Okay so that you’ve been a consumer of WordPress.com for some time now. Issues have been fairly good to this point, however you’ve come to some extent the place you’re able to transcend WordPress.com. You wish to set up plugins and customise your themes. You wish to actually begin monetizing your website and be in full management. Nicely you might be on the proper place. Whereas right this moment’s article gained’t focus on the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, we'll check out a query that loads of customers have been asking us: how one can transfer your present WordPress.com weblog to a self-hosted WordPress.org website. On this step-by-step tutorial, we'll present you how one can correctly transfer your weblog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. We are going to cowl how one can switch your whole WordPress.com content material to a WordPress.org website (sure this embody photos). We may even cowl how one can maintain your whole search engine rankings together with how one can redirect your present customers to your new website. Are you prepared? Let’s begin transferring your WordPress.com weblog over to your new self-hosted website.
Issues You Want Earlier than You Begin
You'll need to have a website identify and a good web hosting company that is aware of WordPress. We extremely suggest that you just use Bluehost as a result of they provides you with a free area and 50% off their internet hosting plan (particular for Pollwp customers). Bluehost can also be an formally really helpful internet hosting supplier of WordPress.
In case your WordPress website already has a customized area identify, then don’t fear. We are going to cowl that as nicely. Lastly, you will have entry to your WordPress.com account, so you possibly can simply transfer your whole posts, pages, photos, feedback, and different information over to your self-hosted WordPress website.
Earlier than you get began with this migration tutorial, we wish to let you already know that we are able to migrate your website for FREE as a part of our Free WordPress Blog setup service. This will likely be much less trouble for you, however in case you are somebody who likes studying and doing issues your self, then comply with our step-by-step tutorial under.
Video Tutorial
For those who don’t just like the video or want extra directions, then proceed studying.
Step 1: Exporting Knowledge from WordPress.com
Sign up to your WordPress.com account and go to your weblog’s Dashboard. Click on on Export below Instruments menu.
Clicking on the Export instrument will take you to a brand new web page the place you may be requested to decide on between Free or Guided Switch.
Select the Free choice by clicking on Export. On the subsequent display you may be requested which information you wish to export. Choose “All Content material” and press the Obtain Export File button. An XML file will likely be downloaded in your laptop which is able to comprise your whole posts, pages, photos, feedback, customized fields, classes, tags, navigation menus and different data.
Step 2: Establishing WordPress
Now that you've exported your WordPress.com information, the subsequent step is to arrange a recent WordPress set up in your hosting. WordPress could be very straightforward to put in, and it solely takes a couple of clicks. We've a step-by-step tutorial on how to install WordPress within 5 minutes. After getting put in WordPress, it's time to import your content material into your new self-hosted WordPress web site.
Step three: Importing Content material into Self Hosted WordPress Web site
To import your previous content material from WordPress.com to your new website, it is advisable to click on on Instruments » Import choice in your self-hosted WordPress.org dashboard.
Subsequent click on on WordPress. You may be requested to put in the WordPress Importer plugin. As soon as you put in it, activate and run the importer plugin. It can take you to a display the place you may be requested to add your WordPress.com XML file that you just downloaded in step 1 of this tutorial.
Be aware: in case your file dimension is bigger than 2MB, then you may have two choices. One is to ask your hosting firm to extend that restrict briefly, so you may get on with the method. The opposite choice can be to separate your file through the use of a WXR file splitter.
Whenever you begin importing, you'll have the choice of assigning your previous content material to a present consumer or create a brand new consumer. You’ll even have the choice of importing your previous attachments (you wish to just be sure you test this field to make sure that your photos are imported).
Step four: Importing Your Blogroll Hyperlinks
For those who had been utilizing the Hyperlinks characteristic in your WordPress.com weblog to retailer blogroll or different hyperlinks, then it is advisable to comply with these directions to export and import them. Customers who weren't utilizing this characteristic can skip to Step 5.
Blogroll hyperlinks are exported in OPML format. It's an XML format which lets you export and import your hyperlinks and hyperlink classes. Your WordPress.com hyperlinks have an OPML file situated at an tackle like this:
http://instance.wordpress.com/wp-links-opml.php
Change instance together with your WordPress.com weblog’s subdomain. In case you are utilizing a customized area together with your WordPress.com weblog then your OPML file might be accessed by visiting a URL like this:
http://www.instance.com/wp-links-opml.php
Your OPML file will open in your browser window and it is advisable to reserve it to your desktop. Press CTRL+S (Command+S on Mac) to avoid wasting the file in your laptop.
Now that you've a backup of your WordPress.com hyperlinks, the subsequent step is to import them into WordPress. Nonetheless, self hosted WordPress doesn't have a hyperlink supervisor enabled by default.
Very first thing it is advisable to do is set up and activate the Link Manager plugin. The plugin’s web page says that it hasn’t been up to date in final two years. That’s as a result of it didn’t want updating and you'll confidently set up this plugin.
Upon activation, the plugin will add a brand new menu merchandise in your WordPress admin bar labeled ‘Hyperlinks’.
Your WordPress website is now able to managing hyperlinks and blogrolls and you'll safely import them. Go to Instruments » Import and click on on Blogroll to put in the OPML importer.
Upon set up you may be redirected to the importer. The place it is advisable to add the OPML file you saved earlier and click on on import OPML file button.
WordPress will now import your hyperlinks and hyperlink classes from the OPML file. It is possible for you to to see the progress and on completion you will notice the success message.
Step 5: Setting your WordPress.com weblog to non-public
The ultimate step can be to set your WordPress.com weblog to non-public. For those who don’t wish to redirect your previous customers to your new website, then go forward and comply with this step. Go to the Studying web page below Settings tab, out of your WordPress.com Dashboard and choose the final choice, “I would love my weblog to be non-public, seen solely to customers I select”.
Consideration: You probably have been writing for someday, and you've got a loyal viewers, then it doesn't make sense to depart them hanging. Moreover, in case your weblog has been on the market for some time, then chances are high that it's listed in Google and different search engines like google. It's best to maintain all of the search engine juice and simply redirect your previous customers to your new weblog.
Step 6: Redirecting Guests and Preserving search engine optimization
Redirecting customers to new location with a 301 header is the usual resolution to maintain search rankings whereas transferring a website from one location to a different. Because you don’t have entry to .htaccess on WordPress.com, you cannot make any adjustments by your self to retain search engine rankings. Nonetheless, WordPress.com provides a paid improve, Web site Redirect, which supplies this performance.
Go to WordPress.com weblog’s dashboard and click on on the Retailer menu merchandise. The improve you might be in search of is known as Web site Redirect. On the time of scripting this tutorial, this replace was fairly priced at $13 USD per yr. This improve supplies 301 redirect which permits your website’s guests and search engines like google to be robotically redirected to your new website.
A few of you'll ask how lengthy ought to I maintain paying for this Offsite redirect characteristic? The reply is for so long as you wish to. Nonetheless, we personally assume that 2 years can be sufficient time to your previous customers to memorize your new area identify
In case you are altering domains, then one other factor you wish to do is replace all in publish URLs. For those who ever inter-linked your posts, then these hyperlinks should be up to date. Use our article on how to update URLs when moving your WordPress site.
Steadily Requested Questions (FAQs)
We wrote this text in January 2013 and since then we’ve obtained tons of nice questions. Numerous which we’ve answered through electronic mail or in feedback, so thought it might be good to compile it at one place the place everybody can see them.
What occurs with my WordPress.com Subscribers?
Fortunately, WordPress.com permits you to migrate your subscribers with one situation. You will need to use Jetpack plugin which provides the identical subscribe performance that you just had at WordPress.com. As soon as you put in and activate the Jetpack plugin, you would want to contact the WordPress.com team and ask them emigrate the subscribers for you. Our hope is that within the later variations of Jetpack, this may develop into simpler and customers will have the ability to do it themselves.
Are you able to assist me switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org for FREE?
Completely. We provide migration from WordPress.com as a part of our free WordPress blog setup service. For those who want our help, then merely signup. It’s free
What are the prices of switching to WordPress.org?
WordPress is free. Nonetheless, there are some minimal web hosting prices. We suggest that you just learn this text on: Why is WordPress free? What are the costs and what is the catch?
I already paid WordPress.com, can I get a refund?
Sure, you possibly can. For those who just lately bought a customized area or a paid plan from WordPress.com, then you possibly can ask them for a full refund.
Be aware: Area registrations might be canceled inside 48 hours of registration. Plans and different purchases might be canceled inside 30 days of buying.
Will my photos break?
No they won't. Whenever you switch utilizing the import file, all connected photos are downloaded and the hyperlink is up to date. Nonetheless there's one caveat that we observed. In case your picture URL begins with information.wordpress.com, then they won't be transformed. For those who discover that the picture URL has not modified and nonetheless factors to WordPress.com, then we suggest that you just use import external images plugin, and it'll handle that.
I registered my area via WordPress.com, can I nonetheless transfer?
Sure you possibly can. WordPress consider in empowering customers and giving them full management of their content material. If you have already got a website identify via WordPress.com, then all you want is a hosting account. We suggest that you just setup with Bluehost or any of those different WordPress hosting suppliers. In the course of the signup section, you may be requested do you may have a website or wish to register a brand new one. Merely choose the choice that I've a website identify, and insert the area that you just registered at WordPress.com. Subsequent factor you would need to do is change the nameservers to level to the internet hosting supplier. We’re in a position to help with this as a part of our free setups service. You too can ask your hosting supplier for assist.
Will my web site go down once I swap?
For those who do it appropriately, then NO. The tactic we’ve urged above will be sure that your web site by no means goes down. For those who’re apprehensive, then know that we're right here to assist. You’re welcome to make use of our free setups service at anytime.
We hope that you just discovered our information on switching from WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress.org to be useful. You probably have any questions, then please tell us by leaving a remark under.
