If you’re interested in blogging then you’ve most probably heard about WordPress.com. It is often the first blogging platform for many bloggers to start their career with. But of course, over time when you realise the potential of blogging and how it can be converted into a business for earning money, you decide to move your WordPress.com blog to a self-hosted version of WordPress i.e. WordPress.org.
The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is the official website which allows you to set up a free blog, but of course with certain restrictions. You don’t have to install the core software of WordPress to set up your blog on WordPress.com. All you have to do is sign up, choose a theme and begin adding your posts.
WordPress.org
WordPress.org provides the core software of WordPress for free. Not only do you get access to the core software but an array of amazing free WordPress themes and plugins. WordPress.org also provides WordPress installation and configuration documentation and a support forum to help WordPress users establish feature-rich and aesthetically appealing websites.
However, moving a blog is a challenging task especially when the information available isn’t enough to do the required chore.
Keeping in mind the difficulties I faced while switching to WordPress.org, I have written this step-by-step tutorial to make the process a lot easier. I hope you find this tutorial extremely useful and use it to migrate your blog!
Moving from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
Step 1 : Export your WordPress.com blog
You probably have many blog posts shared on your WordPress.com blog. You need to move this content to your new website with a custom domain name. Also, there are various other elements to be exported including categories, tags, titles, text, comments, pages and so much more. You can pack all these elements into a WordPress.com export file and import it into your WordPress.org blog.
To get started, log in to your WordPress.com dashboard, click on Tools -> Export. Upon clicking on the export link, you will need to choose what to export. You will have four options to choose from – All content (which is usually the recommended option), posts, pages, and feedback.
Click all content, which includes custom posts, navigation menus, terms, custom fields, comments, pages, and posts. Hit download to create an XML export file.
Step 2 : Install WordPress and set your permalink structure
Install WordPress on your selected host. Once you have installed WordPress on your host, sign in to your WordPress.org dashboard. Click Settings -> Permalinks and select the post name option as your permalink structure.
Step 3 : Import your XML file:
To import all of your content into your newly installed WordPress website, click Tools -> Import -> WordPress. Here you will be asked to install the WordPress Importer Plugin to continue. Install and activate the plugin and upload the XML file.
Once you upload the file, you will need to assign your authors. Select the name of the author in the given box and check the Download and Import file attachments box. This will import all of your photos and uploaded files to your server.
Note: If your file includes too many attachments, this step may fail, and you might need to repeat the above step to get all of your attachments uploaded.
In the case that you cannot repeat the process again and again, you can use a plugin later to perform the job later. The Import External Images plugin can be used to import all the images. This plugin enables you to import all external photos from your WordPress blog to your server.
Install and activate the plugin. Click Media -> Import images. Hit import images.
Step 4 : 301 redirection
Last but not least, you need to make sure your visitors are automatically redirected to your new website when they visit your old WordPress blog. This way you will not lose your visitors as well as your quality backlinks.
In order to perform 301 redirects, you can either use a plugin or do it manually. I use the Simple 301 Redirects WordPress plugin, which offers an easy way to redirect requests to another page on your website, or elsewhere on the web. With 4.3 out of 5 stars and 493,671 downloads, Simple 301 Redirects has become the most popular redirection plugin.
The plugin is extremely handy when moving your WordPress.com blog to a WordPress.org website.
Congratulations, you have successfully migrated all of your WordPress.com blog’s content to your newly established website.
What other things should you do after moving?
After moving your blog, you should configure it and install important plugins that will help you rank your website higher such as Yoast SEO Plugin, W3 Total Cache and more.
Did you migrate your website using this method? Do you have any other methods to successfully migrate your website? Share your experience with us in the comments section below.