Status of #TypePad migration, 21 Sept.
With TypePad shutting down on 30 Sept, I've been looking at how to move 5 blogs that I've had there for **20 years** with over 2,500 posts.
The reality is that I write on them so rarely that I could really just make them static sites and all would be fine.
However, an *easy* path right now seems to be to bring them into #WordPress as there’s an easy importer.
*I’ve DONE this* now, so I have copies in WordPress .com. My content is now safe. 🎉
But..
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But... there are multiple challenges for compatibility:
- #TypePad ended every page and post with a filename ending in “.html” while #WordPress just ends with “/“ (which, yes, is ultimately a shortcut for an “index.html”)
- TypePad had a HORRIBLE naming method for image names (using some kind of internal system), whereas WordPress does the right thing for names, and so it creates new URLs for images.
The good news is..
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The good news is that #WordPress does good redirection by itself, and there is also the wonderful “Redirection” plugin that can log all your 301s and 404s and let you see what redirections need to be put in place (and lets you easily set up redirections based on the logs).
One of the sites is for my very old Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast, and people still find and listen to episodes, so I want the URLs in podcast directories to actually work!
My challenge now is WordPress hosting…
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My challenge now is #WordPress hosting… I want to just use managed hosting. I don’t want to deal with administering WP myself. The other reality is that I have 5 other sites running on a self-hosted WP instance that I also want to consolidate and migrate. So about 10 sites total.
And… they all have their existing domains with various domain registrars and DNS hosting operators. (i.e. I do NOT need “new” domains from WP hosting providers)
I *could* just have them all on WordPress .com …
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I *could* just host them all on #WordPress .com but to get plugins and such, I’ll need to pay ~$50 USD / year for *each* site… but for some, I want to just preserve the history… and I don’t know if I can justify $50/year… as I’m up to $500/year for 10 sites.
However, WP .com *does* make it super simple and easy.
Now, I did look at #BlueHost as it *appears* I could host many sites (and domains) for maybe $150/year.
BUT… BlueHost doesn’t support #IPv6 ! In 2025! 🤦♂️🤯 Hello???
So…
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So now I've moved on to looking at #DreamHost, which again looks to be about $150/year for unlimited sites (after the discounted first year)… and.. they DO support #IPv6 🎉
But I’m not sure if they are the best provider for what I want to do.
And honestly I’m again wondering about static sites from #TypePad.
Anyway… the good news is that I have all my sites in WP .com right now and so I can export from there into a file that can be imported into any other #WordPress hosting provider.
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Dan York
Bryan Alexander
scully
Michael Richardson
Dan Knauss