If you've been on Tumblr for a while, you know the feeling. You built something there. Community, voice, a specific kind of creative space that nowhere else quite captures. But lately, things have felt... uncertain. The platform pivots. The vibe shifts. And you're thinking: maybe it's time to move somewhere new.

I get it. And I built Jottings partly for people in exactly this position.

Why Tumblr Users Might Want to Leave

Tumblr's culture is unique. The reblog system created community. The lack of algorithmic feed meant you controlled your own experience. The customizable themes let creators actually... create. That's beautiful.

But it also became less reliable as a platform. The adult content ban fragmented the community. The traffic dried up. The investment in new features slowed. And if you spent years building something there, the uncertainty is real.

Jottings is different. It's yours. You own the subdomain, the design, the entire site. No reblog algorithm. No surprises from platform changes. Just you and your readers.

But how do you actually move? That's what I want to walk you through.

Step 1: Export Your Tumblr Content

Tumblr has a built-in export feature. Here's how:

1. Go to your Tumblr Account Settings → Content Export
2. Click Export your blog
3. Choose your blog (if you have multiple)
4. Wait for the ZIP file to process—it can take a while for large blogs
5. Download the XML file once it's ready

This gives you everything: all posts, timestamps, photos, video embeds, and reblogs. It's comprehensive, which is good. The XML format is a bit messy, which is... expected from Tumblr.

Step 2: Understand What Translates Well

Not everything in your Tumblr archive will translate directly to Jottings. But most things will. Here's what I mean:

Text posts translate perfectly. A 500-word essay on your Tumblr becomes a jot. The formatting—headers, bold, italics—all carries over. Markdown in, Markdown out.

Photo posts are even better here. Tumblr resized photos, often crushed them for mobile. Jottings does client-side image optimization. You get better quality without extra work. The alt text comes with you too.

Link posts become jots with metadata. You paste the URL, Jottings fetches the title, description, and preview image automatically. Your original commentary stays intact. This is where Jottings shines—the link becomes your content, not just a reblog.

Quote posts and text reblogs are trickier. On Tumblr, you were part of a conversation thread. In Jottings, you're starting fresh. The quoted text becomes part of your jot. It's a format shift, but not a major one. You might lose the reblog chain, but you keep your voice.

Video posts are the catch. Tumblr hosted videos. Jottings doesn't have native video hosting. But you can link to YouTube, Vimeo, or wherever your video lives. Your commentary stays. The video URL comes with you. It's slightly different, but the content isn't lost.

Audio posts face the same situation. Link to your music source. Keep your notes. Move on.

Step 3: Manual Migration (The Honest Path)

Here's what I'm not going to do: promise you a one-click importer. Why? Because Jottings is small, and a perfect Tumblr importer would take weeks to build. More importantly, the best Tumblr migration isn't mechanical. It's intentional.

When you moved, you had a chance to ask: What actually mattered? Which posts were you proud of? Which ones can you let go?

Jottings works best when you curate your content as you migrate. Here's the practical approach:

1. Export your Tumblr archive (you've already done this)
2. Review what you actually want to bring (skim the XML, pick the best posts)
3. Copy your best content into Jottings manually
4. Add any commentary or updates you want (this is your chance to refresh)

For most people, this takes an afternoon. You're not transcribing everything. You're choosing. And that choosing makes the new site feel intentional instead of like a carbon copy.

Step 4: Photo and Media Handling

This is probably your biggest question. Here's the good news: Jottings handles photos better than Tumblr did.

When you add a photo jot in Jottings:

• Upload from your device: No quality loss. We optimize on the client side.
• Animated GIFs: Fully supported. They stay animated.
• Alt text: Required (and good practice). Screen readers will thank you.
• Responsive delivery: Desktop, tablet, phone—all look great.
• CDN performance: Images serve fast from Cloudflare's global network.

For migrating Tumblr photos, you have options:

1. Re-upload from source: If you have the original files, upload them fresh. Better quality.
2. Link to archived Tumblr photos: The image URLs in your Tumblr export often still work. You can link directly. Not ideal long-term, but it works for now.
3. Screenshot and upload: For reblogs and screenshots, grab the image and re-upload.

I recommend option 1 or 3. Own your media. Host it with your site. That's the whole point.

Step 5: Links and External Content

Tumblr was great at surfacing interesting links. Your followers reblogged them. The conversation happened in the notes.

In Jottings, links work differently. You're not creating shareable reblog threads. You're curating and adding perspective. Here's how that looks:

Before (Tumblr):

[link preview]

[300 notes with commentary]

After (Jottings):

Just read this article on why Tumblr was great at community. It nailed something important: a platform that didn't algorithm you to death. That's what we're building with Jottings.

[link preview with metadata]

The format is more intentional. You're not reblogging. You're curating and filtering through your perspective. That becomes your content.

Step 6: What About Community?

This is the hard part. Tumblr's reblog system created community. Jottings doesn't have that. It has something different: RSS feeds and your own platform.

When people follow your Jottings site, they subscribe via RSS. They get every update. No algorithm. No shadowbanning. They see what you share. You're building an audience of people who actually care, not followers who forgot about you.

It's smaller. More intentional. More like email newsletters than social media. If that resonates with you, Jottings clicks. If you miss the chaos of Tumblr's reblog culture, that's honest too.

The Real Migration

Here's what I want you to understand: moving from Tumblr to Jottings isn't just a technical migration. It's a philosophical one.

On Tumblr, you were building on borrowed land. The platform could change. The community could fragment. And it did.

With Jottings, you're building something you own. A clean subdomain. A site you can customize. An audience you reach directly through RSS and email.

Some of what made Tumblr great will be missing. The reblog culture. The algorithmic serendipity. The accidental discoveries.

But you'll get something back: simplicity. Ownership. A writing tool that doesn't distract you. A blog that's actually yours.

Ready to Move?

If you're still on Tumblr and you're thinking about leaving, I'd love to see what you build next. Bring your writing. Bring your design sensibility. Bring your voice.

Jottings is here when you're ready. No import wizard. No promises of one-click migration. Just a clean, simple tool for sharing what matters.

Your Tumblr might be where you started. But Jottings can be where you own what you built.