WordPress Content Migration

First, backup your blogger blog. This is done by going to the settings tab and selecting export blog. This is just to play it safe. Then do the following in this order.

1) If you are using blogger’s custom domain feature, you have to reset your blog’s URL back to the xxx.blogspot.com. You will not be able to import anything if it is set to the custom domain (VERY IMPORTANT).

2) Log in to your WordPress admin and under tools, select import. You will see the various systems that you are allowed to import from. Select Blogger and you will be asked to grant access to your blogger account. When the authorization is completed, it will take you back to WP and all your blogs will be visible. See below:

Hit the magic button and let the WP engine do the job for you. After the process is done, you should see all your post and comments. NOTE: If you are using a commenting system other than blogger’s default, there is a chance that you will loose comments along the way. I lost many due to a synchronization problem with my chosen commenting system. You have been warned.

Step 2: Fixing the all important blogger permalinks.
I’m not going into too much detail on the differences between blogger and WP URLs. Just be aware that the URL structure of blogger.com is different to that of WP. In order to keep your permalinks intact, and with this all your search engine rankings, backlinks, images, etc., you will have to do some fixing.

1) In your WP dashboard. Select settings and then permalinks. Select custom structure and paste this structure exactly as it is: /%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%.html – This will enable WP to use the same structure as blogger.com.

2) Now it is time to fix those permalinks. While you can do this manually, it can be time consuming and it is possible that you can make some errors during the process. Maintain Blogger Permalinks is a WP plugin that makes this work all look like a walk in the park. Read carefully the instructions, install the plugin, run it and in a matter of seconds, all your links are fixed. Cool!

Step 3. Redirecting your blogger blog to WP.
Go back to your blogger blog and set the custom domain feature. Just select settings, publishing and custom domain button. Enter your URL, save and you are done.

That’s it. You are now set, and ready to enjoy WordPress. Part 3/3 will conclude this tutorial and will include other steps such as setting up your RSS, installing new themes and some other important “to do’s” that you should not miss. If you feel that I have missed