Move from Blogger to Wordpress

If you were to ask what was the biggest blogging mistake I’ve made since the start back in February 2006. It would be I wished that I had started out with my own domain instead of using the free hosting and blog software of Blogger.com.

When we first launched Ja Kel Daily on fashionbyjakel.blogspot.com around two years ago I was unaware of the future problems this would cause us. I have considered many times to move the blog to a self-hosted service using the Wordpress blogging platform but the fear of losing search engine traffic, Google PageRank and RSS subscribers has always stopped me in my tracks.

Then on the 12th of January we were penalized by Google to a PR4 from PR5, for selling links. This made me think Google owns Blogger and at any time they could just delete our “entertainment” blog without any notice and I have read many times that Blogger will not respond to any emails and your site has a zero percent chance of being restored.  

At present our site is integrated completely using both Blogger and Wordpress and to the new readers of our site this is completely transparent.

Current Method

Blogger: I’ve customized the template to look identical and used the custom domain field directing fashionbyjakel.blogspot.com to redirect to www.jakeldaily.com

Wordpress: I’ve intalled the Wordpress platform into the root of our godaddy.com hosting giving it the address of jakeldaily.com without the www.

I have researched many methods for importing posts, comments from Blogger to the Wordpress platform that range from short to several pages long and all have resulted in the end as a failed attempt to successful complete the move. Recently after my new found incentive from Google’s penalization to our site I’ve come up with a method that will work.

Move Blogger to Wordpress

  • 1. Currently “entertainment” is hosted using Blogger’s free hosting platform with a redirect from fashionbyjakel.blogspot.com to www.jakeldaily.com
  • 2. I have never been able to get the Wordpress import from Blogger function to work in any versions provided by Wordpress – current version using 2.3.2
  • 3. The work around sign up for a free Wordpress blog at http://wordpress.com/
  • 4. Set up a free blog only takes a few minutes http://jakelneuman.wordpress.com/
  • 5. Open the dashboard click mange then click import Blogger blog.
  • 6. It will take you to a Google verification you will need to enter your google account name and password.
  • 7. The import process will take some time if you have a large blog.
  • 8. After the import go back to mange and then click export to Wordpress.
  • 9. Since our Blogger blog is near 4000 post the XML is near on 8MB so it has to be broken down into 2MB files because of the 2MB upload limit set in Wordpress.
  • 10. Now open the dashboard of the hosted Wordpress blog and click manage then import your XML files.
  • 11. Once you’re finished importing all post and comments release the custom domain on your Blogger account.
  • 12. Once your cname records update your domain will stop pointing to your Blogger blog and begin pointing to your hosted Wordpress blog.

All preparation has been made for the “geektalk” location and the “entertainment” blogger section is transfered and saved as an XML file ready for import. I have not made the decision as to when I will implement the move on Ja Kel Daily.

January 18, 2008 | posted in Talk 

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28 Responses to “Move from Blogger to Wordpress”

  1. Jed on January 18th, 2008

    I have a blog that runs out of WordPress and although it isn’t as easy to start as blogger it is so much more diverse and versatile. I recommend the switch also.

  2. Jason Neuman on January 18th, 2008

    Yes, I agree also Wordpress is better than Blogger and yes then move is a difficult one. I think one of the main reasons people start out with them is the fact that it is free and most times people are unsure if they will go on with blogging.

  3. blargumentor on January 18th, 2008

    Congratulations on deciding to go to wordpress.org. I’m sure you’ll find (or you’ve already found) that its much better than blogger. Especially since you have access everything on the root level, its all up to you instead of up to google.

  4. Redding Used Cars on January 19th, 2008

    every time I compare blogger to wordpress, blogger seems to come up short. Having your own domain name is just the beginning. The free pluginsas well as the overall SEO benefits of wordpress makes it the far superior blog.

  5. Get Money on January 19th, 2008

    I have started with Blogger too and I am still with it. I am also considering switching to WP, but I don’t think I will soon, since I can not afford paying for hosting right now. :)

  6. Vegas on January 20th, 2008

    There is no substitute to using wordpress. With the amount of themes, plugins, and possibilities that wordpress offers I am surprised that everyone hasn’t switched over. It can also be used as a great CMS with a few hacks and tweaks.

  7. Alex Liu on January 21st, 2008

    Ya. It’s very risky and dangerous to use blogger account because of their TOS. They can easily delete your account once they think that you are spamming and other reasons.

    I really love wordpress more than blogger. It allows me to customize and they have more functions and plugins.

  8. April on January 21st, 2008

    I know that a lot of people do very well with blogger but I think advertisers don’t like to spend money on them as with self-hosted blogs.

  9. Ibanez on January 22nd, 2008

    Yes blogger is quick and easy but in the end it’s not worth it. i’ve been through the same realization. If i could do it over again i’d go wordpress with a my own domain. Wordpress gives waaaay more flexibility.

  10. Furniture Store on January 22nd, 2008

    I think the rule of thumb would, at least for me, be that if your blog pays, then spending money (not more than 5% of the income) on hosting makes sense, otherwise, it just does not seem worth it.

  11. Rice Blogger on January 23rd, 2008

    it is very true…but most people would not want to pay in order to earn. They would rather have it free, so that they have nothing to lose. Not knowing that they have all to lose when their blog is building up

  12. Futon-Matt on January 23rd, 2008

    I use blogger and publish to my own domain, that way I didn’t have to switch platforms or lose all my posts.

  13. Pain Management on January 23rd, 2008

    It strongly depends what you intend to achieve with your blog. If you are looking to make money with your blog then using your own domain is a must, using wordpress is surely very convenient as you will have loads of free templates and plugins that you can use free of charge.

  14. International Student Loan on January 23rd, 2008

    Does anybody have a clue about AdSense pay out differences between Blogger and hosting your WordPress site somewhere else?

    Does anybody think Blogger might have some sort of SEO advantage over going independent?

  15. PowerDosh on January 24th, 2008

    It’s shocking how many new blogs pop up using the blogger platform. Given how cheap domains are (even cheaper getting them ‘used’) , I’m surprised more people don’t start out that way. But there is a technical challenge to get started installing a blog if someone cannot afford a blogging hosting account.

  16. neil strauss on January 24th, 2008

    Wordpress is by far better than blogger. There are just so many themes and plugin for wordpress, you coud adjust requirement to literall what you want.

  17. sexy and funny DuDe on January 25th, 2008

    @International Student Loan

    Depends on what you need. If you’re looking for a niche blog, and by that I mean you’re targeting only one keyword or two, then Blogger is a good choice. You don’t have any costs at all and it’s fairly easy to move through SERPs with a domain name as a keyword.

  18. Kango Mom on January 26th, 2008

    I have four blogs–three are on TypePad and one on WordPress. I’ve tried several different blogging platforms, and I definitely like TypePad best–but Word Press is a close second.

  19. bike on February 14th, 2008

    just be extra careful in WP - they have loads of bugs

    blogger on the other hand is very stable

  20. debt advisor on February 14th, 2008

    This is an important tips……

    I know some of my friends who have good blogs with god traffic in blogspot, suddenly one day their blog is vanished.

    It turns out that somebody has flagged their blogs. Their blogs contents are perfectly legit.

    When you have a steady amount of traffic, it’s time to consider to move your blog to a domain.

  21. Simonne on February 17th, 2008

    Too bad you didn’t manage to import from Blogger to Wordpress. In older versions of Wordpress, this was possible without incidents (I’ve done it on my first blog). It went OK, except from the fact that the new permalinks were some long strings of figures, which is not so good for SEO.

  22. Big Oak SEO Company on February 29th, 2008

    We use bloggers to help with our client marketing at times and the huuuuuge amount of terrible blogspot blogs that are submitted to us is truly mindnumbing.

    I think 3/4 of Malaysia must own a blogger.com blog considering how many we see from that country.

    I can at least trust a Wordpress blog since they don’t allow advertising and I know someone is serious about blogging sincerely and not just to make a buck with Wordpress

  23. PS3 on March 4th, 2008

    I would have to agree that i would get the same reaction if I ever submitted my blogger site to you!

    Wordpress looks so much more professional but the novice can be put off. I certainly was (still am!).

  24. Franca Richard on March 16th, 2008

    Thats a correct choice definitely, wordpress plugins help a lot, :) I love WP.

  25. Stefanie on April 9th, 2008

    Thanks for the handy guide. My little sister is a cheapskate and she made the mistake of setting up a free Xanga blog a long time ago. She finally admitted I was right about getting her own domain and now she’s come crawling to me for help - this is going to make it a lot easier.

  26. Stefanie on April 9th, 2008

    Err, that’s Blogger. Not sure why I’ve got Xanga on the brain.

  27. Mtpa on April 18th, 2008

    I was told to start with WP but i finally set it up with blogger itself as i found it easier to adapt. Since almost everyone here opted for WP i think i should move from blogger.

  28. Attorneys Catalog on May 10th, 2008

    i already use wordpress, and i cann say its so much better,i recomend to everyone, its so helpfull for blogging.
    this is a nice tip for starters.
    nice idea.
    bye

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