From Blogger to WordPress in 365 Days

Well, today is Making it Lovely’s first anniversary and here we are with a shiny new publishing platform!

A lot of people have asked about the process and the decision behind switching from Blogger to WordPress. I’ll get into all of that, but first…

Thank you!

This has been a truly wonderful year, and I’m so grateful for the friends I’ve made in the blogging community. You’re all such a supportive, entertaining, friendly, sweet, and inspiring bunch! Working from home can be somewhat isolating, but having this blog has given me a space to share my thoughts and ideas and start conversations with all of you.

I’ve received the loveliest letters and emails from many of you… some have started long-ago abandoned projects, some have painted and brought unique touches into their homes, and some have started their own shops! Some of you have gone so far as to call me an inspiration. I’m really flattered, but I honestly just see myself as a girl that likes to make the space around her more beautiful and personal. It makes me happy to be at home, surrounded by the colors I love and pretty little vignettes that I’ve created.

OK, Back to the whole blog switcheroo…

So, why did I switch?

I wanted more features and flexibility, plain and simple. Blogger was a great way to start out, but it began to feel very limiting.

With WordPress, I could use the “more” tag to split a long post. I could organize my everything into different types of categories (I haven’t yet, but I could). When you comment on a post, the link for your name will take you directly back to your blog (instead of a Blogger profile page). There are other features too, but I’m most excited about the ability to really make changes and add new features as the blog grows.

Also, I got to play around with code. I am a web designer too, remember? Playing with code and learning new tricks is fun to me.

Was the transition difficult?

No, not really. I already had the “new” version of Blogger, which made it easier to switch. WordPress lets you import all of the old posts and comments easily, and it brings over the categories too.

The most tedious part of the switch has been going back and making the old photos bigger. I’m not done yet, and I know I don’t have to, but the new size (500 pixels wide instead of 360) looks so much better! My old pictures seem so sad and small by comparison. ;)

What’s up with the new design?

You like? I hope so. I wanted to keep a lot of the same elements that I used in the Blogger template, but I still wanted to change things around a bit. Making the photos larger was important to me, so I started with that in mind. I also wanted to keep my three column layout and the woven linen texture behind the first sidebar.

From there, I just kept playing around with colors and patterns until I hit on a combination that I liked. Some of you sneak peekers gave me feedback, and I did listen to a lot of your suggestions (so thank you). Things are a little different than my original design, but not too far off.

Updating bookmarks & feeds…

You’ve most likely noticed that you’re the blog’s address has changed. The new (and permanent) home is here at https://makingitlovely.com.

If you normally keep up with the blog through a feed reader (Bloglines, Google Reader, etc.), you will have to resubscribe. I’ve tried to make it easier on you by setting up my blog with feedburner. You can give a little clickety-click on the RSS icon below:

Subscribe in a reader

That’s it!

I’ve got a lot planned for the next year, and I’m excited about showing you more projects, sharing more of my inspirations, and adding new features. Thanks again, everybody!

xoxo,
Nicole