Migrations from Blogger to WordPress are becoming more popular.  In our client discussions we hear of the following advantages;

Overview of Blogger Migration Advantages

• All database data and images stored on your own server
• Improved page load speed
• SEO enhancements available
• Increased ease of posting in the WP environment as compared to Blogger

Control Your Content

We have heard a few stories about Google simply wiping out Google a account, often with no notice.  In a recent case, Google declined to reinstate the account.  Unlike WordPress where regular back-ups are simple to make and can even be automated, when you blog with Blogger all of your data is in the hands of Google.  They can do what they choose, including close your account without notice.  We realize this is not common it does raise a legitimate concern.  We prefer self-hosted accounts when available.

Our focus here at BlogWranglers is moving blogs.  However, in working with Blogger recently we discovered that backing up your images in a way that makes them useful in the case of a disaster is not easy.

For those who may not want to migrate, but do want to backup their photos, we can help.

Blogger Image Back-Up Only

While moving a few Blogger Blogs to WordPress we developed several excellent techniques for moving images. Unlike the Blogger Content Back-Up that is now available, images are not readily available in a usable format. Blogger images are stored in three formats;

• Thumbnail Size Blogger Images
• S400 – the displayed size of your images in the blog post images in Blogger
• S1600 / S1600-h – the full sized original image that you uploaded

We can provide you with a list of all images and with a list of the posts that use those images as well as a directory of each of these images.

How Blogger Images are Stored

Many people are unaware that every time you upload an image in Blogger when creating a post that it goes into a Picasa web album. The album is “hidden” from public view unless you alter that.

Of course you can easily make a back up of that entire album, but the image file names are cryptic and nothing ties them back to specific posts. Many use winHTTrack and make a duplicate of the site off-line. However with this method, the images are buried in several levels of sub-directories and they have cryptic directory names.

When we first started doing Blogger site moves, the Blogger/Picasa images were moved with simple brute force. We would have to essentially go post by post, and retrieve and upload the proper pictures while creating links when migrating. Thankfully we have developed a more automated system.

Backup Blogger Photographic and other Images

Our system retrieves and archives your images economically and in a way that would allow you to match images to the proper posts should you ever be in a disaster recovery situatation. It also allows us to easily re-create the images during a complete move to WordPress.

So while you are encouraged to make the complete move to  WordPress from Blogger, feel free to use our contact form to give us a hollar if you just want to make a back-up of your Blogger images. We’d be happy to provide you with a quote for this service.