Switching to Wordpress
May 7, 2009 by Jendi
I’ve heard a lot of bloggers mention that they would like to switch to WordPress, but don’t know how or are very nervous about it. So they wait and add more and more content to their blog that just has to be switched later. If you want to switch – do it!
The only valid reason to delay is not having the money to pay for a host – and honestly, hosting is not expensive!
Here are the simple steps:
- First you need to find a host that works well with WordPress – ’cause that’s the main thing you want, right? (Of course we recommend Mom Webs!)
- After you have your host, check for Fantastico and use it to install WordPress.
- Then find the Tools menu partway down the left hand side of the page. Expand the Tools menu and click import. Follow the instructions from there.
- After your content is imported you can go on to find a theme you like. There are thousands of themes to choose from. You can narrow them down a bit by deciding if you want a customizable header [enables you to change the picture on top], one or two sidebars, and where you want the sidebars. It’s easier to change the colors than the layout so pick the layout you really want. If you have seen a blog design you like check if the name of the theme is in the footer. If not, most bloggers would be happy to tell you what theme they use.
- Please add a little something to your About page. This is one of my pet peeves. It can be changed later. It’s not etched in stone. Just please get rid of the standard text that comes with your About page. Find Pages in the menu, click edit, and type a little something about yourself.
- Don’t worry that you have to have everything perfect the first day. It worked well for me to have a goal to post every day and learn/add one new thing each week. It’s more important to keep adding content than to have tons of plug-ins.
What worked well for you when you started? Have you moved from Blogger to WordPress? Was it easy or terrifying?
Here are some blogs that have information about WordPress:
- Desperately Seeking Wordpress
- Lorelle on Wordpress – don’t worry if some of what she says goes over your head just get what you can and you’ll understand more as time goes by
- Girly Blog Designz
- Blogging With Cents
- Blogging Basics 101
P.S. You know we recommended Mom Webs above? Do you know that they will actually IMPORT YOUR BLOGGER POSTS FOR YOU?! Yes! It’s true! Just ask when you create your hosting account.
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