How To Move - WordPress.com to WordPress.org & Self-Hosting

Using a free WordPress.com account is a fabulous way for you to get into blogging since WordPress can be of great benefit to any new or inexperienced blogger.

How To Move From WordPress.com to WordPress.org and Self-Hosting

A free WordPress.com blog provides a great platform to you to get familiarized with blogging, and to have a crack at the art of blogging.

It offers a lot of help to you to reach new heights you had thought to be unattainable for so long.

But, at some point, WordPress.com does not suffice anymore, and you have to set new targets for yourself to attain. After a period of time, you reach a stage where your blog becomes an embodiment of your own self, and for that, you need to self host you blog.

When you need to have more control over you blogs and you work, it is best to switch to a self hosted blog with your own domain name. WordPress.org provides you an opportunity to make the change – completely free!

If you choose WordPress.org, the transition from WordPress.com becomes simple, easy and quick, and you are able to get your own individual identity in the form of a blog with its own domain name.

Why Make The Change

When you have a blog hosted on WordPress.com, you have no worries as the site takes care of all the troubles for you.

Do not have headaches worrying about the technical side of your blog, and you don’t need to sweat over installations or upgrades. The site also takes care of all the databases for you, and you never have to deal with domains.

But after a while, you start to discover that none of the millions of WordPress themes suit your blog, and you do not like them anymore. They ruin the look and feel of your blog, and dash your style. And you do not have the skills required to customize the themes.

Also, the fact that you can’t have any Google AdSense ads or any kind of external widgets on your blog that run using JavaScript also makes you sigh in frustration.

All those great functions that plugins offer are also not available to you on WordPress.com.

Things do go sour after a while when your blog becomes popular, and that is the time when you should make the move to self hosting using WordPress.org

Making the Switch – Step by Step Guide

Knowing how to make the switch from a free WordPress.com account to a self hosted WordPress.org setup is very important. Having the knowledge that you can start self hosting your site within a few hours can encourage a lot of bloggers to make the switch.

WordPress.com blogs are out of your control, and the sites are governed by WordPress rules and terms of service. The move does require some technical skill and knowledge, but the incredible export tool built into WordPress makes it easier than pie!

Here are the steps.

Making the Switch From WordPress.com to WordPress.org Self Hosted Blog
Log into your WordPress account. In the administration panel, go to Tools > Export.
Configure the export: You can decide if you want to export all posts, or posts written only by certain authors.
Export the posts: You would get your posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, and tags. This information is stored in a WordPress extended RSS file. It is just a customized, RSS-based XML file.
Download the file: Single click on “Download Export File”, and save the file on your computer. Now, you have a backup of all your precious posts! Now, its time to relax since you are half done with the process of migration!
Login to your self hosted blog’s admin panel, and go to Tools > Import.
You would see a list of content management systems (CMS) and blog platforms from which an import is possible. Click on WordPress.
Browse your computer and find the backup file you saved earlier. When you select this file, it would be uploaded into your WordPress.org installation. It would be automatically unzipped, and your posts and all associated data (comments, categories, tags, etc) would be added to your self hosted WordPress.org installation.

That’s it – you have successfully made a switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org!

Note: Some web hosts let you upload files only up to 2 MB in size. If you have been running your WordPress.com blog for long, or if you have lots of comments, your backup file might be larger than this.

In this case, you can raise a support ticket with your hosting service and ask them to increase the file size limit. Alternatively, you can request them to upload / import the backup file for you.

Conclusion

If you decide to become a full time blogger or just want more control over your blog, it is vital that you make the transition from WordPress.com to self hosting using WordPress.org

Migrate From Free WordPress.com to WordPress.org Self Hosted Blog Now

Moving to a self hosted blog involves a few quick steps and can be done by simply purchasing an individual domain name and finding a good web hosting provider. Then, you install WordPress and import the backup of your old blog.

If all goes well and according to plan, this can be done with minimal complications and within a matter of a couple of hours.

I am sure this would encourage you to move from WordPress.com to a self hosted blog based on WordPress.org, to up the ante, and heighten the challenge of blogging!