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How to Easily Move Your Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

Do you want to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?

Many beginners start with WordPress.com but soon realize its limitations and want to switch to the self-hosted WordPress.org platform.

In this step-by-step guide, we will show you how to properly move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.

Moving 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 the limited ability to monetize, can’t install plugins, third-party ads displayed to your users, and more.

This is why users often switch to the more powerful and popular self-hosted WordPress.org platform.

To understand the differences between the two platforms, see our complete comparison of WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.

We recommend using WordPress.org because it gives you complete ownership of your website and the 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 look at how to migrate your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org properly.

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 huge discount on web hosting. You can get started for $1.99 / month (and this also includes free SSL).

You’ll still need web hosting if your WordPress site has a custom domain name. Go ahead and sign up with Bluehost, and under the domain step, add your blog domain.

In the later steps, we will show you how to keep the same domain while transferring from WordPress.com to WordPress.org without losing search rankings.

Aside from the hosting account, you’ll also need access to your WordPress.com account to easily move your posts, pages, images, comments, and other data over to your self-hosted WordPress site.

Bonus Free Offer: Since many of you asked for this, we are now offering a 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 like learning and doing things yourself, you can follow our step-by-step tutorial below.

Video Tutorial

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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.

Export all content from WordPress.com

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.

Downloading WordPress.com export file

Once you have downloaded the file to your computer, you need to unzip it.

Inside it, you’ll find an XML file with all 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, setting up a fresh WordPress install on your web hosting is next.

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 choose 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 a Self-Hosted WordPress Site

To import your old WordPress.com site content to your new WordPress.org site, you will need to log in 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.

Install WordPress importer

WordPress will now install the WordPress importer for you.

Once it’s done, click on the ‘Run importer’ link to continue.

Run importer

It will take you to a screen where you will be asked to upload the WordPress.com XML file that you downloaded in step 1 of this tutorial.

Click on the ‘Choose File’ button to select the file, and then click on the ‘Upload file and import’ button.

Upload import file

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 can assign imported content to an existing user or create a new user.

You’ll also have the option to import file attachments. You must check this box so your image files are correctly imported.

Import options

Step 4: Importing Your Blogroll Links

If you have 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 the 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 the 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.

Blogroll export file

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 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’.

Link manager enabled in WordPress

Next, you need to install and activate the OPML Importer plugin. This plugin 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 the ‘Run Importer’ link below the Blogroll importer.

Blogroll importer

On the Blogroll importer page, you need to upload the OPML file you saved earlier.

Click on the ‘Choose File’ button to select the file, and then click on the ‘Import OPML File’ button to continue.

Importing blogroll

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.

Successful completion of blogroll link import

Step 5: Setting Your WordPress.com Blog to Private

Now, if you don’t want to redirect your old users to your new site, this will be your final step.

First, visit your old blog’s WordPress.com dashboard. From the left menu, you need to click Settings » General menu and scroll down to the ‘Privacy’ section.

Set WordPress,.com blog to Private

From here, you need to select the ‘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 by 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 place to another.

Since you don’t have access to the .htaccess file on WordPress.com, you cannot make any changes to retain search engine rankings.

However, WordPress.com offers a paid upgrade feature called ‘Site Redirect’, which provides this functionality.

Simply go to the Site Redirect page. If you have multiple sites on WordPress.com, you will be asked which one you would like to redirect.

Select blog to redirect

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.

Purchase site redirect from WordPress.com to WordPress.org

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, two 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, those links must be updated. You can use our article on how to update URLs when moving your WordPress site.

If you have a custom domain on WordPress.com, 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. We’ve answered a lot of them via email or in comments, so we thought it would be nice to compile the popular ones in 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 will need to contact the WordPress.com team and ask them to migrate the subscribers for you. We hope 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 sign up. 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, we recommend that you use the import external images plugin, which 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 complete 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 set up with Bluehost or any of these other WordPress hosting providers. During the signup phase, you will be asked if you have a domain or want to register a new one.

Simply select the option ‘I have a domain name’, and insert the domain you registered at WordPress.com.

The next thing you will have to do is change the nameservers to point to the hosting provider. We can assist with this as part of our free setup 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 are worried, then know that we are here to help. You are welcome to use our free setup service at any time.

Can I add an online store to my WordPress.org website?

Yes, you can easily add an online store to your self-hosted WordPress.org website without any additional costs. Since Bluehost and other popular web hosts offer free SSL certificates, 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 3 million sites).
  • WPForms – to add a smart contact form on your website (used by 6 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.
  • Duplicator – 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 the must have WordPress plugins and 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 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 WordPress 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 the 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 increasing 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.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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Reader Interactions

1,229 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
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  2. Vale Guerra says

    Great Article, I moved my site from wordpress.com to in my own domain.
    I’m concerned and working with SEO techniques to preserve and redirect my old links.

    thank you

  3. Angela Ho says

    Hi I have a wordpress.com and would like to swap to .org , is it possible once I get the domain from your advice site and would like your assist on the free blog setup service? I want to swap all my blogs from old to the NEW one.

  4. Christopher Brown says

    Hi,

    I was advising a small business client that was thinking about switching from wordpress.com to .org. They have paid for a url they like and would keep.

    If the switch doesn’t change the url then would you still need to get the “site redirect.” Would there be any concerns re SEO if the steps were followed as described above.

    Thanks

  5. kalaimani says

    I want to switch from wordpress.com to wordpress.org and i would like to use your assistance. I couldn’t connect to plugin. on the dashboard plugin not appearing what can i do. please help me

  6. Nathalia says

    Hello,

    I have followed all the steps, payed for Bluehost, installed WordPress through MOJO and bought a theme. It seems that I am still on the WordPress.com platform because the ADD NEW THEME button is missing. Did I do something wrong?

    Thank you!

  7. Michelle Africa says

    I am currently following the tutorial on here. I now have an account with Bluehost and And my dilemma has been importing the .xml file from my wordpress.com blog using the importer plug-in. It says 405 not allowed. At this point, I availed of the free blog setup. I hope you could do this for me. Thank you.

  8. Eloise Hamann says

    Does “all content” include the email addresses of followers so that they will automatically get new posts from the new site? I don’t need to “redirect” my followers since they aren’t entering a url, but merely clicking in an email.

  9. Latoya says

    How can I solve this problem. A description for this result is not available because of this site’s robots.txt
    This come up when I Google my site after switching from .com to .org.

  10. Courtney says

    I’d like to add a second website to wordpress.org. My first and main site is one that I transferred from wp.com to wp.org (with the help of this tutorial). I’d like to add a second site to wp.org, and I already have the domain through wp.com and just set up the domain on my host. What do I do next? Thank you!

  11. Alice Elliot says

    Do I need to pay to register with BlueHost if I’ve already paid for my domain on Worpress.com?

  12. Allison says

    I found this tutorial very helpful! I finally decided to make the switch from .com to .org. My only problem is, none of my photos uploaded when i did the export/import. I did it twice with no luck. Could be user error, but I made sure to select “all content.” So I’m a little stressed because I seem to have lost my images! Any help would be appreciated!

    Thanks!

  13. Saviour says

    After the two years of paying for my redirects, will the search engines continue to index my new site instead of the old one?

  14. Cat says

    Hi, I was hoping you could help. I seem to be struggling with the diverting of my old WordPress.com blog to my new wordpress.org self hosted blog.
    I went into WordPress.com and used the domain mapping but I don’t think this is what I wanted. I have bought a theme on my WordPress.org site and I want that to be my new theme. I just want to divert people who go to my wordpress.com blog to my new self hosted domain.
    How do I go about that?

  15. Maria says

    Thank you for this tutorial. I have my wordpress.com site which I am currently transferring it to a new wordpress.org site. I have imported all articles from the .com site. My question is: After I launch the .org site, should I delete the .com one?

    I was told that Google could penalise the .org because it will violate its terms.. like copyrights etc. I would like to keep the .com and if possible make it not to be indexed from Google. Should I delete it? Can I just hide it from public so only I can have access? And if yes, would that be ok with Google?

    Thank you in advance.

      • maria says

        Thank you. I just wanted to make it clear that it would be ok if I set it to private, even if I copy all the content from .com site to .org. As I see, I won’t face any problems so I proceed. Thank you very much.

  16. Eleanor says

    If I want to move my site intact, theme, images, forms and all, from .com to .org, will all of that transfer, even the theme?
    Thanks!

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You will have to install the theme. If the .com theme is available for .org sites then you can use it on your .org site. Yes your images will import as well. For forms you will need to install a form plugin like WPForms.

      Admin

  17. suraj yadav says

    sir how to properly move own blog from wordpress com to wordpress-org. pls hindi laguage use

  18. Wayne says

    Hi folks,

    I availed of your WP setup and it’s worked great. However, the links from my old site aren’t redirecting.

    Is there a way to remedy this?

  19. Jenniffer says

    Hello,I recently started my blog in WordPress the free version. I was reading your article about setting up a domain in WordPress. When should I buy my domain in WordPress? Currently, I only get 50 viewers and I’m wondering if the $99 for the domain is a good investment or should I wait?Thank you for your reply!

  20. Kaesmene says

    Hello! I exported my wordpress.com site according to instructions and received an email with the download link. I downloaded the file, unzipped it, and logged into my wordpress.org admin page. I imported the file but am getting this error: 405 Not Allowed . Any thoughts on what might be happening here? I’m working on a Mac, OS X Yosemite 10.10.4, if that makes a difference, and use Chrome as my browser. I registered my domain through Bluehost.

  21. Karen says

    I would like to switch over and have by own GoDaddy domain. You mentioned it takes 3-4 days. Is there a way to keep the .com one up while the switch happens? Don’t want to lose readers.
    Thx

  22. Katelyn Goddard says

    I have a client who I have set up WordPress.org website for. At the last minute, they remembered the have a Blog at WordPress.com that they would like to integrate into the WordPress.org site seamlessly. How can I integrate the blog over to the new WordPress.org site without losing my progress?

  23. Dimitris says

    I moved form .com to my server and the browsers claim that “connection is not private”. As I understood it asks for the ssl certificate from wordpress.com. I also removed the domain mapping service from wordpress.com.

  24. Michael Prime says

    Hi,
    Thanks for this, so I have a custom domain which I bought from godaddy and I made it to
    WordPress.com for $13.
    Is it still possible to make the switch and retain my custom domain?
    Do I have to pay to WordPress.org again for mapping it again?

  25. JAY says

    I want to create a company website, and I’m currently using wordpress.com but havent found a suitable theme yet, do you suggest i switch to wordpress.org?

  26. Liz says

    Thank you so much for sharing all of your tips and advice on your wonderful site. I recommend you to all of my fellow bloggers and I will certainly be in touch for your help when I make the switch to self hosting with Siteground in the future :-)

  27. Rizwan Amjad says

    Hi. I am fan of your site. Actually i have bought domain and hosting from local service provider and installed wordpress from cpannel. Is my site on wordpress.com or wordpress.org?

  28. Al Evans says

    I’ve followed this guide and I can see that all my old wordpress.com site’s images have been imported to my new wordpress.org site. I’ve also set up the theme I want.

    However, none of the pages I made on the ‘wordpress.com’ site have imported. I’ve looked around for others with a similar problem but can’t seem to find any! T_T

    Any help you can give would be hugely appreciated. I don’t fancy entering all the data in from scratch again! :)

  29. Caroline says

    Hi! So… I’m a complete newbie, and would oh so appreciate any help I can get! I have a wordpress.com blog, and then I decided spontaneously that I’m going to hold myself accountable to blogging by paying $$$ for a real blog, so I used Site Ground as my host which transferred everything from my wordpress.com blog on over to my new wordpress.org blog although technically it’s “my” website now. So, to clarify any confusion, what was once example.wordpress.com is now example.com.

    I AM SO CONFUSED ON HOW THIS ALL WORKS SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME. I know I need to sit down and just read read read and watch videos all about wordpress.org, but I want to start following other blogs and every time I do so it’s through my wordpress.com account, but I want it to be off of my website (the wordpress.org account)!! Because that way, people who see that I’ve followed them can click on my page and can subscribe to my new and improved website, not my old wordpress account in which I deleted my blog off of, so it’s literally just an empty account! I used the same email for both the .org and .com, so that’s also making me SO confused. Please help??

  30. Nik says

    I was able to successfully migrate my blog posts from my old wordpress.com site to my new wordpress.org site, however, I cannot get the posts to show up under my “Blog” page. Each individual post has it’s own separate URL. Is there a way to fix this so that when visitors click on the “Blog” tab they will see all of the posts in one place?

  31. Chris says

    Is there a way to work on/look at a site prior to redirecting the servers away from the wordpress.com site?

  32. DJ says

    Hi I recently purchased hosting services with BlueHost in an effort to switch from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. Prior to the switch (over a yr ago) I purchased the domain name thru wordpress. I believe I properly changed the name servers and I also thought that I properly imported the wordpress.com content but I noticed when I typed in my web address there was no data there from my wordpress site. I also noticed on my laptop, whenever I typed my website which uses ‘http’ in its address, it automatically switched to ‘https’ and then gave me an error message saying the owner of the site configured the site incorrectly. Help!. Is it wrong for me to assume that if I import all my data, the wordpress.org site will look exactly like the wordpress.com site? Also, do you know why my http address is changing to https in the address bar?

  33. Santje says

    Hey there wordpress!
    I’m totally confused and I don’t have a clue what to do anymore.
    This is what happened: First I made a wordpress.com which was example.wordpress.com
    Then I wanted to get a Domain name for it. So I went to hostgator and bought the name.
    I also bought the domain name with “Mapping” for wordpress.com so now my blogname is example.com. Everything is fine with the wordpress.com blog but now I wanted to make it a wordpress.org site. I read about it on the wordpress.org site that you need your own database for that, so I installed MAMP. I set up my own database and everything and I got the login screen for wordpress.org and I logged in. Till then everything was fine. But here it comes: Because I use MAMP, my wordpress.org site changed to localhost:8888/example.com.
    Of course, I don’t want people to go to that site and just to example.com, so I went to general, and changed the setting of the name localhost:8888/example.com to example.com, but now every time when I try to login I get the wordpress.com dashboard. And I don’t want that because I want to change things myself on the theme. I have no idea how to get back in the wordpress.org site, I already changed my database 2 times because I couldn’t get in the wordpress.org site. Do i have to delete my .com site and start all over again with .org? Because I saw a lot of tutorials on youtube, where you didn’t even have to get MAMP and you just go to hostgator and download wordpress from there. But when I did that the first time, hostgator just downloaded the wordpress.com. Maybe you could make things more clear for me because I spent days trying to figure it out. Thanks already.

    Santje.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Santje, you were doing everything right except the part where you installed MAMP.

      MAMP is used to create a localserver environment. This means that if you want to play with WordPress on your own computer, then you can do that with MAMP. Your website will stay on your computer and not on a live server.

      In order to move your site to WordPress.org. You will need to purchase Hosting from a WordPress hosting company. After that you will need to install WordPress on your hosting account. Then you will have to import content from your WordPress.com site.

      You can also take advantage of our free blog setup service.

      Admin

  34. Steve says

    Hello, I migrated from .com to .org using your tutorial. The most frustrating part was waiting for .com to release my domain name. The only problem I am having is that when my website is accessed on my mobile device, it still points back to my .com blog. When I go to the site via any other device, it works correctly. I can’t figure out what the deal is there. Any suggestions? I even deleted cookies/history to no avail.

  35. Maggie Carpenter says

    I just had a new website developed for me, and it’s on WP.org. I have an outside host. The information about the subscribers is extremely helpful, thank you. I have the jetpack installed, but couldn’t figure out how to get my subscribers over.

    However, I have 325 “followers”. How do I deal with them? And I cannot, for the life of me (nor can my developer) find out how to put in a “follow” button on the .org site. (NOTE: Not follow by email, just follow)..

    Can you help?

    Thank you.

  36. Brandon says

    Hi, it seems like the WP official plugin that you mention for importing blog posts or the full site is no longer working properly. It shows that it hasn’t been tested with the most current WP version. Any updates on your end on this? Or other recommendations for exporting and importing blog posts, pages, etc? Thank you for all the information that you have in this site. Truly helpful.

  37. Saana says

    Hi and thanks for this tutorial. I have been thinking about moving my blog self hosted for ages, and thought I would have some time to do it over Easter. I just have a couple of questions before I even start. I have used my own domain name since the very beginning, I have bought it from 1and1.com.

    1) Is there a way of keeping the urls of my old posts the same after moving self hosted? You know how you need to have the date in the url when blogging with wp.com – will all my links break (e.g. when I have been sharing my posts all over social media, will none of those links work anymore)?

    2) I have a bilingual blog, and with wp.com I have had my two languages, English and Finnish, separated by categories (which I’ve heard is one of the biggest mistakes thinking about SEO…? ) How should I deal with these posts when moving? Is there perhaps a tutorial for such topic? My blog can be found at if it helps.

    Thanks a lot in advance.

      • Saana says

        Thanks for your help. I would have another question about Polylang: Can I somehow use bulk actions to change the languages for multiple posts at once? As I have my languages separated with categories, I chose the Finnish category and tried to change the language for Finnish for all of them at once, but couldn’t figure out how and couldn’t either find any solution by googling… Do I really need to do it one by one for all 400 existing posts? :D

        • Saana says

          Hi again! :) I got my languages sorted, and all my links seem to work even without Blue Velvets -plugin… but I have lost all my social share counts, which is a bit frustrating. I have tried to search for an answer to this issue for the whole day, but I haven’t found any definitive solution. Could you perhaps advice on that? Thanks again so much!

  38. BJ says

    Hi I’ve succeeded in transferring the domain and switching over to .org,
    1) however none of my media imported from my .com. Why? How do I get that corrected?
    2) once the steps you mentioned above are done (in your tutorial), is it recommened or safe to just delete the old site (.com) and start using the new one (.org)?

  39. Anna says

    I have a domain name and sub-domain for different language versions. I understood the transfer of the actual domain is not a problem. Does everything work the same way with the sub-domain?

  40. BJ says

    THANK you so much for this extremely helpful and informative info. I was able to switch over to wordpress.org without a hitch! I appreciate it so much!

  41. AS says

    i have a free wordpress.com blog and i would like to switch to wordpress.org, i havent paid anything till now, and i dont want to pay for anything premium or more, can i make this move without any payment?

  42. karan says

    i bought a domain name and want to get hosting for my wordpress blog… Is Godaddy Good for wordpress hosting? and also Who will provide good SEO in most minimun (3.97$/MO) plan of hosting? Godaddy or Bluehost?

  43. Elaida Biag says

    I got my domain name through EasyDNS.com, not form wordpress.com. If I plan to migrate to wordpress.org, will you be able to transfer the domain name for me as well through your free service? or do I have to ask EasyDNs for that? Thanks in advance.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      When signing up for a web hosting account you will be able to transfer the domain yourself. You will have two options, first you can move the domain to your new WordPress hosting provider. Second, you can keep your domain on EasyDNS and simply point it to your new WordPress host.

      Admin

  44. Cat says

    I have a pretty good grasp of how the transfer works, but I have a dilemma. I have a free blog at WordPress.com for which I currently pay for my own domain (instead of “blog.wordpress.com” I pay to just be “example.com”) through WordPress. That domain is set to expire in a few weeks, however, and while I wish to transfer my existing content (images, posts, subscriptions, etc) to a self hosted WordPress.org blog, I want to transfer to a completely new URL (to become “”) but with my old content imported. How do I handle this? Do I renew the old URL through WordPress.com since most of my readers know my blog without the “wordpress” in the URL or do I just let that expire and do the normal redirect/export? My fear is losing partial content or having a majority of my readers unable to be redirected to “differentblog” since they will be going to “example.com” instead of “blog.wordpress.com?” Does this long-winded question make sense?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Changing domain names will affect your site’s search engine rankings. However, if you use Google webmaster tools on your WordPress.com site, then you can submit an address change request. Before you do that, you will need to make sure that all content from your old WordPress.com site is properly redirecting to correct posts and pages on the new domain name on some other webhost. Hope this helps.

      Admin

  45. Deborah says

    Hi, thank you so much for sharing this, but I was wondering if I still have to do all these even if I have a paid domain name from WordPress?
    Or is it because I purchased my domain from WordPress instead of a self-hosted domain (such as Bluehost) that it does not show the plugin option on the Dashboard?

  46. ash says

    Question. After I move the posts, will the visit count follows and added up to my new self hosted blog? Or will it be like new post? Thanks.

  47. Jessica says

    Hello,

    I’m hoping to move to self hosted WordPress however I though once you purchase the WordPress plan that they give you a domain name and you use them to host? Sorry I’m new to this and have a lot of learning to do. Do I need to buy these separately please?

    Thank you

  48. Carolyn says

    Thank you for a clear, concise explanation.

    I don’t understand how the website can NOT go down at least briefly if you have to wait 24-48 for name servers to point to a new host (from WordPress.com to new host, such as BlueHost).

    I got all balled up in this process because I can do no more but change the name servers today then wait a day or two before I can login to the admin site for my new WordPress.org account.

    • SJ says

      I’m having the same issue… My “dashboard” doesn’t show any of the things pictured on the tutorial video…

    • SJ says

      I just figured this out!
      Instead of logging on through wordpress.com, go to [yourURL].com/wp-admin

  49. Maryam says

    I want to switch from wordpress.com to wordpress.org and i would like to use your assisstance. I have a paid url with wordpress.com that i like to keep but i dont want to save my content. I want to start over. Is this possible? If so, how can i get started?

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