A couple of days ago, people asked me if I wanted to make an article how you can switch from Blogger to WordPress. I have experience with this and switching from Blogger to WordPress went very well for me. Today I will tell you about my experience and tips for switching from Blogger to WordPress.

Switching from Blogger to WordPress

I once started with Blogger. This was a nice software to work with, but I wanted to go further with my blog. I wanted an own theme, but with the Blogger software, I was very limited. I also wanted to use plugins and I wanted to improve my SEO. There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to switch from Blogger to WordPress.  So after a year, I switched from Blogger to WordPress.

Making a backup

At first, it is very important to make a backup. I definitely recommend making a backup of everything. When something goes wrong, you can always go back with your backup. When you don’t make a backup, then you have nothing. So when it goes wrong, you lose everything. I repeat it again, don’t forget to make a backup from all your files! After you backup everything, then check if you have everything.

Hosting

I assume you don’t have a hosting yet, but when you already have a hosting (with WordPress!) then you can skip this step. To switch from Blogger to WordPress you need to buy a domain name and web hosting where you can install WordPress on. First, you need to buy a web hosting and domain name at a hosting which suits you. Take a good look which hosting suits with you and what you need. Maybe you want your own email address? I think that looks way more professional. I am with Bluehost for example and that hosting definitely has everything I need. It is definitely a recommendation to take a look at Bluehost. They are super cheap, have free SSL, a free domain name and more!

After you have bought a hosting, you get an email from the hosting with your username and password so you can log in at DirectAdmin. This can have a different name as well. With these, you can log in on the website from your hosting so you can work with your hosting.

In Installatron, there is an overview of what you can install on your website. It is, of course, the meaning that you choose for WordPress. After you have installed WordPress, you are ready to use WordPress.

In your browser, you go to www.yourblogname.com/wpadmin and then you fill in your username and password. But we aren’t done yet!

Exporting

It is very simple. In Blogger you just press the button ‘export’ (Make a back-up of the content). Nex,t you get an xml-file. Save this file well, because you need it later to import your blog. In this xml file are all your blogposts and even the theme you have made on blogger.

Importing

In WordPress, you choose for the option Import under the tab extra. Next, you import the XML-file to WordPress. Your theme can be a bit different. In my case, the pictures were way too small, but that wasn’t really a problem, because I wanted a new theme.

Making a redirect

When you have never had a domain name and your visitors only know you Blogger domain name (blogname.blogspot.com), then I definitely recommend making a redirect. This way, your visitors go automatically to your new website. This plugin is very handy for that.

A blog theme

It is definitely a recommendation to buy a good blog theme after you have switched from Blogger to WordPress. That’s why I recommend checking out this article about buying a blog theme.

Switching from Blogger to WordPress.. Have you done it?