The Technical Struggle of Converting to WordPress

I was reading SEOBook’s post on how to migrate blogs from Blogger to WordPress , excited to see a step-by-step process for something I really need to get on since WordPress provides a lot more flexibility and customization. But once I saw the first step, I started to panic:

Step 1: Download and install WordPress (also requires setting up a MySQL database).

Umm, I don’t have a clue on how to set up a MySQL database. Or hack CSS by hand, or create conditional php statements, or rewrite .htaccess files. So how am I supposed to take advantage of the SEO benefits WordPress provides when I’m technically lost?

I consider myself technically-savvy, many colleagues and friends can attest to that. But after I read that blog post I started thinking of the value of marketing vs. technology. Where does search marketing really fall? If I had the best, most up-to-date technology, will search follow? It’ll help I’m sure, but unless I create value, fill a need, and engage with community, does it really matter?

So I’m still considering WordPress because it really is better. But what I may just do is just provide a static link back to Blogger. That sounds nasty, it won’t be well-optimized, but I just don’t have time to learn php. I could always just stick with Blogger and forget about WordPress altogether. Unless someone out there feels generous and wants to help – I’ll be happy to reciprocate.

4 thoughts on “The Technical Struggle of Converting to WordPress

  1. paisley

    why change? If you are concerned with SEO, Blogger is THE better blog format.

  2. ghabermann

    I disagree. I would state that they are equals out of the box but WordPress gives you the flexibility to do a lot more with your site.

    Anyways, Monica… I don’t have a ton of time but I would be more than happy to help you in whatever way I can to migrate to WP.

    shoot me an email: greg@smomashup.com

  3. Bob Stein

    Oh that’s a very helpful post, thanks! I will eventually want to do exactly that. I got started on blogger but always intended to migrate the content to wordpress, somehow, someday.

    Have you asked your hosting provider, the people who manage your web server, if they could do that? It might be a fairly routine effort for them, unless I’m missing something. Unless you have a self-managed host computer for your web site, you probably wouldn’t be doing that procedure yourself anyway.

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