how to properly export media to self hosted site
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Hi, I am in the process of moving my blog madonnadelpiatto.com to self hosted on Bluehost.
With quite some difficulties I managed to move all posts and pages to Bluehost but I am very confused as what I should do with images.
After I moved the post part of the photos – less than 50% – appeared in the media library but not all of them.
On the other hand, all imported posts had photos in them but no featured image.
I have managed to download all photos from the download media button in wp.com. However, I am not sure how to upload so many photos (about one thousand) in the self-hosted version. My broad band is limited.
Also, I assume that even if I upload them they will not be linked to the posts which means I will have to place them all again in each post.
I would happily leave all photos in the wordpress.com version but I miss too many and I miss the featured images.
Thank you so much for any advice you might have about this mess!
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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hi,
if you have a new account by Bluehost, you can migrate your site for free by them, it’s a service by Bluehost, look a this: https://www.bluehost.com/wordpress-site-migration/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=brandsearch&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyZmEBhCpARIsALIzmnLnIki0QtZY85s6nLXXFwdXz_KdPWhQq6xF_5j1rLJmayq9SyhvG_AaAjtrEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&utm_campaign=affiliate-link_searchbrandpromo_PPC
I hope this will help you.
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Hi Francisco thanks.
As far as I know the free service is only available from self hosted to self hosted. I asked their assistance and they said I should use their per hour service which is a minimum fo 250 US$.
I also asked WP Beginner as they seem to offer a free service but I have not gotten a reply from them either.
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thanks! I hope I can find someone who can do it. I tried on Fiverr and people did not know wha I was talking about. They all think is the same as from .org to .org!
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Exporting isn’t a complicated thing — you just need to make sure you’re exporting all your content! Here’s a guide that can help:
https://wordpress.com/support/export/
Make sure you choose “all content” when creating that export file. You could have Bluehost “empty” your site of posts and pages if you haven’t added new content to your new site and try the import again and choose the option to download and import your media when you run the importer.
Regarding your images – featured images are a function of the theme you’re using. If you’re not using the exact same theme as you are on WordPress.com, your new theme might not use featured images.
A quick Google search also found a tutorial on how you can fix the media importing issue using a plugin on your new site.
If you still have trouble you should reach out to Bluehost for help with this issue. Since they’re hosting your site’s files, they also have access to those files and are the best ones to help you with this issue. You can reach them here:
https://www.bluehost.com/contact
I hope that helps!
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Hi Csonnek,
thank you so much for your comment. I am afraid the process is not as easy as presented in the various tutorials available online. I have patched up lots of information and read everything I could find.
One important aspect which is missing from most tutorials is that the files are almost impossible to download or upload if one has limited broadband capability. I discovered this is the main reason why my content is only partially imported. I discovered that the export files need to be split in smaller units and it’s hard to do it for a non tech person, especially on a Mac.
The process is definitely not easy. Note that no one of the big players offers a paid service to do this, which is rather strange isn’t it?
I have asked the so called “free service” from WP beginners and I never got a reply. I have asked Bluehost and they don’t do the migration from wp.com to wp.org even if you offer them money. Same answer from Siteground. I have asked on Wp groups on FB and I have not been able to find someone to help me.
Why I wonder they don’t offer this service even when they do a migration wp.org to wp.org for free? Because it’s very difficult. Because the import files fail again and again.
And by the way, I have also asked the wp. support and all I got is someone who told me this “You need to export images manually or your new site should pull the images from your previous site.”
But he has not been able to explain what happens when I import the images to Bluehost after downloading them from wp.com
Those images will not be linked to the posts/pages anymore, so I will have to place them again, all 900 of them, an impossible feat.
Also, if I pull the images from my old site which use domain mapping, what is going to happen when I point the domain to the new site? He did not even bother to reply to my questions, why, because no one know exactly how to do this!
Now, you (and not your own support service) have kindly found this tutorial on importing external images, but all this bits and pieces are hard if not impossible to find for those like me who don’t do this as a profession.
In short, the process is incredibly complicated, the information is scattered all over and in the end I have had to hire someone to do this at a high cost hoping that he can manage to give me my blog back on the other side.
After 12 years on wordpress.com I am very frustrated and disappointed and I am looking forward to leave if I can ever manage to do so.
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Hey there, I’ve actually completed this process many times. WordPress.com used to offer this service before we allowed plugins with some plans. Now there’s not really a huge demand to transfer out, because most folks can get what they want from our service and like having us handle the techy stuff for them.
I wouldn’t say exporting is easy, but it’s doable, especially if you’re the DYI tech type that would want to run your own WP installation. Here are my best tips:
– Use the tips at https://move.wordpress.com. You’ll note it doesn’t call for a media export.
– If you have a large export file, a splitter helps. If you search the web for WXR splitter Mac or Windows, you’ll find some options. Deleting spam comments and consolidating your extra tags/categories prior to exporting can also help.
– Imports will time out sometimes with some hosts! In that case I recommend just re-running the import file until all of the posts are there. Look at your posts list, pages list, and media library for both sites. They should match up. If you import again, it’ll skip anything that’s already done, so just keep running the import until everything is there.
– A lot of features that are on WordPress.com are not on WordPress.org installations. You can use Jetpack to help bridge most of the gaps. Jetpack will also help with moving your followers and stats over.
– Your own computer’s bandwidth shouldn’t matter so much unless you’re trying to download your media library. If you’re using just the export import process, you don’t have to grab the whole media library separately.
– Your HOSTING bandwidth could make a difference, so be sure you have plenty of bandwidth there. Also, if you have a very busy site, please be mindful that you might need a lot of optimization or an advanced plan with your host. That will be up to you to handle.
– Don’t delete the old WordPress.com site, yet. I’d recommend redirecting it, or at the very least only making it private for now. That way if you did miss something, it’ll still be here on our servers. It’s free, so why not keep it in place? Also, if you change your mind, keeping the old site here will make it relatively easy to import new content to move back.
– And: WordPress.com has plenty of features on paid plans, and when you consider this includes maintenance, SSL, and direct WordPress support, it’s a good deal. I would recommend running your own copy of WordPress if you prefer DIY.
I hope that helps a bit!
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