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Permalink Reply by Holley VanDenBerg on November 13, 2009 at 10:45am

I switched over to Wordpress from Blogger just recently. I did it because I like the extra capabilities that Wordpress has such as plugins for photo cropping, SEO, automatic tweeting, and the Pages option is wonderful. I also found a WP template that I love and wanted to use vs. a Blogger one.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda Holland on November 13, 2009 at 3:47pm

I just starting blogging on Wordpress. I had tried Blogger before, but I like Wordpress so much better! I love the stats that are included, the many templates available, and all the other extras Wordpress offers.

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Permalink Reply by Barbi on November 19, 2009 at 8:24pm

I've tried both and went back to Blogger until I learn more about blogging in general. I do see how Wordpress would be the choice for the more advance blogger.

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Permalink Reply by Jen on November 19, 2009 at 9:04pm

I just recently switched from Blogger to Wordpress. I am now hosting my own domain at http://www.redheadranting.com/. I wish I had switched a long time ago. I have been blogging for more than two years and I lost a lot of Google love when I moved. They have found me again but it was lonely there for the first couple of weeks. There are more themes, and I think they look a little more professional than blogspot blogs (but that is my personal opinion) I am still not happy with the theme but haven't taken the time to hire someone to create exactly what I want yet. I did get tons more SPAM when I moved but after pluging in Askimet that problem was solved. Sometimes some real comments get spammed on accident but I check the spam folder regularly.

If I were starting a blog from scratch, knowing what I know I would skip blogger and go directly to my own domain and hosting service.

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Permalink Reply by Angie_Hurst on November 19, 2009 at 9:38pm

I see this question every few days. Here's my 2 cents...

I have blogs on both and personally I still prefer Blogger. You can get a custom domain for just $10 a year and drop the .blogspot and if you customize it, no one knows it's a blogspot blog. And what many don't know is you can self host a Blogger blog. Blogger is just a platform like Wordpress, and in my opinion it's easier to use. One of my blogs I've customized to a point that no one can hardly tell it's a blogspot unless they go to the About page. I get just as much traffic too (if not more) and you can add sitemeter (which is free) as a widget to get all the stats you need. '

OK... enough of me up on my soapbox. It's just my opinion, but from what I've seen from the 2 WP blogs I have, the only big advantage is the static pages... I do like those and if I wanted a website with a blog, I would definitely go the WP route.

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Permalink Reply by Daenel on November 19, 2009 at 10:11pm

Hi. I have a blog on both WP (http://curiouschild.wordpress.com/) and Blogger (http://dani-findingmyniche.blogspot.com/). I personally like WP better but I like that Blogger allows you more functionality with various widgets. It is possible to create static pages with Blogger ~ after you create your post, go down under posting options and change the date to something in the past. If you look at my sidebar, you can see where I created static pages. You can contact me if you want more detailed directions. Hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Angie_Hurst on November 20, 2009 at 12:34am

Just a thought on the comment thing. Blogger does default to opening the comment box in a new window with a captcha which does annoy commenters. All that needs to be done is to Enable Inline Comments and turn off the verification code. In this way the comments are right under the post, no new window to go to. And you can still moderate the comments and not force everyone to put in a verification code, which is irritating.

If you enable inline comments and it doesn't work (if you have a custom template it may not) visit Blogger Buster (not my blog just a a good tutorial) and it will walk you through the line of code you need to add.

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Permalink Reply by Angie on November 20, 2009 at 9:56am

The thing I recommend is that if you are switching to Wordpress(self hosted .org) from Blogger is to leave your blogger blog intact and link out to your new blog. That way you still keep everything that has been indexed in Google and you'll get a good start on your new Wordpress blog because you already have established work on the web.

As for Wordpress though, the best way to go is self hosted (I use Hostgator hosting, it's only $9.95/mo for unlimited domains). The thing with self hosted Wordpress is you completely own it. With Blogger they have the right at anytime to remove your blog and delete it. I have heard horror stories in the past of people losing entire blogger blogs and not getting them back. Not so much recently BUT this is my business so I'm not willing to take the chance.

I find Wordpress (self hosted not .com) to be so much easier to use than Blogger. Sure there are things with any platform that will drive one crazy but I find Wordpress has definitely been great for me.

Definitely get your own domain and hosting if you plan on making your blog a serious business.

Hope this helps!

Oh and as for Blogger blogs, I can always tell it's a Blogger because I get a pop up ad that scrolls on my screen on pretty much every Blogger blog I go to. I can't stand it! LOL

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Permalink Reply by Sadiyya Patel on November 26, 2009 at 11:47am

Blogger is so simple and easy to use. Wordpress is more for the advanced blogger, and has a bit of a learning curve.

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Permalink Reply by Linda on November 27, 2009 at 4:04pm

Yes Blogger is simple and easy to use but WordPress.org is actually not that hard to learn at all. (I tried wordpress.com once but I never liked that at all, wp.org is easier I find it) What can be overwhelming is when you come to the dashboard and aren't sure where to go. But if you set aside a little bit of time or get someone to guide you through it (we regularly do WP guiding for new WP users) then it doesn't take long at all.

Back to the original question:

You will have more control over your blog, if you use a free hosting service or pay for your hosting, who do you think owns the blog? What if one day you wake up and find that your blog has been deleted. You might think that is a rare occasion but do a simple search using the term "Bl*gger deleted my blog" and you'll that isn't so. It does happen. If you aren't too worried about that then it doesn't matter perhaps. But if you are trying to make money with your blog or even more important, if you have a business and are using a blog to promote it then you definitely want to think about moving. Advertisers also normally prefer it if your blog is self hosted.

4 quick benefits:

* More control and tranquility knowing your blog is safe. (Just use a good pw and update when needed)
* More flexible when it comes to what you can do with the blog itself.
* Add pages and custom pages
* Lots of plugins available to help you blog easier

Moving to WP is the best thing I have ever done! I'll gladly pay my $9 per month for some mind tranquility.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

/Linda

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Permalink Reply by Erin Tales on December 4, 2009 at 1:15am

Blogger just couldnt handle me. All of the extra stuff I was sticking on there made my site so slow. Self hosted word press moves so much smoother for me and my readers.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa C on December 4, 2009 at 9:13am

I have used Wordpress from the start so I can't compare from a blogger standpoint, but as a site visitor, I find Wordpress blogs to be much more user-friendly. For the most part, the navigation is better, they look more professional and it's easier to post comments. This is a generalization though because I have seen some wonderful blogger blogs!

One thing that annoys me when trying to post comments in blogger are blogs that don't have an option for Name/URL. I like to be able to link to my blog and when that's not an option, I have to use "google account" which links to a blogger profile page saying I haven't set one up yet (which it's because I don't have a Blogger blog).

On Wordpress, I just installed a WONDERFUL plug-in called "CommentLuv." If someone clicks it when leaving a comment on my blog, it automatically pulls up their last post title and a link at the bottom of their comment. I've discovered some great blogs that way!

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