A Domain of Your Own?

Are you ready to transition your ePortfolio work to a website of your own? What will be different about it compared to your ePortfolio building?

One difference between your ePortfolio multisite and a site of your own is that you will need to choose your web-building tool for your own site. At UNE, we use WordPress multisite with Reclaim Hosting. We have found that their service is excellent, and their mission inspired ours: to empower people to shape and own their digital identity. Lots of options are available, though. Some popular web-building products that include hosting are WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and SquareSpace. When you elect a low-cost plan, you may not be able to remove ads from your site, so be sure to notice that option when you decide.

If you choose to use WordPress software to build your ePortfolio, you already know much of what is required to add content, organize, and set privacy controls. If you choose to use a different web-building software, the interface will look a little different, but your knowledge of the basic structures will transfer. So, where do you begin?

Transferring WordPress Content

  1. Review the content and purpose for your new site. Will you craft your site to highlight your professional growth? Sell a product or provide information about your business? Share your ideas through a blog? Will you be preserving some or all of your ePortfolio content? (Remember: UNE will maintain your ePortfolio site for the first year after you graduate.)
  2. Once you know your purpose, determine a domain name and choose a web-building software.
  3. If you elect to continue with WordPress, you can download (export) your entire ePortfolio content and then upload (import) it to your site.
  1. Go to dashboard and Tools.
    Select Export.

2. Select “All content,” unless you want to limit the content that you transfer. This will create a .xml file that will download onto your desktop.

3. Log onto your new WordPress site and go to the Tools menu. From there, select Import.

4. Click Run Importer (under WordPress) and import the .xml file. Include your file attachments.

Your new WordPress site dashboard will look like your ePortfolio site, but you will have the control over your themes and plug-ins.