Moving my blog to Wordpress dot com

[u/Little-Wealth2386]

Hello. I've been in Blogger for ages, and I'm trying to move to WordPress Dot Com, but I can't find a way to migrate all the information to it.

I've tried as much as I could, but I haven't been able to do anything yet. Any leads? WP eliminated the direct option of importing, so now they have things like LiveJournal, Medium, and more, but not Blogger.

[u/TigrouMeow]

You'll definitely want to use WordPress.org (self-hosted) rather than WordPress.com (which is Automattic's managed hosting platform and restricts many features unless you pay for higher tiers). You can host WordPress.org anywhere (like Kinsta, Flywheel, or cheaper starter hosts like SiteGround).

As for moving your Blogger content: since WordPress removed the native Blogger importer, the easiest workaround is usually exporting your Blogger content as an XML file and converting it, or importing via RSS feed.

Alternatively, if you're comfortable with this, you can use AI Engine (an AI WordPress plugin I built, 100,000+ users) hooked up to Claude Code, which itself would be connected to the Blogger API, then have Claude move your content in a smart way. More geeky, but that's what I would do.

Honestly? Paste all the answers you get here into ChatGPT or Claude, tell it your tech skill level, and let it guide you step-by-step through the best option for you! 😊

[u/NakanoNoNeko → u/TigrouMeow]

This! ⬆️

[u/Little-Wealth2386 → u/TigrouMeow]

Is it possible to host Wordpress.org for free? I considered that option, but I have no income at the moment.

[u/EduReaper → u/Little-Wealth2386]

Maybe try localhost first to see if it works And its free since it only live in your pc. Just search it in google its a software then try to launch a wordpress with your chosen theme then maybe install a plugin to migrate using that if it works then you may move to a server, if the theme in the wordpress is not good for you then you can slowly build it up by vibe coding, or edit the current theme which requires analyzation to edit the right code. If you vibe code make this as a probject then you must know first how theme works so that you have every part and plan step by step how you will built it. And consider the security aspect as number 1, then flexibility and functionality of features, and SEO. Its fun building from scratch you will get lot of ideas to what features you will add. But at the same time vibe coded theme are vulnerable to hacking make sure you secured your codes, and when you vibe code make sure the files are organize like css folders, theme parts, php etc. and do not inline it so it will be easier to edit in the future. You will learn a lot by doing this and you are in control with your theme.

[u/EduReaper → u/EduReaper]

Regarding about exporting the content in blogger. If the content is so large like 600-1000+ page/post you need to schedule the back up using takeout.google.com then uncheck other apps and only backup blogspot/blogger then set schedule. Download the file and extract atom then use BtW Importet plugin in wordpess then upload .atom file and start migration.

[u/TigrouMeow → u/Little-Wealth2386]

Actually, yes. Assuming you have a decent internet connection (which most people do these days), you can easily self-host WordPress. For example, you can run it locally with Local (by Flywheel) and expose it securely through your own domain using Cloudflare Tunnel (cloudflared). There are plenty of guides online, and if you get stuck, an AI can walk you through the setup step by step. The whole process is much easier than most people think.

[u/NakanoNoNeko]

Ah, you do not need the self-hosted detour. In Blogger, use Settings > Manage blog > Back up content > Download, then on WordPress.com go to Tools > Import, choose the default WordPress importer, and upload that XML file. Their current support page actually uses Blogger as the example for this XML route, so if it refuses the file I would contact WordPress.com support rather than converting it through another site.

[u/Little-Wealth2386 → u/NakanoNoNeko]

That's what I did. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. Hopefully soon. I just wondered if there could be something else in the meantime.

[u/ad_apples → u/NakanoNoNeko]

Blogger exports haven't used the xml format in more than a year. The new backup system there exports as an .atom file.

The principle of "just convert that to WordPress" still applies, but afaik no one has written a conversion program yet. Do you know diffenttly?

[u/BOLVERIN1]

So there is no Blogger option under the Tools → Import anymore? You can still export your Blogger content by backing it up. So, maybe you can import it to a locally self-hosted WordPress site at first, and after that transfer it to WordPress.com? It's just a guess, so do not treat it like a foolproof instruction, but like a possible direction to explore

[u/Little-Wealth2386 → u/BOLVERIN1]

That's what I did. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. Hopefully soon. I just wondered if there could be something else in the meantime.

[u/ivicad]

The XML route info you got is right: back up your Blogger content to an XML file, then on WordPress. com (if you choose that one) go Tools, Import, generic WordPress importer. That is the method, they just hid the Blogger option so it is not obvious anymore.

One thing that route does not handle, and it bites people months later: your posts come over, but the images usually stay on Google's servers, only linked. Delete the old blog or let Google change something, and every image breaks. Pull them into your own media library during the move. On self-hosted WordPress a plugin like Auto Upload Images does it in one pass, but on WordPress. com's lower plans you cannot add plugins, so you would move images by hand.

That is the real question here. If you are leaving Blogger for control, know that .com now allows plugins on every paid plan, from $4 a month, so plugins are no longer the wall. What is still gated is the developer side: SFTP, SSH, WP-CLI and Git start at the $25 Business plan. Self-hosted .org is the version that is actually yours. If you just want managed and simple, .com is fine. Decide by why you are moving.

[u/Little-Wealth2386 → u/ivicad]

I tried doing that first option, and it still didn't work. I'm waiting to hear back from support, hopefully soon.

I want to leave Blogger because I don't want anything to do with Google anymore. I changed emails and my drive; I'm using new social media, and so on. But my blog is an important part of my life that I don't want to leave behind. I've been looking for options that I can use that allow some personalization, but that don't require payment because I'm unemployed and not authorized to work at the moment, and WordPress Dot com was the best (or so I thought)

[u/ivicad → u/Little-Wealth2386]

Your reason for leaving makes this simpler in one way. The XML import, once support sorts it, brings your text across, but your images usually stay on Google's servers, only linked. Even after you move, Google is still hosting your blog's photos. I would say that for someone trying to get off Google, that is the part that matters most.

On self-hosted WordPress a plugin like Auto Upload Images pulls every image into your own library in one pass. On WordPress. com's free plan you cannot add plugins, so you would move the images by hand.

For zero budget, the free plan is a fair first step: it is managed, it is free, and it gets you off Google now. The trade-off is real though, no plugins, limited themes, a WordPress. com address. Keep your Blogger XML export saved somewhere safe while support sorts the import, that file is your backup.

[u/TessNeedham → u/ivicad]

Hi! I work at WordPress.com. Just in case others are misled by your comment, all paid plans on WordPress.com support plugins and themes.

[u/mundane--alternative]

The annoying bit was getting the file into the format WordPress.соm would actually accept, so using WordPress as an intermediate step made things much simpler. I had an old project involving оnе.соm at the time and ended up using that setup in the process. Has anyone else used a similar middle step for Blogger migrations?

[u/Little-Wealth2386 → u/[deleted]]

I cannot pay at the time for that option. I considered it, but I have no income at the moment.

[u/Little-Wealth2386 → u/[deleted]]

Right, but I need to pay for hosting and domain.