I’ve turned it into more of a business. I hope to be full time one day, but we will see if that ever happens haha.
Wow…you did it yourself, Monica? That’s fabulous!!
I know when we changed out theme, it took some planning and a day, so I can’t imagine changing over platforms like this!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Yes, it was so extremely stressful I can’t even begin to explain how stressed out I was haha.
I love your camo pants, and this is such a great post! I also love your honesty. I’ve been thinking about switching to WordPress for about two years, but it’s just overwhelming to me. Since my blog is more of a hobby (I did have to claim taxes though, so maybe I should second think that), I think I’ll stay with Blogger a bit longer.
Rachael
Thank you! To be honest, I haven’t seen a significant change since I switched over, but I’m also comparing two months to almost 5 years so I have to give it more time before I actually form an opinion.
Congrats on making the move yourself. I just about had a panic attack just reading it…LOL I made the switch in January too, but paid someone to do it. It was definitely worth the $145 I paid. You should feel very proud of yourself. XO
Thank you so much! I was going to pay about the same over the summer and then that fell through. I did it myself and it was so stressful, but I’m definitely proud that I made the switch on my own. I don’t recommend it though! haha if I could go back, I’d probably pay someone to do it.
What is the main reason you wanted to switch from Blogger to WordPress/self-hosted? I’m currently on Blogger (and have been for 5+ years) and see no reason to switch?
xo Jules
I did a lot of research and saw how many more options you have when you are self hosted. I also knew that once I switch to self hosted my blog is entirely mine, not Blogger’s/Google’s. I also wanted to take my blog more seriously. To be honest, I haven’t seen much of a difference yet, but it’s only been 2 months as opposed to the almost 5 years I was on Blogger.
I would love to switch to wordpress but it is so much work and I’m on the fence if I really want to take that jump. I do love how your new blog is set up and girl you are rocking your outfits and backgrounds lately!
http://www.mylittlenest.org
Definitely think really hard about it before you do it. I mean you can always switch back, but you have to do what’s right for you. And thanks so much! I’ve been working really hard.
OMG, I need to do this. I’ve been on Blogger for years and really need to move away from it. Did you think about using one of the services that does it for you? I am so nervous about doing the migration myself!
Cheryl Shops | http://www.cherylshops.net
Someone was actually supposed to do it for me. However, that fell through so I ended up getting really upset, then stubborn enough to do it myself because everyone else I was finding was just too much for just a migration.
Girl, I find your post super helpful! Especially the tips for setting up redirects! I switched my blog over 2 years ago and still haven’t done this!
Sending love from Napa Valley!
Paulina | SHENSKA
I know there’s other stuff I forgot to add to this post, because there are a few glitches I’m dealing with right now, but I found those two posts that I linked extremely helpful.