Eventually, you may want to transfer your blog from Blogger to WordPress to have more control over your files and every aspect of your blog. If you are already a Blogger user who has a custom domain set upthis tutorial is for you!

If you are still using a yourblogname.blogspot.com URL without a custom domain, you’ll want to check out my other tutorial for migrating from Blogger to WordPress with a Blogspot URL.

This post will cover:

1. Setting up web hosting with your current domain name (required)
2. Updating your domain DNS information to point to your new hosting account
3. Installing WordPress to your hosting account
4. Migrating your posts from Blogger.com over to your new WordPress dashboard

1. Set up website hosting

This step is required when you are taking the plunge and upgrading to your very own self-hosted WordPress site. These instructions will not work for the free WordPress.com version.

I highly recommend using Bluehost for your hosting for a couple of reasons: it’s highly affordable, starting at just $ 2.95 / month for I Can Build A Blog readers, you get a totally free domain name with Plus and Business accounts, their servers are located in the US and are fast, you get unlimited bandwidth, great support, and a one-click WordPress installation.

Click here to set up a hosting account

After choosing your hosting account package, you will be asked to choose a new domain name, or to enter a current domain name that you own.

Enter your current domain name and press Next to complete your purchase.

2. Update your domain’s DNS to point to your new hosting account

Next, you’ll need to login to the site where you originally registered your domain name (known as your domain registrar). If you can’t remember, check your email records for your domain registration username and password.

Once logged into your registrar’s control panel, there should be an option to edit DNS or Nameserver information. Bluehost offers help and instructions to do this depending on your registrar here.

3. Install WordPress to your hosting account

Once your Nameservers have been changed, you can head on over to your hosting control panel and install WordPress. I offer some step by step instructions on how to build a blog here.

Now, it usually takes time for your registrar to point your domain to the new hosting account, so you may have to wait up to 48 hours for the change to take place.

Because of this, accessing your new WordPress administration area through the generated url (yourdomainname.com/wp-admin) might not work right away, and your domain name may still continue to direct you to your Blogger blog. Keep checking back until it works.

3. Migrate your Blogger posts, comments, and images, over to your new WordPress account

Note that the importer tool does not migrate Pages made in Blogger, just Posts, comments, and images. You can easily copy over the content of any Pages into new WordPress pages.

First you’ll need to make sure you’re logged into your new WordPress admin dashboard, located at yourdomainname.com/wp-admin.

In the dashboard, head over to Tools> Import. You will see a list of blogs you can import here. Choose Blogger:

On the next page, click Authorize to authorize access to your Blogger / Google account. Accept the authorization on Google’s end:

Once authorized, a list of your available blogs will appear. On the right hand side, choose Import next to the Blogger blog you want to import.

It will show you progress bars along the way. When it’s finished, you will have the option to set the author name of the posts if you like:

Closing:

Your Blogger site should now only be accessible through your original blogspot.com URL, and your custom URL should be pointed to your new WordPress site.

Since you used your custom URL for your Blogger blog previously, you shouldn’t need to do any additional redirecting as your visitors will automatically be taken to your new WordPress site upon entering your URL.

Your old Blogger account and dashboard will still be active and none of your details, posts, or settings will be deleted. You can set your blog to Private if you like in Blogger’s settings since you’re using the WordPress site now.

You’ll need to complete the design of your WordPress blog and choose a theme to get it looking a little customized.

You can install a plugin called “Maintenance Mode” from the Plugins section that will allow you to put your blog into maintenance mode while you work on getting it all together.

This way visitors will see an “under construction” splash screen so they know to expect that your site will be up soon.

Good luck with your new WordPress site!

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