How to Move from Blogger to WordPress at SiteGround
Welcome to the World of WordPress!
If you are reading this post, you are seriously considering getting your own WordPress site! You are in the right place. WordPress is a powerful content management system that will help you develop a polished and professional website, as I detailed in Why I Moved from Blogger to WordPress. If you are ready to take your blogging and online presence to a the next level, continue reading as I walk you through this easy Blogger to WordPress process!
Register Your Domain Name
You can purchase a domain through a registration site of your choice or through your web hosting service. I used SiteGround, which provides a FREE domain name for the length of your account with them.
Be thoughtful and forward-thinking about this part of the process. You want your domain name to be easy to remember and type, while accurately reflecting your site. You might want to come up with a few possible names in case your first choice isn’t available.
Click here to start the process.
Set up Your Hosting Account
I highly recommend SiteGround as a web host for your WordPress site. Right now, you can start your new blog for as little as $6.95 a month! SiteGround is a great site and offers many benefits, including:
- 1-Click WordPress Installation
- FREE domain name for the life of your cccount
- FREE template & installation
- Super fast page loads
- Server-level protection and security
- Excellent 24/7 support
- Plus a whole host of tools that will help you to operate your WordPress site!
I opted for the GrowBig plan so I can create more websites as Krystal & Company grows. The GrowBig plan also features SuperCacher that greatly improves a WordPress website speed.
However, if you are just starting out, the StartUp plan will work for you. You can always upgrade later.
Click here to start the process.
Install WordPress
SiteGround has a built-in WordPress Installer already included in the web hosting options. So setting up your WordPress site is actually quite simple and requires very little technical knowledge. You can also set up your site as a multisite if you plan to create a network of sites later on. Once you have set up your hosting account, you can access the WordPress Installer via your CPanel.
You will be directed to the Softaculous WordPress installer. Click “Install.”
This is where you will choose the protocol for your url (e.g. http://www. or simply http://) and apply it to your domain name. Also, I would advise that you leave the “In Directory” blank. If you assign the site to a particular directory, it will store your WP files there and your site won’t display properly. Just leave this field blank.
Here, you will enter your site name, description, and check whether or not you want to create a WordPress Multisite. If you think you might possibly want to create a network of sites under your current domain, I would highly recommend checking the “Enable Multisite (WPMU) option now. It is much more cumbersome to convert your single site to a multisite later on. I chose the multisite option, because I will be creating more sites under the Krystal & Company banner.
Also, make sure you create an Admin Username for yourself you like and remember, because once it’s created, you can’t undo it. Ask me how I know.
Here you choose the language of your site, check whether or not to limit login attempts, and decide if you want to include a passwordless login (I’ve never used the latter option).
Now you are ready to install!
Export Your Blogger Content
Once your WordPress site is installed and up and running, you need to go back to Blogger to retrieve and import your content. Go to your Blogger account and download your blog posts into an XML format.
- In your Blogger dashboard go to Settings > Other.
- Choose “Export Blog”
- Click “Download Blog”
- Save your blog as an XML file. Don’t forget to give it a name you’ll remember.
Install Blogger Importer Plug-in
- Download the free Blogger Importer plug-in through WordPress.
- Activate the Blogger Importer plugin in order to import your Blogger XML file into your new WordPress site.
- On the left side menu in WordPress, go to Tools and choose “Import”.
- Click on “Blogger”.
- Choose the XML file that you previously saved and import.
Once your Blogger XML file is imported into WordPress, WordPress will automatically populate your blog with your old Blogger posts, images, comments, and author(s).
Customizing your new WordPress Site
Now the fun part begins! WordPress offers thousands of free site templates to get you started. You can customize these templates to fit your taste and subject matter. A knowledge of HTML and CSS will really serve you well in getting just the look and feel you want.
There are also some superb WordPress templates for purchase on the web. Krystal and Company Crafts is built on a template I purchased from StudioPress, which uses the Genesis Framework. I highly recommend this company. They offer a vast selection of premium templates, their templates are affordable, and they offer great support.
If you are a novice to WordPress, there are numerous free tutorials online to help get you started. You might want to begin here.
Your Turn
Was this tutorial helpful and informative? Please let me know in the comments below. I am passionate about showing people how to take their aspirations to the next level, and that includes getting you set up with a great website that showcases all your creativity, talent, and potential!
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Indeed very easy to follow tutorial for the migration. I moved my site in just 30 minutes.
Hi, Miller. I’m happy to hear my tutorial was helpful to you!
This is indeed very helpful for me. I’m running my blog on Blogger and wanted to move it to WordPress. This tutorial is very easy to follow although I’m worried about my ranking in Google. Will I lose my ranking after the migration.
Hi, Tauseef! I’m glad you found my post helpful. You ask a very good question about losing your Google ranking. I am not very knowledgeable about that topic, but you might check out the following article that addresses your concern. I thought it had some helpful tips: http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/can-you-avoid-losing-google-rankings-when-moving-your-site-to-a-new-domain.html
Does the styling remain the same while exporting from blogger to wordpress. Like italics & headings?
Hi, Nadhiya. From what I can see, the bolds and italics carried over from Blogger. My headings didn’t have any particular styling except for bold, so they were fine when they migrated over. I would think that your headings will take on whatever style is in your template, provided they are marked h1, h2, etc.
Very helpful post! I never knew about exporting blogger and being able to move content over. I am planning on getting my own domain and webhosting. I want to make the move, but I am trying to learn more before I make any decisions and start messing with stuff. Thanks for the wonderful advice!
Hi, Emily! I am glad my post was helpful to you. I have a blog on Blogger with archives going back to 2007, and I didn’t want to lose all of that content. So this the process I used to move over to WordPress. Let me know if I can be of any assistance once you get your move going!