how to redo pages before or after I have moved a domain over to WP

  • Unknown's avatar
    mirseidel · Member ·

    I have a blog on WP, miriamseidel.wordpress.com. Right now it links back to my personal website miriamseidel.com. I want to transfer my main site to WP so that the blog will come up first and all pages will link and look similar. I understand the domain mapping idea and believe I can do that. But since the original site was designed in Dreamweaver, I will have to redesign all the pages.
    HERE IS MY QUESTION: is there a way I can pre-design the pages, as drafts, and then publish them once the domain has been transferred? Or do I have to transfer the domain first and then redo the pages? Or is there something I am not understanding here?

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    lorelle · Member ·

    You may set up the site on WordPress.com before transferring the domain name with domain mapping. Go for it.

    You cannot duplicate the original Theme you were using unless it is here on WordPress.com, though you may purchase the design feature that allows you to customize any WordPress.com Theme.

    Just import the content, clean up the structure of the content, add the Widgets you wish, choose a Theme, play with it as you wish, and when you are ready, choose the domain mapping option.

    I do this regularly. Easier than you think. Good luck!

  • Unknown's avatar
    lorelle · Member ·

    Ah, one more thing. Under Settings > Reading, make sure the Site Visibility is set to not permit indexing by search engines until you are ready to go live. This makes the site open to you and others while you are working on it, but not found by search engines.

    Turn that off when you go live.

  • Unknown's avatar
    mirseidel · Member ·

    Thank you! Just trying to understand here:

    Would I start a whole new site then? And then when I’m ready, transfer those pages into my current wordpress site, and then do the domain mapping?

    Or, would I have to do the redesign on my current blog site? And then are you saying that while I’m working on it, the search engines wouldn’t pick it up, but people who happen to visit it would see the new pages? I guess that would be okay as long as I can do it fairly quickly.

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