I Let AI Move My Whole Blog: No Code, 15 Hours, and the Tips I Learned

1. Setting up the blog#

First, pick an Astro theme.
Mine is based on a theme called Fumika.

Make an empty folder for the blog on your computer.

Open that folder in VS Code and chat with Claude Code.

Prompt example

I want to start a project based on this blog theme (the URL of the theme you like).

The AI copies the theme and gets it running on your computer.
If you need to install a tool or set something up outside, it tells you how.

2. Planning the move#

Next, explain where things stand and what you want, and ask for a work plan.

Prompt example

I want to move my blog from WordPress to Astro.

• Current blog: https://xxx.com
• The domain and server are with Xserver (a Japanese hosting service)
• I also use an email address on my own domain.

Sort out the steps needed before launch and put them in a Markdown file.

With this prompt, it looks at the current site and the Astro project and writes a to-do list for the renewal.

1
# Blog renewal to-do list
2

3
The work for moving from WordPress (Xserver) to Astro (hosted on Cloudflare).
4

5
## Where things stand
6
- [Done] Posts and pages moved, new design, contact form
7
- Next: switch the domain and email
8

9
## Deadlines
10
- Before the server contract renews: finish the launch and the email switch
11

12
## Moving posts (WordPress → Astro)
13
1. [Done] Export and convert the posts (about 145, with images)
14
2. [Done] Move the pages (profile and so on)
15
3. [Done] Review categories and tags
16
4. [Decided] Don't move the WordPress comments
17

18
## New design
19
5. [Done] Colors, fonts, post cards
20
6. [Done] Headings, boxes, highlighter
21

22
## Contact form
23
7. [Done] Three steps: enter → confirm → sent
24
8. [Done] Spam protection and auto-reply
25

26
## Launch (Cloudflare)
27
9. [Done] Connect GitHub so updates publish automatically
28
10. [Done] Check the site on a temporary URL
29

30
## Switching the domain and email
31
11. Back up WordPress before switching
32
12. Point the name servers to Cloudflare (after checking how to undo it)
33
13. [Decided] Forward email to Gmail
34

35
## SEO and analytics
36
14. [Done] Redirects from old URLs to new ones (64)
37
15. Submit the sitemap to Search Console
38
16. [Decided] Keep the current Google Analytics

The real list is much more detailed, but this is the idea. Finished work gets [Done] and decisions get [Decided], so I can track progress.
When I say “update the checklist,” the AI fills in the progress too.

3. Converting 145 posts at once#

Once the setup was done, it was time to bring the posts over.

Prompt example

I want to do step 1, moving the WordPress posts. How should I go about it?

When I opened the checklist and asked how to do a step, it told me to download all my posts with WordPress’s export feature (and even which part of the dashboard to click).
Then I just put that file in the Astro folder or attached it in the chat.

Given the export file, it wrote a program to convert it, and about 145 posts, the pages, and the images were all turned into something Astro can publish.
It also set up redirects from the old URLs, so search results and links from other sites still work.

The easiest move I’ve ever done.

4. A partner for choosing a host#

My WordPress blog was hosted on Xserver.

But I wondered if I could pay less, so I asked the AI.

Prompt example

Which is better value: staying on Xserver or switching to Netlify?
Right now I have a contract with Xserver and use it for the domain, email, and WordPress.
WordPress is moving to Astro.
I don’t need Xserver from now on.

As we went back and forth (how will I use email from now on? do I use the server for anything besides WordPress?), it suggested a service called Cloudflare.

AI

For your setup, putting everything on Cloudflare (Cloudflare Pages for hosting, Cloudflare Registrar for the domain, and Cloudflare Email Routing for email forwarding) brings everything into one dashboard, and you no longer go back and forth between DNS settings.
Keeping it all on Cloudflare looks like the simplest setup.

Your only fixed cost would be close to just the domain.

After weighing the pros and cons of each option, I decided to publish with Cloudflare Workers (another Cloudflare service that can host sites).

Xserver: about ¥15,000 a year → Cloudflare: just the domain, about ¥1,700. Cost cut!

5. Reviewing my old posts#

During the move, I also reworked my categories and tags.

Prompt example

I want to rework my categories and tags for SEO. Look at the titles and text of my posts and suggest changes.

AI

If you share your WordPress post data and your Google Search Console data, I’ll put together category ideas and suggestions for each post.

It put together a spreadsheet of how to improve each post.
(I have 145 posts, so this was quick. With many more, you might need to process them in batches.)

For example:

• Two posts cover the same topic and split the traffic, so merge them into one (I combined my two posts on scheduling Instagram posts)
• Reorganize the categories into eight and rethink their names
• Rewrite the titles and descriptions of posts that don’t get clicked

and so on.

In the end, I rewrote 55 titles and added descriptions to all 145 posts.

I’ll write about this in more detail in another post.

It even caught mistakes inside my posts and fixed them, which was a huge help.
As the number of posts grows, just keeping them up to date is a lot of work, isn’t it?

6. Building features just by asking#

I asked for what I wanted, like “add a contact form” or “let me schedule posts for a future date,” and it built them.

Features it built:

• A contact form (with spam protection and an auto-reply)
• Scheduled posts
• A Japanese / English switch
• Writing in Obsidian and publishing from there
• Speech balloons and headings for posts
• Slideshows

To give you an idea of how it goes…

Prompt example

Can this blog show a PowerPoint as a slideshow?

AI

Yes, it can. There are three ways, each with different effort and look.

1. Embed it with Google Slides (the easiest; no code changes)

… (how it works, the good parts, what to watch out for)

2. Turn the slides into images and line them up (stays within the blog)

… (how it works, the good parts, what to watch out for)

3. Build a “slide frame” you can flip through inside the post (needs some code)

… (how it works, the good parts, what to watch out for)

My recommendation

If you want it up quickly and may edit the slides later: 1 (Google Slides embed)
If you care about the look and speed and will use it often: 3 (build a slide frame)
Which would you like? For 3, as usual, I’ll make a mockup of the look first, then build it.

Prompt example

Make the mockups and show me.

AI

I made mockups of the slide frame.

Things for you to decide:

Which option to go with (you can combine them, e.g. “A, plus C’s full-screen button”)
How slides change: a quick fade or a sideways slide
Whether clicking a slide opens it enlarged (the same as other images in your posts)
Once you decide, I’ll build it so you can use it in a post like this.

Prompt example

Build A.

7. Polishing the design#

I had it change what appears in the header menu and adjust the font size and typeface for easier reading.

I also had it set up the decorations I use a lot when writing:

• Headings
• Highlighter
• Boxes

Prompt example

Come up with designs for the h2, h3, and h4 headings.

Prompt example

Use B for h2, C’s dotted line for h3 but in a darker color, and B for h4.

Once I fine-tune the details, it builds them.

8. A manual just for me#

I had no idea how Astro actually works.
I thought I’d be stuck when I wanted to customize something and didn’t know where to look, so I had it make an introductory guide.

Prompt example

You are an experienced software engineer and a technical mentor who loves helping new engineers grow.
The goal is for the reader to understand how this Astro blog works and learn to update the program on their own.
Avoid jargon and explain in plain words so a new engineer can follow.

[Instructions]
Make a PowerPoint that explains this project (a personal blog built with Astro).
Include:

• What Astro is and how it differs from WordPress
• The folder structure and an overview of each program
• How post data gets published
• Which programs to change to add or update pages and customize the design

I also had it create a docs folder that records what I did and set up for the launch. It’ll come in handy whenever I change the setup later!

Keep the to-do list in a file#

The chat keeps scrolling away as you work.

I used the “renewal to-do list” to record what we’d decided and how far we’d got, so the AI and I stayed on the same page.

There might be a better way to do this.

Just ask when you don’t know#

I had no idea where to start, so I kept asking things like “I want to do ___. What are the steps?” or “Can you do ___?” as I went.

When you want to ask a quick side question without derailing the main task, the /btw command is handy.

Send screenshots to check#

Whenever I was unsure, I took a screenshot and asked things like “Is this setting right?” or “I can’t find this menu.”

Who WordPress suits better#

That said, I wouldn’t recommend Astro to everyone.
The technical hurdles are higher than with WordPress.

For having your own platform, the free WordPress is great. It’s packed with features yet easy to set up, and since so many people use it, there’s plenty of information out there.

• People who want an admin dashboard: If you want to write and organize posts on screen, WordPress is the way to go. Astro has no dashboard, so you write and edit posts in a text editor. To work in a browser, you’d need to connect another tool.
• People who may hire someone else: Plenty of people can work with WordPress, so it’s easy to get help with problems or extra customization.