There are several reasons why you may want to move your existing blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. For instance:

• You get to install themes and plug-ins of your choice.
• You can include advertisements on your WordPress.org blog.
• If you aren’t happy with the commenting system of WordPress.com, you may use alternatives like Disqus or even Facebook comments.
• You can turn your single-author blog into a multi-user site and even split the advertising revenue with various contributors.
• A web address like myblog.com (hosted on WordPress.org) looks far more professional than myblog.wordpress.com which uses the free WordPress.com platform.

How to Move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?

If you would like to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, you first need to buy a domain name and then sign-up with a web hosting company. Next, you have two choices.

Option A: Follow the steps in this detailed tutorial to migrate all your posts and comments on the old WordPress.com website to your new web domain. Then setup domain mapping so that search visitors to the old blog automatically get redirected to your new WordPress.com website.

Option B: If the previous option sounded a bit too technical, there’s an easy way as well. Automattic now offers Guided Transfers, a service where one of their own engineers will help transfer your WordPress.com site to WordPress.org for a $99 fee.

Once the transfer is complete, your old site will be redirected to the new domain and the switch will therefore be invisible to your existing blog subscribers and search traffic.

The only condition that your new site should be hosted on one of WordPress’ partner companies which include Dreamhost, MediaTemple, GoDaddy and Blue Host. If you are on another hosting service, say Host Gator or Rackspace, the option A is still your best bet.

Related guide: Move your Blog from Blogger.com to WordPress