Is transferring to Wordpress the right choice for me?
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I've only been in the blogging world for about a year, but in that short time I've heard (or read) over and over that I should transfer from Blogger to Wordpress. I admit, I was scared to learn a new program and didn't really want to spend money on my blog. But after I researched I realized that transferring was the right choice for me.
Have you considering making the transfer from Blogger to Wordpress, but not sure if it’s the right choice for you? Well here are a few things that helped me make the decision.
1. Blogger owns ALL of my content. On Wordpress I own my own content!
2. Blogger can delete my page without contacting me and all my effort and work will be lost. I've read about this happening to several people and I’ll be honest, it makes me feel uneasy.
3. Blogger is limited on what plug-ins and widgets are allowed. On Wordpress I have literally thousands of options.
4. Blogger can be “moody” and on many occasions I could not log in or post. Many days (like ALL the time) I can’t comment at all. I've never had any of these problems since transferring to Wordpress.
Have you considering making the transfer from Blogger to Wordpress, but not sure if it’s the right choice for you? Well here are a few things that helped me make the decision.
1. Blogger owns ALL of my content. On Wordpress I own my own content!
2. Blogger can delete my page without contacting me and all my effort and work will be lost. I've read about this happening to several people and I’ll be honest, it makes me feel uneasy.
3. Blogger is limited on what plug-ins and widgets are allowed. On Wordpress I have literally thousands of options.
4. Blogger can be “moody” and on many occasions I could not log in or post. Many days (like ALL the time) I can’t comment at all. I've never had any of these problems since transferring to Wordpress.
Wordpress does cost money where blogger is free so I had one last question to help me decide. Am I going to randomly blog for fun or do I want this to be a serious ministry that I want to commit to? Neither answer is wrong, but I didn't feel it would be worth the money if I was only going to blog once a month.
Once I decided to transfer I found some wonderful resources to help me. Blogging with Amy is a wonderful blog that I read over and over. Amy gives free advice on just about every question you can imagine regarding wordpress. She even taught me how to make a welcome page for my facebook fan page! I also joined The Wordpress Support Group on Facebook which is a forum where I can go and ask questions if I get “stuck” and someone is always there to help me out.
For me, choosing my own domain name was the hardest part of my transfer, no joke it took me months of brainstorming. LOL Once I finally chose a name that was available the rest was a breeze! I purchased my domain and hosting from Go Daddy. I then went to Studio Press to choose a theme. I had a fun time searching through all their themes and imagining what my blog would look like. I finally chose the Serenity Child Theme, and I LOVE it!
Now that I had my theme picked out I needed a designer who could customize it and transfer my content. I was very blessed as I won a free custom design and transfer from Mommy Doodles and she made the transfer so easy. Melanie uploaded my theme to wordpress and then worked her magic! She took all of my ideas and made them come to life.
After only a few days of learning Wordpress I was amazed at how easy it really was and how many more options I have to customize my blog. I love the share buttons that are available and on every single post and page I have the option of changing the format from content/sidebar to sidebar/content/sidebar (or whatever I want). Adding an SEO plug-in helps me easily use keywords to optimize search engines. I could go on an on...
For me, choosing my own domain name was the hardest part of my transfer, no joke it took me months of brainstorming. LOL Once I finally chose a name that was available the rest was a breeze! I purchased my domain and hosting from Go Daddy. I then went to Studio Press to choose a theme. I had a fun time searching through all their themes and imagining what my blog would look like. I finally chose the Serenity Child Theme, and I LOVE it!
Now that I had my theme picked out I needed a designer who could customize it and transfer my content. I was very blessed as I won a free custom design and transfer from Mommy Doodles and she made the transfer so easy. Melanie uploaded my theme to wordpress and then worked her magic! She took all of my ideas and made them come to life.
After only a few days of learning Wordpress I was amazed at how easy it really was and how many more options I have to customize my blog. I love the share buttons that are available and on every single post and page I have the option of changing the format from content/sidebar to sidebar/content/sidebar (or whatever I want). Adding an SEO plug-in helps me easily use keywords to optimize search engines. I could go on an on...
I’m so glad I moved my blog over to Wordpress where I have more freedom to make my blog into the ministry I feel God leading me to!
And now two questions I know you are all wondering: YES I did lose some of my followers in the transfer and NO all of my content did not transfer over. I simply copy/pasted my favorite posts over to the new blog. If you are considering a transfer, I would recommend sooner then later.
Sarah is a servant of Jesus Christ and loves to share her amazing testimony in hopes of encouraging others that "anything is possible to those who believe"! Trust God, stretch your faith, and see what He can do! Sarah and her wonderful husband co-pastor a church in Maine and are standing by faith for their "miracle baby"! You can find Sarah at Stand by Faith, as well as connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
12 comments:
Thank you so much for sharing my experience Heather! I hope it will help some of your readers who are considering using wordpress! :)
Sarah
Thanks so much for your imput!! I've heard so many great things about Wordpress and I've debated about just making the switch right now even though I've just started blogging regularly. It seems to make it a lot more simple to transfer with little content!!!! My friend Kristi over at Addicted to Decorating (http://addicted2decorating.com/) just recently switched from Blogger to Wordpress and wonders why she didn't do it sooner lol She also wrote about her reasons for doing it and experience and it's similar to yours. For anyone who is wanting to see what someone else thought about it as well you can view it here - http://addicted2decorating.com/blogging-help-is-wordpress-right-for-you.html
You know you can get a plugin to transfer all your posts from one site to another. It's super simple and easy to use, it's free, and it gets everything! You should be able to find one real easily on the wordpress plugin search form.
Yes Felicia I do believe it is easier to transfer sooner then later! I know you won't regret it! I look forward to checking out your blog!
Elizabeth Johnson thanks for the tip! I'll search for the plug in now! :)
Sarah
I would love to transfer! I just started blogging and would love to switch. If someone knows of a simple way to tranfer all my current information I would love the details! Thanks! ~Jordan
How much does it cost to use Wordpress? I would not be happy if all my content got lost with blogger!
I don't pay for my wordpress blog. I didn't even know there was a paid version of wordpress. Hmm, I wonder what I have been missing out on...http://easyglutenfreerecipes.wordpress.com/
There are two different wordpress platforms. Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org. I'm sure you can find lots of info on them. Wordpress.com is the free version, pretty much like blogspot. Wordpress.org is the version that needs your own domain and web hosting. Wordpress itself is free, the domains are around $3-$10/year and the hosting varies from $1.99/month and up depending on where you get it and sales. Shop around and see what's out there!
@Jill I was disappointed that all my content didn't transfer, but I didn't technically lose it either as it is still on my blogger blog and I can access it easily. It is a pain though to manually copy and pasting it all!
I have debated so long about switching. I just learned recently that Blogger owns all my content and can close me down without my knowledge! What discourages me is the actual switching and possibly losing content. A friend of mine who recently switched said it was a pain and she said she lost all of her comments because they wouldn't transfer over. And I just spent money having help designing my blog! Oh! What to do?!
I am not ready to take the plunge just yet, but I saw your new blog and IT IS BEAUTIFUL!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
This is a great post! I switched from Blogger to WP almost a year ago... and have never looked back! I LOVE Word Press!
I will say, however, I had a very difficult transition. Blogger refused to release my domain name so that WP could host it. I ended up having to change my blog name. It was worth the hassle, though, to make the change!
Thanks for sharing!
I've been experimenting with wordpress.com, and it has its pluses and minuses. It's not as straight forward as Blogger is, but it's not impossible to learn the basics. I am learning it "on the side," in case Google/Blogger does something goofy with my blog.
Even if people are not ready to make the switch, it is a good idea to learn another platform. Also, backing-up your blog regularly is also a wise choice. Then, when/if you switch platforms, you won't have such a hassle.
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