Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Blog help requested!!

I have been very, very happy with blogspot ever since I began my blog nearly five years ago. I've seen people make a switch but I've never had any problems so didn't feel a need to do so... until now. I want to do something I thought would be relatively simple. I want to delete my gmail account. That address has never been the one I used for the blog. That has been my 'home' address. I set up a gmail account so I could put a contact address on my blog in case anyone wanted to get in touch.

But this is not so easy to do. All google's stuff seems to be heavily connected now, and it appears that if I delete the gmail account, I will lose the whole blog.

Hence, I am left with no other option than to leave my formerly beloved blogspot. I've loved all the options, the colors, the templates, the ease, but I want to be able to delete this email account without losing the blog.

My questions to you are:

1. is it true that if I delete the gmail account I will also delete the blog?

2. if #1. is true, then could you please tell me where you blog from, and how you like it?

3. and then, how do I make the switch so that ALL my words and photos are not lost in the change?

I know that many of you have written about this, but I didn't want to take the time this morning to go searching. I'd like to get out of this conglomerate with my blog intact.

Thank you in advance for any help you may offer.

Addendum: I'm staying here. It's just too much work and trouble to bother and change when it is just a matter of an email account. It can just sit there, and I'll post my other email on the blog. Thanks so much for all the responses.

19 comments:

  1. So I've been wanting to leave blogger as well because I get so frustrated with the outages and other issues.
    I don't know if deleting gmail will also delete blogger (I don't believe so because google still has several other products that can be used).
    One of the many blogs I follow recently switched to wordpress (which seems ok fairly reliable) and she referenced this link:
    http://www.beautifully-invisible.com/2010/11/introduction-so-you-want-to-leave-blogger-for-wordpress.html
    I've looked through it. They make it sound easy to switch but I'm not a tech person at all and this seems very complicated. But it is very detailed so if you are more tech savvy this could be useful for you.
    I'm anxious to hear what your other followers have to say because I so want to switch blogs as well.

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  2. Kittie Flyn, thanks so much. I'll check out that link.

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  3. I'll try out the link and check too. What a coincidence that I just wrote about Blogspot problems this morning too and how using a different browzer could help. Lots of people have written their advice.

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  4. How interesting. I tried to set up a google blog site a couple of years ago, and have never, ever been able to get it work, even though I followed ( I thought) all their directions on how to do it. So I've never been able to post anything on it. I don't know if the domain name (is that the right word?) is compromised so that I'll never be able to use it or not. I will be the first to admit that I am not technically savvy, and like things simple -- which google blog doesn't seem to be. There's a google office in our town that employs about a thousand people -- maybe I should just drive down there, march in with my laptop, and shout "Help!"
    Good luck with your switch -- I will look forward to seeing your posts in some -- any -- format!
    Canadian Chickadee

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  5. Dear Nan, I shall miss you when you won't appear on my dashboard anymore :-( I always loved your posts, and I am still happy enough with blogger for not wanting to switch to wordpress or some other place.

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  6. Sadly, I can't answer your first two questions. However, if you do decide to make a change to a new platform, I can tell you a bit about WordPress. First, it is very easy to import all your words and photographs into the template of your choice there. I'd be glad to explain further should you choose to go there.

    However, be aware that when changing one's blogging platform one loses all one's page rank. Not sure if this matter's to you, but your connections so to speak are lost. People will have to change their address for your blog until you reappear on Google search pages. (Unless you know how to create a redirect on your Blogger blog which takes them to your new blog automatically.) That was a definite bummer for me when I went to WordPress, but maybe it won't bother you.

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  7. Nan, my daughter switched from blogger to wordpress, which is what I use, a few years ago and was able to transfer all of her posts. I have no idea how to do it, but, Kittie Flyn above seems to have the answer.

    I have been very pleased with wordpress, but, have had a few intermittent problems posting lately. They are very responsive and helpful and I suspect the age of my computer has had something to do with it. I would definitely give wordpresss a try.

    Good luck with either switching or deleting your gmail, or whatever else. I love to read your blog and hope it all works out to your satisfaction.

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  8. Hi Nan,
    I do know a few who have switched to WordPress and left their old blog in tact with no changes except a "closed up shop" and referral message to the new blog.

    One thing I learned from Kat when Blogger deleted her whole blog is that from Mozilla Firefox, you can create a full backup copy of your blog. I do so monthly. I open the browser (Firefox), click on the blog "month" and then do a "file" "save as" and save the entire web file onto a USB drive.

    I'm not sure I will make the switch from Blogger - as I am not having any problems with Blogger - but if I did, I think I would want to try to convert the old to the new, so having a backup is handy! Good luck and keep us posted. I'll follow you here or there :-)

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  9. It's been years since I used Blogger, BUT, I believe you can change which email address you want associated with your account. So you could create a new email address that you want to use with the account, then go to Blogger and tell it to use that email address, then you would be free to delete the one you don't want any more. If that didn't work, you can make a different email address an administrator, so you could still access it through that login.

    Here is a link I found on Google about how to move a blog between accounts. It should be able to help you.

    http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41448

    Hope that helps and good luck!

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  10. Nan, you can add a new gmail (email) address to your blogger account and use that one for people to contact you. That is what I do.

    Hope that works for you.

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  11. I went through a phase where I wanted to switch from Blogger but after hearing WordPress wasn't user friendly, I decided to stay in Blogger. Their problems seem to have been ironed out, so for the time being I'm content. Good luck, whatever you decide.

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  12. Kay, thanks. It really isn't blogger that I'm having any trouble with. I just want to get rid of a gmail account and it seems linked to my blog, though I never made that link.

    Canadian Chickadee, honestly I've never had a bit of trouble with the blog. I'm sure that fellow bloggers could help you set up your blog. I'd love to read it!

    Librarian, I don't know what you mean by me appearing on your dashboard. I've not had any trouble with the blog except for that worldwide problem a while back. I just want to get rid of the gmail.

    Bellezza, I thought of you and was going to get in touch if I decide to do this. I've always been happy with blogger, but just don't want this gmail account any more.

    Thanks, Penny. Not sure what I'm going to do at this point. Continue on probably, at least for a while.

    Nan, that is so interesting about the backup. I'll look into it. I've thought about Kat's situation as I ponder how to deal with this. I've read a few other horror stories, too. Thank you.

    Thanks, Heather. I already have a different email associated with the blog. I thought that would mean it would be easy to delete the other gmail account but apparently not.

    Diane, I had planned to just offer my regular email address on the profile page but I still want to get rid of the gmail account and from what I've read that might compromise my blog. I shall keep at this, though slowly. :<)

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  13. Barbara, I've not had any trouble with the blog either. It's just that gmail address I want to get rid of.

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  14. Ohmigoodness, how crazy if your conjecture is true! That you MUST have a specific domain e-mail to have a blog here? That's crazy! I think maybe (and this is cumbersome, but may work) if you tell Google to link your Gmail address to another address (as a backup or whatever for sending password info to), then you might be able to keep the blogger account without the Gmail address. But I have no real idea :-)

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  15. Thanks, Aarti, it's fine. Really. I've just changed the contact email address in my blog profile, and I'll let the gmail acct. just sit there. And then I'll fergitaboutit. :<)

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  16. Staying put? A good decision, I think. Simpler all around.

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  17. Yup, Bellezza! I've put my new address on the blog, and written to people about the change, and the nansletters acct. can just sit there. No big deal. And so much easier, because after all, I've always been happy with blogger. I like the templates, the ease of posting, everything.

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  18. I thought I'd switch to Wordpress but then Blogger made it so much easier to do different things with layout, tabs (I LOVE TABS), and photos--even many new fonts. So different from the blogging options of six years ago when I started my first blog.

    Yes, everything seems so entwined in computer land and that can be frustrating at times. It is possible to transfer one blog to another but I'd be terrified of losing everything en route. There are also websites now that will upload and print your blogs. I'd like to do that so my husband will read them (he is a confirmed luddite) and also to have a hard copy on the shelf.

    Sorry, I'm late to this conversation but I hope you are happy with Blogger in the end.

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  19. Catherine, I've always been happy with blogger for my blog. It was just not being able to get rid of the gmail address that bothered me. Anyhow it is solved now. I changed my email contact address on my blog profile, so now the old acct. just sits there and I check it once in a great while.

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