This more than a post from me, I hope it becomes a discussion between all of us here today.
In the last two weeks I have received multiple emails from some dear bloggers asking me about my experience with WordPress.
Here is one of the emails:
” Hi Desiree!
I’ve been a follower of your blog since last summer and find you to be so inspirational.
I remember reading about your switch to wordpress and was wondering if you could offer me some advice.
Did you use Blogelina?
I think that’s what I remember reading. Also, did you have her select your host or did you use your own?
I want to switch but am pretty nervous, I don’t know much about wordpress.
Can you tell me what the cost are to switch other than the monthly hosting fees and transfer fee?
Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can offer. 🙂
Thanks. “
Isn’t she sweet?
I know how she feels.
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I remember how terrifying it was for me to do the switch!
As I mentioned on my first post about this topic my greatest fear was to lose my work, your comments and my followers.
I am sure many of you feel the same exact way.
So I am going to try to answer her questions and please feel free to jump in at any time…
I would really appreciate it if you add your input.
Did you use Blogelina?
Yes!
First however I tried to make the switch myself.
Why?
The truth is because I didn’t know who to ask.
I spent endless hours on the Internet trying to figure out how to do it.
When I thought I had it all figured out I cut the umbilical cord.
It did not take long for me to realized that not everything from Blogger transferred with me.
PANIC is the only way I can describe how I felt.
Then one of my sweet readers recommended Blogelina.
I decided to trust their experience and knowledge and I have to admit that $85 sounded
more than REASONABLE to me for them to do the transfer for the second time.
This time however was done perfectly.
After few emails my site was running properly, all of my comments, post and
even my RSS was back.
Based on my experience with them I will recommend their services to anyone.
They have been FANTASTIC to me and those have been
the best $85 I have ever spent.
Did you have her select your host or did you use your own?
I had my own BUT I would recommend for anyone to shop around.
Email other bloggers you trust and ask them openly who they use and if they are happy with their provider.
Can you tell me what the cost are to switch
other than the monthly hosting fees and transfer fee?
Your monthly fees will depend of the plan you choose and the provider you decide to go with.
Besides the hosting fees I spent the $85.00 and another $100 for my theme.
{ You can get free themes, I chose to purchase one }
My Advice
Make sure you transfer because YOU WANT TO DO IT not because other people are doing it.
WordPress has a ton of benefits. In my case my pageviews increased substantially after the transfer.
However in Spain people say that ” not everything that shines is gold”
This is a perfect saying for WordPress.
After you switch you have become a blog owner and with this comes responsibilities.
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You need to backup your blog and take care of maintenance.
If something breaks you have to fix it or pay someone else to do it for you.
This is the only downside of WordPress for me.
As I said in my first pot, owning a home is GREAT bur renting has it’s benefits
specially if you don’t know how to fix a toilet.
{ wink }
To switch was scary and I have to be honest with you I still feel like peeing my pants when things don’t work perfectly
but I personally think I did the correct thing making the transfer.
Now, I would love for you all to leave your comments.
I hope you share your opinions.
If you have transferred tell us how you feel, do you have any advice, any recommendations,
what do you like better Blogger or WordPress.
Just feel free to speak your mind since I hope this conversation can help anyone that is anxious about
transferring their precious blogs.
Happy SUNDAY!
I, too , used Tanya at Blogelina.. I did my comparison shopping and looked into doing it myself. BOY am I glad I didn’t. I thought I knew a lot with my blog. I have learned how much I still need to learn since Tanya did the switch week before last. But I am enjoying the learning and the whole process and the OWNERSHIP of knowing it’s up to me to make it the amazing blog I want it to be!
I’m glad I came across your post. I am also trying to switch to wp because of all the trouble I have seen other bloggers experiencing lately. Thank you so much for sharing.
Mandy
I made the switch to self-hosted WP a few years back and couldn’t be happier! I love that I own my content, and if there is an issue, I can’t get shut down without my permission. It seemed like for a few weeks, I kept seeing posts on Twitter like “Oh my gosh Blogger, what is going on?” I love plugins, the widgets, themes, and the other immense options with WP!
SEO – search engine optimization (the inner workings of how search engines find a site) has a major web-crush on wordpress, and not so much with blogger. Kind of strange, since google owns blogger, right? But for whatever reason, WP is like a super magnet for SEO, while blogger is just your everyday refrigerator magnet.
Hope that helps.
Which basically translates to, if Desiree and I both post a tutorial on “painting a red desk” – search engines will be drawn to Desiree becaues she hosts on WP, not to me, because I host on blogger. So Desiree’s tutorial might show up on the first page on google, but mine might be several (million) pages back. Make sense?
Really? I didn’t know about this. Great info thank you so much for your comment Amanda!