I think I could have saved you both of these steps:

The main problem with making the switch is that the urls change when imported. The two platforms have a totally different approach to setting them up. A Typepad version looks like http://coachingwizardry.com /2007/12/inspirational-q.html

Importing to WordPress gives you http://coachingwizardry.com/2007/12/inspirational-quotes-living-life-on-purpose/

I haven’t found an easy or foolproof way to beat this. I ended up changing the ‘post slug’ (see notes below) manually, which is the most time consuming and laborious part of the switch.

and

15. Set your permalinks with a custom structure. Settings – permalinks – then chose custom structure and set it like this /%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%.html This will move the url closer to the version that Typepad uses

We regularly move blogs like this for clients and rather than try to match out the new structure to the old, it is better in my opinion to simply redirect from the old to the new so that you have a uniform structure on the new site without losing pages. It can be done with some properly placed code.

Good article.

Samantha McArthurs last blog post..Could this be the end for Email Marketing?

My intention with these links was first to show people it is possible to get away and second to give people an additional map to do it themselves if they want to – in combination with your excellent system above.

As you know it’s not easy to make the move. As I said before, for a smaller site, your system of just replacing the slug post by post, combined with our technique for gathering the images with an external downloader, is the quickest and most cost-efficient way to make the move.

For larger sites, doing the move by hand is really tough though. I know I would gladly have paid for a service – had one existed. I created this service to meet my own needs as a client.

I hope people will do their research before joining Typepad – as long as the export function is inadequate/broken – building a site in Typepad is just creating future pain. I am extremely disappointed that SixApart would deliberately cripple the export functions, while pretending that they exist (to lure new users in). I had a higher opinion of the company when I became a customer.

Alecs last blog post..Tomasz Stanko Nordic Quintet at Porgy & Bess

Thanks for letting us know about the service. I’ll leave your promotional links in as I know that this is a headache that a lot of people want help with, but please note readers: I haven’t tested or validated these resources in any way

We have an automated method of handling the permalinks when switching from Typepad to WordPress using advanced templates but your system of just going through and cutting and pasting is simple and clever for a younger or smaller website.

Hello Seshu,

We also have a Typepad to WordPress service which is ideal for people in your situation.

The service takes all the headaches away, you don’t need to worry about anything or make any manual post by post changes and you wake up with a perfectly transferred site and all your images local. No loss in Google rankings either. I was in your own situation and had no one to turn to which is why I created the service.

Here are a few of the larger sites we’ve moved:

The Paupered Chef
CreativeEveryDay.com
oGaugeWatch.com

Alecs last blog post..Tomasz Stanko Nordic Quintet at Porgy & Bess

Because you’ve got your own domain name rather than a .typepad one you should be okay. I’m not saying it’s not a big job, it’s huge, but you should be able to keep your ranking and keep all your links by using the permalink manager and steps I describe here.

Images are problematic if you want to close your typepad account – you’ll need to reupload them to the new blog.

Internal links seemed to me more tricky but are fixable over time. I used broken link checker at the start to pick up any that I hadn’t sorted through the process described above.

Good luck!

Joanna