Moving from Typepad to Wordpress may sound complicated and you might think you can not it. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you need help I can help you, however, I am not in that service I do this more for fun.

The actual process of moving your blog is very easy.  In fact, Typepad help outlines the whole process here move Typepad to Wordpress. As stated in the sixapart help there is a simple export function.  It is pretty nice of them to make a simple guide for you.  I poke fun at Typepad but if you upgrade its not that bad. However, I like Wordpress for SEO reasons.

The one part of the process that might take you 1/2 hour is the redirection from Typepad to Wordpress. With this one exception.  That is the 301 redirect from your TP blog to WP.  That will be explained last, but that is easy too.  The rest of the post is more about setting up Wordpress and the redirection.  If you know about the Wordpress five minute install than skip to the redirection.

Typepad to Wordpress

In seven easy steps here is the Sixapart to Wordpress blog move:

  1. Download Wordpress – Go to Wordpress.org and download the latest version of Wordpress.
  2. Wordpress set up – Set this up on your own domain with the basic install and any template or customization you like.  You can use the default template if you like.  Ask me if you have questions on this but here is their 5 minute install Wordpress guide.
  3. Install the following plugins – Platinum all in one as SEO,  a redirection plugins (this is only needed if you do not use the Platinum all in one – because this plugin comes with a 301 redirection),
    redirect typepad to wordpress

    Takes care of Wordpress internal redirection that might result after a move from Typepad

    a Google site map plugin, a normal simple site map plugin, a related post plugin. That is all you really need, you don’t want to overwhelm you Wordpress blog with too many plugins because things could stop working if you have the top 50 plugins installed. You can do this right in the Wordpress control panel under automatic plugin install.

    Wordpress Typepad plugin

    Add plugins to Wordpress to improve your Typepad blog

  4. Set Wordpress permalinks – Go to general settings in your control panel, permalinks and set up your permalink structure of the way you want.  By recommend either /%postname%/ or %category%/%postname%/  – no if you have a small blog go with the flat structure.  If you have a large blog I recommend a hierarchical structure. I recommend using a plugin called ‘top level categories’ if you have a hierarchical structure.

    permalinks typepad wordpress

    Permalinks Typepad to Wordpress - I like using categories as it brings more keywords in the url

  5. Get images from Typepad – Go do download.com and download a program called HTTrack, with this you can download your entire site for backup or at least the images from Typepad before you make your move.
  6. Set up an images directory – on your server where you will keep all you iamges that you bring to Wordpress from Typepad.  Therefore, mydomain.com/images/ might be your directory. I recommend doing your images by hand. I know people will complain – but most people do not have SEO images.  Your images – including the file-name-of-the-image.jpg the ‘alt tag’ and the Caption shoud be SEOed – that is make is user or reader valuable.  Chances are if you stated on Typepad you did not do this as it was your first real blog.  Here if golden opportunity to make this right. I also resizes all my images before I move it to Wordpress from Typepad.  I use paint.net
  7. Move from a Typepad  blog to Wordpress – Next export all your Typepad posts. Go to your Wordpress control panel under ‘tools’ – ‘import’ you can import your Typepad blog. You can glance at this documentation for movable type import

    Typepad to Wordpress

    Typepad to Wordpress conversion import function

That is it.  Now there will be a  lot of clean up and testing of course. However, all the functionality is built into Wordpress already.  The only real issue is the Typepad redirect. Nothing complicated.  I could do it in less then an hour.

If your Typepad blog is small I recommend you simply copy and paste it over to Wordpress.  I would say this is try for anything less then 200 posts. This is because you get to fix everything in your old posts.

Tyepad redirect to your Wordpress blog

This is the only trick.  It is the only thing that counts.  The above is basically setting up a Wordpress blog.  You will need to redirect with a 301 your juice to your new Wordpress blog.

How to redirect to Wordpress from Typepad.  The trick is this, you have to upgrade to the premium typepad service, then you can redirect with a simple ftp file.

This should take no time at all.    Even if you go to some moving service they will make you upgrade.

Next write all the people who link to you and change the links. Over time the Google juice will go to your new domain.  Eventually you can cancel your Typepad account once your new domain is aged and the links are changed.

Rather than repeat what others have written here are some external guides for the move that describe the redirection.

Redirection from Typepad to Wordpress and other issues:

Typepad to Wordpress redirection solved

Migration to Wordpress from Typepad

Great detail in this Move Typepad to Wordpress guide

Let me know if you have any question on your conversion.

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