On 30 September 2025, TypePad will shut down after 21 years of service as one of the pioneering blogging platforms. The announcement came in late August, giving its remaining users only a short window to export their content before the platform disappears entirely.
For anyone still publishing or archiving a blog on TypePad, the message is clear: if you haven’t exported your content yet, you have until tomorrow, 30 September. After that, it will be gone:
After September 30, 2025, access to TypePad – including account management, blogs, and all associated content – will no longer be available. Your account and all related services will be permanently deactivated.
Please note that after this date, you will no longer be able to access or export any blog content.
TypePad’s place in Blogging History
Launched in 2003 by Six Apart, the company behind Movable Type, TypePad was a major force in the early years of blogging. At a time when blogging was emerging as a new medium for personal publishing and online conversation, TypePad stood out for its hosted model, ease of use, and professional features.
Movable Type, Six Apart’s flagship product, was widely adopted by tech-savvy early bloggers who wanted the power of self-hosting. TypePad extended the reach by making blogging accessible to a broader audience who wanted the benefits of Movable Type’s design and flexibility without the technical headaches.
In many ways, it bridged the gap between DIY platforms and the later explosion of WordPress (also launched in 2003).
For a period in the mid-2000s, TypePad was a genuine heavyweight, used by journalists, businesses, and individuals alike. Its influence on shaping blogging as a serious publishing medium cannot be overstated.
My own Journey with TypePad
I joined TypePad in July 2004, eighteen months after I started blogging. It quickly became my online home, a place to experiment with the still-young medium of blogging and to connect with a growing network of voices around the world, particularly the expanding community of PR bloggers.
Then, in February 2006, I moved from TypePad to WordPress, where I remained until March 2025 when I started this presence on Ghost. But I never abandoned TypePad completely. My blog there became an archive, preserving the early posts that marked my entry into digital publishing.
In December 2021, I exported the entire content – posts, comments and images – and imported the text content into a new WordPress site, where it remains as a record of my early years in blogging.
Even so, I kept my original TypePad account active, downgraded to a free account, so that the source blog remained live. That will now disappear after 30 September. Thankfully, much of it – like countless other TypePad blogs – will also still be available through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
The End of an Era
The closure of TypePad is more than just another web service shutting down. It marks the end of a platform that helped define what blogging was and what it could become.
For many of us, TypePad was not only a tool but also a gateway into new forms of communication and community. Its departure is a reminder of how quickly technologies come and go – and how vital it is to preserve the records of our digital past.
It's also a reminder of the fragility of online platforms. For those of us who value our digital history, keeping backups and maintaining control of our content is as important now as it was two decades ago.
As TypePad goes dark, I’ll remember it not only as part of my own blogging journey but also as a true pioneer that helped shape the online landscape we take for granted today.
