2010-05-10

Blogger to WordPress

I migrated this blog from Blogger to WordPress. I now understand why WordPress is so popular. It's the easiest way I know to create a website with some static pages and a blog.

The rest of this post describes how I migrated my site from Blogger to WordPress.

First, I got a DreamHost account. That costs me $11/month. I like DreamHost because they have a 1-click install, so I don't have to fiddle with database and server setup.

Next, I used the "1-Click Install Advance Mode". I use the "Advanced Mode", since I want to use WordPress as a CMS for the entire site.

After creating the Admin account, I created another account, and deleted the Admin account. Using the Admin account is a security hole.

The "Import from Blogger" feature in WordPress doesn't work. So I exported my blog from Blogger to an XML file. I used the blogger2wordpress.sh Python script to convert this file to a WordPress XML file. I then imported the WordPress XML file into WordPress. Afterwards, I came across Blogger2Wordpress. I haven't used it, but that seems easier than running the Python script.

By default, the blog is the home page. I changed that so a static page is the home page.

I installed 3 WordPress plugins:
  • Akismet: spam blocker
  • Wordpress HashCash: spam blocker
  • WP Super Cache: caching for performance

WordPress allows you to search and install from a wide selection of templates. I selected Thesis. Thesis does a great job of text spacing. I had to make very few CSS changes to get the look I wanted. Thesis is also highly configurable through the WordPress admin screens.

Some of the WordPress themes don't respect line breaks in 'pre' and 'code' blocks. To fix that, place the following in your custom CSS file:
pre, code {white-space:pre;}

To set your profile picture, you need to register with Gravatar using the same email address that you use for your WordPress account.

By default the WordPress Dashboard displays a lot of sections. You can hide sections through "Screen Options" (in the top-right corner of the Dashboard page).

Here are some links I found useful: