After publishing my guide on how to start a blog with WordPress (which explains choosing a domain, self-hosting, and the reasons to invest in your own blog hosting), I received many questions about switching from Blogger (Blogspot) to self-hosted WordPress. Readers asked about the migration process, which platform is better, and what to expect when moving a Blogspot blog to self-hosted WordPress.
Many of you asked: Is Blogger (Blogspot) or WordPress better? And what happens if I move my Blogspot blog to a self-hosted WordPress site?
I’m not a professional developer, but I’ve gone through this process and want to share a straightforward, practical guide to help you move your blog. If you don’t have the time or confidence to perform the migration yourself, consider hiring someone to migrate your blog from Blogger to WordPress for you.
This article contains some overlap with my How to Start a Blog on WordPress guide because I want this post to be self-contained and helpful for people who are only interested in switching platforms. If you sign up for Bluehost through my link and purchase at least 12 months of hosting, you may receive the domain free and benefit from discounted pricing.
This is a basic how-to for transferring a blog from Blogger to WordPress. It won’t cover every scenario, and I can’t be responsible for every possible issue, but if you’re able to search for answers to any specific problems that arise, this guide should get you through the majority of the migration steps.
If your goal is simply to start a brand-new WordPress blog and leave your old Blogspot blog as-is, follow the How to Start a Blog instructions and publish a brief post on your old site announcing the move. That’s the simplest option if you don’t need to preserve old posts or redirect traffic.
If you prefer professional help, many designers and developers offer migration services. Contact me if you’d like a referral and I can connect you with reliable options.
Why choose self-hosted WordPress: excerpt from my blog about starting a WordPress blog
I started my blog on Blogger and, after a difficult experience, strongly recommend self-hosted WordPress instead. On Blogger, you might think you control your site because you own a domain, but you don’t have the same ownership or freedom as with self-hosted WordPress. Blogger can remove content or delete blogs unexpectedly, which can be disastrous if you rely on your content for income or audience engagement.
Switching to self-hosted WordPress removes that risk and gives you full control over your content and site functionality. If you want to grow a professional blog and monetize it, self-hosted WordPress is the best choice.
Why you should move from Blogspot to WordPress
If you want to earn income from blogging, the first step is to run a self-hosted site (for example, using Bluehost). I recommend starting with self-hosted WordPress.org because it gives you the flexibility, control, and professionalism advertisers and readers expect.
Using Blogger or WordPress.com on the free plan can look unprofessional to potential partners, and the platform can remove your site without warning. By contrast, self-hosted WordPress allows you to run advertisements, use affiliate links, install plugins, and select any theme you like. Those capabilities are essential for building a successful, monetized blog.
In short, self-hosted WordPress provides:
- A professional appearance that can increase monetization opportunities
- Complete control over your site’s design and functionality
- True ownership of your site so it can’t be removed arbitrarily by a third party
If you’re interested in starting a blog with a low monthly cost and a free domain with a 12-month hosting purchase, you can follow the step-by-step setup in my full How to Start a Blog guide.
Is switching to WordPress right for you?
Moving from Blogger to WordPress isn’t the right choice for everyone, but it is often the best choice for bloggers who want to grow and professionally monetize their content. I was hesitant to switch for a long time, but after moving to WordPress I was very glad I did and wish I had made the transition earlier.
Before you begin a Blogger-to-WordPress migration, back up your Blogger content and any connected services. Some imported posts might need editing to match the new formatting. If you plan to keep the old blog online, set old posts to Draft mode after the migration to avoid duplicate content penalties while keeping your images and original content available if you need to reference them.
Step 1: Get a domain
If you don’t already own a domain, purchase one before you migrate. For years I published on senseofcents.blogspot.com and later bought a custom domain (makingsenseofcents.com). Moving to a custom domain instantly looks more professional and helps with branding.
You can buy a domain and hosting together. Many hosts, including Bluehost, include a free domain for the first year with a 12-month hosting plan. If you already have a domain, skip ahead to setting up hosting.
Step 2: Choose hosting
The next step is web hosting. There are many hosting companies, and shared hosting plans are affordable—often around $3–6 per month if you pay annually. Self-hosted WordPress gives you total control over themes, plugins, and monetization options. If your goal is to make money from your blog, hosting your own WordPress site is the right path.
- Create a hosting account with your chosen provider
- Choose or register your domain (or indicate that you already own one)
- Install WordPress on your hosting account
Once WordPress is installed, you’ll have the freedom to use custom themes and plugins, run ads, and fully customize your site.
Step 3: Transfer your Blogger posts to WordPress
Transferring content from Blogger to WordPress is straightforward. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Tools > Import and choose the Blogger option. Follow the on-screen steps to authorize WordPress to access your Blogger account and import posts, pages, and comments.
WordPress’s import process generally follows these steps:
- Click Authorize and log in to your Google account if prompted
- Grant WordPress access to your Blogger data
- Select the blog you want to import
- Click Import and wait for posts and comments to transfer
- Assign or map authors for imported content
- Review the imported categories, posts, and comments
After import, review your posts to ensure formatting and images appear correctly. Some manual cleanup may be necessary for formatting and internal links.
Other helpful tips
To reduce broken links after the migration, set your WordPress permalink structure to match your Blogger URLs. In WordPress go to Settings > Permalinks and choose Custom Structure, then set it to:
/%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%.html
If your Blogger structure differed, match the correct format. Matching permalink structure helps preserve search engine rankings and prevents 404 errors.
To avoid duplicate content issues with Google, set your old Blogger posts to Draft mode once your new site is ready and verified. Don’t delete the old blog immediately—keeping it published while you complete the migration can help preserve images and content while you verify everything is working. Once you’re confident the WordPress site is correct and redirects are in place, you can keep the old content in draft mode or remove it.
Transfer your feed and notify readers
Before and during the migration, notify your readers that you’re moving to a new site so they can follow you. After you finish the migration, update your Blogger feed settings to redirect subscribers to the new feed URL so you don’t lose followers.
To update the feed redirect in Blogger: go to Settings > Other > Site feed and enter your new site’s feed URL in the Post Feed Redirect URL field. This helps ensure subscribers are automatically pointed to your new WordPress feed.
Have you moved your blog from Blogger to WordPress? What concerns are holding you back, and what influenced your original choice of platform?