After nearly a decade of blogging on Blogger, I finally made the leap to WordPress.org and became self-hosted. It feels incredibly satisfying to have taken this step. For a long time, I had heard about self-hosting but felt too intimidated to make the switch. I worried that if I wasn’t serious about blogging, the investment of time and money would be wasted.
Confronting My Hesitations
This hesitation made me realise that I never truly went all out in anything I pursued. Despite my love for writing, I hesitated to give my best to this blog, which left me feeling unfulfilled. The decision to switch to self-hosting was a significant commitment to my passion and a step towards achieving my blogging potential.
The Migration Process
Migrating from Blogger to WordPress.org was a monumental task. It took me over a week to sift through my blog posts, reducing the count from over 600 to just 45. Then, I purchased a new domain and hosting, and proceeded with the installation and migration process.
The entire process was overwhelming at times, but not as difficult as I had feared. I immersed myself in reading about the technical aspects of WordPress, including installation, the dashboard interface, storage, bandwidth, and plug-ins. The most exciting yet time-consuming part was customising the theme. Although the final look of my blog is quite plain, it represents my hard work and dedication.
Overcoming Challenges
Customising a free theme presented its challenges. I had to hack certain elements that couldn’t be customised without purchasing the PRO version. Every time I got the CSS Selector right and the elements appeared as I wanted in the customiser, I felt a rush of accomplishment. This process saved me RM200, as I had promised myself that if I wasn’t satisfied by Monday, I would buy a theme from Etsy and hire someone to tweak it for me.
This post marks my first entry from the new WordPress dashboard. The transition to self-hosting has been a rewarding experience, and I am excited about the possibilities it brings for my blog. Welcome aboard, and I look forward to sharing more of my journey with you.
Leave a Reply