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#IWSG : Ever felt Jittery about your Blog ? #writing

By 04/11/2015blog
Insecure Writer's Support Group

Insecure Writers!

I’m back to blogiverse after the hiatus, and have started my blog-visiting rounds! I’m still a bit of a zombie trying to make up for the lack of sleep, but I guess I’ll get better.

Today is IWSG day: Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for organizing and hosting the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) every month! Go to the site to see the other participants.

In this group we writers share tips, self-doubt, insecurities, and of course, discuss the act of writing. If you’re a writer and a blogger, definitely go join rightaway!

My post today isn’t writing-related, it is more about this space: Daily (w)rite.

Over the past 7 years, it has grown and I have made so many friends.

The issue is that I’m now being advised to take the blog to my own domain name. Move it out of WordPress altogether: more professional, and apparently, more secure.

My horror is that I might lose all you guys in the process.

It seems I can take my followers friends with me to my new site with the help of WordPress plugins, but no one can guarantee a 100% success rate. I really have never used this blog to market anything, so that’s the least of my concerns– but I have made loads of online friends– and I realized just how many and how supportive when I was in the process of sending off my MS for Mslexia. I had so many blog friends help me out (Samantha, Michael, Michelle), and so many others provide moral support. I cannot, cannot afford to lose even one of my followers FRIENDS.

I have bought my domain name: damyantiwrites.com, and am basically dithering about moving to the new site. Some people have told me to develop an email list– find Mailchimp so I can basically collect email addresses, and mail them when I shift. I don’t know if I want to do that, for many reasons.

What’s your advice? Have you ever been through a shift from WordPress to your own domain? Has this affected your audience? If you’re a long-term friend of this blog, what would you like to see at the new site? Do you subscribe via email or just the reader?

If you’ve just arrived, welcome! Stay on and have a cuppa– we’re a friendly bunch here.

Please join Daily (w)rite on its Facebook Page in case you don’t blog, but would still like to be heard by this community.

 

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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132 Comments

  • I use my blogs to share things, mostly unknown to family and friends. It’s easier to share what’s in my heart with strangers, but still very scary. I have a thin skin and fear trolls and plain old mean people.

    I haven’t yet figured out how to coordinate all the social media elements. The main things that I would like to share relate to personal caregiving experiences. Also I want to gather info on practical help available to caregivers and chronically ill patients so they can navigate health care delivery in the US with greater confidence.
    Thanks for the info on IWSG. Sounds like something I need to pull things together.

  • fuguestateknits says:

    Oh my goodness yes:)! Always wondering if I’m saying too much or too little! Thank you for the link for insecure writers-Will be joining today:)!

  • bhdandme says:

    Thanks for the like….

  • all the time!

  • dgkaye says:

    Welcome back! Yay for you getting your own site. It sounds scarier than it is. I did this over a year ago. I got my own domain and as long as you back up your blog in case anything goes wrong during the export from the old site to new, you won’t lose anything. Then you can make a site redirect, so that if any of your followers end up at the old blog site, they will automatically be sent to the new one. This gives them time to get to know your new place so they will eventually come there direct. I’m not a techy geek, so I seeked some help in the process from a savvy author friend. Do the same and you’ll be ready to go. You will be in control of your own domain, it’s great. 🙂

  • Charli Mills says:

    It’s like going to that next level in our writing. It’s never easy, but worth the growing pains. I suspect we are all connected with you through social media, too and that will ease the transition. Start an e-mail list. Best “free” marketing tool, ever. And while you might not “sell” anything, you are building both a community and an audience for your writing and that is gold. 🙂 Good luck! I’ll find you!

    • Thanks, Charli. I’m not sure I’m connected to all my blog friends on social media, but I hope I am.

      I’m still iffy about starting an email list: I myself hardly ever connect with newsletters, and am terrified of disturbing my friends with unwanted emails.

  • I would say take the plunge. Also post here a paragraph or two and then give the link to the full article to your own site for the existing readers who can then go to your own site. Don’t feel jittery. Write what you believe in.

    • Thanks, and that’s a great idea: will be trying to do that– link posts from this one to the other.

      Thanks for your visit and comment and hope to keep in touch via our blogs.

  • tj6james6 says:

    I haven’t done it myself but I have been through it with others (sorry if the formatting is nuts, my computer’s being stupid.)
    If you post the new link over here we can click and follow you that way. Beware though, if you go through self-hosted WP, they have recently had a bad bout of virus go through. The virus wasn’t bad, per se, just a pain in the butt pop up window or tab which wouldn’t go away unless you used task manager to end it *sigh*. A pain but manageable.

    • Thanks for your comment: I’m terrified of viruses–I think I would need to learn how to stay stafe. All of this adds to my scare of moving to my own site.

  • Ruth2Day says:

    big step, and I admire you for doing it. Will hopefully be able to follow you over 🙂

    • I’m still taking my time, and in the meanwhile trying to connect with all my blog friends on social media: just followed you on twitter, and also hope to connect via FB.

  • Thankyou everyone for your fantastic friendship, comments and advice– please please keep it coming. I’m traveling this weekend, but will individually respond to each comment and visit you back by this Tuesday– that’s my promise to you and myself. I need to spend an entire day chatting with all of you: a lovely break from reading, writing and all the other boring (but necessary) life-stuff.

    I love you all– you have no idea how your comments buoy me up on hard days.

  • If you build it they will come. Your friends are going to follow you to your new site. They will find you from all your social media sites.

    • Hi Wendy– I’ve always been a believer in community– in commenting and liking posts whenever I can– so I don’t know if it is a question of building and they’ll come.

      Life these days is so hectic that it is very easy to fall off someone’s radar and vice versa.

      In the last few years, I have cherished friends like you, and am miserable at the idea that I might lose some of you.

      Yep, there will a time to do the bungee jump thing, but I want to land at a place where all my kind and loving friends will find me! 🙂

  • wallcat says:

    I can understand this fear. I don’t keep a major blog or anything, but when you start to have regulars they can begin to feel like friends. I’ve moved between blogs before and it’s like starting from scratch again, but I reckon if you were to inform your readers about the switch, the ones that care will be happy to make the move to the new domain. I tend to subscribe by the reader rather than email, as I follow a lot of blogs and I don’t want to fill up my inbox. I’ve just started teaching myself more about WordPress and hope to set up another site with it one day. Good luck if you decide to make the transition. There are usually pros and cons on either side of such a decision,

    • Thanks for such a long and thoughtful response. The friends I fear losing the most are those who subscribe via Reader, because I can’t carry that over to the new domain. Just followed you on twitter in hopes of keeping in touch in case I lose you when I shift. If you’re on FB, I hope you’d consider connecting on my page.

      • wallcat says:

        It’s a shame that there’s no easy way to carry them over. Hopefully they will notice that you’re moving and go with you. I’ll keep an eye on your Facebook page :).

  • Jemima Pett says:

    Hi Damyanti – I did this just about two years ago, and it hurts… but your real followers follow you, and eventually new ones find you as they would have done anyway.
    Leave a permanent post top of your old domain with the redirect, so that if any old stuff sends people there, they can still find the New You.
    (I do occasionally blog about the pain when techie things go wrong, but overall I prefer the freedom)
    Don’t worry about us – we’ll follow you anywhere!

    • Thankyou, Jemima. I’m terrified of losing my good friends–am so relieved I’m connected to you on social media and email. Thanks for the books 🙂

  • Arlee Bird says:

    I’m starting not to be overly concerned. I like my blog, but I guess I’m not going to get overly stressed about it.

    Arlee Bird

  • violafury says:

    Damyanti, I have wondered the same thing. I always come here for inspiration and it’s been a while. Much crazy in my life, but things have settled down and it’s time to catch up with those that are dearest to me. I believe that the transition can be made and made smoothly, I just don’t know how one goes about that. I do know that if it isn’t done just right, people get lost in the process.

    One of my closest blogging friends went with a company that uses Livefyre for some reason, and I was unable to post on her blog at all, which was strange. All of these different platforms and apps now make it so difficult to keep open access to all, I believe, although I could be wrong. I even opened up my own access rights (which I don’t like doing) and tried different browsers with her site and nothing worked. I ended up calling her on the phone, since she lives her in the U. S. It just all depends I guess.

    I would suggest (although I’m sure you’re two steps ahead of me on this) talking to people like Vidya Sury who manages a very beautiful site and some other folks who run their own sites and see how they transitioned. I’m pretty sure we all started out with some little app on Blogger or WordPress and made the decision at some point to host our own sites for a more professional look. I’m not quite there yet. I still fight with Blogger and hassle around with the HTML coding thing, and as my “viewership” or “readership” grows, I am coming up with some of the same questions. I’m not ready yet and I’ve a ways to go. Whatever you decide, I’m for it! 100%! Always! Thanks Damyanti and as always, I enjoyed reading your posts! Mary <3

    • Thanks for being such a good friend, Mary. I hope I never lose you when I change to my own domain– because we’re connected on way too many levels.

  • simonfalk28 says:

    Damyanti, Firstly, I love the concept of insecure writers.
    Currently I subscribe to your blog on the wordpress reader with the instant email setting. If you end up going to the mailchimp option on another platform, I am more than happy to be on the email list I can’t advise which way you should go but would like to keep seeing your posts in whatever way they get delivered. 🙂

    • Thankyou Simon!

      I hope we stay connected even when I shift— I’m still hesitant about mailchimp–I’m worried my posts would be an intrusion 🙁

      Will definitely let you know when I’m shifting, and we’re connected on Twitter at least.

  • maxravi says:

    I am new reader of your blog and I love your content. I think migrating your blog to new domain is a good idea and help you to brand the blog. Rite now you have use redirection from wordpress to domain name and it works fine. Keep blogging..

    • Thanks for stopping by, Ravi, and I hope to see you often. You have a fantastic blog yourself, and now I’m following you on Twitter– hoping not to lose touch when I move to my own domain.

  • Sammy D. says:

    As one of your many FRIENDS, I want you to do what’s best for your blogging goals. That said, I have not been successful at logging onto and commenting on several of my favorite blogs once they move away from WP. I always thought it was my IPad limitations, but now I think it has more to do with their sites, firewalls and glitches. I still read them occasionally, but our ‘dialogue’ has sadly been lost.

    • I will try my very best never to lose my dialogue with you, Sammy. Life has gotten in the way of things–but I’m hoping to cement our friendship even further in the coming weeks. Be in touch with you soon.

      • Sammy D. says:

        I know, Damyanti. We are pulled in so many directions, and I find aging means I don’t accomplish as much as quickly as I used to. I might not be blogging for awhile, but I will stay in touch here and via email ??

  • Reblogged this on Crazy Pasta Child.

  • arlene says:

    I’ve been following your blog for a number of years now. Good luck on having a new one. I just created a new blog using the Mystique theme and I am enjoying the challenge of writing new posts. I think I would stay with WordPress for a long, long time.

  • davidprosser says:

    As long as you make sure you post about the new blog and domain name before you leave I doubt any of your friends will lose you.
    Just think of the excitement of creating a whole new world for yourself and the friends who move with you. And for those new friends yet to be found.
    Very best of luck and I hope the transition is trouble free.
    xxx Huge Hugs xxx

    • I’m excited but terrified at the same time– I know I won’t lose you because we’re connected on twitter, too :). Thank you for all the shares of my blog!

  • rxena77 says:

    I am with Walt in a sense. We work hard on our blogs — too hard not to keep the friends we have made along the way. If moving loses any of your followers, it would hurt, right?

    Our old posts may not stay on Blogger if we move. Three of my friends left Blogger to WordPress, losing their old posts!

    Now their blog addresses belong to cooking, fashion, and fishing blogs!

    Follow your instincts. They will seldom lead you astray. Best of luck no matter what path you choose. 🙂

    • I’m terrified, and now I know I have good reason.

      I’m hoping never to close down my blogs completely– just leave them online with redirect messages, so my old friends can find me, and no one can start fishing or knitting blogs on my sites (I don’t mind fishing or knitting, but that’s not what I’m about.)

      In writing this post I’m following my instincts– my blog friends have always given me the best advice re: blogging!

      Thanks for stopping by Ronald, and your support. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

  • doreenb8 says:

    I switched from blogger to my own domain at word press. It was quite stressful but all went well. Hopefully someone techie can help you get it done.

  • I love your blog, and I think you would be successful whatever you do (I mean it!). I personally read through both. I get emails whenever you post (through WordPress, I believe), but I also spend a few hours every weekend on the reader. I’m not sure how a email list would compare to the emails I get now from you, but from my experience, I do prefer shorter emails. Some of the people I subscribe to have pages worth of an email, and I feel that I don’t have the attention span to follow it. Either way, I will continue reading your blog, because I really have enjoyed it so far!

    • Thanks Aubrey. I’m not sure i want to email anyone saying I’ve posed on my blog– that should be an opt-in thing– seems like you’re subscribed via email, so hopefully you’ll continue to receive updates. This blog will remain alive for quite some time, too, so I’m hoping all is well when I change domain names. I hope to shift content too, eventually, but don’t know if that is a good or bad thing to do.

  • Blogsville is constantly evolving. I started with Yahoo when blogging first commenced and when that folded moved to Multiply. That in turn crashed because administrators had failed to make technological provision for an explosion of bloggers. So I looked around for an appropriate site to fill my objectives and after a brief sojourn on poetry and story sites settled on wordpress. I will be staying here while it meets my objectives but understand the blogging culture evolves rapidly. I don’t think there’s a site that can guarantee permanence so you have to decide what suits your needs for the immediate future.

    • Thanks Ian, this and Amlokiblogs were more or less my first blogs, so I’m trying to do what I’m being advised–I’m told WordPress is going to disappear some day… I’m going to take this very slowly, however.

      I’ve added you on FB, so if I do disappear, we’ll have a way to find each other 🙂

  • Denise Covey says:

    Hi Damyanti! I’m glad you survived the novel blitz! I wish you well for its success! I bought my domain name some time ago and have dithered around too, then decided to build a WP blog and actually got it looking better, but what a process!

    You get all sorts of advice re this sort of thing. But you have to do what you have to do.

    Hi Carrie! Well, I can’t imagine sacrificing my bed for office space, so you must have been desperate! But if it’s so important to you that’s a good decision. I do most of my writing at various cafes. That’s where I find stimulus. Different sorts of distractions to what I have at home. (My study is too small, but I’m getting a good-sized one built soon!) Methinks I’ll still pop off to cafes, tho’.

    • Hey Denise. It’s a terrible dilemma, this blog-shifting business. Yes the novel-crazy-thing is over for the moment, and i’m trying to respond to all the pending blog comments! 🙂

  • I have a few friends that moved, and I tried to follow them. It doesn’t always work well. I usually add the site manually to my Reader so I can keep up. Some who don’t interact much, I let go without a whimper. Two of my friends require an extensive log in process to comment, and I have to manually return to read follow up comments. Unless someone proves the benefit to me, I will never leave for self hosting.

    • I can understand the problems inherent in the process– which is why I’m taking it very slow and easy. My hope is to lose as few of my friends as possible–because heart-breakingly, I’m told I should shift out of WP, and that some loss is inevitable. Just followed you on Twitter, so hopefully there’s a way to stay connected with you!

  • Ula says:

    I’m planning to move from my wordpress.com blog to self-hosted. There are so many things to figure out with it though. I also already have the domain as well as hosting purchased, so it’s just a matter of transferring over. I’ll be reading the comments here carefully to see if maybe I can learn something new.

    I read your blog through the reader, but I don’t see any problem in moving with you.

    Good luck with the transition.

    • Thankyou so much– I’ve been reading all the comments and doing my best to connect with everyone on social media, unless I’m already connected or they aren’t on social media– I’m hoping to find my friends back, sooner or later.

      If you’re connected to this blog via the reader, you may not find me again unless you’re also subscribed via email. I post once or twice a week, so I’m hoping I stay connected to you either via email, or social media.

      You and me already follow each other on Twitter, so there’s that.

  • tric says:

    I haven’t changed over and have no huge desire to as I’m non commercial and have good interaction. I find my blog free from issues so I only have to write.
    I would continue to follow you but I’d not read your email notifications as much as I would if you appear in my reader. Best of luck whatever you decide.

    • Thanks for reading me so far…and I agree with you, I’d rather not intrude with an email notification. Hoping to stay connected via twitter, and I’ve added your feed on Feedly!

  • martyvee says:

    Everything I pay attention to says you should have an email list anyway and mailchimp has been recommended to me.
    You should take the plunge. We’ll seek out your new place in the Internet. I know I’ve enjoyed and found your insights to be very useful.

    • Thanks Marty. I’m very hesitant about the mailchimp option, but who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind. Thank you for your support. Followed you on Twitter, so that’s another way to stay connected! I’m adding everyone who comments here on to my Feedly, so I keep hearing from your blogs :). Thanks for your support, Marty, and you’ll be on my Feedly feed so I keep reading your blog.

  • Here are a few thoughts I’ve had about the same question. I really like wordpress and have lots of friends, more coming on board every week. Most of them are wordpress friends and I find it complicated to follow and comment on non-wordpress sites – so I often don’t. My second thought is that wordpress has tens of thousands of participants. It’s not like I’m going to run out! And finally, I blog partly to market my books, but mostly because of the friendships I’ve developed and like you, I feel loyal. I would rather add to the ones I have than start over.
    Good luck with your decision, whichever way you go. 🙂

    • I’m with you on both counts– hence the hesitation in shifting. I’m wondering what would be the pros and cons of leaving the blog as it is and shifting the content in later. I need good advice on how to retain my friends when I move to a new domain.

  • My only advice, which I hope is helpful and I’m sure you’ve considered, is what is hard-won through other pursuits (not related to switching a blog platform and tons of follower-friends). Make sure you have a great server and/or other means to back up your established work, if you do change over to anything. Now, just a well-wish. Continued congratulations, Damyanti; I always look forward to reading your posts, no matter if you’re at WP or elsewhere! Take care! 🙂

    • Thanks, Leigh, you may be sure I shall be backing up each post and comment– I didn’t realise how emotionally attached to my blog I’ve become. Now that the risk of loss has become quite real, I’m panicked!

      Thanks for your support, as always.

  • You’re wise to think about this. I moved my blog and lost most of my subscribers in the process (I didn’t know this would happen).

    One friend of mine made several announcements before making the switch. I’m not sure how that worked for her overall, but she was a wiser woman than I!

    • So sorry to hear of your loss of subscribers.

      I would sink into clinical depression if I lost mine. This is why the hand-wringing.

      I hope not to lose you, because we’re now connected on twitter, and I’m subscribed to your feed!

  • I haven’t moved to my own domain name, but I have thought about it. I think the most successful moves with the best follow through are the ones that leave the original blog open for a year or so with a link to the new site. If you can do that, that’s my suggestion from a blog-reader’s perspective.

  • Megan Morgan says:

    Good luck on your move! I’ve thought about moving my site/blog over to my own webspace from WordPress a couple times and it seems so daunting! May it go smoothly for you!

  • Hi Damyanti!
    Thanks for the shout out. It was a pleasure to read your work and help out where I could.

    I also own my domain. It’s a WP blog. However, I’m not very tech savvy and so I have somebody who hosts it for me. It’s less stress for me… 🙂

    • Thank you for being you, Michelle. Your help meant a lot when I was going through a tough phase.

      I wish I could find someone reliable to take care of all the shifting techie stuff for me.

      Thanks again, and I know I’ll never lose you– I follow you on every social media there is 😉

  • I’ve never shifted but think can be done smoothly with FB and Twitter, sharing the new looks. It helps. DO Share the new link.

    • Thank you Vishal– I’m hoping it can be done without losing valuable friends. Of course will share the new link: it is right now directed here: damyantiwrites.com. You and I are connected on FB and Twitter, so I’ll find you even if I manage to lose you.

  • emaginette says:

    When I left blogger I deleted all but one page and it points to where I blog from now. Don’t let fear hold you back. 🙂

    • Thank you so much Anna. I followed you on Twitter, and liked your FB page–I hope we won’t lose touch when I change to the new domain.

      I’m wondering whether I can import all my posts from my blogspot on to my new site– I’ve sent that blog on a hiatus for the moment. I hope to leave a page with a link directing any visitors to the new site.

  • Henri says:

    I tried to move. Bought the hosting and the domain. I hated it. I am going to be on WordPress forever. I don’t care! And I agree with Dan…you can just buy the domain on WordPress. You can even buy a theme you like, and change it whenever you feel the need. I think, for me, as a blogger, my pursuit should be in the writing realm and not in the website management realm!

    • I hope to shift without problems–I’ve been told that buying a domain on WordPress still keeps me within WordPress and I should get a domain I control. I’m still not convinced, so will cling on till I manage to transit safely.

  • strangepegs says:

    What I’ve found is that blogs are not nearly as important as we think they are or want them to be.
    I say that as someone who still posts regularly to his blog.

    • I agree with you, Andrew. In the bigger scheme of things blogs don’t really matter all that much. But right now, I’m looking at the blog scheme of things, and trying to decide the best way to move :).

      More important than the blogs are my blog friendships–I’m hapy that you still managed to find me despite Amlokiblogs going on hiatus! I’ve gone and found you on twtter, so there’s another way for us to stay connected.

      Thanks for stopping by to comment.

  • Dan Antion says:

    I wold follow you anywhere, but I have two thoughts. I have always had my own domain name associated with my blog. I think you can change that on WP without losing readers because others appear to have done that.

    Thought two: I’m not convinced that moving off of the WordPress platform is necessary. We do that for a WordPress powered company site, but we do it so we have more control over downloadable content. You might have better security, but you will likely be paying for it.

    Third thought (I know, I said I had two) If you start a self-hosted blog under a new domain, on a different server/service, you should be able to keep this alive with a post pointing to that new location. I know that the WP folks frown on this in some cases, but I have seen other people who have a “This blog has moved” post on their WP-hosted site and it’s been there for years.

    • Dan, Thankyou for the vote of confidence, and your advice.

      I’ll get in touch with you to learn more from you, if that’s okay? I know I won’t lose you–we’re connected in other ways on social media.

      And just for the record, I would follow you anywhere, too, in case you decided to change blog addresses.

  • Gyan Akarsh says:

    It might be helpful if you check out the step by step tutorial at wpbeginner.com “How to properly move your blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org”

    It is really easy if you don’t know much about software and tech stuff.

    Hope it helped!
    🙂

    • Thanks, I’m a confused soul right now– will read the article you mention and try to work this out. Thank you for your help and support.

  • SirKappy says:

    The thing that I found made the most sense when I wanted to get rid of the “.wordpress.com” in my domain name was to use WordPress’s own domain hosting service. There was no transferring anything over and I’ve never had any problems with it. It’s also a lot cheaper than other hosting sites like GoDaddy.

    • I agree that it is a lot cheaper. I have been convinced of the need to move, though–it is just a matter of finding the right sort of help to do it.

  • For me, I just read the blogs of people who comment mine, so as long as someone comments from the link to their new blog site, I’m going to read it. But I’ve also found that many bloggers will just post a link on the old blog that says, “Visit my new blog here.” Make it simple and short and they’ll see it! Some make the mistake of disguising the new link in a long blog post and people accidentally assume they’ve already read that post and click off before seeing that there’s a new site to visit.

    Stephanie

    • I try to visit back and comment on everyone who visits here. That said, some people lurk and read this blog, and that’s ok, too. I’ve recently met folks offline who said to me the moment they saw me: I enjoyed your post on such-and-such. I had No idea they read my blog.

      A lot of the folks on my FB apparently enjoy my blog, but have never left a comment, ever. 🙂

      I blog because I enjoy the interaction, but I’ve also found that my blog has become a kind of community– people have apparently found each other on here and become friends!

      I hope never to lose you Stephanie– you always have very insightful and practical comments. Just went and followed you on twitter– unsure how I hadn’t followed you yet! Have added you to my Feedly too!

  • I registered my domain name through WP. I’m unclear as to the advantages of being self hosted. I love having this community to interact with!

    • The advantage is that you have more control–the content is truly yours and WP can’t pull the plug on your blog if they wish to. All long-term benefits, with short term nightmares…

  • I own my own domain too, but linked it to my blogspot blog. Could you do that here. Link the two, so now one has to go searching. I’ll follow and I do follow some by email, so that’s good too. What ever you decide good luck!

    • Thanks for keeping in touch with this blog, Yolanda. I did have the two linked, and have them linked now– though the wordpress one shows right now, instead of the self-hosted domain.

      I know I won’t lose you because we’re connected on various social media, but it is scary, the prospect that I might!

  • walt walker says:

    I’ve seen three people I follow / was friendly with move their blogs off WordPress. They lost me as a friend/follower when they did that. However, the reason I stopped keeping up with them was more about them being inconsistently friendly/followy with me. In other words, before their move, they were inconsistently friendly already, and after they moved, they were just gone. Why would I step outside the WP community for people like that, if other than just out of passing curiosity? The whole of the internet is out there, with superior, more professional content provided by folks who are equally distant. I’m not saying people shouldn’t aspire to more, especially if they are talented, but I am saying there is a right way to go about it and a wrong way. People have to know who they are, and where they stand. No one can answer that question for them, but if they answer it wrong, their probably done for. With the paid, own-domain option provided by WP, it seems like leaving can only hurt. If WP is good enough for Time Magazine, seems like it should be good enough for people who’re already invested in WP. That said, you might very well see a successful transition, Damyanti, with the amount of time and energy you seem to have spent in building your audience. The people I have in mind had audiences that were just a fraction of the size of yours. Best of luck, whatever you choose.

    • Thankyou for your well-thought-out comment. I’m considering the pros and cons of everything at the moment. Let’s ee how it goes.

      I hope I don’t lose touch with you when I change addresses– I’ve gone and followed you on twitter to ensure that there’s at least one other way to stay connected!

  • wwannwrites says:

    My own personally suggestion, is do what works for you. So many people suggest that you do this or that, but personally what other people do, doesn’t always work for me. If you’ve got your blog followers, and you have paid for a wordpress domain, I don’t see why you shouldn’t keep it. I have decided to do what works for me, and not try to follow in someone else’s footsteps. If I can find a way to take another person’s advice, I will. However, not all the advice I have heard works for me, so if this works, keep up the good work.

    • Thankyou, Ann, and I’m sorry I haven’t been by lately– been very taken up with other things and had to send the blog on a hiatus.

      I know I’ll finally go with what feels right for me, but in the meanwhile, I’m appreciating all this good advice. I’m sure some of it would inform my final decision.

  • I don’t have advice for you, but I think it’s great you’re thinking of your audience and how to move them with you. I used to read more blogs than I do now, and half the time I’d see broken links and “going on haitus” with no return post over six months later. Those were all smaller blogs. I guess some get burnt out or move house and don’t do upkeep on the old site.

    • My audience inspires a lot of my posts, and I thrive on the interaction I receive here, so leaving my blog friends behind is not an option at all.

      My other blog is on hiatus, but it has a link here.

      I’m connected to you on Twitter and would do my best not to lose you when I move!

  • Almost Iowa says:

    I had (literally) a thousand friends on Gather.com, a website affiliated with public radio. When the site collapsed, many of my friends went with it. Some of us formed a Facebook page and kept in touch… but it has all been rather sad. I have been on WordPress for close to two years and am only beginning to regain the circle of writer friends that I once enjoyed.

    • That’s my nightmare scenario. I really hope I can retain all my friends into WordPress, and am still thinking of ways to do it. I’m going to make sure I’m not losing you by adding your feed to my Feedly. Can’t do without the chuckles every now and then!

  • misfit120 says:

    My thinking is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Meaning that after 6 years of being on WP and gaining followers why would I want to chance moving. Besides…..I’m a scardy cat.

  • Hi Damyanti, I had once started my own domain and found it difficult to find followers or friends as you say. At wordpress.com, I was able to get audience and my blog got more attention than when I used my own domain. Having said that, with a blog as popular as your’s I hope you will find more advantages using your own domain name.

    • Thanks for your input Jahnavi. I think the audience of my blog is mostly very kind–I’m not sure how much favor I would find outside WordPress. But I guess I’m going to give it a shot, and figure out how many readers and friends I really have outside of this site. 🙂

  • Erika Beebe says:

    I think sometimes it’s best to just go for it, if that’s what you really want to do. Promote the change and people who love you will find you. I switched from blogger to WordPress a few years ago and I kept the domain at my previous site. Whatever you decide will be the best choice for you ~Erika

    • Thanks Erika, I sent my Blogspot on Hiatus and am now fully on WordPress–I’m wondering if that was the right decision, but I find I have very little time in my day I can dedicate to blogging, and couldn’t do justice to two blogs. I’m still not sure I’ve got back all the audience from my Blogspot, but those who are friends are mostly on my social media, so that helps.

      I’m hoping to stay connected to you via twitter!

  • ashokbhatia says:

    A real dilemma, of course. For some time, you could consider duplicating your posts by providing links on WP so your true friends do not miss you.

    • Thankyou. I’m going to begin by adding the ‘read more’ link here and pointing it to the new site–wondering if that’s possible.

  • cmwriter says:

    I have not been through this transfer process. Keep us posted.

    • I will, Carol, and thanks for visiting. I have you on my Feedly, so hopefully shall not lose touch! Also added you to my twitter–just fyi, had to search really hard to find you on twitter– an easy link would help your audience tons 🙂

  • You move, be sure to post here and let everyone know.
    I switched to a domain name but I stayed with Blogger, so not much changed.

    • I will keep this blog for a while yet, Alex, even after I move. Maybe after a while I shall remove all content from here other than the one post talking about the shift– but we’ll see. Not sure of what I really would do yet. Thanks for being there as always.

  • macjam47 says:

    If you do decide to switch from WP to another host, please leave your new link here before moving in case not all of us transfer over.

    • I definitely will, Michelle. And I’ll make sure never ever to lose touch with you, if I can help it. I have you on Twitter, so I’ll give you a nudge there, too 😀

  • My preference would be to get a personal domain name *through* WordPress and stick with WordPress. Maybe get the paid WordPress (if you don’t already have that).

    I have another site with WordPress architecture installed on my own server, and it is a bear to get some things to work correctly. Things like “Like,” “Follow,” “comments,” and various alerts work much better on WordPress plus you can get listed through WordPress features.

    • Those are the very things holding me back from making the move unless I absolutely have to. Still wondering what to do.

      I have you on my Feedly, so I know I’ll find you even though I lose the WordPress reader!

  • I moved from self-hosting to WordPress because I was having some issues with my hosts – I had suffered a couple of attacks due, it turned out later, to a plugin I had deactivated but not deleted, having been compromised. I have since moved back to self-hosted (combining two blogs into one on the way) because I didn’t want the cost that came with the way I was using WordPress. The conversion was relatively painless, save for some images being missing, but these were from 2006-2008 when I was with Google Blogger. WordPress followers transferred across easily and I don’t think I lost any email etc friends. I have left the WordPress blogs there, clearly renamed to prevent new people following. That hasn’t worked completely, but anyone who follows either of the old blogs soon finds their subscription moved to the new one. All in all, I am happy about the move. I use Jetpack and CloudFlare to get me as close as I can to the global spread of WordPress. The site is a little slower, and I have occasional timeouts, but that’s the price I pay for sharing the server with hundreds of other web sites (including a dozen that I control in my area). Because I already rented the disk space, the marginal cost to me is low, and I have a lot more control. There’s plenty of help out there, too. Find a good host, who understands and supports WordPress, and good luck.

    • Thankyou Keith. That’s a whole lot of insight right there!

      I’m weighing the pros and cons, and haven’t decided on a host yet. I’m happy to pay for security and less downtime. WordPress hasn’t given me an hour of anxiety in 7 years, and that’s going to be hard to duplicate.

      I’m hoping not to lose you, and followed you on Twitter, too.

  • sfarnell says:

    This is an interesting topic- I’m keen to know what peoples thoughts are on this.

    • Simon, I’ve been listening and absorbing, and have found the variety of perspectives helpful. Followed you on Twitter, as insurance in case I lose track when I change blog addresses.

  • authorcrystalcollier says:

    Thankfully I’m married to a techie who knows how to make a transition, but that said, I’ve built so much into my blog, I don’t think I’ll ever move on. My website is for functions blogger doesn’t support, and with a little programming, all of those extras can be embedded into the page.

    Regardless of where you go, I’ll follow, but I’m wishing you a smooth transition.

    • My husband has helped make the transition to a new template, and he’ll help if needed for the transition to the domain, but I think it is too much work for him 🙁

  • I switched when I got my domain name and website. I had my web designer help me. I didn’t have my blogroll anymore, nor a followers button. I tried to make it a point to visit bloggers that I had a connection with. Good luck on the switch!

    • Your site looks beautiful! Yes, one of things I’m worried about is how would new people follow the blog…there seems to be no way to have a reader like WordPress. How do followers find you?

      I’m wondering if the Feedly Plugin would do the job, but am not sure.

  • I went to my own domain briefly only to find that people could not log in due to firewall issues. I couldn’t find a way around it and had to revert back to wordpress. I’m open to advice!