How to Move Your WordPress Site to WordPress.org (Step-by-Step)

Do you want more control and flexibility over your WordPress website? Are you ready to move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?

WordPress.com can be a great starting point for creating a blog, but as your website evolves, you’ll want more options to customize and improve it.

Luckily, there is the option to switch to self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) to have more control over your blog.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll explain how you can move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org in just 4 easy steps.

Since this is a detailed guide, here is a list of what we will cover in it.

• Why migrate from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?
• Moving your site from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
  • Step 1: Get a domain and hosting plan
  • Step 2: Configure WordPress
  • Step 3: Export your WordPress.com content
  • Step 4: Import your content to WordPress.org
• What to do with your old site
• WordPress.org Best Practices to Follow After Site Migration
• Frequently Asked Questions

Note: If you’re thinking about changing your domain, we have a complete guide on the migration process: How to Properly Move WordPress to a New Domain.

Before you take the plunge, we want you to be clear about what you can expect when switching from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, so you can be completely confident that it’s the right decision.

Why migrate from WordPress to WordPress.org?

WordPress.com is a fully managed platform, meaning they take care of all hosting, backups, and website maintenance.

This makes managing a website easier and is a great option for bloggers and beginners. But you are limited in what you can do to grow your website.

WordPress.org is a self-hosted content management system. In addition to giving you complete control over your blog, WordPress.org allows you to customize the look and feel of your blog to your liking.

You have complete freedom to use third-party themes and plugins, add more features and functionality, and monetize it however you want.

So if you want to grow with more flexibility and freedom, WordPress.org is the right choice.

We’ve covered the difference between these two platforms in depth. Check it out: WordPress.com vs WordPress.org .

When you make the switch, here’s what you can expect from WordPress.org:

• Free website builder to create any site you want, including online stores. All you need to pay for is a domain name and web hosting
• Fully customizable site with access to wp-admin control panel
• Access to the backend through cPanel to manage the website files and database
• Access to thousands of stunning WordPress themes and plugins to give your site a professional look
• Freedom to monetize your site with advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored WordPress blog posts, and more.

For more reasons, check out our blog on why use WordPress .They offer different web hosting packages including shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and WordPress hosting. In case you want to migrate to WordPress.org and finland phone number library still want them to take care of the maintenance tasks, you can opt for a managed WordPress plan with Bluehost. You will have access to SEO and marketing tools including the Jetpack plugin.

Step 1: Get a domain and web hosting plan

To move your old comparison of the 12 best wordpress translation plugins (2024) WordPress.com site to the self-hosted WordPress.org platform, you’ll need a custom domain name and a WordPress hosting account .

If you use a custom domain name on WordPress.com, you won’t lose it during migration. You can use the same domain name on WordPress.org.

Domain Name : Your domain name is your website’s address on the Internet, such as Google.com or IsItWP.com. It’s what your customers type into their browsers to access your website.

In case you already have your own custom domain name, you can skip this step. But if you are using a subdomain like myblog.wordpress.com, then you will need to purchase your own domain name.

You’ll have to give up your current subdomain name, but don’t worry, we’ll show you how to redirect your site’s traffic to the new domain. This way, you won’t lose visitors or hurt your SEO.

Domain names typically cost around $14.99 per year, but most web hosts offer free domain names with a hosting plan. Learn more about this in the next section.

Web hosting : WordPress.org is a self-hosted platform. This means that you will need to purchase a new hosting plan that will give you access to a server.

It may sound technical, sms to data but it’s pretty simple. Your web server is where your site’s content and files are stored. WordPress.com uses its own servers, so you’ll never have to worry about this. But now that you’re moving, you’ll need to purchase a hosting plan. Think of it as the home of your new website.

When you’re first

starting out with self-hosted WordPress, the combined cost of domain and hosting can seem quite high.

That’s why we’ve partnered with Bluehost to offer our users a free domain name , free SSL, and 65% off WordPress hosting.

Click here to claim this exclusive Bluehost offer”

We also recommend Hostinger and SiteGround as the best hosting providers. Check out our guide on the best WordPress hosting companies.

Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies in the world. It is also an officially recommended hosting provider by WordPress.org.

Plus,

Bluehost will take care of speed optimization, backups, security, updates, and more.

On the next page, you’ll be asked to choose a plan. Since you’re just getting started, you can choose the basic plan which also includes a free domain and SSL. You can always upgrade your account as your site grows.

Next, you can choose an existing domain you already own or purchase a new one for free. If you weren’t using a custom domain on WordPress.com, we recommend purchasing a new one since it’s free.

You will now be asked to enter your account information. To make registration easier, you can log in with your Google login details in just a few clicks.

Once you have entered your details, scroll down the page until you find the package information box. You can select the basic 12-month, 24-month or 36-month plan. If you choose the 36-month plan, you will get the best value for your money.

By default, Bluehost will pre-select the add-ons that you absolutely need for your website. However, you can add these features like security and backups on your own using third-party plugins. So if you want to save money here, you can uncheck the add-ons.

Please note that if you decide you need these add-ons later, you can purchase them at any time from within your Bluehost account.

Once you’ve set up your plan, WordPress Site scroll down the page to enter your payment details. You’ll need to agree to their Terms of Service and then click Submit .

Step 2: Install WordPress

After purchasing a web hosting account, the next step is to install WordPress on it.

With Bluehost, you don’t have to go through a separate WordPress installation process because Bluehost now does it for you by default. All you have to do is choose your WordPress theme, specify your blog name and tagline, and you’re ready to get started with WordPress.

We explain it to you in simple steps.

After you subscribe to your hosting plan, you will be asked to choose a WordPress theme. You can choose almost anything in this step because you can always change your theme later.

Next, you will be asked to choose a name and tagline for your blog.

After you specify the details, click Next . WordPress Site Bluehost will install WordPress automatically. Once done, it will show you a screen like this:

You can log in to your site by adding wp-admin to your URL, as in http://example.com/wp-admin. This is what the WordPress admin login page should look like:

You can now log in to your WordPress blog using the credentials sent to your email address.

Now your WordPress.org site is set up. All that’s left to do is export your existing WordPress.com content and add it to the new site.

Step 3: Export WordPress.com content

Exporting your WordPress.com content is just a few clicks away.

First, log in to your WordPress.com account and head to your blog dashboard. Next, go to Tools » Export and click the Export All button .

You can also use the dropdown menu to selectively export posts, pages, and comments. This allows you to filter content by author, date, status, and category.

When you export your site content, you’ll see a notification bar with an option to download the export file.