Migrating From Blogger to WordPress

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We’ve made our move to WordPress! Yay!

I wont lie, it was not easy and it took days of work. I stayed up many nights trying to fix everything up everytime I’d “break” something. Blogger is honestly a lot easier. I wish that I would have started out on WordPress though as  everything would have been a lot easier if I didnt have to migrate !

I could not have made this change without the help of Sharon from Good, True and Beautiful. She did the dirty work for me by moving my subscribers, setting up a test blog for me before I went live, fixing up permalinks, and she was there answering every single question I had with her  24 hour support(although that is not included in the package. I learned that if you send a lot of emails you will get late night replies too… just kidding!)!
Thank you Sharon for helping me through this change.

Here are a few of the changes:

• Menu bar – I have added a menu bar above. I hope that it will make it easier for you to navigate and for you to find the categories that interest you.

• Mobile version – I have added a mobile version of this site. If you would like to check out my blog from your cell phone you wont have to use a lot of your data bundle to load everything. The site will also load much faster. If you do decide that you don’t like the mobile version there is a link on the bottom of the page where you can change to the full site version.

• CommentLuv plugin – Yay, I am so excited about this one. Every time you leave a comment you will also be able to leave a link to your latest blog post. Think of this as a way for me to say Thank You for your comment.
• Many new plugins – That will hopefully enhance your visit.

For those of you who would like to migrate from Blogger to self hosted WordPress here are a few tips:

• Get someone to migrate your followers, subscribers and permalinks for you. Many people do this for free if you purchase hosting using one of their affiliate links.
• Save a copy of your custom_functions.php, layout.css, custom.css file on your computer(from your FTP client) just in case you make a mistake. When you get the Parse line error after trying to be smart and editing your customs_function.php file instead of pulling your hair out and getting frustrated you can just upload the file you started off with and everything will become normal again. (I wish someone would have told me that!)
• I use File Zilla as my ftp manager.
• Get FireBug – Its a Must! I really do not know what that is yet… but EVERY single person I spoke to said, “Get Firebug”. ummm ok… I’ve got it.
• Watch this video on how to use firebug. (I haven’t had time to watch it yet).
• Be prepared to spend a lot of time trying to figure everything out.
• I use the Thesis Theme for WordPress and I am very happy with it. I love the design layout and how easy it is to customize.
• If you are going to try doing the move yourself then I recommend hosting from  Dreamhost. If you sign up with dreamhost using my affiliate link you can get 30% off any of their hosting plans. (Dream host Discount code is “funwithmama”).
• Double check your final layout/template in Internet explorer as well as other browsers(Whatever you have). My site was loading really oddly in Internet Explorer. Sharon helped me sort that out by deactivating all my plug ins in order to find out which plug-in was causing the problem.
• After you buy your domain and change your name servers to point to your hosting company do not be alarmed if the changes take a while. It took my domain a few hours to load my WordPress site on to the domain. It took over a day for it to load on Sharon’s. Patience is the key.
• Use the WordPress forum or if you are using Thesis then try the Thesis forums for help. There are some amazingly helpful people out there.

Blogger Vs. WordPress:

• It is very easy to set up a Blogger blog. (+1 Blogger)
• Once a WordPress blog is all set up it is so much more fun and exciting for the blog owner.(+1 WordPress)
• WordPress Plug Ins are so much fun to use! (+2 WordPress)
• Designing a Blogger site is easier through the design options screen and the easy ‘add a gadget’ box. (+1 Blogger)
• Making a new post is similar in Blogger and WordPress. (+0 Blogger and WordPress)
• There is no PREVIEW button in WordPress. I really miss that about Blogger. Once you change your coding you have to save it in order to see if it works or not. (+1 Blogger)
• When you make a mistake with your coding you get errors. You cannot always sort that out by erasing the changes you made. You will have to fix that by going into FileZilla and uploading your old file(in my case custom_functions.php file).
• With Blogger when you add incorrect html it will not allow you to save it or publish it. (+1 Blogger)
• WordPress blogs look much more clean and organised. P blogs are more reader friendly.(+1 WordPress)

Which one is better? It really is personal preference. For me? I am LOVING WordPress!

What do you think of our new design? Do you find it easier to navigate? Leave a comment for some link love!