or How to Move Your Blog to WordPress.org

It’s a funny thing, blogging. We share our thoughts, ideas, and experiences with an unseen (for the most part) audience. Sometimes we write just for the satisfaction of writing or getting our feelings ‘on paper.’

They help us collect, organize, and process. They allow us to share everything from doodles and photographs to recipes and rants.

Some of us decide after a while that blogging just isn’t our thing. Others persist and eventually create a following (however large or small it may be) and discover the pleasures of writing for an audience; starting a conversation and getting feedback.

Make Like Pinocchio and Get Real…

When our desire to spread a message becomes large enough, we want to make it ‘real’ – to make it our own. Oftentimes that means taking our blog to the next level, and moving it to our own domain; a spot that is ours and ours alone. (We even have proof: the receipt from our hosting company.)

Exciting as that may be, the transition (especially for larger blogs and journals) can be daunting. We start thinking: “How do I get all of this content over there? What happens if I delete something? What happens if I delete everything!? Forget it, that freaks me out. I’ll just stay where I am and redirect my domain to my blog.”

Yes, You Can…

Fear not my friends! It’s not as scary as you might think. Best of all? You can do it! Really! Moving your blog to your own website is easy as pie. The following instructions are written specifically for WordPress.com to WordPress.org platforms. They also assume you have a domain and web hosting with WordPress already installed. Here’s what to do if you don’t.

• Login to Your WordPress.com Account
• Navigate to ‘My Blog’ > ‘Dashboard’ > ‘Tools’ > ‘Export’
• Under the ‘Export Options’ Click ‘Export’

• Select Your Filters and Click ‘Download Export File’
• [Pop-Up] Select ‘Save File’ to Download

• Login to WordPress on Your Site
• Navigate to ‘Dashboard’ > ‘Tools’ > ‘Import’
• Select ‘WordPress’ from the List of Blog Platforms

• [Pop-Up] Install ‘WordPress Importer’

• Click ‘Activate Plugin & Run Importer’

• Click ‘Browse’ to Select Your .XML File
• Click ‘Upload File and Import’

• Assign Authors for Your Imported Content
• Check ‘Download and Import File Attachments’
• Click ‘Submit’

• Congratulations! You’ve just moved your blog!

Oh, something to note: This also works in reverse. You can move your privately hosted WordPress.org blog over to WordPress.com.

Helping Hands…

If you’re still convinced you’ll break the internet moving your blog from one place to another (I’ve been there before…believe me!) WordPress offers a Guided Transfer service for a decent price. You may also find some of the importing/exporting details in the WordPress Codex helpful.

Of course, I’d be more than happy to transfer your blog as well. Let me know you’re interested.

Here’s to you!