As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience, I‘ve helped dozens of site owners switch their custom domain Blogger sites over to WordPress.
The process can seem confusing, but I‘m here to walk you through how to make the transition smoothly. By following these best practices, you can migrate your site without losing any SEO value or disrupting your readership.
Let‘s get started!
Contents
Choosing the Ideal Hosting and Domain
The first step is choosing the right domain name and web hosting for your WordPress site. This decision lays the foundation for a seamless migration, so it‘s worth taking the time to get it right.
Here are three top recommendations based on extensive testing:
Bluehost is my first choice for most site owners. They are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider for good reason – with optimized servers, 24/7 support, and pricing starting around only $2.75 per month.
SiteGround is another excellent option, especially if site speed is your top priority. Their specialized WordPress infrastructure offers incredible performance. Prices start at $3.95 per month.
GoDaddy bundles domains and hosting together. If you want to manage both in one place, their plans start around $6 per month.
My advice is to go with a managed WordPress host. Their servers are fine-tuned for optimal WordPress performance. Shared hosts like Dreamhost or generic VPS options often run into compatibility issues.
Once you have your ideal domain and hosting provider selected, it‘s time to point your domain to the new servers.
Updating Nameservers for a Seamless Switch
The next step is updating your domain‘s nameservers to direct traffic to the new hosting provider.
Within your domain registrar‘s control panel, change the nameservers to match the ones provided by your WordPress host. This may look something like:
NS1.BLUEHOST.COM
NS2.BLUEHOST.COM It can take up to 48 hours for DNS settings to fully propagate across browsers globally. Don‘t worry – your Blogger site will remain online until the switch is complete.
I recommend doing this on a Friday, then installing WordPress over the weekend. This gives adequate time for the DNS changes to roll out before visitors start hitting your new WordPress site.
Removing Blogger‘s Domain Redirect
With your domain now pointing to the new servers, let‘s remove the redirect at Blogger‘s end.
Log into your Blogger account and navigate to Settings > Basic. Under "Site Address", click the "x" icon next to your custom domain to remove the redirect.
This is an important step, as any active redirects can cause SEO issues or send traffic to broken links. I‘ve seen sites plummet in rankings because redirects weren‘t properly disabled before migration.
Installing WordPress on Your Domain
Now you‘re ready to install WordPress on your existing custom domain. Most managed hosts have a simple one-click installer tool.
Run through the standard WordPress configuration process. When you get to the last step to select your site address, enter your custom domain name (e.g. myblog.com).
Hit the install button, and WordPress will be configured on your domain, ready for content to be imported.
Migrating Your Blogger Content into WordPress
Next, we need to bring over all your existing content from Blogger into the WordPress environment.
Blogger allows you to export your content in an XML format. To do this:
- Go to Blogger‘s Settings > Other
- Under "Blog tools", click the "Back up content" option
- Save the XML file containing your posts to your computer
Now we need to import this data file into WordPress:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Tools > Import
- Install the "Blogger Importer" plugin
- Run the importer, uploading your Blogger XML file
- Match authors, assign posts to categories, and publish
It may take a few minutes depending on how much content you have. Once finished, all your blog posts, pages, comments, and tags will be migrated over.
Redirecting for Seamless SEO
With the content imported, let‘s make sure visitors and search engines seamlessly redirect to the new WordPress URLs.
I recommend installing the Simple 301 Redirects plugin. For each page and post, enter the old Blogger URL as the "Source" and the new WordPress URL as the "Target".
This passes link equity properly and avoids dilution of your SEO metrics. It keeps visitors clicking old links from ending up at dead pages.
The same should be done for your RSS feed by redirecting the Blogger feed URL to the WordPress feed URL. The best method is adding a .htaccess rewrite rule.
Properly redirecting is vital for retaining your site‘s search engine rankings. Take the time to set up 301 redirects, as this is a common migration mistake.
Leveraging WordPress Customization
One key advantage of WordPress is the ability to customize your site beyond Blogger‘s limited options.
For a completely new look and feel, install a new WordPress theme. Some popular free themes for blogs include Astra, GeneratePress, and OceanWP.
Go to the WordPress theme directory and browse options tailored to your site type. Look for themes with a good reputation and well-documented support.
Enable additional functionality like contact forms, social sharing buttons, galleries, and more by installing WordPress plugins. Required security plugins include WordFence and Sucuri.
With thousands of themes and plugins available, you have the ultimate flexibility to create a site that exactly matches your vision.
Conclusion
Migrating a custom domain Blogger site over to WordPress requires careful steps, but the work pays off. Your site will benefit from WordPress‘s superior customization options, active community, top notch security, and modern performance.
Follow the tips above for a smooth transition without disruptions to your SEO or user experience. You‘ll gain more control over the look, feel, and functionality of your website. Let me know if you have any other questions!
