Migrating-Redirecting Blogger to Wordpress: The Complete Guide!
Ok Blokesters, I promised to deliver and here it is. This is the tutorial that you’ve all been waiting for. The absolute best way to move your Blogger blog over to Wordpress, including the elusive Holy Grail for redirecting your blog posts and keeping your blog authority and Google Juice.
One of the reasons that my writing has been sparse lately is because I’ve spent days sourcing out scripts, plugins, and documentation to figure out the best way to redirect my old Blogger posts to Wordpress.
Whew! Throughout my journey I soon discovered there is no shortage of help out there, but unfortunately none of them worked very well, or not at all.
Not one to give up easily I had to dig in my heels and get down and dirty, and I’ve finally got the answer for you. So sit back and relax (I know that I will after writing this) in the knowledge that all of your old Blogger links will continue to work.
1. Change your Domain Host DNS Settings:
Go into your Domain Name host (I use GoDaddy) and change the Name Servers setup according to your blog host’s instructions. Your blog host company should have emailed you the directions how to do this. If not, then give them a call.
Please note: Leave your Custom Domain setup on Blogger before giving control over to your new blog host (i.e. don’t revert it back again to Blogspot in your publishing settings). See step #3 on Blogger Custom Domains: Best Setup for Optimizing your Blog Pagerank! if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
2. Import your Blogger posts into your Wordpress blog:
You will find the Import link under the menu Manage in your Wordpress dashboard. Just follow the directions and let Wordpress perform it’s magic.
Note: If it doesn’t work, open up a wordpress.comaccount and import from there. Then export the file to your desktop and import it back again via your self-hosted Wordpress dashboard.
3. Park Your Old Blogger Custom Domain (if different than your New Domain Name) in your Wordpress cPanel:
If you were hosting your Custom Domain on Blogger and you are going to use a different domain name (like I did, moving from Instabloke.com to BlogBloke.com) you will have to park the old Blogger Custom Domain in your new domain’s cPanel.
This is what my cPanel looks like:
4. Create and/or Modify the ”.htaccess” file:
If you don’t have an .htaccess file you can find more information about it at the htaccess Tutorial or the Comprehensive guide to .htaccess. Be sure to make it’s file permissions writable and put it into the root directory of your blog via your blog host cPanel.
This is the Holy Grail for redirecting your old Blogger posts over to Wordpress. What’s so great about it is it’s not complicated, is easy to set up … and unlike the others I checked out — this technique actually works!
I’ve literally spent days playing and experimenting with various plugins, php code and Apache redirects and I believe I’ve found the very best (and easiest) setup for redirecting your old Blogger links to Wordpress.
This method assumes that you will be using the permalinks custom structure /%postname%/ (you will find it in your Wordpress dashboard under the Options, Permalinks, Custom Structure menus) which is the best link structure for SEO optimization.
So here is your redirect code:
RedirectMatch permanent ^/[0-9]{4}/[0-9]{2}/([a-z0-9]+) http://yourblog.com/$1
Just copy and paste the above code into your .htaccess file before the line:
# BEGIN WordPress
What it all Means:
RedirectMatch
This statement calls Apache’s mod_alias module.
permanent
This tells the search engines the redirect is permanent. The old address is no longer valid and should be replaced with the new address.
^/[0-9]{4}
The first address we are matching, beginning with a four-digit year stamp.
/[0-9]{2}
This is the next address we are looking to match which will have a two-digit month stamp.
/([a-z0-9]*)
This is where (what Wordpress calls) the ”post slug” goes. It can contain any number of lowercase letters, numbers and dashes.
http://yourblog.com/$1
This is the address that we want to redirect to (i.e. your blog). The $1 variable at the end is replaced by whatever was matched in the previous statement.
Now watch the magic begin. Click on this link:
http://www.instabloke.com/2007/12/flexibile-blogging-join-revolution.html
and you will see what I mean. Keep your eye on the address bar in your browser and see how fast and seamlessly it redirects from the old blog to the new. No fuss, no muss. You will also note the .html extension has disappeared too. COOL!
From my experience there is no perfect setup that will work absolutely 100% of the time, but this should work about 99% of the time and those are pretty good odds as far as I’m concerned.
I say 99% because Murphy’s law rules and there will be (at least there was in my case) the odd link that was changed so dramatically during the import stage that the redirect couldn’t find a match. So it made a best guess that was either incorrect, or it defaulted to my user-friendly 404 page.
Chances are you didn’t fiddle with your post titles after first publishing it like I did, so you probably won’t even notice anything. Either way, it’s still automatically redirecting to my Wordpress blog and that is a good thing. I’m happy with the results and so should you.
5. Tell Blogger to STOP letting the search engines index your site:
In your Blogger Dashboard, click on “Settings“, “Basic” and scroll down to where you see “Let search engines find your blog?” Choose “No”.
You can also put the following meta tag in your template, right after the < head > tag:
< meta content=’NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW’ name=’ROBOTS’/ >
Just be sure to close up the < > brackets.
6. Switch Your Feedburner Newsfeed:
All you have to do is replace your old Blogger feed with the new Wordpress feed in your Feedburner dashboard.
If you are smart like I know you are, you will also comment-out the following code from your Header PHP file:
<!– < link rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” title=”RSS 2.0″ href=”< ?php bloginfo(’rss2_url’); ?>” /> –>
<!– < link rel=”alternate” type=”text/xml” title=”RSS .92″ href=”< ?php bloginfo(’rss_url’); ?>” /> –>
<!– < link rel=”alternate” type=”application/atom+xml” title=”Atom 0.3″ href=”< ?php bloginfo(’atom_url’); ?>” /> –>
And replace it with:
< link href=’http://feeds.feedburner.com/yourname’ rel=’alternate’ title=’Your Full Feed’ type=’application/rss+xml’ />
Again, please close up the < > brackets .
So why why should we do this? I’m glad that you asked. We do it so our feed stats won’t be diluted. You only want to offer your readers one newsfeed option - and that is Feedburner.
Blogger also allows you to seamlessly transfer your existing subscribers. In your Blogger dashboard go to Settings, Site Feed. In the Post Feed Redirect URL box, enter your new FeedBurner address. This will redirect your subscribers.
In Conclusion:
If you follow these directions correctly you shouldn’t lose any Google Juice from the move, or in other words your rank and authority should transfer to your new blog from the old as the search engines follow the redirects. It is all done automatically, working seamlessly in the background and your readers won’t even notice the difference.
Because we are using the .htaccess file for redirection it’s very F-A-S-T and easy to do as compared to trying to do the same thing with messy scripts, PHP or unsecure plugins (which don’t seem to work very well either).
Oh yes, one more thing. Whatever you do, do NOT delete your old Blogger posts or your blog either for that matter. Why? Because you want to keep your Googly Juices flowing, and if you delete your blog entirely some spammer might snap it up.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it. Cheers!
P.s: You should also read Moving Blogger Over to Wordpress: The Good, Bad and the Ugly that will give you a good overview of all of the issues.
with your friends if this article has helped your blogging experience
Don't Miss Another Blog Tip and Subscribe to the Newsfeed Today! 
Note to self to bookmark this for future reference… Great tutorial, Bloke, thank you. I know one day I will need this.
Right now I am happy with my Blogger blog; I really don’t have any issues to get me to stress out transferring everything over. For now, for me, it’s a matter of “if it ain’t broke”….
[Reply to this]
Thanks Maureen. Funny that the bloggers who requested this tutorial haven’t commented yet.
[Reply to this]
Well, I wasn’t totally what I expected ! But it certainly will be a hot post once the word gets out there !
[Reply to this]
Oops I kept some ‘t’ to myself ! I meant ‘it’ (this post) is not what I expected .. I thought it would be much easier than this !
Great work bloke !
[Reply to this]
Thanks Jaffer. I spent a great deal of time and effort on this post and I hope it helps.
[Reply to this]
Thanks BB. I just have a silly question. The cPanel is part of the Wordpress Codex? I’ve ever seen that kind of panel before.
[Reply to this]
Superb tutorial, as always. Although I’ve done much of this myself, the hard way, I did not implement the tip to stop search engines from indexing my Blogger blog the way you’ve described. I know I did something, but I can’t remember what. I went back and made that change to “no” and hopefully that takes care of any duplicate content penalties I might have incurred. I know this will help everyone who’s considering the move. I know of a couple people who are thinking about it and will send them your link.
[Reply to this]
Thanks Bloke. Turns out since creating a google sitemap with google sitemap creator plugin. I only have 14 lost links now and most of those are comment links. I am currently using the permalink structure of /2008/01/30/postname.
I wonder If I can alter the code above and add the day code, and then change my permalinks to %/postname/% I know it is beter for search engines. I like the notify me via email of comments. I also have it on my blog and notice it gets used a lot.
[Reply to this]
Great information, you may want to add a recipe for moving from blogspot.com… I have been trying to follow spontaneousderivation and lafers.net but both seem to be broken when redirecting internal pages.
[Reply to this]
There’s no silly questions here TonNet. We are all dufuses in one way or another, including yours truly.
To answer your question, the cPanel is provided by your blog host provider. It is where your blog installation resides and where you perform all of your technical adjustments. It is separate from the Blogger Dashboard which is what I think you are referring to.
[Reply to this]
Thanks Kathy, and don’t forget to redirect all of your blog posts via .htaccess. You will have change your permalink structure to use the method that I described above. You can alter the code if you like to keep your existing permalink structure, but it is not recommended for SEO optimization.
[Reply to this]
Jake, this should also work for blogspot. Click on this link and see how it works:
http://instabloke.blogspot.com/2007/12/flexibile-blogging-join-revolution.html
Sweeeeeet!
[Reply to this]
Curtis, you can’t use just %/postname/% and still have the day code. It’s either one or the other. I recommend dumping the day code and use the method that I provided. Keep it simple.
[Reply to this]
Ok, Right now all my posts are in /year/month/day/postname. I thought maybe changing the code to RedirectMatch permanent ^/[0-9]{4}/0-9]{2}/[0-9]{2}/([a-z0-9]+) http://yourblog.com/1
But I see now how it would get all messed up.
[Reply to this]
Curtis, you can try that but I would rather see you do it the SEO friendly way. Let me know how it goes.
[Reply to this]
Gosh, I’ll have to read this over a few times. I am still going back and forth about moving over to Wordpress.
[Reply to this]
Great tutorial, BB. Duly Stumbled
Actually it’s come at a good time because I’m thinking of moving my final Blogger site across to WordPress so I’ll be keeping this guide handy.
Cheers!
[Reply to this]
I know what you mean DeafMom. Been there and done that. I’ve never met anyone yet who’s regretted making the move. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. The deciding factor should be if you just want an online diary or a professional blog.
If you do decide to make the move then you now have a tutorial to hold your hand through the process.
[Reply to this]
Thanks Mike. I’m looking forward to reading your guest post.
[Reply to this]
I will get round to writing one soon. Promise!
[Reply to this]
what if one is coming directly to wordpress from blogger blogspot? i mean if one is not using custom domain..
[Reply to this]
also, i already deleted most of my content from my blogspot blog, problem are in the google cache still, can i just redirect people to new wordpress url using this method?
[Reply to this]
does the RedirectMatch permanent ^/[0-9]{4}/[0-9]{2}/([a-z0-9]+) http://yourblog.com/1
yourblog.com, should be replaced by the my new blog’s url?or should i just leave the code as it is??
[Reply to this]
what if i deleted all my Blogger blogspot posts already? can the cache copies be still redirected towards the new wordpress url, using this method??
pls. bear with my questions and i’m sorry if i asked one by one here..thank you
[Reply to this]
Seems like we went to same school of Hard Knocks except I missed changing feedburner links in the Header file because I thought the FeedBurner FeedSmith Plugin redirected the feeds to Feedburner.
Do both solutions (your solution and the FeedBurner FeedSmith Plugin) work the same way?
[Reply to this]
Hey Boy, try this method first with just blogspot. I think it should work and I would like to know how it works for you. So do let me know.
Redirects from Google’s cache should also work, but keep in mind once you tell Google to stop indexing the old blogspot blog the links will eventually disappear deep into the bowels of Googleland.
Yes, “yourblog.com” should be replaced with your blog’s new address.
[Reply to this]
Debbie, FeedSmith will redirect your existing Wordpress subscribers to your Feedburner account. Changing the links in your header is a good idea so that your readers are offered just one feed option in their browser. Keep it simple — that’s my motto.
[Reply to this]
Thank you, Bloke!
Your good idea is great for smooth sailing!
On a unrelated topic, your “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” didn’t notify me of your followup. If this only affects me than no problem since I can always check back later!
[Reply to this]
Hmm, I wonder if anyone else has noticed it. I will give it a test myself. Thanks for the heads-up Debbie.
[Reply to this]
WOW! My first reaction: Where was this post a month ago??!!
Wow! You really know what you’re doing. I managed to get #1, #2 and part of #5 done, but not without a lot of hair pulling, cussing under my breath and some stomping around the room in frustration.
I’m going to go back and do more of what you suggest. (and hopefully not mess anything up in the process!!)
I did notice when I tried to move from http://www.brandandmarket.blogspot.com directly to http://www.brandandmarket.com I could not import directly, but rather I had to do the “two step” by creating a brandandmarket.wordpress.com account
and then import from there to http://www.brandandmarket.com.
I think that step is what annoyed me the most because so many posts had said, just import from blogger into wordpress, but it wouldn’t go. I kept getting error messages from google. Silly me, it took me a while to find a post that called out that problem with the wordpress software.
Perhaps that part is fixed now & you can go directly… or perhaps I didn’t do every step, like park my blogspot in the parked domains…
Thanks so much for all the detail. I’m going to call out your post because so many of my blogging buddies have asked how I did it and I had so much frustration, I’m not sure I wanted to send them on the same path that I went down.
Chris Brown
Branding & Marketing
[Reply to this]
Yes, I don’t why but sometimes we can only import from a wordpress.com account first. Perhaps that way they can keep track of users easier.
Welcome to he community Chris.
[Reply to this]
Hi Bloke,
Thank you a million times over for this tutorial. I don’t know what I would have done without it.
Unfortunately, I’m having a problem getting the .htaccess and the ’NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW’ in Blogger to work. But if I understand what you said in your subsequent post, I should pretty much give up on the .htaccess. And maybe I shouldn’t do the ’NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW’ either because of the way I left the posts on my Blogger blog.
I kept the post structure, but I removed all the text in each post and replaced it with a chirpy little message telling people the blog had moved. I also included the new WordPress permalink in each old post, so if people land on an old post, they can just click on the link and be right in the same post on the new blog. You can see it here: http://myhealtharticlesblog.blogspot.com/
I don’t know if this was the right thing to do, but oh well; it’s done!
Oh, and I love your idea of having Blogger host the URL before moving over to WordPress. I have one more Blogger blog to move (in addition to one on WordPress.com), so I think I’ll try that.
Thanks again for taking the time to address all of this madness!
Carla
[Reply to this]
You are most welcome Carla. It makes me feel all mushy inside when I hear that someone like yourself has appreciated my efforts.
Regarding “nofollow”, I just use a plugin to resolve that issue. You can get it here:
http://www.semiologic.com/software/wp-fixes/dofollow/
If you don’t want the search engines to index certain docs on your Wordpress blog there are a ton of posts out there that you can Google showing you how to do it with .htaccess.
If you are having a problem with editing the .htaccess file make sure you have changed it’s file permissions in your cPanel.
Regarding changing the text in your posts, that is an extra precaution against being penalized by Google for double content. However, if you have followed my directions it shouldn’t be necessary.
Thanks for the kind comments and please drop by and talk again soon.
[Reply to this]
Thanks so much for your answer.
My permalink structure is set for “/%postname%/” and the permissions are set correctly for .htaccess; at least I think they are. They’re set for “write.” But there’s still no redirect. Maybe I wrote the code wrong. Is the following correct? (”http://myonlinehealtharticles.com” is the new WordPress blog)
RedirectMatch permanent ^/[0-9]{4}/[0-9]{2}/([a-z0-9]+) http://myonlinehealtharticles.com/1 # BEGIN WordPress
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
# END WordPress
My concern is that I messed up the original .htaccess code somehow when I downloaded and changed it. Like a dope, I didn’t save an original copy of the .htaccess file, so I have no reference point.
I really appreciate your help!
[Reply to this]
This is what my .htaccess looks like Carla:
RedirectMatch permanent ^/[0-9]{4}/[0-9]{2}/([a-z0-9]+) http://blogbloke.com/1
# BEGIN WordPress
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
# END WordPress
Try putting the # BEGIN WordPress part on a separate line after the redirect code. Put .htaccess file into your /public_html/ folder via your cPanel and make sure you have checked all the boxes on your file permissions so it reads “777″.
Remember, .htaccess is simply a text file and you should not create it using something like MS Word which adds extraneous code. Use something like windows notepad or the code editor in your cPanel.
[Reply to this]
Thanks for giving me the exact code.
I think there’s some fundamental piece I’m missing here, because even with using your code/my URL, configuring it in Notepad exactly as you indicated and modifying the permissions in GoDaddy’s “Hosting Control Center,” the redirect is still not working.
Here are some screenshots of the steps I took: http://b2bcontentsolutions.com/htaccess1.htm
There was no reference to “777″ anywhere after changing the permissions, so I’m guessing I’ve been trying to modify them in the wrong location on GoDaddy’s site. Any suggestions?
You’re a saint for helping me. I appreciate it so much!
[Reply to this]
Carla, if you click all of the boxes in your cPanel your file permissions level should read “777″. Unfortunately your Panel looks different than mine because I don’t host with GoDaddy.
Hmm, all I can think of is the .htaccess file might not be in the proper folder (i.e. the root directory). At this point I would contact GoDaddy support.
You might also want to click the link that I gave in my post for more information on .htaccess. I would also go over all the steps again in my post and make sure that you haven’t missed something.
[Reply to this]
I’m going to call GoDaddy this morning and see what’s up. Thanks again for all your help.
[Reply to this]
Hi Blog Bloke, been following your steps and i’ve made it to the .htaccess section. I’ve created the file, made sure it’s named only htaccess, uploaded it to root directory of blog, set the permissions to 777, changed the permalink structure. My old blogger site does not redirect at all. Could it be that i didn’t have a custom domain to park because it is a .blogspot.com address? How does blogger know to redirect if all the scripts are in my host directories? Should i be doing something at the blooger dashbaord?
Great post by the way, just this little snag to overcome. I notice that other people have mentioned no redirect too. Did you manage to solve these? Maybe i have the same issue.
Thank you
Daniel
[Reply to this]
Daniel, have you followed step #1 and changed the Name Servers setup in your URL host (e.g. GoDaddy) according to your blog host’s instructions?
Your new blog host company should have emailed you the directions how to do this. If not, then give them a call.
Have you also left your Custom Domain setup on Blogger (i.e. don’t revert it back again to Blogspot in your publishing settings).
[Reply to this]
Thanks for the speedy reply BB. I didn’t receive any NS in the email from my host company. I’ve emailed them and left a ticket in the help desk requesting these. That’s been 2 days so far…not impressed.
I’ll let you know if this fixes the redirect.
About the parked domain thing. I was using a .blogspot.com domain (free version). Therefore, i’m assuming I shouldn’t park it. Is that right?
Cheers.
[Reply to this]
If you put your custom domain name in your Blogger dashboard your blogspot address will still redirect. Click on the two links below and see what I mean:
http://www.instabloke.com/2006/11/10-killer-ways-to-increase-traffic-and.html
AND
http://instabloke.blogspot.com/2006/11/10-killer-ways-to-increase-traffic-and.html
[Reply to this]
I tried that but I’m not allowed to use a parse. Therefore .com/blog is not allowed. This could be the whole reason for the redirect not working. You do mention that it be used in the root directory. The thing is, I have other ideas for the .com address. I’m still waiting for the NS and IP address from my hosts. It takes the p**s really.
Hope you don’t mind me writing about my trials and tribulations on my blog?
Daniel’s last blog post..My attempt to migrate from blogger to WordPress.
[Reply to this]
No worries Daniel. This works because I use it on this blog. I would never recommend something that I haven’t tried and tested myself.
I recommend getting rid of the /blog part in your url and keep it simple. I see no advantage to using it.
In my case I’ve put .htaccess in the /public_html/ directory that is created in a normal Wordpress installation.
I think you’re trying to get too fancy with it. Keep it simple.
[Reply to this]
I’m sure it works and the advice you’ve provided has helped me migrate with little trouble. Some people talk of days for a migrate but I managed it in a few hours. As I say, i’m waiting for the name servers to come through and then we’ll see what happens.
If that doesn’t work then I’ll contemplate losing the pagerank and setting up a 301 redirect or moving the WP install to .com like you say.
Daniel’s last blog post..How Not To Tread In Dog Shit
[Reply to this]
just… wow
what an impresive article, i can see you did the leg work for this one *claps* i applaud you
this is one of the more difficult things to do when it comes to blogging and i think you pretty much covered it
i’m using blogger’s free hosting at the moment, so it would be much harder for me to do that (since i’d have to find a domain name, a host, etc.) but the info is still good to have
mmm, could you maybe direct me to some good hosts & domain registers… my ISP only allows like 25 mb of traffic =/
Zander Erasmus’s last blog post..Tips for 3D Students: Interviews
[Reply to this]
Thanks Zander. My tutorials do take a great deal of work and it’s always appreciated when I get a comment such as yours.
I use Bluefur hosting and have no complaints so far, but I’ve also heard good things about Small Orange and Dream Host.
I also use GoDaddy for my domain name.
It’s always best shop around on google for user opinions before signing up.
[Reply to this]
Thanks for the advice,
I think I’ll stay on the free networks like blogger for now till I can make up my mind…
probably once i get enough money from adsense or my freelancing work will I start doing some serious research on which ones would be more beneficial for me.
Zander Erasmus
Zander Erasmus’s last blog post..Tips for 3D Students: Networking - Work
[Reply to this]
hi.. the steps you’ve written here.. works like a charm..
thanks a million..
lestat’s last blog post..Weekend Shot: NBK’s Free Patchi Chocolates
[Reply to this]
I’m glad to hear that it worked for you Lestat. It’s comments like yours that keep me going. Cheers!
[Reply to this]
Hello,
I wish I’d read your tutorial before I tried to make the change. I had a custom domain on blogger but right after I installed wordpress I went to blogger and switched back to my old blogspot address. I futher screwed things up by transfering my domain name publicitystuntn.com to hostgator. And now the domain name is in limbo and I can’t get into my wordpress blog because of this. I guess my question is once I get my domain to point to the wordpress blog, is there anything I can do to save my pagerank and other things? note: hostgator uploaded my blogger blog to wordpress already, I just can’t login myself to see what it looks like…any advice would be greatly appreciated
[Reply to this]
…or better yet given my mistakes in the beginning is there anywhere I can pick up in your tutorial to get the same outcome?
[Reply to this]
Hi Tory. It sounds like a horror story that I saw on the late night show. After you follow my directions and get things working again the right way, Google will follow the redirects and eventually update your pagerank accordingly.
[Reply to this]
thanks for your response, I guess my question is, at what point in your tutorial should I pick up given the fact the first couple of steps I’ve already screwed up. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks
[Reply to this]
I would recommend starting at the beginning. That way you won’t miss any steps. Better safe than sorry is my motto. It won’t take long and it won’t hurt a bit. Promise
[Reply to this]
Hi Blog Bloke,
I’m undertaking a blogger to self-hosted wordpress migration for a friend of mine based in the States. He currently has a .blogspot.com/ address and its being moved to a new mydomain.tv address.
My question is