Friday, July 12, 2013

I Moved, And You Can Too! (+ A Giveaway!)

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In case you didn’t hear me chat about it all week on Twitter – and since I kept my design the same like I wanted – I’m now on WordPress! Yay!

*Firstly, there will not be a Fresh Batch post this week – been too busy with the move – and FYI old posts may look weird until I can get to them! :)*

Why did I move?
I don’t know if you heard but Blogger has been on a rampage lately in shutting down blogs. Though I’ve only confirmed 3 because they were blogs I knew, I’ve heard of 8-10 book blogs were shut down in 2 days this week. This finally pushed me to take the leap that I have been worried about making for a year, now. I’ve never felt 100% safe on Blogger where Google basically own your blog, which means if their spam filter decides you’re spam, you’re out! Sure you can usually get your blog re-instated within a few days if you’re lucky, but is that something you want to have to deal with? Also I run a business now with Xpresso Book Tours, so it’s even more important to have a website that is 100% reliable and owned by me and no one else. Though even if it wasn’t for Xpresso Book Tours, I would freak at my own blog being down for hours, let alone days or even ever – nothing is a guarantee with Google and there’s nothing you can do about it if they remove your blog. Well, you can file a ticket to tell them  you’re not, in fact, a spammer, and hope they give a crap.

Why did I not move sooner?
Honestly I was mostly stressed and concerned about the move itself. I heard horror stories of bloggers who switched to WP and almost lost all of their hair because of how complicated it was. I also love my design and I didn’t know it was possible for me to keep what I had. But you know what? Get someone to help you! It’s not expensive (and there is a monthly fee for your web host which starts at 5-8$ a month) but also hiring someone to switch you to WP is affordable and more than worth it! This is where I’m coming in to pimp Ashley at Creative Whim (Nose Graze)! Dude! She made the move totally painless – she went way beyond my expectations of how much help and guidance she would give me throughout the process, plus she completely customized the book blogger plugin for my crazy review template design which I didn’t think possible. From helping me with deciding which host to go with (also a big shout out to Steph from Cuddlebuggery who was a big help as well!), to design detailing, to the actual WP implementation, she was just a doll to work with. And you should know I have to be one of the pickiest person on this planet. I nitpick at the tiniest of design details, and maybe she cried without telling me – which is possible – but she stayed so patient through my neurosis and really she deserves an award (like, I made her lower a font to a half px)! So don’t hesitate to go with this girl!

I’m writing this post right now literally hours after my very first look at anything WP and I already feel right at home! Sure it’s a learning curve and I still have lots to see, it is incredibly different from Blogger, but once you get the hang of it and see the new interface, it’s not as overwhelming as you may think – especially with Ashley’s Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin which is a MUST! Believe me! Posts take half as long as blogger, and the extra details you can add to your blog are just so awesome; genius, this girl is!!

Ok now that I have given the girl the God complex she deserves, let’s celebrating me finally moving on in Book Blogger life and joining the self hosted gang! How about some books for y’all? 😉

Also, I know it’s possible to keep with a hack but I’ve decided to do away with GFC. So why don’t you show me some follower lovin’ through another method!? 🙂 Links are on the sidebar here———->

 

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Giveaway

Since I’m super duper excited to finally have taken the plunge (hey this was 1.5 years of pondering), I’m offering a 25$ Amazon Gift Card OR an ARC of These Broken Stars!

1 Winner!

amazongiftcard251     OR    IMG_0571

 

Giveaway open internationally
Ends on August 2nd, 2013
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

77 Responses to “I Moved, And You Can Too! (+ A Giveaway!)”

  2. Bonnie

    I’m totally doing this someday… Blogger issues drive me NUTTY and while WordPress seems a tad advanced for my little blog I still think it would be a beneficial move. You’ve definitely inspired me to look into it more! 🙂 Congrats on the successful move!!

  3. Jess @ Literary, etc

    I know a lot of bloggers get nervous about moving and I’m glad for the amazing bloggers out there like Ashley and Rachel that have offered to help people move and answer their questions. I got lucky because my host offered to move me from WP.com to WP.org even though I could do it myself. The important thing to keep in mind: there are people who will help answer questions and even hosts that will help you move. I love Ashley’s UBB plugin! I won it in her giveaway, but I can’t stop its singing praises.

    Welcome to the dark side! 😀

  4. sarabara081 @ Forever 17 Books

    Congrats! It looks great! I put a down payment with someone to switch over this summer too and I’m excited but incredibly nervous. I’m not too keen with technology and really, it’s a miracle I’ve figured anything out on Blogger in the first place. But I look forward to checking out the UBBP from Ashley someday soon and hopefully my posts won’t take as long to put together leaving more time to read. 🙂

  5. Amy @ Book Loving Mom

    Look at you all WordPress now!! I started on WordPress and was so confused. If I had a job, and my own income I would totally want to switch I think, but I don’t so it will have to wait. I do make sure to save my blog once a week in case Blogger deletes it for some reason. I am so tech stupid that WordPress really scares me. Glad that things went smoothly for you babe!!

  6. Ashley

    You’re so freaking sweet Giselle! *hugs* It’s awesome to see you on WordPress. It’s such an amazing platform and miles better than Blogger!

    • Giselle [Xpresso Reads]

      <3

      It's so much better - like a solid platform and full control, I love it! I don't know why I didn't seriously look into it sooner. I regret wasting all that time on Blogger haha. And thanks for making the move so much better and easier than I expected!! I'm even more excited to blog like I was at the start, again!

      And all thanks to you!!

  8. Lena Marsteller

    Congrats Giselle on a wonderful move to wordpress! I have thought about moving to wordpress, I guess am just nervous. I mean I hardly understand how to things on Blogger… Is wordpress easier to use?
    Your blog looks so cool 😀

    • Giselle [Xpresso Reads]

      Well, it’s not “easier”, no, because it much more complex, but you have full control of everything; and if you get the Ultimate book blogger plugin it’s easy to get the hang of posts and stuff. It’s worth learning, because once you learn you can tell it’s better than blogger. Much more solid. And well, it’s safer! Ain’t nobody deleting this blog but me! 😉

      • Lena Marsteller

        Interesting… I will look into wordpress, and ultimate book blogger plugin. I probably won’t move right now maybe at the end of the year. Thanks! Congrats on moving!

  9. Reanna

    *does happy dance* Congrats on the move! You are so right about Ashley. As with mine, you can hardly tell you’re not on Blogger anymore. Considering how long you’ve been blogging, it looks like your move went pretty quick and was fairly painless.

    Enjoy your new home on WordPress, and thanks for the giveaway! Sorry I kept hijacking your tweets the other day, but I could totally relate 🙂

  10. Melanie (YA Midnight Reads)

    OMG. Dude this is freaking awesome! Everything looks amazing and I can’t wait for my move now, not to mention nervous and all ready spazzing out on planning what I want alterred added and removed. Gah, I’m obsessed.

    Congrats on the move, chick! <33

  11. Michaniya @ Bookmarked For Later

    Glad to see that the switch has been good for you. I completely agree with you about Ashley, she’s a freaking life saver and she’s so sweet. Even though Xpresso Reads has the same look, there are some stuff that are obviously different and I’m loving it. Glad you made the decision to move!

  12. Jessica

    Yeah I gave up the first time I tried to switch. Almost outright panic attack. Went back to blogger and then after a month or so tried again. Success! So glad I did love it where it is, how it is. Wish I’d gone that route from day one.

  13. DannyBookworm

    YEAH!!! Glad you decided to move!! I love WP and would never ever go back to blogger. And yes, Ashley is phenomenal, so helpful and she knows so much!!! Glad she made this move easy for you! Welcome to WP!

  14. miki

    you just made me even more stressed bout my blog that i was because i relaly think i’m not reading to move as of yet

  16. Yuko

    I have a question for you: which plug-in do you use to display the way to follow you and the number of your followers? Thanks!

  17. Kelly

    I’ve thought about making the switch but I wouldn’t even know where to begin!! I’m horrible with computer related things so I have no idea how to even move all of my stuff from blogger to wordpress. Just thinking about it stresses me out!

  18. Lolita

    I still have a blogger blog. I was a co-blogger on another blog before I started my own blog and I thought blogger was easy to work with so I stayed with blogger when i started my own blog. I have been hearing some horror stories about people’s blog getting removed, but for the time being I will stay with blogger. I do contemplate getting my own domain and moving sometimes. I don’t know much about moving so I would probably need to hire someone to help me with that and at the moment I just don’t have the time or money for that. I back up my blog at least once a week, so at least I have a backup if google decides to remove my blog.

  19. Jennifer @ Some Like It Paranormal

    Looks almost the same! I have always wanted to move because my blog was shut down when I first started blogging a long time ago. I really have no clue why but I emailed them and a day later it was back. I just can barely work blogger so I worry about having to relearn everything in wordpress and luckily I haven’t had any problems since. I make sure to backup often now. But maybe some day when I have the time to move and try to learn everything. Congrats on taking the jump and glad you are happy with it.

  21. Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

    Everything looks so amazingly the same! What a relief it must be to have more control and a stable platform. Thank you so much for helping push me in the right direction. I’m glad I was *eavesdropping* on your conversations with Ashley on twitter!

  23. Kristin@Blood,Sweat and Books

    One thing I love about WordPress is Comment Luv. I’m still leery on moving. I tried farting around on WordPress the other day and it was so frustrating. I’m backing up my blog to it though as a just in case. IF blogspot ever went down all I’ll need to do it unprivate it and up it’d go. Oh and thanks for the giveaway 🙂

  24. Lauren @ Lose Time Reading

    Congrats on the switch Giselle 🙂 I also use the UBB Plugin and it is AMAZING! I would never ever stop using it… I can’t wait for V2. And your absolutely right about Ashley, she goes above and beyond. I had quite some trouble with the UBB (because I am a WordPress Noob) and she was so helpful and answered all of insane emails !!! I’m glad you were able to transfer over your beautiful design 🙂

  27. Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed

    Woo-freaking-hoo! Congratulations on making the move. Best decision EVER!
    I couldn’t have/wouldn’t have done it without Ashley and her UBBP and kickass themes! Isn’t the UBBP amazing! And I love the widgets AND I still haven’t even played with them all yet.

  28. Amanda @ Hell-Bent to Read

    Congratulations on the move, Giselle! I was excited just seeing the tweets between your and Ashley, haha! I’ve also made the decision to move by the end of next month. I’m still a somewhat new blogger, but I’d rather become self-hosted now instead of making more posts and then randomly losing them one day. (Talk about DEPRESSING.)

  29. Ner

    I moved my blog to wordpress months ago and I’m really glad I did. Not only is it (for me) easiest to use WP, I feel like my blog is more fresh and more professional than it was on blogger. Why I feel like that is beyond me xD

    So, congratulations on the move ^_^

    And thank you for the giveaway 😀

    XX Ner

  30. Jasprit

    Congrats on taking a huge leap and moving your blog to WordPress! I’m really nit picky when it comes to blog stuff so I totally commend you with going though with it! I love your new little icons and blog lovin button! So cute! Thanks for the awesome giveaway too Giselle! You rock!

  32. ShootingStarsMag

    I probably SHOULD switch at some point so I don’t have to worry about any of that…but I’d definitely need a lot of help. I’m not that tech savvy, though I wish I was! haha

    -Lauren

  33. tabithasbookblog

    WOOH! WordPress is seriously the best blogging decision I’ve ever made. I’m SO happy that you’re liking it, and there’s not much of a learning curve! Everything’s so easy to get the hang of, and Ashley’s plugins and her constant help is incredible!

  34. Emily Drema

    Look at this pretty blog!! (well, it always has been, but ya know…) I think the switch was a great decision, I’ve been kind of waiting to see who else would be switching to WordPress. And well, you’re blog is still amazing 😉 I wish I could make the move too! I really hope that my blog won’t be deleted *crosses fingers*
    Amazing Bloglovin button by the way! It’s so pretty, and I love the vector sitting on the ‘n’! And I’ve followed you on every way possible so I’ll be staying tuned! 😉

    x

  35. Emily Drema

    Look at this pretty blog!! (well, it always has been, but ya know…) I think the switch was a great decision, I’ve been kind of waiting to see who else would be switching to WordPress. And well, you’re blog is still amazing 😉 I wish I could make the move too! I really hope that my blog won’t be deleted *crosses fingers*
    Amazing Bloglovin button by the way! It’s so pretty, and I love the vector sitting on the ‘n’! And I’ve followed you on every way possible so I’ll be staying tuned! 😉

    x

  36. Kristin @ My ParaHangover

    I’m so freaking ecstatic for you!!! I agree with you on WordPress!! I love actually “owning” what I do.

    And Ashley (Nose Graze) at Creative Whim is THE BOMB!! I use her UBB, though not to it’s full potential, and every question I’ve ever had has been answered so quickly and happily, no matter how dumb I’m being at the time!!!

    BEST OF ALL – you kept your beautiful design!!! Yeah!!! Now just wait until you start playing with all the plugins (insert evil, maniacal laugh here)!!!

  37. Charlotte

    Hello Giselle, it’s so good to hear that you are enjoying your new niche. You really have an awesome blog. You finally convinced me to switch to WP.

    Blogger is really scary. Imagine all that hard work gone to nothing. *sighs* a

  39. Mel@thedailyprophecy

    Yes, this news scared me.. I’m still not sure about transferring, but I’ve seen a great offer at Nose Graze and I might take the plunge. I need a little more time to consider my options 🙂

    But, it looks great! I’m happy that it was such a painless transfer 😀

  40. Tanja

    I can’t believe but your blog looks prettier now! I mean I like your design but new details are a really nice touch! 🙂

  41. Lady Reader

    This is great! I’m sure I’ll be much happier when I get everything settled and thanks again for letting me know about your friend, whom I will now call Miss WP for Dummies. 😉

    Amy

  43. Meredith

    I’ve only been blogging for about 3-4 weeks, but all of a sudden, Twitter was exploding with bad things about Blogger and Google. And I panicked. Reading your post helped me make the decision to take my blog to WordPress. I saw a lot of your tweets to Ashley @ Nose Graze, and it seemed to be a pretty smooth transition. It gave me the courage to make the switch at this point, before I have years of material and the switch is more difficult. Thanks for writing such a great, informative post!

  44. Stephanie @ The Novlist

    Congratulations on your move! I’ve been reading Ashley’s posts about WP for a while now and with this new bout of shutting down, I think I definitely need to make the move. I do have a question for you though: since you use Bloglovin’, did you have to change your website URL on your profile? If you didn’t, would none of your new posts show up?

    • Giselle

      I didn’t have to change anything on Bloglovin and it’s updated my 2 posts since I moved. My understanding is they work with domains so if you already have your own domain it’ll grab your new RSS feed automatically. If your domain changes you can email them to transfer your followers over – I know someone who did that and they replied in 2 days).

  46. Molli

    YAY Giselle! You joined usssss. That’s awesome. Seriously, self hosting WP is the BEST decision I EVER made re: blogging. I love it so much more than I EVER did Blogger, plus my site is MINE and I feel safer.

    Thank you for the wonderful giveaway, love!

  48. Arely Z.

    I’ve actually been wanting to move from Blogger to WordPress for a while now, but the move scares me too… And I don’t have money right now to ask anyone to make the switch 🙁

  49. Jennifer Bielman

    Hells yeah girl. Good for you. And yes, Ashley is awesome. I would have her do my switch too. But since I am starting to go to school for web design, I am hoping in like a years time I can do the move myself. Let’s just hope Google doesn’t try to mess with me before then.

  50. Megan (Ink Skies)

    So I had NO idea you were planning to make the switch, but congrats on your successful move, Giselle! My co-blogger and I are also planning to do the same thing, but we’re still thinking of checking other things out before actually doing it. The part about Blogger randomly deleting sites is scary, though. I really hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Also, I’ve heard LOADS about Ashley’s Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin, though I still don’t quite know how it works. But I’m glad everything’s going smoothly for you! 🙂

  52. Vyki @ On The Shelf

    Glad that you are enjoying your move to WP. I love it and for someone like myself, it is pretty user friendly. Hope you continue to love your stay on WP and thanks for the awesome giveaway!

  54. Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books

    Congrats on your move to WordPress, Giselle! It is a big step to take, but I think it definitely makes sense for established bloggers. Your site looks great and that’s wonderful that the Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin is also so helpful. Best of luck moving forward and learning how to use WordPress!

  55. Leeanna @ Leeanna.me

    Yay on moving to WordPress! I’m a geek so I started out with WordPress/self-hosting, but it’s good to see so many other bloggers moving. Especially since Google keeps shutting down or changing services.

  56. Dizneeee

    Congratulations on your move and glad it went off well! A lot of people seem to be gathering their courage lately to switch to WP. Hope you enjoy it!

  57. Adriene

    I took the blogging plunge and have begun to build my blog on wordpress.org. I’ve been totally intimated though until I came across Ashley’s website and saw her products. So that got me thinking….then I saw your post about switching over! OMG I love your site and well you started talking about Ashley and it all just clicked for me! I got the UBB last night as well as a theme and I stayed up all night playing. I still have lots of questions but I’ve gotten further in one night then I did in one week! Thanks so much!

    • Giselle

      Yay so glad you made the leap! I have a friend who got the Tweak Me (well several but Jenni told me all about it in more details) and it’s very impressive! And the UBB is a definite must for Book Bloggers. I would have switched just to have that!! Ashley is also the sweetest and most patient person ever for when you have questions.

  58. Alexa Y.

    Congratulations on making the move Giselle! This is something I’ve also been contemplating, though I don’t think I’ll be doing it anytime soon. But still, your site looks familiar + new all at once! I’m glad it was a painless process for you <3

  59. Lisa (Lost in Literature)

    Congratulations!! I love this post. So many people have been moving and loving it. So many that I’ve decided to move myself!! 🙂 I’ve already contacted Ashley, of course (no other way to go, in my opinion. :D) and I will hopefully be moving in the next couple of weeks. Though I’m completely overwhelmed and totally freaked out, I’m happy to know that Ashley will take care of me and make it as painless as possible. 🙂 Thanks for the info – you definitely helped me in making my decision.

  60. Christina (A Reader of Fictions)

    I’m a bit belated but things have been crazy. Anywho, congrats! I plan to join you and Jenni soon! My design is in the works, and I’m planning to just cough up the money to have Ashley do it, because I am terrified I’ll fuck it up, and the money is worth my sanity, you know?