So, you have been using WordPress.com for some time now. While it was an excellent choice when you started, now you want more control over your site. You may want to implement a custom design, make use of powerful plugins or build a more professional site.
If that’s the case, then you are in luck, because today I will explain how to move your WordPress.com website to a self-hosted WordPress site (WordPress.org).
Get yourself a cup of coffee before we start, it’s going to be a long journey.
Things You Will Need
Before starting the process, you’ll need to know what you need and make sure you have all of them handy. First of all, you need a domain name and a reliable hosting company. The biggest and most popular domain name registrar is GoDaddy and the hosting company we use for all of our sites and client sites is BlueHost; they are fantastic.
Don’t worry if you already have a domain name on your WordPress.com site, I will cover that part too. And lastly, you should have an administrator level access to the site you want to transfer to WordPress.org.
Do you have all of the above? Yes? Good! Let’s get started.
Exporting Your Data
First of all, you need to export your data from the WordPress.com website. To do that, log in to your WordPress dashboard. Go to Tools > Export. On the next screen, you will find two options – Export and Guided Transfer.
The first one is free, and the second one is a premium service. Since you are reading this article, you probably want to do the transfer yourself. So, click Export.
The next page will provide you with some options. If you are not sure which one is right, then choose “All Content”. Next, click on the “Download Export File” button. This will download an XML file containing your posts, pages, tags, categories, images, menus and all the relevant information.
Setting up WordPress
After exporting all your data, the next step is to create a fresh installation of WordPress in your new hosting account (If you don’t have one yet we recommend you use BlueHost).
Installing WordPress is very easy, and most hosting companies offer one-click installation service.
If you are confused about the process, you should ask for help from your hosting company. They will be happy to help you.
Importing Content
If you have followed the previous steps correctly, then you’re awesome! You’re on the right track and we’re more than half done.
Now, we need to import your data into your new website. First, log in to the dashboard of your new WordPress website. Then, go to Tools > Import.
On the following screen, you will see a list of available import options. Click on WordPress, usually the last one of the list. Clicking on WordPress will bring a new plugin installation window. In order to import content into your self-hosted WordPress site, you need to install the WordPress Importer plugin.
After installing the plugin, activate and run it. On the following page, choose the exported XML file we exported earlier (the one from WordPress.com).
When you are importing, you will have the option to credit the old content to an existing account or create a new user for the imported content. There will also be an option to import the old attachments too. Choose whichever option you want.
The importer may take a while to run, depending on how much content you’re importing. Don’t close that page until it’s done.
What if You Have a Domain Already?
As I promised, here’s what you do when you already bought a domain from WordPress.com. Luckily, the friendly people at WordPress are very flexible.
When you are registering for a new hosting account, you will be asked whether you already have a domain or want to buy a new one. Select the option that says something like “I already have a domain” and provide the domain name.
Next, you will have to change the nameservers of your domain to the new ones of your hosting provider. Your new hosting company will be glad to help you in this case too. And then you’re done.
If everything went well, you have successfully moved your WordPress.com website to WordPress.org. If something went wrong or if you have some questions please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below or via our social media channels.
2 thoughts on “Moving Your Blog to WordPress.org from WordPress.com”
Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have
any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up
losing several weeks of hard work due to no data backup.
Do you have any methods to protect against hackers?
Hi Camilla,
I’ve never had any issues with hackers, but I do usually have a lot of security precautions in place. It sounds like the first thing you need to have in place is an automated data backup process. There are a lot of good ones include VaultPress, which is created and maintained by the team that created WordPress.
We also recently posted a set of articles dealing directly with WordPress security including:
6 .htaccess Hacks To Improve WordPress Security & SEO
More to come soon.