My WpBeginner Review
When I first started this little blog, I had no idea what I was doing! I went to wordpress.com, where I saw I could pick your domain right there and be up in running in minutes. Perfect! No dealing with external hosts and domains. It seemed like the right choice for a blog I was writing for a hobby.
After a few months though, it became apparent I needed the versatility of wordpress.org, but I had no idea how to convert my blog without losing all my data or formatting. So I sat on it. For nearly another two years. That’s when I stumbled upon WPbeginner – a site that offers great content and information, but also offers to set up your WordPress blog or convert it…for free! That seemed too good to be true, and there wasn’t a lot out there on whether this was a legit site. However, I’d read two positive reviews and was desperate enough to take a leap of faith.
Today, I’m sharing my positive WPbeginner review in the hopes that it will help other people who are in my shoes.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy and disclosures.
Monday, 3:00 p.m.
I filled out the form requesting to have my blog and domain transferred. To do this, I had to previously sign up for BlueHost using the WPbeginner affiliate link. No problem, I understand this is their compensation for performing this service, so I happily do so.
Tuesday, 12:00 p.m.
I get an e-mail from Jeremy at WP beginner:
Thank you for requesting the setup. We are excited to help you getting started with WordPress.
In order for us to transfer your WordPress.com account over to a self-hosted WordPress, we would need your WordPress.com login username/password.
If you are using the two step authentication, we kindly ask you to disable this during our transfer process. The steps for disabling this authentication are found on:
https://en.support.wordpress.com/security/two-step-authentication/
We would also need your updated Bluehost password, so we can start the process.
I responded almost immediately with the information needed, along with a few questions.
Wednesday, 3:00
Jeremy replies informing me of the progress and advising me to review the migration so far, and instructing me on next steps. He also answers my specific questions from the day prior.
We are almost done with the migration process.
Your new site is temporary located here: …
Please login to check if everything looks good.
Lastly, your subscriber count is not showing because it is not moved over yet. Once the final step is completed, we will show you how to move the subscribers.
If everything looks good, then we need you to change the nameservers, so we can finish the final step of the migration.
To change the nameservers, you need to go to your WordPress.com admin area. Go to Store > My Domains. Click Edit/Edit Domain next to your domain and go to the Name Server tab to set your name servers then save your changes.
Your nameservers need to point to Bluehost, so it would be ns1.bluehost.com and ns2.bluehost.com
I respond back at 4:47 p.m. with a follow-up question. I don’t ask it very clearly so we go back and forth a few times on Thursday.
Friday 1:25 p.m.
I get confirmation from Jeremy:
We are finished with the migration process.
You can login to the site by going to: [he provided my admin, username and password here]
From this point on, you will be using the above admin panel to write posts, moderate comments, and everything else. You will no longer use the WordPress.com account.
If you are not familiar with WordPress, then we have created a 17 set video series that will help guide you through it. As part of your Free WordPress setup, it is our gift to you. You may find the videos here:
http://videos.wpbeginner.com/ (It is free to create an account there)
To ensure good SEO, we have installed WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin (the same plugin that we use on our site). To see maximum results, We would like to encourage you to fill out the meta title, description, and keywords when writing the post. It is fairly self explanatory. Basically that is the information that will show up when people search for you in google. This plugin gives you a google live snippet preview as well. This article below will help
http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/properly-seo-functions-wordpress-posts/
For performance optimization, we have installed W3 Total Cache plugin, the same plugin that we use. You don’t really have to do anything to it. It just runs in the background. Should you have questions regarding other useful plugins, then feel free to visit our Blueprint page.
http://www.wpbeginner.com/blueprint/ << This is a list of all tools, services, and plugins that we use to power WPBeginner. A very handy resource.
We’ve installed Jetpack which will allow you to transfer your subscribers over. Use the tool below to transfer your subscribers:
http://jetpack.me/support/subscription-migration-tool/
Let us know if you have any questions.
Once again, we want to thank you for choosing WPBeginner. We hope that you will come back and visit the site regularly to take advantage of our awesome WordPress tutorials.
And that was it – I was up and running! Prior to finding WPBeginner, I’d already invested enough time researching how to convert the blog to realize it was going to be a major headache to do it on my own. This service was the best possible scenario for my situation, and I highly recommend it for anyone like me who is intimidated by the process. I’d be happy to answer any questions for those of you debating using this service, just reach out to me via the comments below!
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Syed here, and I’m the founder of WPBeginner. I just wanted to drop by and thank you for the kind words about our site and service.
And I’m glad that Jeremy was able to assist you in making the switch.
Let us know if you have any further questions. Glad to have you be part of the WPBeginner community 🙂
You’re very welcome. thank you for the valuable free service you offer!
Thanks so much for posting this review! I received the same intro email asking for my login and was a bit leery about it, but I’m so glad to hear from another blogger who had success with it. You’re a gem! 🙂
I’m trying to start a blog and also found it can be quite a headache to figure everything out! I came across WP Beginner & had been wondering if they were any good. Thanks for this post!
I still don’t understand all the lingo! What is the difference between a “platform” and “host”. Also how does someone “self-host” through hosting companies like Dreamhost & Host Gator? AREN’T THEY doing the hosting & not you yourself? Is WP Beginner considered a host? This is all new & confusing to me.
Thanks if you can clear this up for me!
Hi Tina, WP Beginner is a resource with all sorts of information related to blogging. Typically, when people talk of self-hosting, they mean hosting independently of WordPress (or whatever platform you use). In my case, WP Beginner helped me move my WordPress hosted blog to my independent WordPress.org blog though Bluehost. I hope that helps!
Thank you for this review!! Have been trying to figure out how to move my WordPress.com blog and very much appreciate reading your positive review. Emailed these guys right away!
Thanks for this review! I want to start a blog and am looking at other people’s blogs to get some ideas about themes etc.
Sorry for asking so many questions…….
Which theme is this blog?
Are the fonts and layout customizable?
What is the name of the comments section (is it a WordPress plug-in?)
My blog won’t have many images. Can some of the images (here) be changed for text?
I like the classic look and spacious feel of this blog. It feels stress-free, here (and on the internet, that is rare….)
I’m finding it a nightmare looking at endless blog themes.
Thanks 🙂
Thank you so much for the compliment! I’m using the Sela theme and with a little minor coding the fonts and the layout are customizable. You don’t have to use any images and the comments section is standard – I haven’t customized it.
Thank you so much!! I did exactly the same and signed up for the wrong one ???? I stumbled on the above site and wondered if it was too good to be true too!! Thinking I will give them a shot to switch it over for me!!!
good job keep it up
Thanks for the review. However, I’m still confused about wordpress.org and wordpress.com — I ususally work in wordpress.org, but some of my plugins are from wordpress.com, and i find I end up on their interface frequently
Good Job
Nice post
Very Nice. So Helpful Website. Thank You
Hi Rochelle,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this helpful review.
When WPBeginner was migrating your blog for you, did you have any say in the theme that was used, or did WPBeginner decide on the theme for you? I also wondered if you found the theme user-friendly, and if it met your expectations?
Your blog has a lovely design, and it’s a pleasure to visit.
Saba xx
Hi Saba – I don’t 100% remember what I had for a theme on my old WordPress site, but I believe I installed my current theme after the migration happened.They don’t add or select a theme for you – it’s something you would do afterwards.
This is a great review! I’m buying into Bluehost’s payment plan to get wpbeginner to transition my Blogger blog to WordPress, so this review was good to know it works. Also, did you make a landing page for your old WordPress.com blog so your followers knew you were changing to wp.org, or did you just go on hiatus?
I’m glad to hear that! In my experience, one of best parts was how the transition was completely seamless, so I didn’t need to make a transition page or lose traffic.
Great valuable post thanks for sharing with us
Wowwww, thank you so much!! I had been thinking about switch to WP.org because the lack of plugins was getting SO frustrating, and your post really cemented it for me!! Thank you! You explained everything so well, and I love how you actually SHARED the emails from WPBeginner, so that one can know what to expect and know it’s not just some scammer. Thanks for this great post!
Your post alone answered more of my questions than I’ve been able to find out in several days of searching online. I’m a senior citizen, wanting to set up a non-commercial blog about gardening with native plants, and since I don’t have a lot of income, and don’t want to commercialize the site, I’ve been spinning in circles trying to understand all my options. You’d think it would get easier. I found WPbeginner and have just asked to join their FB group. Your post helped me to believe they could well be my answer. Thank you.
Rick – I’m so glad to hear this post was helpful to you! I wish you much success with your gardening blog!