Blogger allows the use of third party or Google domains with one’s blog. This article shows readers how to move the custom domain from blogger to WordPress.
The first step in moving a blogger site from the custom domain to the WordPress platform is to get access to a WordPress hosting provider in order to get a self-hosted WordPress website. To get a reputable host, look at the list of service providers recommended officially by WordPress’ official hosting provider. Recommended hosts include Bluehost and Siteground who offer WordPress beginners a 50 per cent discount.
The second step is the change of DNS settings. Blogger allows the use of domains registered by 3rd parties. When setting up the domain that points to the original blogger blog, one of the requirements was to add CNAME and records to the domain’s DNS records. To move to WordPress, one has to delete these records and add the DNS details of their WordPress host. DNS settings are found in the host’s support or documentation websites. However, it is important to note that DNS changes take between a few hours and as long a few days to fully propagate. During this period, one can still access their blogger blog by logging onto their account.
The third step involves the removal of the redirect. The Blogger original blogpost.com address directs users to the blogger’s custom domain. Since the domain settings have been deleted and removed, this redirect needs to be removed too. Simply log onto the blogger account, go to the settings page and under basic, click on the cross icon under the publishing section to remove and cancel the redirect.
Step 4 is the installation of WordPress. With the DNS properly propagated, the next step is the installation of WordPresson one’s hosting provider. If the domain is registered to a third party different from one’s web host, then they must add the hosting for the domain. For example, when using, say, Siteground and it is not the main domain on the account, one will have to use cPanel to add the domain as an add-on. After this, install WordPress and move to the next step.
The next step is the importation of the content from Blogger to WordPress. Before importing to WordPress, one first needs to export the content from the blogger account. Blogger allows this to happen on an XML file. Login to your blogger blog and visit the other tab on settings. Under blog tool click on the link to export. This brings up a pop-up with a download blog option. Depending on the size of the file, this download might take a few seconds or a few minutes to complete.After downloading this data, the next step, then is to import it to the new WordPress blog.
To do this, log into the admin area and go to the import page. There, one will find different importers for different services. Click on the Blogger importer to install it. WordPress then downloads and installs the plugin. After the installation is complete, click on the activate plugin and run the importer link.
WordPress comes with a feature that allows one to set up permalinks, but it is also necessary to set up feed redirects for users subscribed to RSS feeds.
If you are facing any difficulties in migrating your Blogger blog to WordPress, feel free to contact me.
