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I’d used the Blogger platform for many years but had started to see a lot of its limitations. I knew that I wanted to switch from Blogger to WordPress but I just needed the courage to do it. I’d heard some horror stories about switching so was reluctant initially. I also didn’t want to spend a fortune as blogging is not a full-time occupation. I was scared of things going wrong or not being able to do the technical side. However, I eventually went for it and I am so pleased with the results. Making the switch from Blogger to WordPress has already been worthwhile! In this post, I thought I’d include how I made the switch, any complications and my experience.
HOST
This was something I’d spent a lot of time deliberating on. Like I’ve said before, blogging is a hobby for me so I didn’t want to spend a fortune. Lots of people recommended Lyrical Host (and for good reason). However, I am right now with blogging Ā£9.99 a month was still a fair amount to pay. I spent lots of time researching and asking other people who they recommend but I found that lots of places want you to pay for several years upfront which I didn’t want to do. Eventually, I settled on IONOS after talking to Caroline. They are Ā£1.20 a month for a year which then increases to Ā£5 after the first year. I thought they’d be a good place to start and wouldn’t break the bank.
The hosting plan included WordPress Hosting, a free SSL certificate for one year and a domain for one year. I already had a domain name that I had purchased so I needed to transfer it across instead.
THEME
This was the exciting part as I absolutely adore looking at blog themes. My go-to for blog themes are normally Etsy as they tend to be more affordable than other places – my theme cost about Ā£20. I spent a lot of time browsing and testing out theme demos before eventually deciding on the one on my blog today. I still love it and picking a theme was hands-down the most exciting part of switching from Blogger to WordPress! I’d recommend checking your theme is SEO optimised too as that will really help!
The theme I bought came with free installation but I had a few issues with the switch (mentioned later on). I felt bad asking for installation again and again so I decided to do it myself. Thankfully my theme came with step by step instructions. Plus, I often installed my Blogger themes too so it was relatively straight-forward to install once I knew what I was doing.
THE TRANSFER
This was the part that I was nervous about as although I’m not terrible at technical things I didn’t want to lose my content. Before switching I deleted posts that weren’t worth moving over. I’ve been blogging on and off for nearly 9 years now under various different blogs and names so most of those posts were horrendous! I followed WP Beginner video tutorial for switching content and it was so useful. The process itself was fairly straightforward and hassle-free so I can’t complain about that.
However, the switch from Blogger to WordPress will only transfer your posts. Anything else you have that you want to be moved across, like pages, needs to be done manually. Thankfully, I only had a few pages that needed transferring so that wasn’t too bad.
It’s important to say not to delete your old blog in case you need to edit or retrieve something. My Blogger blog is on private so it doesn’t disrupt Google rankings for posts appearing twice. Also if you have any broken links on old Blogger comments sometimes it’s easier to sort them through Blogger than WordPress so that’s something to keep in mind.
PROBLEMS WITH SWITCHING
On the whole, my switch went relatively smoothly. However, I struggled when it came to domain switching. There were several times that I got to the last stage of the switch and I would lose everything and have to start again.
I’m still not 100% sure what actually kept happening. I was making it over-complicated when I just needed to update my DNS settings on my domain account. Every time I went to switch my domain to my new site it would get added to the wrong website or it would cause the website to crash. This happened three or four times and was so frustrating. I’d get so close and then have to start again. Eventually, I started a live-chat with my host who walked me through the whole process and ensured that it worked. I don’t know why I didn’t just do this the first time but I got there eventually!
USING WORDPRESS
There’s no doubt that WordPress comes with a whole host of snazzy features that Blogger just can’t compete with. I have found so many useful plugins (let me know if you’d like a post on that) that make managing my blog so much easier. The block editor took a few days to get used to but I am a fan now. WordPress is so different from Blogger so practising how to use it is something worth doing before fully switching!
One of the more frustrating things with WordPress is having to reformat all the posts that switched over. Reformatting the posts is something I’m still working through but you get the hang of it and thankfully I don’t have too many posts.
HAS IT AFFECTED TRAFFIC OR DA?
In short, yes. I have seen a decrease in both my traffic levels and DA. However, I’m not sure whether Blogger ever recorded my traffic accurately anyway. My DA has also dropped quite significantly over time (it went from 10 to 8 and now 4) but again I can’t be sure this is purely a result of the switch. I’ve seen lots of bloggers saying their domain authority has dropped so it might not be entirely related to switching from Blogger to WordPress.
PAYING FOR MIGRATION
This is something I contemplated briefly but when you start to look at how much it costs I quickly decided it was a no from me. Like I’ve said before, I’m not bad at technical things so I thought I could manage to switch on my own. Overall the process of switching was relatively straightforward (minus a few issues mentioned above) so in my opinion, I often don’t think it’s worth paying someone. If you want the switch to be as hassle-free as possible and would like someone else to do it then by all means go for it however switching from Blogger to WordPress is just as manageable to do by yourself too.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I am so happy I made the switch from Blogger to WordPress. As a platform, WordPress offers so much more flexibility and versatility that Blogger could never compete with. I’m now trying to update and go through all my posts for SEO and make them better which is something that Blogger couldn’t help with. I’m hoping that in the long-term this will really help my blog overall and help it to grow.
Although Blogger is often a great choice for starting out with blogging I found that I outgrew it quite quickly as I started to take blogging more seriously. I am so much happier using WordPress and I love my theme too! I think seeing serious growth will take some time, as it always does with blogging. However, I’m confident that making the switch now was a good long-term decision that will hopefully help my blog flourish in the future!
Have you made the switch from Blogger to WordPress? How do you find the two different platforms?
If you enjoyed this post you might also like to see the blogging resources I use on a day-to-day basis.
I have also considered moving from blogger because Iāve used it since Iāve had my blog but I am also worried about all the work it will take to get it done but this post has made me feel better x
I’m glad it helped – I’ve found moving has been one of the best things for my blog!
I never made the switch as we both the blogs I had, I have always been on WordPress and can only imagine the amount of work in it. But I am glad you switched and found it more helpful and more plug ins to make your work easier. Thank you for sharing x
Thank you for reading!
I want to make the switch from Blogger to WordPress at some point this year but I think I’ll get somebody to do it for me cause I am not tech savvy and I know I’ll bugger things up if I do it myself! A great post full of valuable advice! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you! Good luck with the move when it goes ahead!
I’ve been thinking about making this switch for ages so it was really interesting to read your experience about it! Thank you for sharing xx
Thank you – I hope it was helpful!
I tried to switch from WordPress to WordPress self hosted, and it was a nightmare, I had to cancel my Bluehost account, and just continue on a WordPress Business Account. I tried 6 different methods and we couldn’t migrate my site across. I’m now tied into my contract for another year, but I think I may have to hire someone to help me go self hosted
Katie | katieemmabeauty.com
I went from WordPress to WordPress self-hosted back in January using IONOS and although it was a bit of a faff, I did manage to do it all myself. If you want any advice, I’d be happy to help xx
Thank you!
Oh gosh that doesn’t sound like fun! I hope the switch goes well if you try again!
I have always been with WordPress, so never had to make the switch, but this post can definitely be useful for others! Just wanted to say that your DA drop is also influenced by Google updates. They do one every few months, so that can be one. Broken links can also be a problem, which are often created after a switch. I had over a 1,000 broken links when I switched from WordPress.com to .org! DA is influenced by a lot of things, and the most important thing to remember is that you donāt need a high DA to rank on the first page of Google. I rank with a DA of 8 amongst DAs of 80 and higher for one of my keywords. The only people really looking at DA are brands, but as soon as you start ranking, your DA will go up too. Just keep working hard and youāll get there. Youāre already doing an amazing job! š
Thank you so much!! I’ve been working through all my broken links and updating posts so I’m hoping to see an improvement soon!
Great post! I’ve always been with WordPress- and I’m happy to see you’ve made the switch! Thank you for sharing, I’m sure this post is super helpful for anyone switching blogging platforms x
Thank you for reading!
Originally my blog was on Simple Site because I just couldn’t figure out WordPress but it is actually so much simpler (ironic considering the name!). So happy that you’ve moved because now it pops up in my reader whenever you post š Also, thank you for the mention! xx
Yay! No problem!
What a helpful post! I know a few people who are considering the swap over to WordPress. I am thankful I started with WordPress so I have never had to do this switch. If I ever start up a free option I will be using this post for reference. I have ideas for other blogs.
Thank you!
Loving your in-depth experience moving from Blogger to WordPress! I am thinking about going self-hosted and, while that is not quite the same as this, it is still a bit daunting hence I have not done it yet. I was encouraged reading this!
It took me a while to adjust to the Block Editor when it was first introduced, but I love the reusable blocks and templates now. Happy you are enjoying it too!
Thanks for sharing. š
Thank you! Yes, I couldn’t get used to the block editor initially but now I’m a big fan!
I’m so so so grateful that I used WordPress from the beginning! I know a lot of people who have switched and move and me being so rubbish with technology and all the confusing stuff, I would have just crumbled because I’d have had no idea what to do! This will be such a useful post for others looking to make the switch š xxx
Thank you!
I recently switched from Wix to WordPress and can already see a huge difference. I feel your pain in updating old posts / SEO, I’m still slowly working my way through many of them! Congrats on your move x
Sophie | http://www.loveandliterature.co.uk
Thank you! It’s such a lengthy process, isn’t it?!
I moved from Blogger to WordPress many years ago and Iām so happy with the change! I hope you enjoy your new site host.
Thank you!
Congratulations on switch from Blogger to WordPress so smoothly! I’ve seen some horror stories so it’s lovely to read a successful one. And the site looks lovely, great theme! š
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Thank you!
Such a helpful post! Going to save this for one day when I finally make the move haha
Good luck when you do go for it!
I started with Blogger and Tumblr then switched to WordPress several years ago and I have found it to be a great decision. I am using WordPress.com because I have done the self-hosting thing and I want someone behind the scenes doing all the heavy lifting as far as maintenance and that sort of thing.
Yes, WordPress offers so much more than blogger.
That’s great to hear you’re happy you made the switch! I started my blog on WordPress, but I know some bloggers started on Blogger & they now want to switch to WordPress so this post will definitely be helpful for them!
My DA dropped by 1 recently & I know a lot of bloggers had their DA drop so I don’t think it was related to the switch. Hopefully your DA will increase again!
Yes, the difference between blogger and WordPress is amazing quite a lot. Thank you, I’m hoping to work on my SEO now to help my DA!
Congrats on switching your blog over from blogger to WordPress – I’m pleased to hear that it went smoothly bar the domain issues. For me I’ve only switched from WordPress to self-hosted but I’m not great at technical stuff so opted for Lyrical as they do the whole migration for you.
Thank you!
It’s really nice to see this sharing- i had switched to self-hosted before in wordpress using different domain name , the experience is indeed amazing with available plug-ins and so on. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you!
Wow well done you for doing this on your own. I have always been with WordPress but when I first started, I was completely clueless about other platforms and what they could offer me!
Rosie
Thank you!
I made the switch from blogger to wordpress before I even thought about going self hosted and I did it myself. I was surprised to find it a fairly easy process, surprisingly. With my own domain, that does sound tricky!
I think it is such a great move though, and this is great advice for anyone thinking about making the move. You’re DA will soon be back up again x
Thank you, yes I’m hoping my DA will increase again soon now I’m working on SEO more!
This is such a helpful post for anyone who’s looking to make the switch! I started on WordPress.com before moving to WordPress self-hosted so I haven’t had to deal with the switchover (definitely grateful for that!). š x
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
Thank you for reading!
this is such an informative post! I just thought this was all massively daunting. I was lucky enough to bin my blogger blog very early on (6 months in) and have used WordPress ever since, but as you were saying – wp offers so much right? Hopefully, this transition will do your blog well – although I’ve love your content anyway!
Thank you! Yes, I can’t believe how much better WordPress is!