How to Migrate Livejournal to WordPress

Is it time for your website to migrate from Livejournal to WordPress? WordPress powers 25% of all active websites, which definitely means it is doing something right. Livejournal is a very neat platform, but is extremely limited compared to WordPress. There is nothing Livejournal can do that WordPress cannot and the migration from one system to the other is very easy.

Like many migrations, WordPress has a feature that will allow you to import complete website data. This makes it very easy regardless of whether you are going from one platform to another or are switching web hosts. Today I will demonstrate how to migrate Livejournal to WordPress using the built-in features WordPress provides.

Why Switch From Livejournal to WordPress

You might be very happy with your free plan in Livejournal if that is the only other online platform you have tried. WordPress is an amazing system that can create anything from a simple blog to a major website. The best part about WordPress is its huge library of plugins. Plugins are essentially what apps are for your mobile phone. They add extra features and give you more creative control without ever having to write a line of code. However if you do like writing code you could actually use shortcodes to program your website.

If you want to get the most out of WordPress you will want to get a web host to host your website. There is a free version of WordPress from WordPress.com, but you want to use WordPress.org. There are many differences between these two versions and it is very important to understand you are only getting a fraction of what WordPress offers by using the free version. If you have ever wanted to grow your Livejournal, you would definitely have noticed you were limited in choice, which is not an issue on a WordPress hosted platform.

Migrating From Livejournal to WordPress is Not Perfect

Unfortunately, the migration process is not perfect. This is due to how limited the Livejournal platform is. There is no way to set up redirects from your Livejournal to your new WordPress website. If you have a following on Livejournal the best thing you can do is create an entry that is explaining your migration and insert a link to your new website.

The other annoying aspect of the migration is your images not transferring between the two platforms. You will need to manually save all of your images and then upload the images to their appropriate spots, but this can be a very significant time investment if you have a lot of content. If you are just starting out, these issues may not be that big of a deal.

How to Migrate Livejournal to WordPress

Today I will demonstrate how to migrate Livejournal to WordPress using the built-in features WordPress provides. Moving a Livejournal site to WordPress is quite easy thanks to the WordPress importing feature. This will allow you to transfer all of your Livejournal content to WordPress, except images. You will need you Livejournal username and password to transfer the information. Remember you will need a web hosting provider to get full use of WordPress.org.

On the left-hand admin panel click on Tools and select the Import option. This will pull up all available importing options when you need data for your WordPress migration.

Locate the Livejournal option on the page. Click on the “Install Now” option underneath Livejournal. If you have already installed this, then it will say Run Importer instead.

Click on the “Run Importer” option after you have installed the importer. Remember you can use this importer to import from any of the listed sites.

You will need to enter your username and password for Livejournal. If you have a protected post password you will also need that. Click on the “Connect to Livejournal and Import” button when done. This process may take several minutes to complete and if the process is stopped abruptly just retry. The importer will not import duplicates.

Congratulations, you have successfully migrated all of your content from Livejournal to WordPress. Remember you will need to try to inform your visitors about your new website since Livejournal does not have redirects. You will also need to upload and place all of your images in the appropriate spots. Make sure you take the time to customize your website.

Customizing Your New WordPress Website

Just because you transferred all of your Livejournal content to WordPress does not mean you are done, quite the opposite in fact. You now need to spend time customizing and designing your website. It is important to install a theme that complements your website and great plugins that give you those features that you’ve always wanted on your website. Make sure that you have a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plugin and a security plugin. It is very important to guard your website from hackers and spam bots that attack websites on a daily basis.

Once your website is set up for use and you are happy with it, create a backup of your website. It is very important to keep a backup in case something goes wrong. This could be a compatibility update gone wrong, a hacker, or an error caused by you or a staff member. Regardless, a backup will get your website up and running very quickly. Remember, downtime is the worst thing that can happen to a website especially when your website generates a lot of web traffic.

Keep Your Website Exciting

At the end of the day, you probably switched from Livejournal to WordPress to take advantage of the enormous amount of features this system offers to you and your visitors. It is very important to create a website that is fun for people to visit. You will not build up a loyal community if you do not offer great content, as well as a website that has all of the basic features people expect from it.

Do not rush when customizing your website. Take a lot of time to research and create a great website that will have visitors reloading the page for new content. Once your website is live, make sure you take the time to interact with your visitors on social media and in the comments section of your own comments. You also want to create content that is fresh for your visitors that have migrated from Livejournal to WordPress.

What steps have you taken to inform your Livejournal followers that you were switching to WordPress? What is your favorite feature on WordPress that you couldn’t do on Livejournal?