Welcome to my first post in Word Press! After many months of wavering back and forth about whether or not to make the switch from Blogger to Word Press, I finally decided as one of my New Year’s Resolutions to take the Word Press plunge!! My site was established site on Blogger, and I had been using it for a year and a half. Blogger is very user-friendly and I absolutely had no issues with it. In fact I really enjoy the ease of putting on simple widgets on my sidebar.
So, why make the switch are you asking? Well, whenever I share my site with others to get feedback that would say, “Your site looks nice, your stats are good, but you should really switch to Word Press to make it great.” So, did I fold under the peer pressure? No, not exactly. I would thank them for their feedback and tell them I was very happy with my site on Blogger. I was already paying the $10 a year to have the blogspot.com removed from my domain name, and it was all good. I had even built my way up to a PR level 3.
It finally came down to the fact the every time I would see a site built on the Genesis Framework on Word Press, I just happened to love the site. There is just something about the layout I find very appealing, and I was looking to do more than what I could do with Blogger. I feel that in different templates/layouts you can choose in Blogger, that it can be very limiting at times. I wanted certain features and widgets that I could only find on Word Press sites.
So, how did I make the switch? I decided to research out some people to help me transfer my site. I searched for about four or five months until I found someone that I felt comfortable with. This person was recommended to me from my friend Heather from Living on Love and Cents, and after reading on his site about his policies and the fact I was able to view the sample of sites he worked on (I ended up knowing about half the sites), I decided this was the person for me. I emailed him with questions, we talked back and forth, and then everything just fell into place. I decided to update the design of my website as well, because like I said I really wanted it built on the Genesis Framework. He was very patient with me and has done a fabulous job. If you are thinking about the switch I highly recommend him. He is very professional and works quickly. His site is Just Married with Graphics, so check it out for more information. I think he did a great job on design, and I am very happy with the final result.
I had previously considered moving the site over myself. It can be done. I’ve found step-by-step instructions on how to make the move. I could have also just purchased the Genesis Framework myself if I wanted and built my own site. It can be done! I decided I just wanted to error on the side of going with a professional just in case, so for me it was worth the money. I did not want to lose any content I had created over the past 18 months.
Here are the steps I needed to take:
- Make the decision to actually do it instead of just talk about it
- Find someone I was comfortable with to do the design and transfer
- Back-up my site ~ For Blogger you can do that under Settings – Other – Export Blog
- Find a host for my site (I researched many ~ It came down to DreamHost or Host Gator in the end from friend’s recommendations, but I ended up choosing Host Gator)
- I gave ideas for the design I wanted for my site
- I looked and okay the design about going back and forth a few times
- I gave my password to my Blogger site
- And the transfer was done for me!
The next step for me is to now learn Word Press. I know just a little about it, but I am excited to learn new things and to make this site the best I can. I want to be not only proud of the content of my posts I provide to my readers, but I also want to be proud of how my site looks. I was aiming for classic, professional, polished, clean, but yet have some of my personality. I hope I accomplished that. I will post more over the next couple of weeks and months to let you know how I like Word Press, how it compares to Blogger, was it worth making the switch, do I find more traffic to my site, was it easy enough to learn, and what cool widgets I’ve found to work with. So, stay tuned for future posts! It will be a little “Learn With Me: Word Press Series!”
What do you think of my newly updated site?
It looks great!!!! Congrats on the switch 🙂
Way to go! Your site looks great and I’m excited for you new series! I too want to learn more about WordPress. I think you have to either use HTML to change font size or purchase an upgrade.
Thanks Alyssa!! I will go check that out!!
Way to go with the new design, very nice !!
I think it looks great! I have built sites using both Blogger and WP (in fact I have several sites for friends and family that are still using Blogger). but for me personally, i love wp! Love the books/pictures icon in the header! Beautiful job!
Your site is so pretty! Nice work on the switch. Im a WP convert as well 🙂
If and when I get ready, I’ll come back here to learn how. Just haven’t made that decision to move over.
Great post!!
Great looking site! We started off on WordPress and I am glad to not have to switch!
It looks wonderful! I made the switch about a year ago and I love it!
I will be making this change later this year myself, there is SO much to learn it scares me that’s why I have made the change + the expense!
I absolutely love your new website. It looks amazing! Keep up the great work hun 🙂
I love the new look and that you are on WP too!!
Your blog looks great! I remember switching from Blogger to WordPress and how daunting it seemed. I’m sure this will help others as well!
Your new website does look clean, inviting and polished. I LOVE the colors and design. Congrats on your big move to WP!
Love it! You did it! Congrats! I’m next. Glad you are leading the way 🙂
It looks awesome!!!!!
It really looks great Kristin! I love it. I’m trying to get brave enough to switch mine from wordpress.com to self hosted wordpress.org. I just need to do it.
Your site looks so pretty and professional! I personally LOVE WP and I’m psyched you made the switch. Congratulations!
Love it! Not sure I am ready to undergo this huge change yet, but I have considered WP vs Blogger. Took me this long to figure out blogger well, so I am sticking for a minute 😀
I love it! It really looks great! Congrats!
Congrats on your move! Will NEVER look back from from Blogger! Yell if you need help – I have LOTS of tutorials to help you.
Love the new look! I’ve been using WordPress since I started blogging and I love it. I’m sure you will, too!
Welcome to WP, love your new look, colors are very nice!
I absolutely love your new site. Your designer rocks!!
I think you will really like WordPress. There is a lot to learn, but the plugins available are awesome and for me they have really made it worth the switch. Plus I have a more say in my SEO and technical things of the behind the scenes of blogging. I have been able to do a lot more with my blog since moving to WordPress that I couldn’t do with blogger. But it does take some getting used to. 🙂
I love the look of your blog and I am excited that you can do more with your new host. Congrats!
I love the new look! It looks great. I hope your learning curve with the switch goes well. WP is so much better for a number of reasons. Enjoy!
Change is always a good thing, especially when it goes well. Your site looked good before, now it looks great.
I love your new look. Switching to WordPress is the best thing I ever did for my blog. I chose Genesis too because it has so many neat options to play with. Have fun!
I think that you will really be glad you switched! I switched a little over a year ago {well, I got someone else to do it for me} and I am so glad that I did. Your site looks great. 🙂
Dawn
I love the site, it looks fantastic! I’ve been thinking about switching to Genesis for a while, but I’m so comfortable with Thesis that I’m scared to try something else out. I was only on Blogger for a few months back in 2009. When I got serious about blogging, my mom got me my domain as a birthday gift, so I really only know WordPress. I love it for the most part, so easy to use. I hope you enjoy your switch!
I love your new look!! I really need to decide if I want to make the switch, I want to still be able to work and tweak everything for myself – I did have help with my blog design recently, but I really like working with my own code.
I think you would find you can still do your own coding, plus so much more! =) Good luck!!!
I will one day.I already have the hosting space and everything! WP sites do much cleaner looking though. I like the new look and the change! I hope it all works out for you!!!
Your site looks terrific! Congratulations on making the switch. I have been thinking about it for a while but have been nervous to take the plunge – you’ve inspired me!