Have you been a WordPress.com user for a long time, and things have been good so far, but you will like to go way beyond WordPress.com? You would like to install plugins and customize your themes, but above all you will like to monetize your blog and have control over it? If so, then you have come to the right place.

In this article, we will not discuss the differences between WordPress.com et Wordpres.org, but on the contrary, we will try to answer a question that most bloggers ask themselves: how to move a WordPress blog.com to a self-hosted blog on WordPress.org.

We will proceed step by step in this tutorial, to show you how to properly move your entire blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org (including images). But also, we will see how to keep your ranking in search engine results, but also, how to redirect existing users to your new blog.

To begin we will begin by transferring your WordPress blog.com to your self-hosted blog.

Note: If you are looking for a good web host for your blog, I recommend Funio. It is not only the best company in the field, it is also the one with the best customer service in the market. So you won't need to wait hours or even days for a response. Discover Funio

PRE-REQUISITE BEFORE YOU BEGIN

You need a domain and good accommodation plan who recognizes WordPress. We strongly recommend using Funio. If your WordPress blog already has a domain, so do not panic. We will also discuss this subject.

In last place, you will need to access your WordPress.com account to move your articles, images, comments and other data that will be used by your self-hosted WordPress blog.

Before starting the migration, be aware that we offer you the possibility of avoiding any work by doing it for you. Please contact us for more details. This will save you from worrying about this work, but if you want to learn how to perform this migration then read this step by step tutorial.

1. Export your data from wordpress.com

Log on to wordpress.com and head to the dashboard. In the left sidebar, click "Export" under the tools menu.

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By clicking on the export tool, you will be redirected to a new page, where you will be asked to choose between a free or assisted transfer.

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To choose the free option, click "Export"In the next page, you will be asked which data you want to export. You can choose to export all the data by selecting "All Content" (All), do it, and then click the download button for the exported data.

A file XML will be downloaded to your computer. This file contains your posts, your images, the comments, the categories the menus and a lot of other information.

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2. Configure your WordPress blog.

Now that the data has been exported from wordpress.com, the next step will be to set up your new self-hosted WordPress blog.

WordPress is really very easy to installer, and this installation only costs a few clicks. We also offer aWordPress blog installation at very low prices. Once you have installed your WordPress blog, it will be time to import all your exported items from wordpress.com into your new blog.

3. Import saved data into your self-hosted WordPress Blog.

To import your saved data from wordpress.com into your new blog, you must click on Tools >>> import (on the self-hosted blog).

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After clicking, you will be asked to install the plugin "WordPress Importer".

Once the plugin is installed and activated, upon accessing it, you will see an interface identical to this:

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If the exported data is greater than 2 MB, then you will have two options available to you. The first is to ask your host to temporarily increase this limitation, which will allow you to import your saved data. The other solution to use a tool that can split an XML file, this tool is called WXR file splitter

When you start importing, you have the choice between assigning your old data to a current user or creating a user. You can also choose to import all your attachments (This option will allow you to make sure your images are also imported) or not.

If you opt for the option to export yourbe blog list, then you must also choose at the same time to import them. The process is almost the same as mentioned above. Head to the tab Tools, click on " Connections ", install the plugin and choose the location of the imported links file, and import it.

4. Set up your WordPress.com blog to be private.

The last step will be to configure your wordpress.com blog to be private. If you don't want to redirect your old users to your new site, then follow this step carefully. Head to the section " Reading " in the menu Settings, from the administration area of ​​your old blog on wordpress.com and choose the last option "I would like my blog to be private and accessible only to the users I have chosen".

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Attention: If you've been writing for a while on your WordPress.com blog, and have a loyal following, there's no need to exclude them from your new blog. Also, if your blog has been around for a while, then there is a good chance that it will get indexed on Google and other search engines.

So you have to keep all search engine results and easily redirect your old users to your new blog.

5. Redirect your visitors and preserve your SEO

On wordpress.com, it is not allowed to modify the file .htaccess, so it is not possible to make changes by yourself to preserve your ranking. However, wordpress.com offers a paid upgrade and external redirects that will solve this redirection problem.

Log in to the admin area of ​​your blog on wordpress.com and go to the menu of Store. The update you need to search is called "Offsite Redirect". As of this writing this tutorial, this upgrade costs 13$ per year. It provides 301 redirects, which will allow your visitors and search engines to be immediately redirected to your new blog.

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You are probably wondering how long you have to preserve the upgrade, right? The answer is, you can keep it for as long as you want. Remember this is for the sake of keeping your search engine ranking, but also to redirect your new users.

However, we believe that keeping this redirect for a minimum of 6mois will allow search engines to index the new blog, and users to remember the new blog's address.

If you changed your domain, then you will probably need to edit all the links in your posts and pages.

Frequently asked questions

- What will happen to my subscribers on WordPress.com?
Wordpress.com allows you to migrate your subscribers (Followers)but on one condition. You must use the plugin " Jetpack Plugin Which allows you to add the same subscribers to your new blog. Once the plugin is installed and activated, you will need to contact the wordpress.com team and ask them to migrate your subscribers.

- Can you help me transfer my blog from wordpress.com to a wordpress.org blog?
Absolutely, this is a service that will only cost you € 67. This service is part of our blog installation and configuration services.

- What will it cost me to migrate to wordpress.org?
WordPress is free, however there are certain features that require payment, such as hosting solutions. It will therefore be necessary to order a good service ofWeb hosting.

- Will I lose my images?
No, you will not lose them. When you transfer by file import, all attached images are downloaded and the links to these images are automatically updated. If the address of your image starts with wordpress.com, then it will not be converted. You will be able to use image import plugins, when you realize that the path has not changed and always points to WordPress.com

– I recorded a domain on wordpress.com should I still consider moving my blog?
Yes, you can always consider moving your blog. WordPress gives users full control of their blog. If you already have a domain name on WordPress.com, then all you will need is an account.Web hosting and we can take care of the rest for you.

The next thing you'll need to do is change the nameservers so that they point to your server provider.Web hosting. We can assist you in setting up your blog in the event of a domain name change. You can also ask your web hosting provider for help.

- Will my blog be deactivated after migration?
No, it will not be if you perform the migration correctly. The method we suggested above will help you ensure that your blog will never be disabled. If you are worried, we can help you too. Our blog creation and configuration service is available to you, and we are happy to help you.

We hope you find this tutorial on migrating a blog from wordpress.com to a self-hosted wordpress.org blog helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section. Also, don't forget to share this article if you liked it.