Do you want to migrate your WordPress blog or site from WordPress.com to WordPress.org? Although WordPress.com is well enough to get started with blogging. But as your blog grows you may need to switch over the self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) to have more control. In this article, I will show you how to migrate easily from WordPress.com to WordPress.org easily.

Why it is Necessary to Migrate from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?

WordPress.com has some limitations and that’s why it is less desirable for many bloggers. The platform doesn’t give you complete control over your site which is a great problem for many bloggers.

It will not give you the full freedom like a self-hosted platform. You can’t install all the themes and plugins unless you upgrade your plan.

On their Terms of Service page, it is clearly mentioned, “We reserve the right to display advertisements on your website unless you have purchased a plan that includes the removal of ads.”

To understand the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, read out our full comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

Things You Need Before Migration Started

The main advantage of WordPress.com is hosting. You didn’t have to worry about where your site is and who is taking care of your site.

But now that you’re going to start new a journey, it is time to get the best web hosting you can.

And the right hosting provider can make a big difference during the entire time you work on the site.

Get hosting and domain

A domain name is the URL address that a visitor type to see your webpage.

You should stick with a .com domain because it’s the most common. Many .com domains are already taken but you can find a domain just by adding extra details like the state or country.

After choosing the right domain name, you have to purchase a hosting plan. Kinsta is always my favorite hosting provider.

If you don’t have experience how to create a hosting account, let’s go through quickly to show you how to do that:

1. Visit Kinsta and create an account to get started.

2. Once you created your Kinsta account activated you can proceed to build your own WordPress website.

To create a new WordPress site, visit Kinsta Dashboard > Sites and click on Add your first site now.

You can configure your new server location and WordPress installation, in the Popup window.

In Location choose a region that is best fit for you.

On the site name put a unique name of your site to identify your setup.

If you already have a domain name you can select the checkbox I’ll use my own domain.

In Select install mode, you can select to add a brand new WordPress install.

Now you can configure your WordPress site title, admin username, admin password, admin email, language.

Lastly, click on the Add site.

3. Once a site is created click on the site name to view the installation progress.

Here you will find all the details of your installation.

4. Click on the domains part to view or change the primary domain of your installation.

Here you can add a new domain.

Now you have your WordPress installed on Google Cloud platform with Kinsta’s Managed web Hosting Solution.

Migrate your Site or Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org

Let’s start the migration process.

1. Export Data From WordPress.com

The migration process can be divided into mainly two parts. Before you can import everything into the new or self-hosting, you first have to export the old site (WordPress.com) and prepare the files.

1. First, you need to Log in to your WordPress.com blog and go to your WP Admin area:

2. Once you’re logged in the WP Admin, find the Tools options in your sidebar and select Export:

You will have two options like the following:

You have to click on the Start Export option. After a few seconds, you will get a confirmation message with a download link.

3. Select All Content and then click on Download Export File:

2. Import Content into Self Hosted WordPress Site

At this step, you need a WordPress installed on your own host to continue. Then, you have to log into the WP Admin for new WordPress site by visiting YOURDOMAIN.com/wp-admin

Once you logged into your WP Admin area, go to Tools > Import:

Now you have to install the import plugin for WordPress. Scroll down to the bottom to click on the Install Now link:

Once the installation is complete the same link will change to Run Importer. Click on the link to continue:

Now click on Choose File and select the downloaded .xml file that you exported in the previous step. Then click on the Upload file and import button. WordPress will now begin the process of automatically importing all your old pages and posts into your new site:

But before WordPress does that automatically, it will give you the option to create a new user with the login name or assign the post to an existing user.

I recommend creating the same author profile from your WordPress.com blog or site.

Once done with that, check the box below Download and import file attachments. 

Now, click on Submit, and WordPress will migrate everything over. Depending on how big your site is, this might take time.

3. Check your Site for Any Errors

If everything goes correct the content of your site should look exactly the same. But it’s still perfect to go through and check all the content, especially images, was successfully imported or not. There is a chance for large sites to lose some content – so double-checking is ideal.

4. Redirect your WordPress.com Site to WordPress.org

Once you’re sure that all your content including images came through successfully, you can redirect your old WordPress.com site to your new self-hosted(WordPress.org) site. This is very important because it will make sure that you are not losing your search engine rankings. 

Unfortunately, this is not a free service. WordPress will charge a small $13/year fee for this service. But, if you want to migrate WordPress.com to WordPress.org fully, $13 is a small amount to pay to maintain your traffic and search engine rankings.

To do that, just go to the WordPress.com dashboard and click on the Settings menu. Under the ‘Site Address’ option, you will find the redirect option. Just click on the ‘redirect’ link option.

On the next window, you will be asked to give the domain name where you want to redirect your visitors. Enter the new self-hosted domain name and click on the go button.

Note: Site redirect is not free. WordPress will charge a small $13/year fee for this small service.

If you don’t want to redirect, I recommend you at least make your old site private so that you don’t have two identical accounts of your site. Though Google has got a better algorithm to handle duplicate content but it’s still not a good idea.

To make your old site private, just go to the WP Admin area of WordPress.com. Then go to Settings > Reading and select the box that says I would like my site to be private […]

Final Words

Migrating your site from WordPress.com to WordPress.org may take a short time, but it will immediately open up an entire universe of possibilities when it comes to expansion and customization.

Just remember the following key steps:

1. Export your content from WordPress.com
2. Install the WordPress importer plugin on your new site to upload your exported file.
3. Check whether there are any errors or not especially images. If any images are broken, I recommend using the Import External Images plugin.
4. Redirect your visitors to the new site.

Have you ever migrated a site from WordPress.com to WordPress.org? If so, dis you face any issues? Let us know by putting comments in the below section!