.I’m so thrilled to see so many of you taking a plunge and moving their blogs to WordPress. Last week we talked about moving your blogs from Blogger to WordPress. However, I know that many of you are still blogging on WordPress.com and need a bit of an encouragement to go self-hosted.

You might also like:

• How to Move Your Blog From Wix to WordPress.org | Step By Step Tutorial.
• Moving your blog from Blogger to WordPress: Step by Step Manual.
• Benefits of Migrating to Self-Hosted WordPress.org.

Self-hosted WordPress.org and WordPress.com are completely different platforms. Wordpress.com is a free blog hosting service, it doesn’t allow custom designer theme uploads and has limited editing options. With Worpdress.org, you have a complete control of your blog and its content. Moving from WordPress.com to WordPress.org is actually very easy and you can have a professional WordPress blog ready in a few moments.

1. CREATE YOUR NEW WORDPRESS.ORG BLOG

To begin with, you’ll have to start new, self-hosted WordPress blog for yourself. Don’t worry, it’s soo easy, just follow this 5-minute tutorial.

2. EXPORT YOUR CONTENT FROM WORDPRESS.COM

Now it’s the time to download all those posts you’ve already written. Go ahead and login to your wordpress.com account. Navigate towards TOOLS→ EXPORT→ click on ‘START EXPORT’ (free option)→ make sure you mark ‘All Posts’ section & click on ‘ Download Export File ‘.

An XML file will be downloaded to your computer with all of your content: posts, pages, media files, comments, categories, etc.

2. IMPORT YOUR CONTENT TO WORDPRESS.ORG

To import the .xml file, login to your new WordPress.org blog’s dashboard. Use login details that you created in a 5-minute wp setup tutorial. You should be able to access your site through yourblogurl.com/wp-admin.

Once you’re in, go to TOOLS->IMPORT and choose WORDPRESS from the list. This will bring up a new window which will ask you to install a WordPress importer, click on ‘install’. Once it’s done installing, make sure to click on ‘Activate the Plugin & Run the Importer’. It will then take you to a screen where you will be asked to upload your WordPress.com xml file.

Please note: if your XML file is really large, you might run into an issue of loading it to your WordPress blog. If you used our 5-minute WordPress installation tutorial, make sure to get in touch with Bluehost team and ask them for assistance. They will take care of the upload for you in no time!

4. SETTING UP REDIRECTS

Sadly, you don’t have access to .htaccess on WordPress.com & you can not make any changes by yourself to retain search engine rankings. However, WordPress.com offers a paid upgrade called Site Redirect, which provides the option of redirecting your wordpress.com domain to your new blog.

For this, go to WordPress.com blog’s Site Redirect service page, which will automatically redirect you to your own account. Simply insert your new domain into the field and click GO. This service costs $13 and I’d really suggest using it or your own good. Of course, you can always just create a post on your wp.com blog about your transfer and leave a link if your fans want to follow you on your new blog.

I still prefer the first option tho!

5. INSTALL JETPACK

If you wish to keep some familiar functionality on your new blog, I’d recommend installing a Jetpack plugin. All you have to do is go to PLUGINS section and then click on Add New. You should find Jetpack plugin straight away on the next page, just go ahead and click on Install Now. Install, activate it and you will see a green announcement from Jetpack asking you to connect your wp.com blog. Go ahead and do so!

This last step is completely optional tho. There are so many awesome plugins out there that you can now freely use on your new, self-hosted WordPress.org blog. I know you’re going to love them!

6. GET NEW BLOG DESIGN

You won’t be able to use the same theme you used on your worpdrpess.com, but it’s a good thing! You can o so much more on self-hosted WordPress.org, so just go ahead & get yourself a new look! Visit my website and look through WordPress Themes we offer. All of my themes come with free installation services too, so you can leave the rest of the work for us ;)

This is it, friends! If you followed the steps above, your blog should be ready in no time! Or if you prefer leaving ALL the dirty work to someone else, read my post on FREE WordPress.com to WordPress.org migration services.