The Ultimate Guide to Migrating Your Blog from Tumblr to WordPress in 2024

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Are you a serious blogger looking to take your content to the next level? If you‘ve been blogging on Tumblr for a while, 2023 is the perfect time to consider migrating to a self-hosted WordPress site. While Tumblr has its strengths as a microblogging platform and social network, WordPress offers a range of powerful advantages for bloggers who want more control, flexibility, and opportunities to grow their site.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll walk you through the key reasons to make the switch, backed up by data and expert insights. Then we‘ll provide an in-depth, step-by-step migration process with screenshots and pro tips along the way. By the end, you‘ll be ready to move from Tumblr to WordPress smoothly and start reaping the benefits in the new year. Let‘s dive in!

WordPress vs. Tumblr: What the Data Shows

When it comes to market share and growth, the contrast between WordPress and Tumblr is stark. WordPress now powers over 43% of all websites, according to W3Techs, and its usage continues to rise. In a survey of over 1,600 bloggers, "WordPress overwhelming wins as the most popular blogging platform," with 77% of bloggers choosing WordPress over other options.

Meanwhile, Tumblr has been declining. In 2018, Tumblr lost as many as 150 million monthly page views after banning adult content. Parent company Verizon sold Tumblr for a mere $3 million in 2019, a far cry from the $1.1 billion Yahoo originally paid. While still popular with fan communities and visual bloggers, Tumblr has largely fallen out of favor with professional bloggers.

Why the shift? For one, bloggers are increasingly focused on owning their platform and content. Mike Allton of the Blogging Brute explains: "The primary reason I always recommend self-hosted WordPress over Tumblr or other platforms is that you have complete control and ownership. It‘s your domain, your content, your site, your rules."

What‘s more, a growing body of research points to WordPress‘s SEO advantages. Websites built with WordPress tend to rank higher in search results and get more organic traffic than those on closed platforms like Tumblr. Neil Patel found that "websites built with WordPress earn an average of 23% more traffic than websites that aren‘t."

The bottom line is that in 2024, WordPress offers undeniable advantages for bloggers who want full control to build a profitable, high-traffic blog for the long-term. If that sounds like you, it‘s time to make the move. Here‘s how.

Your 4-Step Tumblr to WordPress Migration Process

Step 1: Set Up Your New WordPress Site

First, you‘ll need to get your new WordPress site up and running:

  1. Choose a domain name: Your domain is your blog‘s address on the web (like www.yourblog.com). If you already own a domain you used on Tumblr, have that information ready. If not, it‘s easy to register one with any domain registrar or hosting company.

  2. Purchase web hosting: Your hosting is the home base where your WordPress site‘s files and database live. We recommend WordPress hosting that‘s optimized for performance and security, like Kinsta, WP Engine, or SiteGround.

  3. Install WordPress: With most web hosts, you can install WordPress with just a few clicks right from your hosting dashboard. The exact steps vary, but here‘s an example of the process with Kinsta:

WordPress auto-installer example on Kinsta hosting

  1. Choose a WordPress theme: Your theme controls the design and layout of your site. Browse the official WordPress theme directory to find a free option you like, or invest in a premium theme for more features and flexibility. Some great themes for bloggers include:
  • Astra: Lightweight and highly customizable, works great with page builders
  • GeneratePress: Optimized for speed and usability
  • Kadence: Feature-rich multipurpose theme
  • Neve: Fully AMP optimized and loads almost instantly
  • Hemingway: Clean, simple blog theme inspired by Medium

Step 2: Import Your Tumblr Content

Now it‘s time to transfer all your Tumblr posts and content into WordPress. Fortunately, WordPress has a built-in importer tool that can pull in all your Tumblr content automatically. Here‘s how:

  1. Install the Tumblr Importer plugin: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Tools > Import. Click on the "Install Now" button under Tumblr to add the official Tumblr Importer plugin.

Tumblr Importer plugin

  1. Create a Tumblr app: The importer plugin needs permission to access your Tumblr data. To allow this, you need to create a temporary "app" on Tumblr (it‘s just an authorization key). Follow the instructions given in the plugin to create the app and paste the provided OAuth keys into the plugin settings.

  2. Run the import: With the keys in place, click the "Import" button to start transferring your Tumblr content to WordPress. Depending on how much content you have, the import may take a while. Let it run completely until you see a success message.

  3. Review and clean up: Once the import is done, spot check to make sure all your Tumblr posts and images came over successfully. You can find them under Posts in your WordPress dashboard. Now‘s a great time to make any edits or improvements to the imported posts. For instance, you might want to:

  • Tweak the formatting of posts to match your new WordPress theme
  • Update outdated information or links
  • Fix any typos or grammar mistakes
  • Add new images or other media
  • Break up long paragraphs into shorter sections for readability
  • Assign categories and tags to help organize posts

Blogging expert Darren Rowse of ProBlogger recommends investing time to update older content: "This is a great opportunity to improve your archives. Perhaps add new images, rewrite some posts, interlink posts that should be linked, update information to be current."

Step 3: Redirect Your Tumblr Blog to WordPress

To keep your Tumblr audience and search rankings, it‘s important to properly redirect your Tumblr blog and individual post URLs to the new WordPress versions. The process will differ depending on whether you used a custom domain or subdomain on Tumblr:

  • If you used a custom domain on Tumblr (like www.yourblog.com): You‘ll need to update your domain‘s DNS settings to point to your new WordPress host‘s nameservers. The exact steps depend on your registrar and host, but here are tutorials for common setups:

  • If you used a Tumblr subdomain (like yourblog.tumblr.com): Unfortunately, Tumblr doesn‘t offer an automatic way to redirect these URLs. But you have a couple of options:

    1. Post a final message on your Tumblr blog announcing your move and linking to your new WordPress site. Invite your followers to update their bookmarks and RSS feeds. Keep the Tumblr blog online to refer that existing traffic.
    2. Use JavaScript to automatically redirect visitors from each Tumblr post to the equivalent WordPress post. There are a few ways to implement this:

The gold standard is to implement a permanent 301 redirect for each individual Tumblr post URL to the equivalent WordPress post. This ensures visitors always end up in the right place, while also telling search engines that your content has moved (so you keep your search rankings). You can set up these redirects with a WordPress plugin like Redirection or 301 Redirects.

Step 4: Notify Your Followers

The final key step is to let your audience know about the move to WordPress, so they can keep following your new blog. Some effective ways to spread the word:

  • Post a final announcement on your Tumblr blog with a link to your new site. Reiterate the reasons for the move and your excitement about the new chapter. Consider keeping the Tumblr post pinned or linked in your description to refer more of that traffic over time.

  • Share the news across all your social media profiles. Post about the migration, with a direct link to the new blog, several times in the first week to reach as many followers as possible. On visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok, consider making a quick video announcement.

  • Email your subscribers to let them know about the move and share the new WordPress blog‘s URL. Invite them to visit and re-subscribe via email to stay in the loop.

  • If you‘re part of any Tumblr group blogs or collaborate with other bloggers, reach out individually to let them know about your new site. Ask them to update any links to your Tumblr blog.

  • Run a special launch promotion or giveaway on the new WordPress blog to give people an extra incentive to visit and re-engage. For instance, you could give away a relevant product or gift card for one week when people sign up for your email list on the new site.

In all of these communications, convey your gratitude to your existing followers and your enthusiasm for the opportunities WordPress offers. You might even tease some upcoming new content that will be exclusive to the WordPress blog.

Bonus Tips to Grow and Improve Your New WordPress Blog

Migrating to WordPress is just the beginning. Now it‘s time to take advantage of everything WordPress has to offer to grow your blog and business:

  • Install essential WordPress plugins: Add functionality to your site with plugins for SEO, social media, email marketing, and more. Some top options:

    • Yoast SEO: Optimize your content for search engines
    • WPForms: Easily create contact forms, surveys, and email opt-ins
    • WP Rocket: Speed up your site with caching and performance optimization
    • MonsterInsights: Connect Google Analytics and get useful traffic reports
    • WordFence: Protect your site from malware and hacking attempts

  • Set up a mailing list: Make it a priority to get your WordPress visitors onto an email list so you can keep in touch. Choose an email marketing service like Mailchimp or ConvertKit, then use their WordPress plugins to add signup forms across your site. Send a regular newsletter to keep subscribers engaged.

  • Optimize for search engines: Take advantage of WordPress‘s SEO benefits to rank higher in Google search results and attract more organic traffic. Use your SEO plugin to add a unique meta title and description to each post, and sprinkle relevant keywords throughout your content. Build links to your posts by guest posting on other blogs and promoting your content.

  • Master WordPress blogging features: Dive into WordPress-specific features like Categories and Tags to organize your content. Get familiar with the Block Editor so you can format posts easily. Explore the Media Library to manage your images, videos, and other files.

  • Replace Tumblr community features: One thing you may miss from Tumblr is the built-in social interaction and community. But you can add similar features to your WordPress blog with the right tools:

  • Network with other bloggers: Build relationships with bloggers in your niche to cross-promote and support each other. Comment on their blogs, share their content on social media, and propose collaborations like guest posts or joint projects. Join relevant Facebook groups and online forums too.

  • Keep learning WordPress and blogging: Follow blogs and take courses to pick up more WordPress tips and blogging best practices. Some great learning resources:

By implementing these tips consistently, you‘ll be well on your way to building a successful, profitable blog on the WordPress platform. You‘ve already taken the most important step by migrating from Tumblr to WordPress – now the possibilities are endless. Welcome to the thriving WordPress community!

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