WordPress free blog now and upgrade later
-
Hello All,
Complete newbie here and I just purchased a domain name from GoDaddy today and did not realize I could purchase with WordPress. I cannot transfer until April 2019 so I wanted to ask if I could start my free blog now with WordPress.com at the end and then keep that site but transfer over the domain name I have from GoDaddy later and merge the site with the domain name. Hoping someone knows the answer as I don’t want to start working on a blog and then when I want to upgrade the plan and have my own domain name to start from scratch again. Thanks all! :) -
Hi @nornrb ,
Setting up sites for the first time can be confusing. Let me see if I can help. :)
First, when you signed up at GoDaddy, did you purchase a domain name, or did you purchase a WordPress Hosting plan? If you purchased a WordPress Hosting plan (that comes with a domain registration), then your site at GoDaddy is using the self-hosted version of WordPress offered by WordPress.org, which is similar in name but different in functionality to the WordPress offered here at WordPress.com. It’s all a bit confusing, but here is a link that may help.
WordPress.com and WordPress.orgIf all you purchased at GoDaddy was a domain name, then that domain name will have to be “mapped” to a site hosted somewhere. A domain name on its own does not point anywhere. You have to set it up (map it) to point to your blog hosted on a server somewhere.
If you take out a paid plan at WordPress.com, you are given one domain credit. You can use this credit to map your domain to your blog hosted here even without having to switch your domain registration from GoDaddy. So, you can have your domain registration (yearly renewals, contact information updates etc.) at GoDaddy, but start working on the content of your site here at WordPress.com.
Use a Domain You Already Own (Domain Mapping)If you have a hosting plan at GoDaddy, have already started building your site over there but want to move your content to WordPress.com, that can be achieved, too. As you mentioned, you will not be able to move your domain registration right away, but you could start building your site where it’s at and then move it over here soon.
Moving from a Self-Hosted WordPress to WordPress.comI hope this information helps. There are many ways to go about transferring a blog. Feel free to write back here with what you want to do or any other questions you may have and we would be more than happy to help. :)
-
Hello friend,
Thank you so much for this break down! It’s honestly super helpful I only purchased the domain name from GoDaddy and nothing more.
I have another question for you if that would be alright? If I have my domain name is currently with GoDaddy, I was thinking of doing the web hosting with Bluehost to get things started. If I map my domain to Bluehost now to use it with WordPress.com, would I be able to transfer the domain at a later time to WordPress.com without affecting my blog?
I’m wondering if it will be a seamless transition.
Thanks a bunch :)
-
Hi @nornrb ,
I’m glad the last bit of info helped. :)
WordPress.com is a hosting service. This is where you would create and store the data for your site. If you choose Bluehost as your host, you would be using WordPress.org software hosted at Bluehost. So, your domain would be registered at GoDaddy and the content of your site would be managed by Bluehost. With that setup, WordPress.com services would be irrelevant to you.
Just to clear things up, are you looking to just switch your domain registration to WordPress.com later on? Or are you looking to switch you site host (and blog content) to WordPress.com, too? If you are considering the later, then I would recommend setting up your site directly here at WordPress.com to start with, rather than dealing with the site transition from Bluehost to here.
Feel free to write back. I’m happy to help. :)
- The topic ‘WordPress free blog now and upgrade later’ is closed to new replies.
WordPress.com Forums 