As a beginner, we’ll have started to create a website on WordPress. It ’s a free, open source content management system.com. No doubt WordPress is the largest & most popular platform to build a site. WordPress offers you two versions wordpress.com and wordpress.org.
Why Switch wordpress.com to wordpress.org? –
wordpress.org provides you with a domain while wordpress.com gives you only sub-domain.
wordpress.org comes with more flexibility & allows you a lot of plugins in comparison to wordpress.com. wordpress.com offers you limited features & less control.
If you have wordpress.com site and thinking of moving to a powerful self-hosting wordpress.org. Migrating on new self-hosted wordpress.org domain offers you more control and Security. It gives you complete ownership and advanced features.
Switching a self-hosted domain wordpress.com to wordpress.org, We take care of security, backups, filtering comment spam. In this blog, we’re providing you a guided transfer of wordpress.com to wordpress.org. If you follow this guide, it’s going to a cakewalk for you.
Complete Tutorial for wordpress.com to wordpress.org
Step 1. Export your wordpress.com data:-
Before you want to import content to the new site. First, you need to export all data from wordpress.com.
- Now sign in to your wordpress.com account & go to the dashboard
- Click on WP Admin to find the tools category in your sidebar and select Export option.
It will take you to a new page where you will be asked for a guided transfer in $129 fee. If you don’t feel like paying that amount, you should select “Start Export” in the Export section.
On the next page, you will be asked to select an option. Make sure all content is selected ( default ) & then click Download Export file.
WordPress elves will start working on your XML file & exporter will now download a .xml file. This file contains your all posts, pages, images, comments, custom fields, categories, tags, navigation menu, other media files & information.
Step 2. Setting up WordPress:-
- After Exporting your wordpress.com data, the next step is to install a new WordPress on your web hosting.
- WordPress installation is a very easy process, It requires only a few clicks. Once you have installed WordPress, it’s time to import your data in self-hosted WordPress domain.
Step 3. Import into New WordPress site:-
- First, you need to login into WP Admin for your new WordPress site by going to “YOURDOMAIN.com/wp-admin”.
- After Successfully login, now you’re in new WP Admin.
- Go to the Tools in the dashboard section & Click Import option.
- In the next step, you need to install the official WordPress importer plugin. Scroll to the button & click “Install Now”.
- After installation of the plugin, Link will change to “Run importer” without requiring you to leave the page.
- Now Just click on that link.
Go forward & click on the “Choose File” button, Select that .xml file which you exported in the previous step. Now upload your file with “Upload file button and click on import” button.
Note– If your file is larger than 2MB, In that situation, you can ask your web hosting company to increase it temporarily or use WXR file splitter.
For the importing step, it gives you the option to choose which author to assign for all posts. You can create the same author profile or assign a new author to your new wordpress.org site.
On the same page, you should make sure to check the box to “Download and import file attachments”. it keeps your posts from breaking.
Step 4. Import your Blogroll Links:-
Your blogroll links are exported in OPML and WordPress allows export, import in XML format. To tackle this your wordpress.com links have an OPML file located at “http://example.wordpress.com/wp-links-opml.php”. you have to do one thing just replace example with your wordpress.com blog’s sub-domain. For the custom domain, users visit “http://www.example.wordpress.com/wp-links-opml.php”
Now save your OMPL file on your desktop. Install link manager plugin & activate it.
- The plugin will add a menu in Admin bar “Links”
- Go to Tools >> Import and click on Blogroll to install the OPML importer
- Now you can import Blogroll links by uploading OPML file
Step 5. Manage Your wordpress.com blog to private:-
This Step is for those who don’t want to redirect their old users to the new site.
- Go to the “Settings”, click on “Reading”.
- Now select the option << I would like my site to be private, visible only to myself or to the user I choose >>, on the same page of the site.
Step 6. Redirect your older side to your wordpress.org:-
If you have followed all steps properly, data of your site look exactly the same. Once you check that all your data imported successfully to new self-hosted. Your search engine ranking is very important so you need a link that will send your audience to a new website.
- Go to the settings in the dashboard.
- Open “Site Address” option, & click on “redirect”.
- After the click, it for a domain name on the same page.
- Enter your new domain name of wordpress.org.
If you want to switch with redirect feature, WordPress Serves this feature in a small amount of $13/year. To complete the process click on the “Go” button.
