And now I can say that I do prefer Blogger over WordPress, for many reasons (and as a disclaimer, I'm saying they're all very biased, so please go easy on the comments). Before I begin, here are the stats:
Sites I have with WordPress: two
Sites I have with Blogger: seven up
1. WordPress.com and WordPress.org
That alone poses way too many complications in an already complicated world wide web. The former is the free blogging service and the latter is the software source of the blogging service if you choose to host your blog/site yourself. (Check out http://WebHostingGeeks.com if you're shopping for web site hosting. Their Top 10 Best Web Hosts (2009) chart is helpful.) For the sake of clarity and simplicity, my Blogger-Wordpress comparisons only refer to my experience with the .com—the free blogging service like Blogger—and not .org.
2) Free Domain Mapping
I've been using Blogger since 2003. Back then the interface was quite raw, and you had to input your own HTML code to insert photos. Thus, my early posts had no images, and the latter ones that did, took so long to complete. I didn't notice several new features right away, but down the line, the interface became very visual and friendly, with plenty of drag-and-drop, 'point-and-click' settings, including registering your own domain right on the Blogger dashboard.
WordPress has this, too. BUT, as of this posting, they charge a whopping $14.95 yearly for directing your blog to your own domain. So if I want to move ChocolateCaster.wordpress.com to ChocolateCaster.com, I'd have to pay that fee on top of what I'll spend on the domain purchase. If I want to redirect ChocolateCaster.blogspot.com to its own domain, it's FREE on Blogger!
3) Unlimited HTML and CSS editing.Now that I've mentioned the fees WordPress.com charges, if you want to customize your template and change colors, headers, and fonts, you have to pay a yearly fee of about $15, too. In Blogger, if I find a lovely new template from one of the many, many talented designers out there, but happen to prefer this particular shade of aqua or midnight blue, I can go ahead an tweak the template myself—free! (Web etiquette just calls for not erasing the author credits on the gutter.)
4) AdSense and advertisements.
I earn pennies monthly from AdSense, literally. I have about $7 (seven US dollars) in total earnings from the time I started utilizing the service; which only means I have A LOT to learn in terms of optimizing my site/s, building traffic, increasing click-through rates, and so forth. But my point is, I'd at least like to have the decision to optimize, or have nothing to do with ads at all, be made by me. WordPress.com does not allow any ads whatsoever. At the most, a blog author can put up a PayPal button for donations.
5) User-friendly interface.
I cannot begin to describe the number of times I got so stressed out and irritated by WordPress's Dashboard. I find it extremely unfriendly. Again, this the very biased opinion of someone who has used Blogger for years; even back when the user's opening page wasn't even called "Dashboard." Whenever I try to edit the sites that I do have on WordPress, I end up just wanting to get done ASAP and close the window.
YET, NEVER SAY NEVER… According to a ProBlogger survey conducted in 2006, Wordpress.org leads the roster of platforms bloggers use to publish their sites, with Blogger coming second, followed by Movable Type, ExpressionEngine, TypePad, and WordPress.com.
In 2007, on the other hand, PC World gave Blogger the top spot ("Best Buy!"; 91 points - Superior) and WordPress, second (88 points - Very Good); followed by TypePad, Lycos Tripod, and Squarespace. (Click here for the original article link.)
Well, it's like that great PC-versus-Mac debate: It's never-ending and it boils down to personal preference. Who knows if one day NyMinuteNow.com finds its next home in Wordpress? After all, many successful and prominent blogs use it, and many of them are visually enticing, engaging, streamlined, and reader-friendly.
But for now the verdict is out: Blogger it is.
A 2007 reader survey done by ProBlogger.net.
Blogger, in the long run, works for me too. I like Blogger for the following as well: domain mapping (though I have yet to get my own domain), HTML and CSS editing (Wordpress themes are so limited, and you need to pay to be able to edit the CSS of the themes), and AdSense (though I've never earned anything through AdSense, I like thinking that I could, haha).
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, and my reason sounds really . . . senseless, but I like the color scheme and layout of the Wordpress interface. Hee. And the ability to add pages and insert files for download.
But if Blogger has pages and have files available for download, it would be perfect for me already. :)
Hi, Maris! Yup, it really is a personal preference. You're right though, Blogger still doesn't have that feature where you can add sub-pages to your domain. That would be cool. Oh! You can publish to your own domain quite fast and easy under "Settings" and "Publishing," then just follow the prompts :)
ReplyDeleteHi Mariel...this is such an informative post for a blog virgin like me. i've never tried wordpress or any other blogging sites, but i have to agree with you about its user-friendly features. although, i have attempted at changing my blog template, but somehow it hasn't worked out.
ReplyDeleteHi, Chinachix! Thanks for your comment. Wordpress has a...challenging(?) learning curve, especially if you've used Blogger from the get-go. Anyway, changing templates should be relatively easy, plug-and-play, over Blogger, if you don't have too many things on the sidebar :) Before you tweak anything though, don't forget to upload a copy of your original template to your desktop, in case you change your mind!
ReplyDeleteWhoa! I didn't know that Wordpress charges that much! I have not paid wordpress anything at all ever since I used their services. I bought my domain from Namecheap, pay Dreamhost for hosting every year, and just implemented a one-time installment of the free wordpress CMS. Dreamhost has a one-click install of wordpress to whatever domain you want, all my blogs are hosted in one place. :)
ReplyDeleteIf I have to pay Wordpress everytime I make a move (put up ads, pay $15 to customized -- eek!), ouch, that's really inconvenient, I would've jumped ship to blogger too.
I like blogger as well, for the reasons you stated. I've used that in my early years of blogging and I found it really user-friendly. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but you're right, it does boil down to personal preference. :)
This is really very informative post ... Nice to know a lot of things about word press....
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I am having a blog identity crisis myself. Now that you told me how much Wordpress charges, I just might stay with Blogger. =)
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