Blogger to WordPress Move without a Designer
As promised I am back to tell you about my Blogger to WordPress move, how long it took me, and a few things I learned along the way….
I had blogged for about 2 1/2 years on blogger and never had an issue. Not a photo lost, a post not displaying, nor any down time. I know several have had issues with their blog just being shut down for no apparent reason. There is no one to make a call to or email about a Blogger issue. You are on your own to do the research and try and figure out what went wrong. If it wasn’t for fellow bloggers sharing their experiences the information wouldn’t be out there for the rest of us to search.
I was very fortunate to have everything go smoothly with Blogger and thought I had pressed my luck long enough. It was time to take the plunge into WordPress. I was ready to own my own content, and that means photos too, and spread my wings into a whole new world.
Boy oh boy, I had no idea what I had got myself into. I can laugh now, but there were days I was ready to hang it up. But I persevered and day by day I was able to learn a new platform, a whole new way of reading code, and a new learning curve on design.
I am today proud to say “I did it”, and all for FREE.
I love the fact that with WordPress there is a real person on the line when you make a call to your host that will help guide you through any issues you may be having, and by this I mean they are available 24/7 and for me that was very valuable. Remember you are paying for this service, once you leave Blogger it is no longer free, so great technical help is to be expected.
Let me say the whole process took me 6 months from start to finish. I now know why blog designers charge what they do. Some charge as much as $6,000 and others as little as $2000.
The first thing I did was purchase a theme on WordPress and dove right into the design part of it. I wanted to do the fun part first like design a header and put in place, add all the fancy widgets I needed to complete my look, and pick a background that reflected my style. Let me tell you, the fun went out of my sails rather quickly. I had to learn so much before I could even put a simple header in. I read forums, moved ahead by just trial and error, and just forced myself to figure it all out. Six months later I am up and running.
I have made some wonderful friends along the way that have been invaluable to me. Brenda from Cozy Little House was there to hold my hand and push me along to continue on the design end of it and Claudia from Mockingbird Hill Cottage is a “code god” . She is so patient and kind, I am sure there were many times she could have been doing things other than talking me through something, but both these women stuck with me until the move was made. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart for all you have done.
WordPress can be designed quickly if you use a theme right out of the box, but of course I wanted my own design, hence the 6 month process. Once the design was in place and I had learned most of what was needed for WordPress I backed up my Blogger blog and moved the files over to WordPress. At this point I could see all my past posts on my new blog but no one else could (remember at this point it had not been published yet). Once that happened I had to pick a good time to migrate everything else into WordPress. There seems to be no good time to do that by the way. Some experience a 2 day wait time before everything makes the transfer, so that means your readers can’t find you for a few days.
Well, luck me…..mine showed up within 20 minutes. I was so happy to see my “new blog” with my “new design” up and running.
I can now say I would do it all over again, and that’s because I have it all figured out now. Or at least most of it. It has also spurred on a new business venture I am working on. I will fill you all in on that here very soon. If you decide to move to WordPress on your own I recommend taking all the time you need. You can still write posts on Blogger while you build your WordPress site. I never let anyone know I was moving so I am sure it is a surprise to many of you. Maybe deep down I was afraid I may fail and didn’t want to explain myself. For me the process worked well. I am now ready to just start posting again and relax for a while.
Please join me on my new WordPress adventure!!
And you are now a ‘code god!’ You did this whole thing yourself – and beautifully, I might add.
Hurrah!
xo
Claudia
My son keeps pressing (no pun intended) to move to wordpress. He is a designer and would do it all for me for free, but I am just too set in my ways.
I am now following you via e-mail and Goggle +. Those are the only places I saw to follow you. Are there any other choices?
I say if you have a son that can do it, go for it. It would be wonderful to have someone you know and trust make the move for you. You will love all WordPress can do:) Thanks for popping in today and have a wonderful rest of our weekend.
You my friend did an amazing job!
You did better than most designers I’ve seen. Really. You have a talent
Wow! Yay for you!
WOW! What a beautiful blog! I love your new header and your photos are beautful on the new blog.
Thank you Kathy, I am glad the whole design process is behind me, and now I am ready to start doing custom graphics for others. It has been a learning experience for sure, but am glad I made the decision to push forward it was worth it.
WOW! What a beautiful blog! I love your new header and your photos are beautful on the new blog.
Congrats on the move, Dawn! So impressed that you did it all yourself. You deserve a vacation now! Your new blog looks great and I have to give you kudos for being brave enough to do the move yourself.
Dawn
Your blog looks great!
You are one determined lady to press on like you did.
I know I would’ve just given up.
Maybe a business blog design in your future?
So except for the “live” person help, what is the advantage of WordPress over Blogger? I’ve never had any trouble with Blogger (maybe I’m one of those lucky ones!). I did a WordPress blog for my boss and so far, I hate it. It seems very constricting and leaves little room for creative design but obviously I’ve not worked with it enough to figure everything out? Your new blog looks great and I was able to subscribe via email with no problems.
WordPress shouldn’t be constricting – it offers much more possibilities for design than Blogger. Were you using WordPress.org or WordPress.com? WordPress.com is much like Blogger in that it is free and has more restrictions as to design. Org is self-hosted and the design possibilities are endless. I think if you have ads or want to increase your SEO, WordPress.org is the preferred way to go. And you own your photos and content. If you have a Blogger blog, your photos have to stay in Picasa, which is Blogger’s photo storage. I also don’t like the fact that Blogger can take down any blog they choose if they find some sort of problem or perceived problem – usually with spam. That’s the best I can do off the top of my head, Lauren. But if you’re happy with Blogger, stay there! Why change?
Congrats on the big move! 🙂
Thank you so much, it was a lot of hard work, but I am happy I pushed on and went for it.
I saw on Claudia’s blog that you had moved to WP. Congratulations on a successful move! I used a designer – I am so not tech savvy that I barely know how to text on my phone! So I thought it best to hire someone to move my blog 🙂
You did an amazing job – it really looks beautiful! It’s very easy to navigate. I’m going to ask you when I have WP questions because I think you are a pro now! 🙂
I clicked on your custom blog graphics a few days ago but you haven’t put content there yet. Are you a graphic designer too?
I wanted to ask you how to get on the the Home & Yard board. Can you invite me?
Followed you over here from a link at camp and cottage living. I had my blog on WordPress for several years and made the move to a self hosted WordPress site several months ago. Like you it took some time to learn a new theme but now I love it.
I’m off to look around your blog some more. Well done with the move.
Congratulations on a job well done!! Your blog looks wonderful. Best wishes in all your new endeavors. And, Thank You for all the information, I am looking forward to new posts here 🙂
Blessings,
Susie
Dawn I love your word press blog design. I know your content is great because I have been reading your blog for a long time with great appreciation. Congratulations on designing and moving your blog content to word press.
Joy
Wow, Dawn I can’t do anything techy. Just no skills there. It looks great. Love the header. It did take a good while to load though probably because the photos are so large.
Looks great, Dawn! 🙂
Very impressive! I made the move over to WP last Labor Day. I lasted 4 days without help and I just about lost my mind! So I am sooooo impressed! It looks great! What a great life lesson! Never. Give. Up
laura
Oh my gosh, Dawn! I’m so impressed that you did this by yourself. Your design looks fabulous and is so YOU! Your photography is outstanding. You go, girl! I’m going to read a few more posts to catch up with you.
Jane, It sure was a lot of work but well worth it. I am now ready to design for others, and help them with code. So glad you are stopping in:)
I recently moved from Blogger to WordPress, and I wish that I had given myself time like you did to make the transition. The move of content over was the easy part, but the creative end has taken time… it’s been fun deciding what I like and don’t like, and there definitely is more leniency with design in WordPress… I just can’t make up my mind! haha! I know it can’t be good for my readers to see a different design every time they visit my site, but I just can’t help myself! I am always seeing something I like better, or want to change… it’s a constant work in progress. You have done a wonderful job with your new bloggy “home”. It’s adorable!
Heather,
Thank you so much for sharing your story. That would be my advice to anyone making the move themselves…..take your time and know what you want. I did at least know the look I was going for, so that was a big help from the start but it is still a lot of work. I am so glad I did it the way I did, and now can design for others. Have a wonderful evening and thanks for dropping by:P)
Hi Dawn,
Who did you end up using for your hosting? I have been with a couple of different hosts over the years and am always on the lookout for a good one. Also are you using a Genesis based theme? I have one free theme that I have used in the past but not sure if I want to use it again if I do hop back over to WordPress….
Thank you and your blog looks great!
KerrieLynn, I use blue host as my host server, and so far so good. I have had great technical help so am praying no issues crop up. Yes, mine is Genesis based. I purchased the Lifestyle Theme and then gutted it to make it my own. Mine certainly doesn’t look like what you get right out of the box that is for sure. Let me know if you move back. I will be happy to help you:)