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Google Reader to Feedly made super extra easy

So, Google Reader is shutting down in three days. Have you left choosing a new reader until the last minute? Me too. I have some good news though, Feedly has been hustling and is now browser based and easy as pie to sign up for. Yay for procrastination. Feedly is becoming the hub for a bunch of other services too, you can read all about it right here.

First

Back up your Google Reader feeds. Go to the Google Reader homepage and click on the gear in the upper right hand corner of the screen and choose “Reader Settings”. You go to a page with tabs, click in Import/Export. At the bottom you’ll see “Expoert your data – Download your data through Takeout”. Click on that, it’ll take you to a new page. Wait for it to load and then click on the red “create archive” button. Download and you’re done, high five.

You won’t need this archive to migrate to Feedly, but you will want to have it. For posterity. Or in case you decide to use a different RSS reader.

Second

Go to Feedly. If you’re like me and you have not signed up for Feedly yet you’ll see a page with the option for “One-click Google Reader Import”. Click on that, sign into your Google account, accept those terms and that’s it. You’re all finished. Sweet.

I don’t use Google Reader to bookmark and save my favorite posts. (I put them here on this site, a habit I started pre-RSS. Gasp this site is old.) But I will note that Feedly also imported the few things I did mark as favorites inside of Google Reader, so you won’t lose those bookmarks.

Digg is also racing to be the Google Reader alternative, see this article at Wired: Inside Digg’s Race to Build the New Google Reader. I’m curious to see how that will work out.

Update: Also see this guide to the best readers by GigaOM, and a tool to help you get all your data out of Reader from somebody who used to work on Reader, the reader_archive tool. Both via Waxy.

Another update: The equally easy to use Digg Reader is available now. Also, Anna at Door Sixteen also likes Bloglovin’.

What Google Reader alternative have you adopted? Do you use a reader? Or do you look for blog updates on Twitter and Facebook instead?

· comments [22] · 06-27-2013 · categories:technology ·

22 responses so far ↓

  • 1 jess // Jun 27, 2013 at 12:50 pm

    I went with newsblur instead, after trying out a slew of others (feedly, bloglovin’, the old reader, feedbucket, hivemined). Glad everyone seems to have found replacements that work!

  • 2 Peetu // Jun 27, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    Recent Feedly convert here. I did shed a few tears when I heard about Reader being killed though.

  • 3 Ann // Jun 27, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    Okey Dokey…… I did as you said. Everything moved just fine, buttttttt how do I get back to it once I close. Hep me, hep me, please.

  • 4 megan // Jun 27, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    Jess – I have to take a closer look at NewsBlur, it was recommended over and over and I hear they updated the look in the last month. Thanks!

  • 5 megan // Jun 27, 2013 at 2:50 pm

    Peetu – Me too. It’s been with us so long, it’s not very pretty but I’m going to have some separation emotions in a few days.

  • 6 megan // Jun 27, 2013 at 2:51 pm

    Ann – As long as I’m signed into my Google account Feedly is showing me my feeds. Is this not the case for you? What’s going on? Maybe we can figure it out.

  • 7 Ann // Jun 27, 2013 at 5:11 pm

    How nice of you to try to help this non-techy old lady. I just couldn’t find it when I wanted to put the bookmark in my toolbar. Found it by going to History. Now if only I can figure out how to alphabetize the unread items, I’ll have it made. Thanks for your offer of help. Much appreciated.

  • 8 Seanna Lea // Jun 27, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    I am using Feedly. It was easy to set up and I enjoy the fact that I can use a regular web browser rather than a separate app on each device.

  • 9 Maria // Jun 27, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    I went with CommaFeed, at least for now. I was very pleased to discover that CommaFeed includes one of my favorite Reader features– the ability to add a “Next” button to my browser so I can read posts on the actual websites instead of in the rss reader.

    I’m considering switching to Tiny Tiny RSS eventually, since I already have a machine I’m hosting an XMPP server on. Time will tell, I suppose. CommaFeed is certainly the lazier option.

  • 10 I love lists, Friday! – Shutterbean // Jun 28, 2013 at 1:01 am

    […] more Google Reader!! I’m moving to Feedly. Here’s a HOW TO if you’re looking for […]

  • 11 Bubbles // Jun 28, 2013 at 4:20 am

    Am I the only person who just visits the blogs I like every day to check for updates? I hate not seeing the actual site they’re on. … Well now I feel all old.

  • 12 Anne // Jun 28, 2013 at 4:34 am

    So, I kinda feel silly that my first comment is a link, but…even after using Feedly for a while I found this pretty helpful!

    http://whoorl.com/archives/16745

    If you’ve not seen it yet.

  • 13 megan // Jun 28, 2013 at 9:38 am

    Bubbles – No, you are not! I know a lot of people who do that, and I have a few sites I check more often and keep in a folder so I can open them in a bunch of tabs. And when I do want to read a full post I click through and read it on the site, even if the full post is in my reader. But, I follow a lot of sites now so keeping them in a reader is a better option, and skimming them is faster in a reader.

  • 14 megan // Jun 28, 2013 at 9:40 am

    Anne – Thanks for that link, I actually posted that here in a technology links roundup a week or so, good to revisit. She wrote it back then Feedly was still a stand alone app that you needed to install on your computer (and mobile devices). Since that time they’ve made Feedly a browser based thing, which was a relief because I’m lazy. And Feedly is now setting itself up as the platform a bunch of other reader services can use as a base (as in, people have a Feedly account, but view those feeds through another service that is simpler/has different features/etc.)

  • 15 Carry // Jun 28, 2013 at 12:04 pm

    I tried a few when GR first made their announcement. I didn’t like Feedly because it felt too much like a magazine and it also didn’t seem to mark these as read very easily. I tried The Old Reader but that didn’t update very quickly and some of my blogs NEVER updated (like SLOG).

    I finally landed on InoReader. It also has a super easy GR slurper and the format is very similar. Plus completely free and I have a lot of blogs that I read.

  • 16 Rachel // Jun 28, 2013 at 12:35 pm

    Done! Thanks for the step by step instructions!
    I went with Feedly.
    Have a good weekend!

  • 17 Alice // Jun 28, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    I’ve settled for bloglovin’ simply because it has the equivalent of a ‘Next’ button, which was the one feature I really really missed in Feedly.

  • 18 Maria // Jun 28, 2013 at 7:50 pm

    Bubbles and Megan, commafeed (and Reader) allow you to view new posts on their actual websites.

    It’s pretty much the only thing that got me to switch to an RSS feed reader. I prefer seeing posts in their natural home environment, so to speak. :)

  • 19 wendy // Jun 29, 2013 at 12:00 am

    thank you carry on the tip about inoreader! finally, a reader that offers “updated only” on the list of blogs. i really really need my list to shrink as i zero out the unread entries, else i spend way too much time scrolling.

    this is the first i’ve heard of inoreader and soooo glad i took the time to read all the comments.

    and, thanks also to martha!

  • 20 Stephanie // Jun 30, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    thank you for this post. i’m all feedly’d up…i’m so relieved that the end of reader, while sad, won’t interfere w/my blog reading…

  • 21 Alexander // Jul 9, 2013 at 4:42 pm

    I’m another ex-google reader user over here. I switched to Feedly a few days ago, and I must say that I find myself loving Feedly more and more. It’s very easy to use, which is always plus!

  • 22 A // Jul 12, 2013 at 1:15 pm

    I have also settled on InoReader for now. I use an old iPod Touch and a laptop and none of the other options really worked on the iPod. No app required, just a mobile website I can use. Google Reader was pretty much perfect for me, so I’m still bummed about it all.

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