My Big Move To WordPress, So Long Blogger!
Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Blogger Tips |
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First of all, I apologize for the recent ‘nudge’ you received from the feedburner/email alert for the previous posts. It was not intentional.
Well, the thing is…
I broke up with Blogger ! !
After months of talking about it, I finally got my hands dirty and played with the WordPress-mud! It was the scariest, most thrilling and fulfilling blogging task I’ve ever done! The effort killed most of my brain cells for all the modifications, also the heart attack moments to retrieve the backlinks. I’ve tested about 20++ templates before I’m settling down with this one. It’s not 100% perfect from the migration, and some layout still runs off for older posts, but I’m satisfied with what it has turned out so far. May need to go back later for some fix-ups, when I’m recovering from blurred eyesight and sore neck after hours of intense staring at the codes.
So here’s a brief overview of this template:
I love the layout, it’s catchy, 2-user-friendly-n-wide-enough columns for ease viewing. Including brief Twitter updates on the header for some fascinating resources or articles found online. It’s a disappointment that I’m not able to save the past commenters’ links during the migration. However, in future, I hope to make it up to you by providing link loves/publicity via CommentLuv / Top Commenters plugin & also my Recent Posts (sidebar) without manually embedding them as I once did in Blogger.
There’s too much I’d like to share. I plan to write an ebook about the migration, and provide as much details as possible so others may benefit from the experience. I’ve referred to some nice websites during the migration. Some helped while some just didn’t work for me. Probably due to the different templates, settings and all. I hope this ebook could assist some of you who are planning for the migration. Also, I’d like to give credits to those who helped me throughout the process as well.
Could you guys do me a favor? I’d love to hear some suggestions on the WordPress plugins too since I’m still relatively new in WP. I’ve got some in mind already but I’ll include your suggestions (preferably tested by yourself), along with your blog link (non-adult related sites) in my coming ebook if they’re useful. My appreciation to your feedback. =)
What do you think of my new home?
[...] you need to consider what works best for: #1 Your time commitments Writing blog posts take time. My Big Move To WordPress, So Long Blogger! – wchingya.com 07/27/2009 First of all, I apologize for the recent ‘nudge’ you received [...]
Ching Ya, it looks wonderful, and it looks like you have things working great. One plugin which really saved me a month or so ago was WP-DBManager, which allows you to back up your database automatically on a schedule and receive the backup in an email. Also WP Security Scan to make sure no one wrecks your new space. Everything looks great – now I wish you many more years of happy blogging with WordPress!
.-= Christie´s last blog ..Four things that changed my approach to buying domain names =-.
You’re my first commenter for the ‘blog-warming’, Christie! So nice to see you!
That’s one fine tip. I’ll be sure to put that in my list. As we’ve already discussed in our chat earlier, backup matters so much to bloggers. Also, congrats on your new template too, it looks fantastic! ^^ Take care. Chat soon.
This looks great. I love the new layout.
.-= Anne Lyken-Garner´s last blog ..Free-e-day, Hosted by Year Zero Writers =-.
I LOVE YOUR NEW HOME!!! The hardwood floors are great.
I came here yesterday and couldn’t get it to load correctly, but that may have been on my end.
Congratulations, Ching Ya. WordPress certainly is the industry standard for blogging.
See you soon!
xo
.-= Jannie Funster´s last blog ..On Blog Links, Singing, Donuts & Beer =-.
WOW! This looks great! I figured you were up to something when when I didn’t get one of your terrific entries for a bit. This was worth the wait.
I will be first online for your ebook on the migration.
Best of luck with your new blog home!
.-= Luci Weston´s last blog ..Chick Flick Chat: "He’s Just Not That Into You" =-.
Hi Anne,
Pleasure to have you. Glad you like the new look.
Jannie,
How did you know I love hardwood floors? ^^ Thank you dear, for taking the trouble re-visiting and even left me a comment. The encouragement means a lot. Hope to chat soon.
Dear Luci,
I was so overwhelmed by the migrating workload that I didn’t get to visit much in the past week, my bad. Will make it up to you for sure. And thank you so, so much for your support all these whiles. You’re an angel !
Ching Ya,
Impressive site, it’s about time you made the switch! J/K… WordPress simply offers lots move, with the support and community behind it, WordPress is a head and shoulders above the rest!
-Mig
Hi Mig,
You have no idea how much I admire your Thesis theme. I’ve tried to configure mine but it took me days to realize the modifications are just impossible to happen. Always time like that I hope I could move earlier. Still, it’s great to start using some plugins that I love, and enjoying my new ‘apartment’. lol..
Appreciate your friendship. Talk soon.
LOVE the new look Ching Ya. Very classy indeed!
The Akismet WP plug-in saved me from drowning in spam comments so I recommend that one.
Happy WP blogging!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Roll on summer. =-.
Michelle,
Spot on ! I couldn’t imagine any WP user without Akismet. I’m starting to experience the ‘spamming’, now busy deleting them one by one. Also making sure none of the relevant ones been trapped within. Phew…
Great seeing you, Michelle. ^^
Ive been trying to make a choice between blogger and wordpress for the tradesmen blog I am to set up for our building materials company. Getting to read self help articles, rewiews and real peoples thought who are experienced users of both is proving invaluable. Thank you for sharing your thoughts Ching Ya.
I like the layout too…
And well well, welcome on board WordPress!!
.-= Cashmere´s last blog ..Tribute to Michael Jackson =-.
Welcome Jak,
Blogger/Wordpress.com have their respective advantages. Both provide free hosting and limited control to users; whereas WordPress.org for self-hosting purposes, allows blogger to have flexibility in page customization and data uploading.
You may need to decide what’s the main purpose of your company blog? How would you like to present it? Will there be a huge amount of data involved? Or solely a communication portal with customers? Your customizations will base on information like these etc. Template is relatively easy to decide, but to get your site self-hosted and have full control with it will be a plus for a company blog, without worrying much on the limited space and such. All depends on how serious you plan to go with it. ^^
Cashmere,
Thank you. It has been awhile! I’m glad to have you back. Hope you enjoyed your stay.
Best wishes.
Ching Ya
Thanks! Yes, Thesis theme isn’t too shabby. It takes some getting use to and what not, but with some steady practice and trial and error plus the community support, you’re off the ground in no time. Anyhow, I’ve been playing around with Thesis skins on my personal site. I like the look I have now. I sent you the site address via Twitter. Let me know what you think. It’s a personal site so I’m not planning to add advertisement. On other fronts, I updated my Eventbox application (for mac), they’ve added a menu bar shortcut. It’s pretty sweet. Thanks for all the Twitter support! Cheers!
-Mig
.-= Miguel Wickert´s last blog ..What is Remarkable Blog Content? =-.
Well done on moving over to WP. There are loads of cool plugins for anything and everyone, the problem might be to choose the correct ones and make them work for you and not slow down your site.
I see you have installed Super Cache, it’s a must for all sites.
Good luck with WP and hope you have a great time
.-= George Serradinho´s last blog ..Serious Monday Roundup #2 =-.
Probably you’re right, Mig. My problem was image-transferring – most of them are seriously out of place in Thesis theme. So next time if I intend to start a new blog probably will give Thesis a try. Have visited your personal site, it’s a whole new feeling — wide, horizontal on the main page. I’ve noticed something on the individual page though, will ask you in Twitter.
George,
It’s true, I better don’t overrun the plugins. Will try them out and see which work best. Appreciate your visit.
Good to see you back. Thanks for your kind wishes.
Hey there Ching,
Nice to see you join Team WordPress – I’ve been using it for years now (after Blogger and Squarespace) and can’t see me using anything but.
I like the nice clean feel you have here as well, very nice – consider me subscribed.
Feel free to ask about plug-ins; it really depends what you need, there’s almost a plug-in for everything!
.-= Danny Brown´s last blog ..Lessons in Social Media from Super Mario =-.
Ching Ya, congrats on the switch. I think you’ll love the flexibility of WordPress, and the extensive third-party support.
One suggestion just glancing over you blog(looks great by the way) is that you should consider showing post excerpts on your homepage to reduce the chances you’ll be hit with duplicate content penalties.
Other than that, let the love affair begin!
.-= Cory from Dental Heroes´s last blog ..Save $5 on the Rembrandt 2-Hour Whitening Kit =-.
Ching,
The site looks awesome! I really understand what you are going through, as I migrated from wordpress.com to self-hosted wordpress.org site about 4 months ago. I lost days of work to the effort, but in the end it is absolutely worth it! I enjoy these WP plugins: Apture (really great for linking to visual images without leaving the blog), all in one SEO pack, easy Gravatars, redirection (in case of error pages), and Feedburner for tracking feeds. I’d love to read a post from you about which ones you try and enjoy! In Israel, when someone buys something news, they say “good purchase!” I think this is an apt phrase for your new blog, as well.
.-= Debra Askanase´s last blog ..How Do you Gather and Process Information Online? =-.
Danny,
Sounds convincing.
It’s great to finally moved. Can’t believe now I’m using more than 5 plugins on this site already. It’s like the first time I played with Super Mario Brothers (great post btw), addicted. lol. Thank you so much for dropping by, also, I’ve subscribed to your informative site as well.
Cory,
Allow me to welcome you, and express my gratitude for your kind reminder! I remember reading about this several months ago, and totally forgot to apply the post excerpts. Thank you so, so much! Looking forward to seeing you again. Will drop by shortly. ^^
Debra,
I sure hope so.
Brilliant idea! And also some fantastic suggestions. I’m using all in one SEO pack now and will be checking out others mentioned. ‘Good Purchase’ — nicely put.
At least that blue birdie does give me a cheerful feeling whenever the page loads.
I love hardwood floors too, especially oak and maple with a light finish.
.-= Jannie Funster´s last blog ..Lazy River Sunday (Formerly Titled “Frisky Jim at the Water Park”) =-.
Hi Ching Ya,
I think wordpress is very user friendly. It has great plug-in.
Great move.
I enjoyed your article very much.
Great blog you have here Ching. I’m glad you made the switch as I don’t like leaving comments on blogger. I’m glad you have the subscribe to comments plugin installed. If I can make one small suggestion it would be to enable the threaded comments feature of WordPress
.-= Sire´s last blog ..How Good Parenting Got me To No.1 In Helium =-.
Jannie,
Ah, I would love to have that! Smart choice! =)
BunnygotBlog,
Yes, I’m starting to enjoy that. Appreciate your visit my friend.
Sire,
Pleasure to have you here. Nice suggestion on the threaded comments, seems useful for on-going conversations, will put that in my plugin-trial list too. There’s so much to learn, thank you for willing to share the ideas.
Glad to see another fellow WordPress user!
I previously used Blogger, but couldn’t be happier that I switched over to WordPress. Much better interface.
.-= The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet.com´s last blog ..Improving Your Search Engine Ranking – 10 Tips =-.
I’m amazed with the flexibility WP provides. As long as things are well, and no hosting/server problem, it will be a perfect day for sure.
Hi Ching,
I’m new here – and a new subscriber too
Just wanted to say that you picked a really great looking theme, I love how the page is hanging in the ropes.
I see that you use Google Analytics, so if you don’t already, I’d suggest you go find Analytics360 plugin, this will allow you to view your Google Analytics stats in your WordPress dashboard, it’s really great.
.-= Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Help Me Test This System: Get Thousands Of Website Visitors For Free =-.
Hi Klaus, welcome!
Thanks for the plugin suggestion, I’ll put that in my list as well. Sounds convenient too. Hope to see you again sometimes.
Ching, can I call you that for short or do you prefer Ching Ya? Anyway, as long as you are running the latest WordPress you don’t need a plugin. In the Dashboard go to settings, then discussion and you will find the selection there
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Your Chance At Achieving SEO Mastery =-.
Thanks for the heads up! As you can see your suggestion works. Will keep this around and see how well it’ll go. Brilliant idea!
My fullname is Wong Ching Ya. I would prefer to be called Ching Ya in short (Wong = family name) normally.
But if you’d like to address me as Ching here then it’s fine, I wouldn’t mind too, as long as you know my name. Appreciate you asking, Sire.
Ching Ya it is then, I’m glad that I was of some help. I think it’s time that I read some of your other posts.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Your Chance At Achieving SEO Mastery =-.
Hi Ching Ya,
Looking great!
I play around with plugins too much – there always seems to be a fun thing to try out… and then with the next WordPress update things go haywire. Recently my blog did not work on IE – a cute plugin I tried
So I’m learning to be reasonable
WordPress is great. I’m sure you will like it!
.-= Cindy King´s last blog ..Content Marketing To Reach International Markets =-.
You know what Cindy, that’s a good advise. I’m already in the ‘urge’ of trying out whatever plugins I found on the web. Currently reading the user reviews and the potential glitches it may evoke. Your comment alerts me to be more subjective and go with the ones that are meeting my needs.
Some fantastic suggestions from the commentators — you guys rock!
Well. First thing I am impressed on your blog is the elegant design.
Nice move to WordPress. Hope you will come up with the best of WordPress by means of everything that you can.
Keep rocking.
.-= Tech @ InkAPoint´s last blog ..Uniqueness in Blogging! How to do? – Part 1 =-.
Thanks a lot, Tech. I’m trying my best to learn as much. Hope I could contribute the knowledge just like others did here.
Great move, Ching Ya and welcome to WordPress
Trust me, you won’t regret making the move!
.-= Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Acronis Online Backup Beta Registration =-.
Thanks, Michael. Think I’m already falling in love with WP. *blushing* lol !
Smart move, now you will get more readers as some people don’t like commenting on blogger.com blogs.
I would recommend some wordpress plugins but everybody said the ones I was going to say. So I will say oiopublisher. (not free though)
I will be reading your blog for now on.
.-= Deneil Merritt´s last blog ..Flashback Monday – Income Report, Goals, & Thesis =-.
OH yes, I heard about oiopublisher once. Thanks for the heads up. No problem, I appreciate your feedback. ^^ Looking forward to visit your site too.
You welcome, love the layout of your blog. Looks pretty awesome.
Come by anytime. I am always happy to help my readers.
.-= Deneil Merritt´s last blog ..Adsense In My Business Model =-.
Congratulations on your move, Ching Ya. I did the same a couple of years ago. I have no regrets and the brain cells have grown back again
.-= Sueblimely´s last blog ..Firefox Collections and Social Networking =-.
Sue,
So sweet of you to visit.
Invigorating to see the changes. Self-hosting does have its own advantages.
Ha.. I guess time will heal isn’t it? Gradually picking up the pace and the cells are working actively now.
I agree. I just love All in One SEO pack, very useful and convenient. Thanks a lot, Sham for visiting.
I commented on this before, but I’d just like to say that I love the theme!
.-= The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet.com´s last blog ..Article Submission And Its Effect On Your Google Page Rank =-.
Thank you Gooroo,
That’s very kind of you. ^^
All the best in your future endeavors with WordPress.
Appreciate your kind wishes, IWrite2Know. Best wishes too!
Congrats on this beautiful site! I have created 23 blogs this year with WordPress!
I found that using Yahoo Articles in WordPress opened up a world of information on topics of my interests. In the beginning I tried to focus on the information and not contributors or products. After I had exhausted the information in my “research stage”, I then felt confident that the product I wanted to promote actually had value on so many levels. For example, I found that the homemade solar panel guides were practical for homeowners and educational for children.
Thank you Michell for sharing your experience. Will be checking on your suggestion.
Hi Ching Ya.
Awesome! You have a great design and presentation on your blog. Guess I will be stopping bye here more often to learn from you.
Was trying to figure out where I had seen your great elevator pitch, then I went to Darrens 31 Days to Build a better blog. Seems like you are an A+ student of Darrens great training. I will restart his training. Going to put more focus on my blog.
Also moved from Blogger to WordPress. Really love it. WordPress is awesome for beginner bloggers.
Well, going back to my studies here and my goal will be to do an impressive transaction as you have done here.
Keep up the great work Ching Ya.
Your friend,
Are Morch
Welcome Are,
It’s so great to see you here! I appreciate you dropping by and say hi. Congrats on your move to WP too. Guess we both made a good choice after all!
Yes, I learned the elevator pitch during 31DBBB, you are a good observer. Although I’m no way near the A+ students, hopefully one day I could be at least, say, A-? lol. Let’s learn together and try to be better. Hope to see you here again soon! Best wishes!
Nice theme! And welcome to the world of WordPress. Have fun with WP! =)
.-= Jacob Yap´s last blog ..Funky Lunch – 15 Pieces of Amazing Sandwich Design =-.
Thank you Jacob for your comment. Do drop by again sometimes.
Welcome to the WP world, I was not and will not be a fan of Blogger, I went for WP because I feel I can control every part of it in a better and more powerful way!
Your blog looks great by the way! and I love CommentLuv plugin, so I will ad your blog to my list of 100 blogs using CommentLuv!
keep the good work!
.-= Hesham´s last blog ..How to design a T-Shirt with your Logo or Brand by Asking a Question at Mahalo Answers? =-.
Thank you Hesham,
I appreciate you visit here and drop a few comments. It’s an encouragement to hear that. So far I’ve enjoyed being in WP and definitely can see the differences.
Blogger was my first love, but a girl has to move on! LOL.
Best wishes!
The new blog is gorgeous- it must’ve been a pain to transfer across though. I’ve thought about it, but I’m too much of a wimp to undertake that almighty challenge- particularly since my web address is blogger, so all the links go to blogger.
.-= Eileen´s last blog ..Top 10 Sexiest Musicians With Facial Hair =-.
Hi Eileen,
Welcome and I’m glad you like the new look. You bet it is an ‘unforgettable’ process. Perhaps one day you will consider overcoming the fear, until then, I’ll be glad to head over your Blogger blog and check out your updates from time to time. ^^
Hi CY!
I stumbled upon your site from Dinu’s website (offlineblog.net). Congrats on your move to WP.org, I did just the same less than a month ago
Nice layout!
.-= Kiran´s last blog ..CotD : Su Yin’s Delectables =-.
Hi Kiran,
Thank you for liking the theme. I got attracted to it the first.. ok, maybe second time I saw it. The first theme I chosen did not work out well but gladly this one turned out perfectly fine.
Thank you for dropping by.
I switched from blogspot a while ago and i am so glad i did!
there are quite a few seo, and social sharing plugins that are pretty cool in wordpress!
it’s great because your content get’s shared more which allows you to focus on creating great content!
I Love the blog ching and am definitely adding it to my Rss feed right now!
Take care!
David
.-= David King´s last blog ..7 secrets to amazing productivity =-.
David,
Thank you so much for the encouragement. Glad to know you’re a WP-convert as well.
I can definitely relate to that. Imaging me drooling over the mention of ‘plugins’ by WP users while I’m on Blogspot. There’s nothing wrong with Blogger really, guess it’s just time we need to move on. ^^
Hey congrats on the move…welcome to real power! I’ve found WordPress to be a happy home, and I welcome you to the fold
.-= Christian´s last blog ..A Key to Blogging Success: Fun is Mandatory =-.
Christian,
So nice to see you here. We just met over Twitter right? I remember you. Appreciate you taking the time to visit.
I haven’t had this much fun with a blogging platform. Thank you so much for the welcoming.
[...] though many bloggers, like Ching Ya, are making the switch to self hosted WordPress blogs a whole lot still persist with Blogger and [...]
i saw your post at wassupblog.com.
currently i’m using wordpress and very happy with it. nice theme anyway..
.-= syam´s last blog ..How to Unlock Iphone 3G =-.
Thank you Syam,
Glad that I could join in the WP team. ^^
Okay I’m commenting here because Ic an see there are 69 comments. 69 seems a good number but let me make it better by adding one more.
I’m also using WP and I think most bloggers do. A friend of mine is using Joomla and was kinda talking me into using Joomla too. I took a quick look and I think the learning curve for Joomla is was beyond what I can manage. I mean I have a day job, a kid, family and everything…no time for Joomla I told myself.
So I went to WP and I will never regret it. User friendly but vey customizeable at the same time. Love live WP…yoohoo!
Sorry I got carried away.
Zee
.-= ZXT´s last blog ..8 Ways to Improve your Alexa Ranking =-.
Zee,
Ha.. no problem! Just let it all out!
I had the same feeling after migrating to WordPress so I can tell your excitement. I never tried Joomla before but I’m sure it’s just as popular.
Glad could be a part of WP team! Yay!
WordPress is so much superior to blogger it is even not worth comparing. I suspect google is giving some bonus to blogger blogs at the beginning and later in SEO game, but it has to many disadvantages.
For example, you can not do SEO for images properly, with all that strange characters and folders that blogger is using in the URL. The whole hierarchy of blogger blog is not prepared for SEO, while WordPress has a wonderful starting position and with a few plugins it is super optimized.
Hosting your own domain and changing templates is harder to do and requires gathering new info on the net.
.-= New Cars Guru´s last blog ..New Porsche 911 GT3 RS =-.
NCG,
Well shared. I agree that in SEO wise, self-hosted sites will gain more advantages through plugins etc. Just need a little courage to take up the challenge and definitely, proper info about the how-to’s.. can’t say how much I’m glad the process is done.
I can safely say that making the move from Blogspot to my own domain (with WordPress) was really exciting – I also tested out several templates, played around with plug-ins, and I got a lot of feedback and comments then too. It felt like “yeah, this blog is going to be so much better and traffic is going to zoom through the roof.” That latter hasn’t quite happened yet.
I wish I had been better about optimizing permalinks back then, and had read up on solid SEO structure for the blog.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!
.-= ashok´s last blog ..Notes on Dickinson’s “They say that “Time assuages”…” (686) =-.
Congrats to you too Ashok,
I believe the move is always a good thing for everyone. Glad to see you’re picking up the paces. Perhaps I can learn from your experience as well. Keep up the good work. No worries, I’m sure traffic will come eventually, just don’t give up on what you’re doing so far. All the best!
I believe this is the best move you’ve made as a blogger
.-= Roseli A. Bakar´s last blog ..Blogging Demystified =-.
Roseli,
I do think so as well.
I only regret that I didn’t do it sooner. lol.
i am also thinking to switch to wordpress as i am having a hard time on some plugins and modules with Joomla but my site is not just about blogging, there are furture plans for some other stuff… but in case, i’d be looking forward to the e-book and maybe i could ask you for some inquiries regarding some installation in wp…
.-= sernan´s last blog ..Ninite – Install Apps in One shot! =-.
Sernan,
Surely you’ll have my assistance, if I’m able to help. ^^
Thank you for anticipating for the ebook. Recently I was a little distracted by other tasks that ebook had to take a back seat. However, I do find there’s a need to complete the ebook asap. My hope is to get it done by end of this year, finger cross. Do stay tuned and you’ll be notified through blog post.
Thanks again for dropping by.
blogger is still cool as it gets your post indexed fast by google, but if you’re planning on working long term, better switch to wordpress as early as you could. joomla isn’t the best thing around ‘though…
Blogger will stop on the 1st of May now for anyone using it to feed a website so one will have to change whether you liike it or not.
I think wordpress is much more versatile than blogger was anyway and, for the most part, it is usually a smooth change over. Sometimes the URLs get messed up but if you have a dedicated server there are ways around that.