For the last three or four years I have been thinking about switching from Typepad to WordPress. I had originally chosen Typepad because it was easy, simple and powerful, but it is essentially the same platform that I began using seven or more years ago.
WordPress, on the other hand, continues to improve. With a strong developer ecosystem producing improvements to user experience, functionality through plugins and connecting web publishing to social networks, WordPress has consistently innovated – transforming from a blogging system to a matrix commerce platform.
So, I bit the bullet and moved Servant of Chaos to the WordPress platform. I had a couple of key criteria in moving:
- Maintain inbound links: After writing almost 2000 articles there was a lot of inbound links. I wanted to maintain these wherever possible. This meant enforcing a strict permalink structure within WordPress that mirrored Typepad
- Carry over content: I wanted to bring over images, articles, links and embedded material as easily as possible. Unfortunately images are an issue which means I will have to slowly republish images over time (before switching off Typepad)
- Improve the mobile experience: After writing so much recently about mobility and the need to cater to a mobile only audience, I felt I needed to walk the talk. I chose onswipe to handle the iPad experience of the site and WPtouch for the iPhone/mobile version.
So far, the site seems to be stable and functioning as hoped. There will be more tweaks along the way, but I trust it now helps you read, comment and engage with the site more easily.