It is official, I'm moving from Blogger to Wordpress. It has taken almost 4 months but it is as ready as it is going to get. I've powered up the wordpress over at coolcatteacher.com and made the jump from weebly. (nothing against weebly, it is a great place for static sites.)
I thought some of you might want to know why I am moving and also how I did it:
Why am I moving from Blogger to Wordpress?
First of all, the decision to move is a very hard decision for many reasons. The time it has taken and the learning curve are two big reasons. Plus, it is very easy to really mess up the old site I've spent so much time building.
1. Wordpress has more add ins and flexibility.
I reached the point several years a go that I was having to do a lot of hand coding in HTML on Blogger just to get it do the basics. I even bought 2 different Blogger themes and installed them only to have one break and the other never even work. So, I settled on a standard theme, but I still wasn't pleased with my blogger blog. Images were running off blog post and I found myself fighting at the code level with many posts instead of focusing on good writing. I appreciate all that Google has done with the Blogger platform – it is very stable and has so many great features that are wonderful for beginners. I just got tired of trying to write everything in HTML.
2. I'm concerned about Google's new Terms of Service
Google's new Terms of service is pretty questionable as it relates to claiming ownership to what you write on your blog. I have a sign by my bed cross stiched by my high school guidance counselor:
“A good name is to be had before great riches.”
While it is an easy way to be poor, I guess, it is good advice. With the new terms of service anything written on Google plus (or on the blogger blog as I interpret the TOS) can be used in an advertisement that Google shares using my photo and what I said.
Right now, I'm leaving my content here, but I've imported every post to the new site and if Google makes me take everything down but this post because of some crazy endorsements or something, that is what will happen. To take our faces and “endorsements” and turn them into ads without our consent or fair compensation is over the line and is a slippery slope which Facebook first started when they started showing friends who liked a page. (You can turn off Google's shared endorsements by following these instructions.)

I've been using blogger since 2005. This is a hard move to make, but is one that needed to happen. Moving from blogger to wordpress was challenging but I will show you how I did it.
3. Free can cost you everything: pay for valuable services
Every March, Google pares down on products that don't make them money. Blogger is free. But there is no such thing is free.
But more importantly, every March, I've started wondering, “when is it going to be Blogger.” While it is one of the top blogging platforms – it is free (unless you purchase a domain name) and I have little or no control over outages or problems. There have been times a blog post did extremely well where you might have had trouble getting to the site. Now, I pay for my site and all of that is under my control. Yes, it is costing me money and I'm going to have to hoof it to do some more freelance writing and a tad more advertising, perhaps (not a big fan of ads, just a few).
Free is free. I'm convinced that “free” is an excuse for no customer service and I'm willing to pay for any service I depend upon. I would have paid for Google Reader to stay around as well. But the fact is that if I have a problem on blogger, it is my problem. Google is required to give no customer service and can always argue back “but you're not paying for it – we're giving it to you (wait for it, breathe in) FOR FREE.” Gifts don't happen and free doesn't either. Services always cost you something – they always do.
4. Time to move on
I've always resisted the pressure to move “because that is what real bloggers do” just because the traffic on blogspot is so incredibly high. But, there are times you just have to make the move because it is the right thing to do.
5. Coolcatteacher.com won't be blocked in schools like Blogspot
Blogspot blogs are blocked in many schools. Hopefully I can reach more teachers where they are every day instead of having to be read at night or on weekends. That said, many schools depend on the “white list” approach which means someone has to ask for a blog to be read. I'd appreciate if you are one of those people who recommends my blog to others, if you'll check and ask for it to be available at school. Many of you tell me that you do recommend my blog, and for that, I”m very grateful for your trust.
Moving from Blogger to Wordpress in just a few steps
Step A: Purchase domain name and establish ranking in search engines (2-3 years a go)
Several years a go, when I realized I'd have to move at some point, I bought coolcatteacher.com and put a site there with a plan to move it. I just set the site up on weebly with my information. That site already has many of you linking there and I've tried put that as my main link in articles and in my conference bio, etc. whenever I freelanced so it isn't like it is a new domain name fresh out of the can. I've been using it at conferences and many people use that as a way to find me.
Step B: Set up wordpress (but don't move domain yet) (4 months a go)
About four months a go, I set up wordpress on BlueHost. (Steve Dembo says they are great.) I didn't move my domain name as I tinkered with design (I bought the “Get Noticed Theme” from Michael Hyatt and Andrew Buckman), I reread ProBlogger andPlatform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, and worked on broken links and content. I thought I was lost in the vortex of blogging hell as I tried to learn new things. I was ready NOW but I had to get it right.
Step B1: Import all posts from blogger to Wordpress All the posts from here have been moved over there.
So many links come to coolcatteacher.blogspot.com that there will be a lot of traffic here for time to come. I've imported all of the posts and will be updating those posts. When they are updated on the new site, I'll put a corresponding link on the top of the blog post on the old one so those visitors can find the new post.
Step B2: Move my eMailing List to Mailchimp (2 months a go)
The old mailing list system I used was a bit cumbersome. Julie and I used Mailchimp for the book club for Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time and I was very impressed with how easy it was to use and how much better the e-newsletters that came out of it are. It also has a lot of features built in.
My email list has over 1500 subscribers and growing – that will automatically receive the new content. I've also moved from Feedblitz to Mailchimp within the past month and reached the limit for free mailing, so I do pay to send the emails to you- but this is a great way to get the content here. I am also planning to do some other cool things for those who receive my email list as I improve everything about my blog.
I cut over Mailchimp to the RSS feed from my new blog yesterday. I'll be watching and tinkering to get it like I want it, but they've been moved, there is nothing for them to do. As always, I welcome your feedback.
Step B3: RSS is Moved (yesterday)
I moved the RSS feed yesterday. While I lost a lot of RSS subscribers when Google Reader became defunct (as did most bloggers), there are still many of them. I'll be tinkering with this as well and make sure it is the quality RSS that people need. There is nothing for RSS subscribers to do, I made this change “under the hood.” You'll keep getting this blog.
Step B4: Set up Diigo autoposting (2 days a go)
I have Diigo help generate my Daily Education and Technology News for Schools, but instead of autoposting, I have it creating a draft so I can add a quick summary at the top and a nice photo relating to the content and then post it manually. I'll see how this goes and am still working with it. I turned off autoposting to Blogger yesterday. It was hard, but I did it.
One Unresolved Issue as I move from Blogger to Wordpress
What about the 1600 who “follow” using Google?
These are the one group I'm not entirely sure about because I don't know what following on Google means any more since they got rid of iGoogle and Google Reader. I see some blogs inside my blogger account and don't know if it means that my blog posts go there or where. I have no idea but am researching this.
There are really 2 options for them. I could, for a while, put a shortened version of my full posts over at coolcatteacher.com here with a link to the post – which is something I may try to do to help that traffic move over. I'm just not really sure so for now, until I hear from some of them, I'll stay put.
What is next?
Step C: Updating awesome older posts and putting links on them
I've stopped putting dates on the blog posts as part of the title of the post so I can update the posts with fresh new content. As I update posts on coolcatteacher.com, I'll go back on blogspot and add the link so that eventually all of those people who have built me into their course management systems will have the new content without breaking their links.
I want the content on my blog to be more evergreen and removing the date from the header will let me do that. Expect to see some awesome older posts get a face lift and updated information so when you send anyone to my blog, you know you'll find the most current information.
Step D: Enhancing the emailing list
I plan to add some special behind the scenes things for those who get my blog over email. (You can sign up on the right of my new blog.)
Why couldn't I just use a domain name on blogger instead of moving?
Why didn't I just rename from coolcatteacher.blogspot.com to coolcatteacher.com. Well, I learned a lesson the VERY HARD WAY by basically losing all the traffic and work on an older blog that I had created.
I had a small Christian site at a blogspot address (unnamed because someone is there now that is not writing good stuff) – when I renamed the blog coolcatchristian.com — someone else grabbed my old domain and took advantage of the traffic. I learned the hard way that was a bad idea. No rename for me on blogspot. Not happening.
How does this impact advertisers?
For the time being, I'll be putting advertising on both sites. I've been paring down advertisers for some time, because as soon as some advertisers have an ad on the side of my blog, they then think that gives them a right over editorial content on my blog and it doesn't. I'll refund their money and take the ad down before they tell me what to write about their company. Don't go looking, those advertisers are no longer advertisers. Those who I allow to advertise on my site have products I use, like, and would recommend anyway. In fact, Spelling City found me because I love their app and use it with my dyslexic son to learn spelling. That is my litmus test and while it costs me money – I'm not going to litter my site with tons of advertisers – I'd rather those who advertise with me shine and let me focus on writing and being helpful.
I adhere strictly to FTC guidelines by disclosing every relationship – that means every. I don't sell contextual links within blog posts. So, I will put ads on both places for now and do everything I can to promote the products of those who help me defray the costs of my blog – and there are always costs. I appreciate my advertisers: Spelling City, Letterpop, Wiziq, and Redlands College of Education. These ads will be up on the new site soon after I process renewals. (If you are interested in advertising contact me.)
Why you might want to update your links
Will you take a look at my new site: www.coolcatteacher.com – I'd appreciate if you'd contact me with any links or problems you see. I have thousands of posts and it will be hard to find all of the glitches that may have happened. I really appreciate your time, feedback, and thoughts as I work to try to serve you better and be more informative.
Moving on…
I hope that this transparent post will help you make the move if you want to. This has been a very hard thing to do. I'll be writing some epic new posts in order to get people to link to this new site and if I make mistakes while tinkering under the hood, I hope you'll let me know and let me figure it out. Thanks for reading!
Vicki Davis has moved to coolcatteacher.com — thanks for spreading the word (and letting me know when you find problems over there.)
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54 comments
How did you move your posts? I have over 500 posts on my blog and I am sure you had many more than that.
There is a plug in to move blogger posts! It does it for you. I’ll have to find the name but there was only one I found with high ratings. I guess I should get the name of the add in and put it on the post. I’ll do that.
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Sent from Mailbox for iPad
Vicki, thank you for sharing all of this! Reading your blog was one of the inspirations for starting my own blog a few years ago, so I take your thoughts on blogging to heart. One question I have after reading your post: Did all of your Disqus comments successfully move to your new blog and stay attached to the correct posts?
Sandy – I’m not sure – I did do a blogger import and it says that it moved them but I’m not totally sure – I did reinstall disqus so when I did that it likely lost the original comments but I know that it imported over 5K comments when I made the move. Again, they are there but I think they are not showing. ;-)
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Sent from Mailbox for iPad
Congrats on your move! I love wordpress! On your about page I noticed one minor error and one dead link. First you said you moved your blog in October 2013 and later you said you moved in September 2013. The link to the post “The routine of being amazing” does not work. Thanks for all your hard work!
Thanks, Amy – let me check these. I’ve been moving my blog for some time now – actually I drafted my move post originally in September, so I’ll fix that – it took me longer to move than I thought! I did activate it several months a go, though. Let me check out the other one. Thanks, Amy for letting me know so I can fix these mistakes! I appreciate it so much!
Hmmm I’m looking for those words and can’t find October and September – I see where I said each month of when I did what. It is likely fuzzy as I’ve been working a very long time behind the scenes. The official cutover date was this past week but I’ve been moving blog posts since September behind the scenes. Hope that clarifies your question, Amy. Now fixing that link post.
Great post Vicki,
I’m sure this was a difficult decision and looks like it took a lot of time and effort. I appreciate all the tips and thoughtful angles your explained. As a much more novice blogger I anticipate this shift in the future for my own blog and appreciate your advice in this post. I subscribe to your blog via email updates, but got to this post this morning because it showed up on my Google+ page (I’m following you there). I think that G+ is a valid place to continue sharing your material as I liken it to a more robust version of Twitter. I find that there is an amazing amount of real, deep, quality conversation going on there. I’m looking forward to reading your posts on your new site-first impressions are great! Keep up the great work!
Jasper Sr.
Thanks, Jasper. Also, Google plus heavily figures into Google’s search rankings which pretty much means we all have to share over there as well. Thank you for commenting and responding. It was a hard decision and I’m still categorizing old blog posts – only 1400 to go! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.
Best wishes on your new site. It looks way better than the old one. I’ve never been a big fan of Blogger templates.
I had a similar experience this summer when I moved my site from Blogger to Squarespace. Daunting, but do-able. It’s amazing how it can take, though.
I wish you the best.
Thanks Justin! I’m hosting with Bluehost with wordpress. I’ve heard squarespace is a great one too. Glad to know I’m not the only one. I think it looks much better as well – of course that would be how I’d feel with all the blood sweat and bits on that new blog. Thanks for stopping by and saying Hi!
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*Vicki A. Davis*
co-founder flatclassroomproject.net
– – – – – – –
BLOG http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com
SPEAKING https://www.coolcatteacher.com/speaking.html
TWITTER @coolcatteacher
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/coolcatteacher
GOOGLE PLUS https://plus.google.com/u/0/115916382183421477315/posts TUMBLR vickidavis.me
BOOKS http://www.coolcatteacher.com
::This email is off the record (blogs and tweets too) unless we agree otherwise.::
thanks for sharing your experience of migrating to WP!
I also recently made a switch, but to be honest it was not so difficult I’d imagined. I used automated converter cms2cms – http://www.cms2cms.com and it took me just a few minutes, however I didn’t want to loose my position in the SE, so I have spent so much time trying to redirect my old URLs to the WP ones. and you know it was fruitless search, now I get much more traffic that I did before. So WP is the best CMS ever)
Is the only way my Pinterest, Google+, random RSS subscribers be directed is by redirection through my old blog and a notice?
Unless you’re using Feedburner. I used feedburner and was just able to change those over. I’d look for resources about that as it is a challenge to migrate these.
You’ll love Wordpress!
So far it is great!
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Great info and advice. I have to Blogger blogs about Lakeland Movers and one self-hosted blog. Blogger has many great features. For many people is not the right choice.
Each person has a choice to make, for sure. Blogger has many great things about it. Hoping this helps people understand why I moved and how I did it for those who decide to switch.
– – – – – – –
*Vicki A. Davis @coolcatteacher * Author, *Reinventing Writing *(2014) and *Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds*
– – – – – – –
BLOG https://www.coolcatteacher.com
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/coolcatteacher
GOOGLE+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/115916382183421477315/posts TUMBLR vickidavis.me
*::This email is off the record (blogs and tweets too) unless we agree otherwise.::*
Moving from blogger to wordpress I consider it the best thing I have achieved this year in my blogging life – thanks for the tutorial – it played a key role in my migration http://mybusinesstricks.com/from-blogger-to-wordpress.html
I found it quiet interesting, hopefully you will keep posting such
blogs…Thanks.
This post is great. Blog posting IS important especially for building relationships with other bloggers and getting your name out there. Thanks for sharing such a nice informative post.
Hi Vicki – thanks for the helpful info as I’m trying to decide whether to move over to Wordpress as well. I do have a question for you – what happens with all of the Pinterest pins that were pinned from your blogger site. When someone clicks on them now, do they get automatically taken to your new site or are they dead links? Thanks!!
My other site is there- they go there. I left it up but at top I have link to my new blog.Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher
I am also thinking of migrating mine from Blogger to WP, only that I’m toooo lazy to do all the work. Haha. By the way, did those 5 social icons on top of your page (upper right on the homepage) come with your template or did you install them yourself? I was looking for these same icons since my template lacks the Pinterest icon. Thanks!
It came with the template.Vicki Davis
@coolcatteacher
So many Blogger problems, I think I may have to switch over to word press, sound like so much work though!
I love moving, it is the single most exciting experience that we can have more than once. I love saying goodbye to old friends and hello to new. I love the packing and the smell of change. That is what I love.
http://jeffsmoversandstorage.com/services.html
I keep referring back to this article. Well written, thank you! How can I find and transfer my email subscribers? Also, Is the only way my Pinterest, Google+, random RSS subscribers be directed is by redirection through my old blog and a notice?
Gwen- how do you have your email subs? I had them in feedblitz and exported and then imported to mail chimp.Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher
What a difference! Your Wordpress blog is much more aesthetically appealing than the Blogger one.
My name is Chea Driver, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. My instructor assigned me to your blog this week. I will be summarizing my comments on my own blog which is on Blogger!
I am new to blogging and used Blogger because I was instructed to do so, but after reading your post, I will definitely consider other options when I start my blog as a teacher. Thank you for this insightful article. I have been assigned to comment on many different blogs this semester and have noticed that some were Wordpress blogs. Your post has helped me understand the difference, and hopefully, I can make a good decision when I start out and save myself from having to move!
Chea – the big thing to MAKE SURE YOU OWN YOUR DOMAIN NAME. Yes, I’m yelling that one. Don’t invest on someone else’s platform but buy your own domain. That is the biggest issue I have with staying on blogger so long.
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*Vicki A. Davis @coolcatteacher * Author, *Reinventing Writing *(2014) and *Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds*
– – – – – – –
BLOG https://www.coolcatteacher.com
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/coolcatteacher
GOOGLE+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/115916382183421477315/posts TUMBLR vickidavis.me
*::This email is off the record (blogs and tweets too) unless we agree otherwise.::*
i have been hesitating on moving http:the254dailypost.blogspot.com but now think its time i do it. I thought i will loose the PR of the site and some of the traffic.Am still wondering if a buy a domain and use the same content from blogger is it going to affect the indexed content?
If you buy a domain you LOSE Your old link – DON’T DO IT. I did it with coolcatchristian.com and within moments someone else had set up on my old blogspot domain – it is just like starting over when you do that. I learned the hard way.
I currently have a blogspot and I want to move to wordpress. I am new to this so I’m a little confused by all the technical talk! Should I just not move the site at all so no one takes over my old domain? Help!
Your blogs are absolutely value bountiful time and also endeavor.is bubblegum casting legitimate
SpamVicki Davis
@coolcatteacher
Hey Stephanie. Do you have a blogspot address or a domain? Note that I left my blogger blog up!Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher
this is wonderful blog wow!
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Thanks for sharing! I’ve been tinkering with the idea of moving from Blogger to Wordpress for a year now. I even transferred the posts once but was scared I’d mess up everything. Reading your post scared me a little more lol but it’s also given me a little boost to transfer things again. How has the move been? Rena
I am so glad I did it Rena!! I am almost through the other side! It gets worse before it gets better but I am much happier with the quality of everything I cm do with the new blog!Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher
Amazing article! Very in depth and well written. When it comes to Blogger vs WordPress – the latest definitely takes the cake. I switched to WordPress and didn’t regret about that. Fortunately, I found CMS2CMS service – I followed their tutorial http://prezi.com/euhzzssglpmy/how-to-migrate-from-blogger-to-wordpress-with-cms2cms/ and had my Blogger converted to Drupal automatedly without hiring any programmers. Must admit, I’m a complete non-tech savvy – but the service is extremely intuitive even for unexperienced users. Overall, good solution – cheap and fast.
Drupal isn’t wordpress – it is a content management system but is a bit different, for sure. Thanks for sharing.Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher
http://www.coolcatteacher.com
Host – Every Classroom Matters Show
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I’m considering moving from Blogger to Wordpress right now so thanks for sharing your experience! It def helped. I’ve been with blogger for many years & own 4 custom domains for 3 different websites. All hosted through Blogger. Moving http://www.dariawakened.com first & seeing how the transition goes.
I will say from my experience though, if you buy a domain & use it on Blogger, you DO have the option to redirect the blogspot.com address to your new domain thus not losing ANY of your established traffic. Go into Settings under the Publishing field to redirect.
The trouble I’ve had in the past once using a custom domain is making java script code work. That would be like an alternating image of some kind on your site. I found out it was due to a hosting issue that couldn’t be resolved while still using blogger.
Anyway thx for the post & wish me luck
Dari
I’ll look at this but I didn’t have a CUSTOM DOMAIN – what I did was change a url from a subdomain to a custom and immediately I lost the subdomain and all the traffic there. So, I had waited. Good points and thanks for sharing.
I really like this post. I really appreciate your experience which you have share here in your article..
I will definitely share this article with my friends.
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نقل أثاث بالرياض
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SpamVicki Davis
@coolcatteacher
SpamVicki Davis
@coolcatteacher
Blogger will not free up your old blogger domain when you choose to use your own! I have my own blog set up with my own subdomain (blog.mysite.com) and when people use my old (myblog.blogger.com) url, it redirects to my new one.
Just putting that out there as this post still comes up when looking into switching and people don’t understand because you didn’t specify as to how the old system for domains on blogger worked and when that was.
I’m not sure about that one. It may be how you do it, but within moments my subdomain was taken. There is probably a new way to do this, but I would be very cautious. Do you have a step by step on how you did this? Did you set up a new one and do it with a redirect or did you go in and change the URL in settings?
– – – – – – –
*Vicki A. Davis @coolcatteacher * Author, *Reinventing Writing *(2014) and *Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds*
– – – – – – –
BLOG https://www.coolcatteacher.com
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/coolcatteacher
GOOGLE+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/115916382183421477315/posts TUMBLR vickidavis.me
*::This email is off the record (blogs and tweets too) unless we agree otherwise.::*
I followed google’s instructions for subdomains here:
https://support.google.com/blogger/troubleshooter/1233381?hl=en#ts=1734117
Well I followed Google’s instructions at that time but looking at this – it is different from yours. It sounds like they have fixed this problem since I had my nightmare a few years back. Thank you for letting me know! This is great – I wish it had been there in October because back then even I’m pretty sure it was the old way.
I appreciate you leaving this comment of clarification – either way – be very careful.
– – – – – – –
*Vicki A. Davis @coolcatteacher * Author, *Reinventing Writing *(2014) and *Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds*
– – – – – – –
BLOG https://www.coolcatteacher.com
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/coolcatteacher
GOOGLE+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/115916382183421477315/posts TUMBLR vickidavis.me
*::This email is off the record (blogs and tweets too) unless we agree otherwise.::*
I am currently on Blogger, using the same template that it appears you used to! Thanks for this wealth of information. Im not ready to make the switch yet, but it will be very helpful when I do!
Are you glad you made the switch??
Totally glad! It was a great decision!
Vicki Davis
@coolcatteacher Blog
Host – Every Classroom Matters Show
Author – Reinventing Writing
*** Sent via mobile device. Please forgive my typos. ***
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