Do you want to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?
Many beginners often start with WordPress.com, but they soon realize its limitations and want to switch to the self-hosted WordPress.org platform.
In this step by step guide, we’ll show you how to properly move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.
Why Move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
WordPress.com allows anyone to start a blog by creating an account. However, beginners soon realize that there are a lot of limitations on their free WordPress.com blog like limited ability to monetize, can’t install plugins, third-party ads displayed to your users, and more.
This is why users soon switch to the more powerful and popular self-hosted WordPress.org platform.
To understand the differences between the two platforms, see our full comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.
We recommend using WordPress.org because it gives you complete ownership of your website and freedom to control all its features. To learn more about all these features, see our complete WordPress review with pros and cons.
That being said let’s take a look at how to properly migrate your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.
Things You Need Before You Start
To start with self-hosted WordPress.org, you’ll need a WordPress hosting account and a domain name.
We recommend using Bluehost because they are one of the largest hosting companies in the world, and an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.
They are also offering WPBeginner users a free domain name and a 60% discount on web hosting. Basically, you can get started for $2.75 / month (and this also includes free SSL).
→ Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Bluehost Offer ←
If your WordPress site already has a custom domain name, then you’ll still need web hosting. Go ahead and signup with Bluehost and under the domain step, add your blog domain. We will show you how to keep the same domain while transferring from WordPress.com to WordPress.org without losing search rankings in the later steps.
Aside from the hosting account, you’ll of course need access to your WordPress.com account, so you can easily move all of your posts, pages, images, comments, and other data over to your self-hosted WordPress site.
Bonus Free Offer: Since a lot of you asked for this, we are now offering free migration service from WordPress.com to WordPress.org as part of our free WordPress blog setup service. During this guided transfer, one of our expert team members will do the entire migration for you (100% free). This means you can switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org without any risk.
However, if you are someone who likes learning and doing things yourself, then you can follow our step by step tutorial below.
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, then just keep reading.
Step 1: Exporting Data from WordPress.com
First, you need to sign in to your WordPress.com site and go to your account dashboard. From the left column, you need to click on the Tools » Export menu and then click on the ‘Export All’ button.
This allows you to export your WordPress site. Once the export file is ready, a download link will be visible. You can click to download the zip file on your computer.
WordPress.com will also email the link to your email address.
Once you have downloaded the file to your computer, you need to unzip it. Inside it, you’ll find an XML file that has all of your posts, pages, images, comments, custom fields, categories, tags, navigation menus, and other data.
Step 2: Setting up WordPress
Now that you have exported your WordPress.com data, the next step is to set up a fresh WordPress install on your web hosting.
WordPress is very easy to install, and it only takes a few clicks. If you signed up with Bluehost like we mentioned above, then WordPress will be automatically installed for you.
Alternatively if you chose a different hosting service, then you can follow our step-by-step tutorial on how to install WordPress within 5 minutes.
Once you have installed WordPress, it is time to import your content into your new self-hosted WordPress website.
Step 3: Importing Content into Self Hosted WordPress Site
In order to import your old WordPress.com site content to your new WordPress.org site, you will need to login to your freshly installed WordPress website’s admin area. From here you need to visit the Tools » Import page and click on the ‘Install Now’ button below WordPress.
WordPress will now install the WordPress importer for you. Once it’s done, you need to click on the ‘Run importer’ link to continue.
It will take you to a screen where you will be asked to upload your WordPress.com XML file that you downloaded in step 1 of this tutorial.
Note: if your file size is larger than 2MB, then you have two options. One is to ask your web hosting company to increase that limit temporarily, so you can get on with the process. The other option would be to split your file by using a WXR file splitter.
When you start importing, you will have the option of assigning imported content to an existing user or create a new user. You’ll also have the option to import file attachments. It is very important that you check this box, so your image files are imported properly.
Step 4: Importing Your Blogroll Links
If you had been using the Links feature on your WordPress.com blog to store blogroll or other links, then you need to follow these instructions to import them. Users who were not using this feature can skip to Step 5.
WordPress does not natively support blogroll feature. If you don’t have too many links in your blogroll, then see our guide on how to add blogroll links in WordPress without using a plugin.
However, if you have too many links, or you would like to keep the blogroll functionality, then continue reading.
Blogroll links are exported in OPML format. It is an XML format that allows you to export and import your links and link categories. Your WordPress.com links have an OPML file located at an address like this:
http://example.wordpress.com/wp-links-opml.php
Replace example with your WordPress.com blog’s subdomain. If you are using a custom domain with your WordPress.com website, then your OPML file can be accessed by visiting a URL like this:
http://www.example.com/wp-links-opml.php
Your OPML file will open in your browser window, and you need to save it to your desktop. Press CTRL+S (Command+S on Mac) to save the file on your computer.
Now that you have a backup of your WordPress.com links, the next step is to import them into WordPress. However, self-hosted WordPress does not have a link manager enabled by default.
You will need to install and activate the Link Manager plugin. The plugin’s page says that it hasn’t been updated in many years. That’s because it didn’t need updating, and you can confidently install this plugin.
Upon activation, the plugin will add a new menu item in your WordPress admin bar labeled ‘Links’.
Next, you need to install and activate the OPML Importer plugin. This plugin simply enables a new importer tool that allows you to import blogroll links.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Tools » Import page and click on ‘Run Importer’ link below the Blogroll importer.
On the Blogroll importer page, you need to upload the OPML file you saved earlier and click on the import OPML file button.
WordPress will now import your links and link categories from the OPML file. You will be able to see the progress and on completion, you will see the success message.
Step 5: Setting your WordPress.com blog to private
Now if you don’t want to redirect your old users to your new site, then this will be your final step.
First, visit your old blog’s WordPress.com dashboard. From the left menu, you need to click on Manage » Settings menu and scroll down to the ‘Privacy’ section.
From here, you need to select ‘Private’ option and then click on the ‘Save settings’ button. This will make your old WordPress.com blog private, and it will only be visible to you or other logged in users that you approve.
Attention: If you have been writing for some time, and you have a loyal audience, then it does not make sense to leave them hanging.
Furthermore, if your blog has been out there for a while, then chances are that it is indexed in Google and other search engines. You can keep all the search engine rankings and easily redirect your old users to your new blog by following Step 6 (highly recommended if your site is established).
Step 6: Redirecting Visitors and Preserving SEO
Redirecting users to the new location with the 301 header is a standard solution to keep search rankings while moving a site from one location to another.
Since you don’t have access to .htaccess on WordPress.com, you cannot make any changes by yourself to retain search engine rankings. However, WordPress.com offers a paid upgrade feature called, Site Redirect, which provides this functionality.
Simply go to WordPress.com blog’s dashboard and click on the Manage » Settings menu item. Under the ‘Site Address’ option, click on the ‘redirect’ link.
On the next screen, you will be asked to provide the domain name where you want visitors to be redirected. Enter your new WordPress.org site’s domain name and click on the go button.
Note: Site redirect is a paid upgrade and costs $13 per year. It will add a 301 redirect which redirects your WordPress.com blog’s visitors and search engines to your new site.
Some of you will ask how long should I keep paying for this Offsite redirect feature? The answer is for as long as you want to. However, we personally think that 2 years would be enough time for your old users to memorize your new domain name.
If you are changing domains, then another thing you want to do is update all in-post URLs. If you ever inter-linked your posts, then those links have to be updated. You can use our article on how to update URLs when moving your WordPress site.
If you had a custom domain on WordPress.com, then you don’t have to worry about anything. Simply change the DNS record to your host, and you will retain all the SEO benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We wrote the first version of this article in January 2013. Since then we’ve received tons of great questions. A lot of which we’ve answered via email or in comments, so we thought it would be nice to compile the popular ones at one place where everyone can see them.
What happens with my WordPress.com Subscribers?
Thankfully, WordPress.com allows you to migrate your subscribers with one condition. You must use their Jetpack plugin which adds the same subscriber functionality that you had at WordPress.com. Once you install and activate the Jetpack plugin, you would need to contact the WordPress.com team and ask them to migrate the subscribers for you. Our hope is that in the later versions of Jetpack, this will become easier and users will be able to do it themselves.
Can you help me transfer from WordPress.com to WordPress.org for FREE?
Absolutely. We offer migration from WordPress.com as part of our free WordPress blog setup service. If you need our assistance, then simply signup. It’s free 
What are the costs of switching to WordPress.org?
WordPress is free. However, there are some minimal web hosting costs. We recommend that you read this article on: Why is WordPress free? What are the costs and what is the catch?
I already paid WordPress.com, can I get a refund?
Yes, you can. If you recently purchased a custom domain or a paid plan from WordPress.com, then you can ask them for a full refund.
Note: Domain registrations can be canceled within 48 hours of registration. Plans and other purchases can be canceled within 30 days of purchasing.
Will my images break?
No they will not. When you transfer using the import file, all attached images are downloaded and the link is updated. However there is one caveat that we noticed. If your image URL starts with files.wordpress.com, then they will not be converted. If you notice that the image URL has not changed and still points to WordPress.com, then we recommend that you use import external images plugin, and it will take care of that.
I registered my domain through WordPress.com, can I still move?
Yes, you can. WordPress believes in empowering users and giving them full control of their content. If you already have a domain name through WordPress.com, then all you need is a web hosting account. We recommend that you setup with Bluehost or any of these other WordPress hosting providers. During the signup phase, you will be asked do you have a domain or want to register a new one. Simply select the option that I have a domain name, and insert the domain that you registered at WordPress.com. The next thing you would have to do is change the nameservers to point to the hosting provider. We’re able to assist with this as part of our free setups service. You can also ask your web hosting provider for support.
Will my website go down when I switch?
If you do it correctly, then NO. The method we’ve suggested above will ensure that your website never goes down. If you’re worried, then know that we are here to help. You’re welcome to use our free setups service at anytime.
Can I add an online store my WordPress.org website?
Yes, you can easily add an online store in WordPress.org without any additional costs. Since Bluehost and most popular web hosts offer free SSL certificate, you simply need to install a WordPress eCommerce plugin to add an online store.
What are some of the must have WordPress plugins that you recommend?
Now that you have switched to self-hosted WordPress.org, you can install as many plugins as you like.
Here’s our recommended pick:
- AIOSEO – to improve your website’s SEO rankings (used by 2 million sites).
- WPForms – to add a smart contact form on your website (used by 4 million sites).
- SeedProd – to easily customize your landing pages with drag & drop builder – works with all WordPress themes.
- MonsterInsights – to see how people find and use your website. It’s a must have for bloggers and small business owners.
- PushEngage – to connect with visitors after they leave your website.
- UpdraftPlus – to create daily backups of your new website in case of emergency.
- OptinMonster – to help you get more email subscribers and succeed in your blogging journey.
Aside from these, we also recommend looking at our expert pick of must have WordPress plugins and 40 useful blogging tools to manage and grow your blog.
You can install all of these plugins from inside your WordPress dashboard. We have created a step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
I want to change my site’s WordPress theme, can I do that?
Yes, you can absolutely change your WordPress theme at any time. Another big benefit of switching to WordPress.org is that you get additional customization options and a larger collection of themes to choose from.
In your wp admin sidebar, click on the Appearance Menu dropdown and select Themes to install a theme.
We have hand-picked some of the best themes to help users avoid choice paralysis. See our guide on best free blog themes and best multi-purpose themes for WordPress.
You may also want to see our guide on how to properly change a WordPress theme.
We hope this article helped you properly move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. You may also want to see our checklist of the most important things you need to do after installing WordPress, and our ultimate guide on how to increase your blog traffic.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Hi, can I transfer my wordpress.com contents to my installed .org when I don’t have a host yet (still in building/learning stage)?
You would need a new host to have an installed .org site. You can create an installation on your local computer to have a test site that you can transfer to a live host.
I have attempted to import my XML files from wordpress.com site to my .org site hosted by bluehost. My WordPress.com export resulted in 3 XML files. I imported all 3 files to the .org location following the instructions. Sadly, I can see that the media has been transferred, but when viewing my new page, none of my old content is displayed. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
The most common reason would be for large sites it can time out the import, if you run the import again it should import your missing content onto your site.
Hello, please could you simplify this for me. If my current domain on wordpress.com is abc.com, would this change to abc.org when I migrate to wordpress.org? Also, will the date stamps on my post remain as they are after the migration? For example, will a post that was made June 2020 retain that date to change to the date it was moved over to the new site?
No, you would keep the same domain, it would not change to .org and your dates should remain the same when the content is transferred.
Hello! Can I use my own domain for registration on Bluehost (the wordpress domain) when migrating it?
Yes, you can choose that you already own a domain when signing up for hosting.
It seems that customers of the free version are not allowed to contact their customer support team.
So how do I contact them to transfer my subscribers?
They’ve updated their method for transferring subscribers so once your site is connected using Jetpack you would want to go into your settings area on your WordPress.com site to transfer your subscribers.
Hi,
Do you have to get the paid Jetpack version in order to transfer over your subscribers form WordPress.com? Or does the free Jetpack plugin allows for that?
Many thanks
The free version should allow you to transfer your subscribers
Is there any chance that you guys can please transfer it for me.
If you purchased the hosting using a link from our site, we have a free transfer service you can use below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/free-wordpress-blog-setup/
Hello i Tried to import myself following all the steps, but now i enter to my new wordpress.org website i see only an example webpage and not my webpage from wordpress.org
Please help!
You may have imported the content back on to your WordPress.com site for a common issue with that during the domain transfer process. You could also reach out to your hosting provider to ensure you do not have a second installation of WordPress on your account.
Hello, thanks for this wonderful guide, it was really helpful.
Please, I want to ask, If i didn’t do the redirect and just migrate, will my visitors and users be able to reach my new domain.
I mean for example, once they search for myoldsite.wordpress.com will they be redirected to mynewsite.com?
Without the redirection, your users would not be redirected to the new site when they search for the WordPress.com address.
Yesterday, I attempted migrating my wordpress.com account to wordpress.org. Unfortunately after the migration was complete any attempt to modify anything was made enormously slow.
It would depend on what content is on your site for any possible issues, we would recommend going through our guide for speeding up your site below that can help with some common issues:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wordpress-performance-speed/
If I create a free website with a domain e.g
example.wordpress.com and I want to migrate to Bluehost. How should I register the existing domain name, is it e.g example.wordpress.com or just example.com. And that is because I want to keep my domain name.
You would need to purchase a new domain as the domains with .wordpress.com are not allowed to be transferred.
When i upload file ( end of step 3 ) this error!!!!!!!
Sorry, there has been an error.
This does not appear to be a WXR file, missing/invalid WXR version number
Should that happen you would want to ensure you are not uploading the .zip file and instead of the files inside the zip file if that is what WordPress.com sent you.
Hi, why wont my theme from .com move over to .org?
You would want to reach out to the support for the specific theme for that question but normally there are restrictions for paid themes on WordPress.com not being able to be transferred.
I’ve transferred the domain name of my wife’s site to Bluehost, and I’ve canceled paying for services on WordPress.com (the services are still active until lat Nov). I’ve activated the site on Bluehost, but it still points to the temp domain and not the actual domain; how do I correct this? Thanks.
If you reach out to BlueHost’s support and they can assist with updating your domain or in your BlueHost account there should be a setting to update the address at the moment.
I imported my blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org (and yes it took a few times to import everything), but when I look at the site, all the text is spread out an the images are huge! I checked several posts, and they all look like that.
In the editor, everything looks fine. It’s only when I view the site.
I figured out that it has something to do with the formatting of the images, and I fixed one by deleting and reinserting the images . Is there an easier way to do that or do I have to manually go in and fix all 58 posts?
That could happen if you changed your theme, you may want to try the plugin in our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/regenerate-thumbnails-new-image-sizes-wordpress/
Well, when I installed that and ran it, I got a lot of “skipped attachment” with the attachment ID # and then “internal server error”. Then it said “There has been a critical error on your website” With a link that says “Learn more about debugging in WordPress”.
Normally that critical error message includes other error warnings that would state the specific reason for the error, we would recommend starting by taking a look at our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-troubleshooting-wordpress-errors-step-by-step/
I want to migrate my newly formed blog from wordpress.com to .org. I have already bought a domain name and a year plan from a hosting company for my wordpress.com blog. Do I need to buy for hosting again or I can carry on with my previous hosting?
If you already purchased hosting on a different hosting provider you wouldn’t need to purchase new hosting to transfer your site.
I switched from a .com to .org site over a year ago, but did not work with “import” or “export” y my old blog. I still have a few people coming over to my old site. Is it too late to transfer? After I move the information, is there a reason to keep this blog site?
You can still transfer your content from WordPress.com to your WordPress.org site but it is personal preference for if you should remove the old site or not. You can use WordPress.com’s redirect to point your users to the new site.
I switched from com to ,org awhile ago. I want to know if I can export and input from the old site at anytime. And do I just close it down?
You can transfer your content with the export/import tools if you wanted and it is a personal preference question for if you shut down the old site, your other option would be to follow the redirect option from this article.
You say “If you had a custom domain on WordPress.com, then you don’t have to worry about anything. Simply change the DNS record to your host, and you will retain all the SEO benefits.” How do I do this?
You would need to check with WordPress.com’s support for their current method for changing that. At the moment that setting should be in the domain section of their admin area.
I have gotten to the stage of importing my wordpress.com file to wordpress.org but am not getting the “All done” confirmation. How long should I be waiting on the import page before it is complete?
Each time I have re-uploaded the file it has added a couple of lines with “this file already exists” so it is doing something however Its been quite some time and I no new posts have appeared.
That would depend on the size of the site. If it is a very large site then that can be common but if it is a small site you may want to check with your hosting provider to ensure you’re not running into any issues from their end.
Sorry if I’ve missed something or it’s been answered elsewhere – what if I want the address of my wp.org site to be what I’ve set up the wp.com site to be? Bluehost won’t let me buy that domain because it’s already in use. Do I need to deactive the wp.com site before I can buy it to start a wp.org site?
You would transfer the domain, you should have the option to select that you already own a domain and you would change the nameservers for the domain or transfer the domain to your new host
At final stage of step 3
it shows
“Service Unavailable
The server is temporarily busy, try again later!”
You would want to reach out to your hosting provider for that and they should be able to help with this specific error
will this affect my site’s stat? if so is there anyway that I can safely move from wordpress.com to my hosting service without affecting my stats? thanks.
There should not be a noticeable change in stats but with any change to your site, there is the chance of a change in your stats.
I think I’ve done something wrong!! I followed your steps but it’s only transferred a handful of posts over and the website isn’t working!!! Is it too late to ask you guys to have a look at it?!?!
If you are transferring a large site you may need to run the import again to get the all done message and you can reach out to us using our contact form for questions about your specific site.
Hey Guys!
I had a query before swiching. Will I lose all of my stats or will the stats be covered in the XML file?
You can reach out to WordPress.com for them to transfer your site stats
Hi there!
I am at step 3 and trying to import my XML files from my WP.com to WP.org but when I originally exported my blog’s files, there were 4 XML files in the folder. I can only import one at a time but when I tried to import one of them, I received a 500 internal server error message.
How can I fix this? Do I need to use an FTP client? Thank you!
You would want to reach out to your hosting provider about your memory limit or follow our guide below to remove that error:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-the-internal-server-error-in-wordpress/
Hello,
I migrated my site but the views from my old WordPress don’t match with my WordPress sie.It says 0 views which isn’t true.How do I fix this?
You would want to reach out to WordPress.com for transferring your stats and they should be able to assist.
Can I delete my WordPress.com account
Once you transfer your content you can if you would like.
Hi,
I made the beginner mistake and bought a personal plan + got the free domain name from wordpress.com.
However, now I would like to move to the wordpress.org as you suggest, but I want to keep my domain name. I am so confused about how to proceed as I bought the domain name through wordpress.com. Can you help?
Best,
Teuta
You would either transfer your domain or change your nameservers to point to your new host to keep your domain that you purchased for your new site.
Migrated from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. But wanted to know how to migrate the stats. The blog was running on wordpress.com for 2 months.
You would need to reach out to WordPress.com’s support as they do not offer a tool for everyone to use at the moment.
Hi. I am trying to export my wordpress.com blog to wordpress.org. I followed the very helpful step by step instructions but after I click “submit” and wait a few seconds, it says it already exists. Any help would be so appreciated!! This is driving me crazy! Thank you!!
You would receive that message if you’re trying to import the content an additional time as WordPress lets you know it is skipping that item. If you have an all done message at the bottom then that would mean all of your content was imported.
I followed all your steps. Signed up with Bluehost and everything. Clicked submit after I uploaded the XML file and after about 5 mins saw two messages saying:
media placeholder image already exists
media placeholder image already exists
I then went to check and see what was uploaded and the only thing that was imported were from the media library.
I tried to import again but instead got an even longer list telling me several things already exists.
I’m frustrated, please help?
You may be importing very large images but that is saying WordPress uploaded the content and is skipping over what is already imported. Once you receive the all done message you would want to ensure you clear all caching on your site to check what was imported.
Hi, I have migrated my blog from .com to .org but WordPress.com is showing me to renew my plan. ( i had a premium .com plan for a year then i made the shift to .org). Can you please tell what should i do now, in order to jot receive this message.
If everything has been transferred and you no longer want the paid version of WordPress.com you would want to cancel your plan on WordPress.com
Hi,
Thank you for this useful article. I have been redirecting from wordpress.com to my self-hosted WP site for the last 3 years. I am planning to discontinue the redirect…would I be losing any information in this process? Do I need to take care of any issues in particular? Any help in this regard would be much appreciated!
You should not lose any information with that change.
Hello,
I’ve already made a website in wordpress.com on the free basic plan, I’d just like to know if there is any way to prevent copy & pasting in the free version. I’ve tried exporting then importing onto wordpress.org, but it shows up on my macbook as a zipped file.
Thanks
If you mean content scraping, you would need to check with WordPress.com for their current available tools. For other recommendations you can use, you may want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-preventing-blog-content-scraping-in-wordpress/
I am working on updating my company’s website, and discovered it is the .com platform, not .org. I do want to make the switch, but before we do that I need to confirm any potential impact this may have on our email addresses, as our emails are the same @mycompany.com as our website is.
If I follow your instructions to switch from the .com to the .org platform will we see any interruption in our email service?
Thanks so much!!
If/when you transfer your domain to BlueHost, you would want to set up your emails again to avoid any issues.
I’ve made a rookie mistake by subscribing to WordPress. com. I was thinking the packages were the same as WordPress.Org. I am pissed. Now it’s time to migrate my domain to WordPress.ORG. I am glad to know that I can contact your service for free setups. Thank you for this article.
Glad we can help guide you on how to transfer to WordPress.org
hi,
everything was going right but iam unable to find blogroll option in tools-import…
Thank you for letting us know, for the moment you may need to use their OMPL importer plugin to add this ability back.
My WordPress.com site does not give me any option for a guided transfer, Just export content (which I’ve done) and export library.
I have actually exported my posts already but wanted to try it again. The exporting worked and two XML files was the result. But when I imported my content to my new WordPress.org website only the names of the posts appear, not the actual posts themselves. Instead I get “Page not found.” To say this is frustrating is being kind.
You may be running into an issue on your hosting provider during the import process, for that specific error you would want to follow our troubleshooting guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-wordpress-posts-returning-404-error/
When you export from wordpress.com to wordpress.org, will the design be transferred also or just the content?
You would need to set your theme back to how you had it on WordPress.com when transferring your site.
I have just claimed a domain name that I haven’t done for quite some time from my Premium wordpress.com plan, will it be a problem to move my whole blog site towards wordpress.org instantly in view of this?
I noticed a field that says that the domain can only be exported on the 23rd of July, which is 3 months from now. Is the statement related to this action?
It would not be a problem, you would mainly be unable to transfer your domain to your new host until the 60 days have passed and during that time you would change your domain’s nameservers to point toward your new hosting provider.
Hi, i followed the instruction and when importing the file there’s an error ‘Internal Server Error’ is it because of my file is more than 256MB?
I have split it using the WXR File splitter. But still got the same error.
How to fix it? Is my old website in .com will be affected?
Regards
You’re likely hitting your site’s upload maximum, you should be able to increase that by using the method in our article below and your old site should be unaffected.
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-increase-the-maximum-file-upload-size-in-wordpress/
I’m switching a site from wordpress.com to Bluehost and want to export all my content (pages, posts, etc). I’ve had the .com site for many years, so there’s a lot of content (1000+ pages) to transfer. It only managed to import about half the pages and 1/5 the posts.
Any advice for a newbie on how to get a full site transfer without running the export/import process a few dozen times? Thank you!
Sadly, due to WordPress.com restrictions that would be the only recommendation at the moment.
Hi there,
With you free website transfer service from WordPress.com to WordPress.org – how long does this process take?
Many thanks
We do not have a specific timetable for our transfer service as each site is different in size and content.
Hi,
I want to move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. I chose blue host for hosting with the free domain. Does the domain is free for life?
I want to benefit from your transfer services. Will you contact me after the purchase or how is this happening?
You would need to renew the domain for the next year and you would need to fill out our setup form for us to transfer your site for you. Our form can be found at the link below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/free-wordpress-blog-setup/
Hello,i want to transfer my blog from wordpress.com to wordpress to org,but i have a questions.I love typing on my phone rather than the laptop,can i use my phone for the migration?
You should be able to do the transfer with your phone if you wanted
Hi there, I moved my blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org and my blog posts from 2018 up until now haven’t been uploaded, my posts before that have.
What can I do?
You may need to use the import tool again to ensure the file imported completely and did not time out during the import process.
Hello, I started on wordpress.com and trying to switch over to .org Ive had my website for over a year and I have a domain name attached. I need to know how to transfer it over. With bluehost when I select it from the dropdown menu and try to proceed it says “There is already a site at this location. Please select a new one” Since I paid for that domain how do i switch it to my bluehost wordrpess. org?
If your domain is pointing toward WordPress.com then you wouldn’t be able to see the new BlueHost site. You would either want to install on BlueHost’s temporary domain or change your domain’s nameservers to point toward BlueHost.
Hi there, so I went ahead and purchased a plan from WordPress.com for a new site but I know now I should have used WordPress.Org. I am still in the refund period. If I ask for a refund, I risk loosing the domain name? So now I have to pay for hosting somewhere like at Blue Host & the year I paid for at WordPress.com, what happens next year? Would I have still have to pay WordPress.com to keep that domain name?
After 60 days from first purchasing the domain you would have the option to transfer it to your new host for renewal after a year.
Sorry, but I don’t know what is a WRX file splitter? Could you describe it more clearly?
It is a tool to safely split your export file without causing an issue