I have a special little Sunday blog post for you today!
My first ever Sunday blog post!
I had every intention of not taking so much time "off" from Blogland during the holidays, but things didn't turn out that way. I have a really large family, which meant lots and lots of different Christmas get-togethers, my best friend got engaged (see pic below of my excitement), and I've just been soaking up all of this time with everyone. I had mentioned that I didn't feel like I got to enjoy Thanksgiving this year because of my insane work schedule, so I took a little extra time to enjoy everything this holiday break had to offer. However, I've had quite a bit going on behind the scenes of The Best Of Intentions this break and I wanted an opportunity to clue you in and ask for some advice/assistance.
The Best Of Intentions is going to be getting a fairly serious face-lift in January 2015. I'm talking botox, lip injections, implants, liposuction - the whole she-bang! For my 25th birthday I've decided to give a gift to my blog, because that obviously makes perfect sense.
Right before Halloween I had a crazy idea pop into my head and I let it sit in there for a few weeks before I told anyone about it, just to see if I was still excited about it or if it was just one of those things. Mid-Novemeber I finally mentioned it to someone, but I really wanted to let simmer a little longer. I wanted to make sure that I was sure and I wanted to make sure that this wasn't just a crazy idea. It's January now and I've filled an entire notebook with thoughts and plans and excitement. I'm still really excited.
I'm telling you all of that to tell you all of this: I'm going to be changing my blog name (among other things). I never really fell in love with "The Best Of Intentions" and it doesn't quite have what I'm looking for anymore. Since I had decided to change my name, I started thinking about making some other changes as well. Particularly the Blogger vs. Wordpress decision.
From all of you I'm looking for some advice, comments, questions, concerns, etc. The good and the bad!
-- If I do decide to switch to Wordpress, I'm going to need some help/a lot of help - Any recommendations? Any comments at all?
-- When I change my blog name, I want to purchase the domain name. If possible I'd like to stay away from GoDaddy.com. I haven't heard the best things and I'd love some new suggestions. Who did you use?
-- Blog name suggestions? I know that's fairly personal, but I'm open to anything.
-- Also, tips on how to deal with changing my name and Bloglovin? Like how does this work.. ?
Last but not at all least, I just have to say that I wouldn't be putting any of this work in this little piece of the internet if I didn't have all of you. I never thought anyone except my parents would read anything I wrote and I could never have imagined actually making friends via Blogland. Seriously, and from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate you and think you're the greatest!
Get ready 2015, I'm comin' for ya!
So many comments. So I also made the switch from Blogger to Wordpress and I did it on my own (rather than paying someone to do it for me). I purchased my URL on BlueHost and they're the ones that host my content as well. I highly recommend them!! They've got long waits sometimes for customer service, but they've always fixed issues I've had and it's good price-wise. I've purchased URLs on GoDaddy as well and haven't had any issue with them either. The easiest way I've found to do a blog URL change is to just make your current blog redirect, that way if they hit it from Bloglovin, they'll get tossed over to the new site. Make sure you claim your new blog on Bloglovin too though, of course!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your blog transition! The only thing I can say regarding the host is that I've heard good things about BlueHost. I currently have a private subdomain through OfBlue.Org. Who knows? If your new blog name fits well with one of the subdomain options like mine did, you could switch to subdomain first before getting your own domain.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a strong start in 2015!
For domain use 1&1 it is what we used when I worked at an ad agency they are really good that's what I use. I can't wait to see what you do!
ReplyDeleteI definitely advise to go self hosted with Wordpress instead of using the free version. I use Bluehost for my hosting and actually am not very happy with them. Their service hasn't been very helpful, and my site goes down too often. I plan on switching when my domain expires. Also as a heads up, if you want a custom design on Wordpress, expect to pay A LOT more than you would for Blogger designs. There's some nice templates for cheap, but custom is a whole 'nother beast because of the coding on WP. But, I definitely love WP. It's easy to use and you can do so much with it! Definitely get the Yoast SEO plugin.
ReplyDeleteI actually just did a whole blog change. I have my old blog still hosted so the content is still there, but I wanted a new name that fit what I wanted to blog about better. Blog names are hard to think up, but my husband gave me the idea of a play on my tattoo idea. I'm sure whatever you come up with will be amazing though!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year and good luck with the blog facelift!
ReplyDeleteChanging your Bloglovin' blog is easy. I changed my blog name last year and switching it over was so simple even though i waited really long to do it. Don't claim the new blog! It will mean you'll start at zero again. Email bloglovin' saying that you changed your URL and they will switch it all over for you, 1-2-3!
ReplyDeleteBloglovin is probably the easiest part to do. Kari already explained that for you, so I won't make you read all of that again. :)
ReplyDeleteGosh. A blog name. Something with Snicklefritz? That would be awesome.
And Blogger vs. Wordpress... IDK I can't figure Wordpress out, and I honestly don't want to spend the money on something I'm not sure I will like or will find a design for. I'm am currently trying to learn to design for Wordpress, but it's way more complicated than Blogger. That probably doesn't help much in your decision making process huh?
do not use godaddy oh my gosh! i think we use namecheap.
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