In this article, you will learn how to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org in 5 easy steps.
Many bloggers who are just starting out often start with WordPress.com. But they soon realize that it has a lot of limitations & that’s why they decide to shift to WordPress.org.
In this article, we will discuss the step by step process of moving your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. But first let’s talk about, why you should move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.
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Reason For Moving Blog From WordPress.com To WordPress.org
You can start a blog by simply creating an account on WordPress.com.
Having said that, there are a lot of limitations such as the inability to monetize your blog, inability to install plugins, inability to use third party advertisements & many more such things.
This is the main reason for many bloggers to move their blog from WordPress.com to a more popular self hosted WordPress.org platform.
To understand the basic differences between the two platforms, see our full comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.
If you ask for our opinion we would suggest that you move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org as it gives you a complete control & ownership of your blog and the freedom to monetize it. That being said, let’s take a proper look at how to migrate your blog.
The pre-requisite to fulfill before you migrate your blog is to get a domain name & web hosting space from hosting companies like Bluehost or SiteGround.
If you are a newbie then you should start with Bluehost because they are the officially recommended by WordPress themselves & they offer good plans for people who are just starting out.
How To Move Your Blog From WordPress.com to WordPress.org In 5 Easy Steps
So, without further ado, let’s see how to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org in 5 easy steps.
1). Export Data From WordPress.com
The first & foremost thing you need to do is to Sign In to your WordPress.com website & go to your account dashboard.
From the left column, you need to click on the Tools » Export menu and then click on the Export All button.
After clicking the Export All button your WordPress website will be start getting ready to be exported. Once the website file is ready, a download link will be visible to you. You can simply click on that link to download the file with ‘zip’ extension to your computer.
Once you are done downloading the file & saving it on your computer, you will need to unzip it.
Inside the file, you’ll find an XML file that has all of your posts, pages, images, comments, custom fields, categories, tags, navigation menus, and other data.
Now let’s check out the 2nd step of how to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org in 5 easy steps.
2). Install & Set Up WordPress
Install & Set up a fresh copy of WordPress on your Bluehost hosting account. WordPress is very easy to install, and it only takes a few minutes of your time.
When you sign up with Bluehost install WordPress.
Once you have installed WordPress, it is now time to import your data to your new self-hosted WordPress website.
Let’s check out the 3rd step of how to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org in 5 easy steps.
3). Import All The Content
To import all the content you first need to login to your newly installed WordPress website’s Admin section.
From here you need to go to the Tools » Import page and click on the Install Now button below WordPress.
After the WordPress importer is installed, click on the Run Importer to continue further.
After you are done running the importer, it will take you to a screen where you will be asked to upload your WordPress.com XML file that you have downloaded from your WordPress.com website.
Select the XML file from your computer by clicking the Choose File button & then click on Upload File And Import button.
When you importing process begins, you will get an option of assigning imported content to an existing user or create a new user.
You’ll also get an option to import the file attachments. Check this box, so that your image files are properly imported.
4). Setting WordPress.com Blog To Private
If you don’t want to redirect your old audience to your newly installed website, then this step will show you how to do it.
Visit your old blog’s WordPress.com dashboard.
From the left menu, you need to click on Manage » Settings menu and scroll down to the Privacy section.
Select the Private option and then click on the Save Settings button. This will make your old WordPress.com blog private, and it will only be visible to you or other logged in users that you approve.
Having said that, if you have been blogging for a while & you have generated a loyal audience, then it doesn’t make any sense to leave them hanging.
Moreover, the chances are that your blog has been indexed by Google and other search engines as well. So the best possible solution is to redirect all your audience to your new blog by following the next step.
5). Redirecting Your Audience To Your New Blog
Redirecting your audience to the new URL with the 301 header is a standard solution while moving a website from one location to another.
Since you don’t have access to .htaccess on WordPress.com, you cannot make any changes by yourself.
Having said that, WordPress.com offers a paid upgrade feature called, Site Redirect, which provides the required functionality.
Go to WordPress.com blog’s dashboard and click on the Manage » Settings menu item.
Under the Site Address option, click on the Redirect link.
On the next screen, you will be asked to provide the domain URL where you want visitors to be redirected.
Enter your new WordPress.org website’s URL and click on the Go button.
Please Note : The Offsite Redirect feature will cost your $13 per year. You can use this feature for an year so that your audience will be accustomed to new domain URL.
If you are changing domains, then one more thing you would want to do is to update all post URLs as well.
Or, if you have ever interlinked your posts, then all those links also need to be updated.
Also, If you had a custom domain on WordPress.com, then you don’t have to worry about anything. Simply change the DNS record to your host, and you will retain everything.
WordPress.com also allows you to migrate your subscribers if you use their Jetpack Plugin which helps you add the same subscriber functionality that you had at WordPress.com.
Once you install and activate the Jetpack Plugin, you would need to contact the Jetpack Team and ask them to migrate the subscribers for you.
Conclusion
How to move your blog From WordPress.com to WordPress.org in 5 easy steps gives you a detailed roadmap for moving your WordPress site.
Its always better to have a complete control of your website so that your can monetize it later. Also, it gives you complete freedom and autonomy.
WordPress.org is the best possible solution for starting a blog rather then WordPress.com. So, don’t think too much & move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.