The Complete Guide to Import Articles from Google Docs to WordPress

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Wouldn’t you like a perfect (and free) solution to import articles from Google Docs into WordPress?

Most of us write articles using the WordPress editor or desktop editors like Open Live Writer, Blogo, Desk, or another. But, what do you do if you need to get an article from someone else?

In my nine years of blogging, most users prefer sending articles (guest posts) using Google Docs or they send a usual .docx file.

And it makes sense as Google docs makes collaboration easier. At the same time, it’s a headache to import the article to WordPress while maintaining the formatting. The biggest challenge is to import images from doc file to WordPress.

Have you also experienced the similar issue?

If your answer is yes, then today I have some great news for you.

Now we have an official (and free) solution from the WordPress team to import Google Docs articles directly into WordPress (including images!). This works on WordPress.com or on any self-hosted WordPress site (like WPSutra) using the Jetpack plugin.

Note: You can also upload .docx articles to Google Docs & import them from there.

In this tutorial, I’m showing you exactly how you can do this. If this tutorial turns out to be useful for you, you can share it with your friends who are also using WordPress for their blog or website!

So without further delay, let’s look at this perfect solution to transfer articles from Google Docs to WordPress without losing images or formatting.

The Complete Tutorial On Importing Articles From Google Docs To WordPress:

To get started with this, you need to install an addon for Google Docs. Head over to this page on your Chrome browser & install the official “WordPress.com for Google Docs” addon.

Here’s the official description of the addon:

“Instead of copying and pasting from Google Docs to WordPress and losing your images and formatting in the process, this add-on makes it easy to compose in Google Docs and publish to WordPress with formatting intact and images being uploaded properly.”

On the next page, give it permission to integrate WordPress.com with Google Docs.

  • Save

Once done, you can open any existing article that you wish to import into WordPress.

  • Now, click on Add-ons > WordPress.com for Google Docs > Open.

  • Save

This will open a panel on the right side where you need to authorize Google Docs to access your WordPress.com account.

  • Save

  • Click on Authorize & this will open a new tab.
  • Here you need to select your blog for which you wish to give access & click on Authorize.

  • Save

  • Click on Approve.

This will take you to your blog’s login page. Log in to your blog & this will connect the WordPress.com for Google Docs addon to your Jetpack-powered WordPress blog.

Not sure why, but when I did this, I got this error:

“Someone may be trying to trick you into giving them access to your site. Or it could be you just encountered a bug :). Either way, please close this window.”

I deleted the cache from my server and from WordPress, and tried again. This fixed the issue. If you keep getting this error, use this Jetpack debugging tool.

This is also a common error:

“There was a problem getting your site’s information. Please make sure you have the Jetpack JSON API enabled, and try re-adding it.”

To fix this, go to Jetpack > Settings of your WordPress blog & enable JSON API.

  • Save

Head back to the Google Doc that you want to import to WordPress, click on Reload & you should now be able to see your WordPress blog.

Here you will see the list of connected sites where you can save your Google Docs article as a draft. If you wish to add more blogs, you can do the same by clicking on “Add WordPress Site” in the footer.

  • Save

Click on Save Draft & once the draft is saved, you will get a link to preview the draft.

  • Save

The images on Google Docs will be uploaded to your server & your formatting will remain intact.

A few important observations:

  • If you edit images in Google Docs (crop or rotate), those edits won’t be reflected on WordPress.
  • Comments made by you or the author on Google Docs will not be imported.
  • If you remove an image from your Google Doc & click on Update Draft, this won’t delete the image from your blog’s server.

Overall, from my initial testing of this official Google Docs for WordPress addon, I’d give it about 4 out of 5 stars. The only problem that I faced was connecting my blog. I have already shared a few solutions above, so this might not be a problem for you.

There used to be many paid solutions in the past which let us import .docx file to WordPress or Google Docs file to WordPress. With this addon, we now have one less expense, and this will speed up publishing for many bloggers & webmasters around the globe.

If you are someone who uses Google Docs for writing or getting articles, this free add-on from the WordPress team is going to be a real time saver. I look forward to hearing your opinions & comments on the “WordPress for Google Docs” addon.

If you find this guide useful, do share it with others!

This article was originally published on WPSutra here. We are republishing it because it’s useful for wide range of audience.

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Authored By
A Blogger, Author and a speaker! Harsh Agrawal is recognized as a leader in digital marketing and FinTech space. Fountainhead of ShoutMeLoud, and a Speaker at ASW, Hero Mindmine, Inorbit, IBM, India blockchain summit. Also, an award-winning blogger.

30 thoughts on “The Complete Guide to Import Articles from Google Docs to WordPress”

  1. Does this work for WordPress.org also (self-hosted sites)

  2. Dinesh Singh

    Hi Harsh,
    Thanks a lot for sharing this helpful article with us. I am using Google doc for a long time and after reading this helpful information on your website I am really very happy. I will try this option.

  3. Rodney Lacambra

    Hey Sir Harsh,

    This article is perfect. Had been using Google drive for couple years already and knowing it’s possible to use with WordPress, it’s really awesome.

    Great. Keep it up.

  4. Amresh

    This is very useful to me Harsh. Thanks a ton!

  5. Suzanne

    Thanks for sharing this. This is time saving , really great.

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