WordPress.com

1. resonanteye
   Member
   Nov 3, 2011, 6:58 AM

   I have a domain of my own (http://resonanteye.net) through wordpress.com.

   I want to use google checkout to sell my art/paintings/etc directly to collectors from my site.

   Do I have to switch to .org to do this? (I will NOT use paypal for this. they are the reason I'm deciding to sell direct anyway- they aggravate me) or is there a cart I can use, or buttons for each thing, I can install in my current site?

   If I do have to make that switch. will I lose my traffic, hits, google rank, all the things I've got now with my .net site, and have to start all over? or will everything just transfer smoothly to .org hosting?

   Does it make a difference that I pay for the domain and hosting or not?

   And is there an easy way to make the transition to .org, if I actually have to?

   Has anyone sold their art using google checkout and wordpress.com hosted sites before, and how did you do it?

   Thanks for any answers, I've been pulling my hair out over this.

   The blog I need help with is resonanteye.net.

2. resonanteye
   Member
   Nov 3, 2011, 7:30 AM

   anyone?

3. thesacredpath
   Member
   Nov 3, 2011, 7:58 AM

   No, you can link to google checkout pages, but what you cannot do is use the secured javascript coded buttons. See if Google checkout has some plain HTML buttons that can be used to get people to your google shop and you can use those.

   WordPress has never had a problem with you selling things that you actually create.

   I've never used or checked out the google stuff so I'm afraid I'll be of little help past what I have given above.

   If you do switch to self-hosted, since you already have your own domain name, you will not lose any search engine ranking and everything will happen more or less seamlessly.

   The domain name/mapping upgrade is just that and since your site is still hosted here, you still have to play by the .COM rules, but as I said, wordpress has never had a problem with you selling your own creations from a site hosted here, it is just that the shopping cart/buy now button thing is a little more difficult since javascript is not allowed. Hopefully google checkout has something that will work though.

4. resonanteye
   Member
   Nov 3, 2011, 8:26 AM

   I've been searching for anything useable on their pages and their support all day.

   They only do the java buttons...I can't figure out any way to link direct.

   I'm thinking if I upgrade to .org it might be better anyway, there are other things there I'd like to be using, but I read a little about the changeover process and got scared out of my wits...I just want a button or something next to each post so people can buy the piece I posted. I'm a bit shy of going through some kind of interminable rebuilding process just for that, and a little scared to lose the theme/setup or look I've got going now.

   tl, dr version: I am scared of the process of switching to .org and not sure how simple that will actually be...

5. raincoaster
   Member
   Nov 3, 2011, 8:35 AM

   There is a paid "Guided Transfer" but actually, it's not as hard as you might think. I've done it, and most web hosts offer pretty easy WordPress installs.

6. resonanteye
   Member
   Nov 4, 2011, 8:12 AM

   doing some more reading now.

7. timethief
   Member
   Nov 4, 2011, 8:47 PM

   This post lays out a do it yourself step by step the process for moving a blog to a WordPress.org install > Setting up a self-hosted WordPress.org install

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