Tumblr import done

So the import from my Tumblr into my WordPress is done. Over 2000 posts… And it has become a right old mess. Here’s what I noticed so far:

• Titles on Tumblr text posts are optional. Apparently on WordPress (or just in this theme, I don’t know) they are not. So the import tool has made the whole text of the post as the title, showing up like that in recent posts lists, archives, etc.
• Photo sets are presented as square thumbnails, losing the layout that was in Tumblr. Often there’s a mix of portrait and landscape photos and I chose the layout to have the correct areas of the photo visible in the preview. Because Tumblr, and probably WordPress, lack the focal points that Mastodon has.
• The previews of photos in photo sets in Tumblr are presented much nicer and closer together than they are in WordPress
• Photo sets that were posted on mobile in Tumblr, which displayed incorrectly on the Tumblr web, also import incorrectly into WordPress. On mobile the photos were previews that you could tap to see the full image. On Tumblr web, and now here after the import, the photos are just low res inserts in a text post. It is related to the fact that on mobile, the posts no longer have different types: they have different blocks of content, same as this new WordPress editor. However, all older interfaces read those as text posts.
• Videos, at least posted on Tumblr mobile, import as a single image. That’s not good.
• The import tool imports everything, also reblogs. I guess that’s just how Tumblr presents the content. I would have been ok with just importing the original posts. But then, what about those reblogs where I added text or photos? I’ll be adding category classifications to these posts so they can be easily found.

I also don’t really like this WordPress theme. Maybe I should practice some more (I will make several test posts) or tweak it. Some early gripes:

• Titles don’t seem optional
• Fonts, especially titles and the author blurb, are way too large
• There doesn’t seem to be a side bar, everything is in the footer
• Featured images don’t work
• It’s unclear where your post ends and the next one begins

I’ll probably be fixing some of the older posts that suffered most from the import. And as I said I will be making some text posts. I’ll be trying the various gallery features and see how to emulate the Tumblr mobile experience.