Importing from Movable Type and TypePad

Six Apart created both Movable Type and TypePad. These two blogging platforms run on essentially the same code base, so the import/export procedure is the same for both. Refer to Table 7-1, earlier in this chapter, for details on how to run the export process in both Movable Type and TypePad. This import script moves all your blog posts, comments, and trackbacks to your WordPress blog.

 Go to the Import page on your WordPress Dashboard by following Steps 1 and

2 in the “Moving your blog to WordPress” section, earlier in this chapter. Then follow these steps:

1. Click the Movable Type and Typepad link and install the plugin for
importing from Movable Type and Typepad.

Click the Activate Plugin & Install Importer link and the Import Movable Type or TypePad page loads with instructions to import your file, as

2. Click the Browse button.

A window opens, listing your files.

3. Double-click the name of the export file you saved from your Movable
Type or TypePad blog.

4. Click the Upload File and Import button.

Sit back and let the import script do its magic. When the script finishes, it reloads the page with a confirmation message that the process

is complete.

When the import script finishes, you can assign users to the posts, matching the Movable Type or TypePad usernames with WordPress usernames. If you have just one author on each blog, this process is easy; you simply assign your WordPress login to the Movable Type or TypePad username by using the drop-down menu. If you have multiple authors on both blogs, match

the Movable Type or TypePad usernames with the correct WordPress login names and then click Save Changes. You’re done!

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Importing from LiveJournal

Both WordPress.com and WordPress.org offer an import script for LiveJournal users, and the process of importing from LiveJournal to WordPress is the same for each platform.

To export your blog content from LiveJournal, log in to your LiveJournal blog

and then type this URL in your browser’s address bar: www.livejournal.
com/export.bml.

LiveJournal lets you export the XML files one month at a time, so if you have
a blog with several months’ worth of posts, be prepared to be at this process
for a while. First, you have to export the entries one month at a time, and then
you have to import them into WordPress — yep, you guessed it — one month
at a time.

To speed the process a little, you can save all the exported XML LiveJournal
files in one text document by copying and pasting each month’s XML file into
one plain-text file (created in a text editor such as Notepad), thereby creating
one long XML file with all the posts from your LiveJournal blog. Then you can
save the file as an XML file to prepare it for import into your WordPress blog.

 

1. Click the LiveJournal link and install the plugin for installing from
LiveJournal.

Click the Activate Plugin & Install Importer link and the Import LiveJournal
page loads with instructions to import your file, as shown in Figure 7-3.

2. Click the Browse button.

A window opens, listing files on your computer.

3. Double-click the name of the XML file you saved earlier.

4. Click the Upload and Import button.

When the import script finishes, it reloads the page with a confirmation
message that the process is complete. Then WordPress runs the import
script and brings over all your posts from your LiveJournal blog.

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Importing from Blogspot, er Blogger

I call it Blogspot; you call it Blogger — a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The blogging application owned by Google is referenced either way. In the end, we’re talking about the same application.

To begin the import process, first complete the steps in the “Moving your
blog to WordPress” section, earlier in this chapter. Then follow these steps:

1. Click the Blogger link on the Import page and install the plugin for
importing from Blogger.

Click the Activate Plugin & Install Importer link and the Import Blogger
page loads with instructions to import your file.

2. Click the Authorize button to tell WordPress to access your account.

A page from Google opens with a message that says your WordPress blog is trying to access your Google account.

3. Enter the e-mail address and password you use for Google; then click
the Sign In button.

The Access Request page in your Google Account opens. When you have successfully logged in, you receive a message from Google stating that your blog at WordPress is requesting access to your Blogger account so that it can post entries on your behalf.

4. Give your permission by clicking the Grant Access button on the

Access Request page.

If you have many posts and comments in your Blogger blog, the import can take 30 minutes or more.

After the import script has performed its magic, you’re redirected to your WordPress Dashboard, where the name of your Blogger blog is listed.

5. To finish importing the data from Blogger, click the Import button
(below the Magic Button header).

The text on the button changes to Importing . . . while the import takes place. When the import is complete, the text on the button changes to Set Authors (no wonder it’s called the Magic Button!).

6. Click the Set Authors button to assign the authors to the posts.

The Blogger username appears on the left side of the page; a drop-down
menu on the right side of the page displays the WordPress login name.

7. Assign authors by using the drop-down menu.

If you have just one author on each blog, the process is especially easy: Use the drop-down menu on the right to assign the WordPress login to your Blogger username. If you have multiple authors on both blogs, each Blogger username is listed on the left side with a drop-down menu to the right of each username. Select a WordPress login for each Blogger user-
name to make the author assignments.

8. Click Save Changes.
You’re done!

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Moving your blog to WordPress

 You’ve packed all your stuff, and you have your new place prepared. Moving

day has arrived!

This section takes you through the steps for moving your blog from one

blog platform to WordPress. This section assumes that you already have
the WordPress software installed and configured on your own domain.Find the import function that you need by following these steps:

1. On the Dashboard, choose Tools➪Import.

The Import page appears, listing blogging platforms, such as Blogger
and Movable Type, from which you can import content.

2. Click the link for the blogging platform you’re working with.

Click the Install Now button to install the importer plugin to begin
using it.

The following sections provide some import directions for a few of the most popular blogging platforms (other than WordPress, that is). Each platform has its own content export methods, so be sure to check the documentation for the blogging platform that you are using.

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Converting templates

Every blogging program has a unique way of delivering content and data to

your blog. Template tags vary from program to program; no two are the same,
and each template file requires conversion if you want to use your template
with your new WordPress blog. In such a case, you have two options:

✦ Convert the template yourself. To accomplish this task, you need to
know WordPress template tags and HTML. If you have a template that
you’re using on another blogging platform and want to convert it for
use with WordPress, you need to swap the original platform tags for
WordPress tags. The information provided in Book VI gives you the
rundown on working with themes, as well as basic WordPress template
tags; you may find that information useful if you plan to attempt a tem-
plate conversion yourself.

✦ Hire an experienced WordPress consultant to do the conversion for
you. See Book I, Chapter 4 for a list of WordPress consultants.

To use your own template, make sure that you saved all the template files, the images, and the stylesheet from your previous blog setup. You need them to convert the template(s) for use in WordPress.

Hundreds of free templates are available for use with WordPress, so it may
be a lot easier to abandon the template you’re currently working with and
find a free WordPress template that you like. If you paid to have a custom
design done for your blog, contact the designer of your theme, and hire him
to perform the template conversion for you. Alternatively, you can hire sev-
eral WordPress consultants to perform the conversion for you — including
yours truly.

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Migrating Your Existing Blog to WordPress

Blogging Platform   Backup Information

LiveJournal                Browse to http://livejournal.com/export.

bml and enter your information; choose XML as the format. Save this file on your computer.

WordPress                Choose Tools➪Export on the Dashboard; choose your

options on the Export page and then click the Download
Export File button. Save this file on your computer.

RSS feed                   Point your browser to the URL of the RSS feed you want to

import. Wait until it loads fully (you may need to set your feed to display all posts). View the source code of the page, copy and paste that source code into a .txt file, and save the file on your computer.

 

 

This import script allows for a maximum file size of 128MB. If you get an “out
of memory” error, try dividing the import file into pieces and uploading them
separately. The import script is smart enough to ignore duplicate entries,
so if you need to run the script a few times to get it to take everything, you
can do so without worrying about duplicating your content. (You could also
attempt to, temporarily, increase your PHP memory limit by making a quick
edit of the wp-config.php file;

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Backing Up Your Blog Data on Major Platforms

Blogging Platform      Backup Information

Movable Type           Click the Import/Export button in the menu of your Movable

Type Dashboard and then click the Export Entries From link. When the page stops loading, save it on your computer as a .txt file.

TypePad                  Click the name of the blog you want to export and then

click the Import/Export link in the Overview menu. Click the Export link at the bottom of the Import/Export page. When the page stops loading, save it on your computer as a

.txt file.

Blogspot                 Back up your template by copying the text of your template

to a text editor, such as Notepad. Save it on your computer as a .txt file.

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Preparing for the big move

Depending on the size of your blog (that is, how many posts and comments

you have), the migration process can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. As with any major change or update you make, no matter where your blog is hosted, the very first thing you need to do is create a backup of your blog. You should back up the following:

✦ Archives: Posts, comments, and trackbacks ✦ Template: Template files and image files

✦ Links: Any links, banners, badges, and elements you have in your
current blog

✦ Images: Any images you use in your blog

A few tips on creating the export data for your blog in a few major blogging platforms. Note: This table assumes that you are logged in to your blog software.

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Movin’ on up

Bloggers have a variety of reasons to migrate from one system to WordPress:

✦ Curiosity: There is a lot of buzz around the use of WordPress and the

whole community of WordPress users. People are naturally curious to
check out something that all the cool kids are doing.

✦ More control of your blog: This reason applies particularly to those
who have a blog on Blogspot, TypePad, or any other hosted service.
Hosted programs limit what you can do, create, and mess with. When
it comes to plugins, add-ons, and theme creation, hosting a WordPress
blog on your own Web server wins hands down. Additionally, you have
complete control of your data, archives, and backup capability when
you host your blog on your own server.

✦ Ease of use: Many people find the WordPress interface easier to use,
more understandable, and a great deal more user-friendly than many
of the other blogging platforms available today.

The hosted version of WordPress.com and the self-hosted version of

WordPress.org allow you to migrate your blog to their platforms; however, WordPress.com does not provide as many options for import as WordPress. org does. The following is a list of blogging platforms that have built-in
importers, or import plugins, for migration to WordPress:

✦ Blogger

✦ Movable Type
✦ TypePad

✦ Vox

✦ Posterous
✦ TextPattern
✦ RSS Feeds
✦ GreyMatter
✦ DotClear
✦ Blogware

✦ WordPress.com

In the WordPress.org software (self-hosted), the importers are added to the

installation as plugins. The importer plugins included in the preceding list
are plugins packaged within the WordPress.org software or found by search-
ing in the Plugins Directory at http://wordpress.org/extend/
plugins/tags/importer. You can import content from several other
platforms by installing other plugins from the WordPress Plugins Directory,
but you may have to search a bit on Google to find them.

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Migrating Your Existing Blog to WordPress

For each blogging platform, the WordPress.org platform provides you with a quick and easy way to install plugins that allows you to import and use your content right away. The importers are packaged in a plugin format because most people use an importer just once, and some people don’t use the

importer tools at all. The plugins are there for you to use if you need them. WordPress.com, on the other hand, has the importers built into the software. Note the differences for the version you are using.

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Migrating Your Existing Blog to WordPress

So you have a blog on a different blogging system and want to move your

blog to WordPress? This chapter helps you accomplish just that. WordPress makes it relatively easy to pack up your data and archives from one blog platform and move to a new WordPress blog.

WordPress lets you move your blog from such platforms as Blogspot,

TypePad, and Movable Type. It also gives you a nifty way to migrate from
any blogging platform via RSS feeds, as long as the platform you’re import-
ing from has an RSS feed available. Some platforms, such as MySpace,
have some limitations on RSS feed availability, so be sure to check with
your platform provider. In this chapter, you discover how to prepare your
blog for migration and how to move from the specific platforms for which
WordPress provides importer plugins.

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Upgrading WordPress Manually

The upgrade process occurs on a regular basis, at least three or four times per

year. For some users, this is a frustrating reality of using WordPress; however,
this active development environment is part of what makes WordPress the
most popular platform available. Because WordPress is always adding great
new features and functions to the platform, upgrading always ensures that
you’re on top of the game and using the latest tools and features.

If you’re the type of person who is uncomfortable with performing administrative tasks, such as upgrading and creating database backups, you can hire someone to perform these tasks for you — either a member of your company (if you are a business) or a WordPress consultant skilled in the practice of performing these tasks. Book I, Chapter 4 includes a listing of experienced consultants who can lend a hand.

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Upgrading WordPress Manually

Upgrading WordPress Manually

The second and least used method of upgrading WordPress is the manual

method. The method is least used mainly because the automatic method, dis-
cussed in the preceding section, is so quick and easy to accomplish. However,
certain circumstances — probably related to the inability of your hosting envi-
ronment to accommodate the automatic method — exist where you can man-
ually upgrade WordPress, so we include the description of the process here.

To upgrade WordPress manually:

 1. Back up your WordPress Web site and deactivate all plugins.

Refer to Steps 1 and 2 in the preceding “Upgrading WordPress Automatically” section.

2. Navigate to the WordPress Updates page by clicking the Please
Update Now link.

3. Click the Download button.

This opens a dialog box that allows you to save the .zip file of the

latest WordPress download package to your local computer, as shown in Figure 6-6.

4. Select a location to store the download package and click Save.

The .zip file downloads to your selected location on your computer.

5. Browse to the .zip file on your computer.

6. Unzip the file.

Use a program like WinZip (www.winzip.com).

7. Connect to your Web server via FTP.

See Book II, Chapter 2 for a refresher on how to use FTP.

8. Delete all the files and folders in your existing WordPress installation
directory except the following:

•  /wp-content folder

•  .htaccess

•  wp-config.php

9. Upload the contents of the /wordpress folder to your Web server —

     not the folder itself.

Most FTP client software lets you select all the files to drag and drop them to your Web server. Other programs have you highlight the files and click a Transfer button.

10. Navigate to the following URL on your Website: http://
yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

Don’t panic — your database still needs to be upgraded to the latest ver-
sion; so instead of seeing your Web site on your domain, you see a message
telling you that a database upgrade is required, as shown in Figure 6-7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Click the Upgrade WordPress Database button.

WordPress initiates the upgrade of the MySQL database associated with your Web site. When the database upgrade is complete, the page refreshes and displays a message that the process has finished.

12. Click the Continue button.

Your browser loads the WordPress login page. The upgrade is complete
and you can continue using WordPress with the newly upgraded features

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Upgrading WordPress Manually

To update WordPress automatically, follow these steps:

1. Back up your WordPress Web site.

Backing up your Web site before updating is an important step in case something goes wrong with the upgrade. Give yourself some peace of mind knowing that you have a full copy of your Web site that can be restored, if needed. My advice is not to skip this step under any circumstances.

2. Deactivate all plugins.

This prevents any plugin conflicts caused by the upgraded version of

WordPress from affecting the upgrade process, and ensures that your

Web site won’t break after the upgrade is completed. More information on
working with and managing plugins can be found in Book VII; for the pur-
poses of this step, you can deactivate plugins by following these steps:

a. Choose Plugins➪Plugins on the Dashboard.

The Plugins page appears.

b. Select all plugins by checking the box to the left of the plugin
names listed on that page (see Figure 6-4).

c. In the drop-down menu at the top, select Deactivate.

d. Click the Apply button.

3. Choose Dashboard➪Updates.

The WordPress Updates page appears.

4. Click the Update Automatically button.

The Update WordPress page appears with a series of messages (as shown in Figure 6-5).

5. Click the Go to Dashboard link.

The Dashboard page appears in your Web browser. Notice that both the update alert message at the top of the site, and the notification bubble on the Dashboard menu are no longer visible. Your WordPress installation is now using the latest version of WordPress.

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Upgrading WordPress Automatically

1. Log in to the cPanel for your hosting account.

Typically, browse to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel to bring up
the login screen for your cPanel. Enter your specific hosting account
username and password in the login fields and click OK to log in.

2. Click the phpMyAdmin icon.

The phpMyAdmin interface opens and displays your database.

3. Click the name of the database that you want to back up.

If you have more than one database in your account, the left-side menu
in phpMyAdmin displays the names of all of them. Click the one you

want to back up; the database loads in the main interface window.

4. Click the Export tab at the top of the screen.

The page refreshes and displays the backup utility page.

5. Select the Save as File box.

6. Select the “zipped” option.

This compiles the database backup file in a .zip file and prepares it for download.

7. Click the Go button.

A pop-up window appears, allowing you to select a location on your computer to store the database backup file.

8. Click the Save button to download it and save it to your computer.

Book II, Chapter 7 contains in-depth information on making a complete
backup of your Web site, including all your files, plugins, themes, and
images. For the purposes of upgrading, a database backup is sufficient,

but be sure to check out that chapter for valuable information on extensive backups, including how to restore a database backup in case you ever need to go through that process.

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