Seeking Bloggers' Counsel

It appears that there's increasing pressure to convert our blogs over to the "new" Blogger. I'll confess I've been very, very hesitant to do so. This little blog seems to be working ok, and I am loathe to do anything to change it. My techno-savvy ranks about a lowly "3" on a 0-to-10 scale. I've learned to do the few things that I need to do here. But if I had a problem, I doubt I'd have enough knowledge to go into the template and fix it.

I've looked at the scant documentation that Blogger provides about the conversion process. But to me, it appears they're just singing 8 different verses of "Trust us, it'll be a snap!" followed by a chorus of "No problem!" I am more than a little skeptical, for I have visited some blogs shortly after their conversion, and they were a mess.

Are there other sites that address the issues of converting to the new Blogger, which I just haven't been able to find? And, remember, they need to be sites that are the equivalent of "Blogger Conversion for Dummies."

So I'd like to invite you all to kick-in here in the comments section and give me whatever tips you've picked up – or whatever websites you've found helpful – in your conversion process. [And, yes, as one who frequently writes about church topics, I am indeed aware of the double-entendre of using a phrase like "conversion process." But let's not get into fine points of theology just now, OK?]

I have heard that there's a way to "archive" all my entries and current settings so that, if there's a meltdown during the conversion, I could restore the blog as it now exists or could at least re-post all the entries. But exactly how do you do that?

What problems did you encounter in converting to the new Blogger? How did you fix them?

And – mind you – whatever tips and counsel you can offer need to be given very, very simply. Assume I'm an idiot when it comes to HTML, web design, and all this technology stuff, and you will be correct.

Thanks for whatever tips and "words to the wise" you can offer.