Hi,
I’ve come across your blog today—nice!—in search of solutions to improving my Blogger blog for my novel series. I have a basic question for you: Which is better, Blogger or WordPress?
I’m not keen to switch to WordPress, but if you think it would be better, then I should look to switch now.
Cheers,
Bryce
Hi Bryce!
I’m kind of biased because I think WordPress rocks, so that’s always my first choice. But for the sake of this discussion, I’ll do my best to look at this objectively!
Not sure where your blog is headed? Start with Blogger
Blogger is a free platform, which makes it a very attractive choice. That’s why it’s particularly popular with “hobbyist” bloggers. If you’re not sure where your blog is headed, or how long you’ll be blogging, or whether or not you’re seriously dedicated, Blogger is a good choice. It’s easy to use and best of all, it’s free. Since it’s free, you have the freedom to start, stop, and pick up again at will. You can take a break and your blog will still be there when you get back.
Taking things seriously? Have a long-term plan? Don’t mind spending a little money? Go WordPress!
Self-hosted WordPress.org costs money. It’s about $5 – $10 per month for hosting and $10 – $15 per year for a domain name. It’s not super expensive, but it does cost a bit.
WordPress has a lot more freedom and options than Blogger. There are more unique and complex features and it’s easier (in my opinion) to find both free and paid pre-made themes. With WordPress, you are truly the owner of your own content. The plugins that WordPress offers will give you more control and features on your site.
The one downside is that you do have to pay to host on WordPress. And as an extension of that, you cannot “pause” your blog. If you want to take a break for a few months, you can’t stop paying for hosting, then start up again 6 months later and expect your blog to still be there. It’s like renting out a locker. If you rent out a locker, you can put all your stuff in it. But you can’t expect to stop paying for the locker and continue storing your items in there. Once you stop paying, the space is no longer yours. Web hosting is very similar. Once you stop paying, the company has every right to delete your content.
WordPress is better for a long-term, professional commitment
It’s generally accepted that WordPress is the option you want to choose if you’re looking to “take the next step” or host a more “professional” website. It’s considered an upgrade over Blogger. But whether or not you need that upgrade is something you have to decide for yourself.
What’s right for you?
- Are you looking for something free?
- Do you want something quick and simple?
- Do you want to be able to start and stop whenever you want?
Go Blogger!
- Do you want to own and control your own site?
- Do you want more advanced features, plugins, and options?
- Do you want access to more and better pre-made themes?
- Do you want more automation and more customization?
- Not mind paying a few bucks a month?
I think you got it right! I started with Blogger because I didn’t know if I’d give it up after a few months or not. But when I started blogging seriously, I moved to WordPress. =)
What about WordPress.com? It’s free, although it does have lots of restrictions and doesn’t allow plugins. But for a writer who wants not only a blog but a website with multiple pages, it seems to suffice.
I would personally recommend Blogger over WordPress. Everyone may have their own preferences but for me, the limitations on WordPress.com are a deal breaker. You can’t use JavaScript (that means no Linky widgets, no Rafflecopter embeds), you can’t make your own theme, you can’t edit the HTML of a pre-made theme, you can’t even edit the CSS without paying (and in that case you might as well just get self-hosted).
I’m not crazy about Blogger but at least it doesn’t have any of the above restrictions!
For some people the WordPress.com restrictions may not be a deal breaker though. Everyone has their own preferences and priorities.
I definitely agree with all of this. It would be a shame to start on WordPress and pay some money but end up hating blogging. I do find myself suggesting to other people to start with Blogger, since it’s so easy to navigate for newbies.
Lovely post, Ashley! <33
I personally use blogger, as I don’t have the money to pay for a domain and hosting. And blogger is free. So that’s great for me. I do think WordPress.org is great though, maybe somewhere in the future i might switch, but for now it’s definitely not necessary yet 🙂
I take my blog serious and I’m definitely not planning to quit any time soon, but I’m still perfectly happy on my Blogspot account 🙂 I just don’t feel comfortable with spending money and I can’t miss it either. I’m not saying I will never switch, but I’m sticking with good old Blogspot for now 😀
That’s fine! 🙂 I’m glad Blogger is working out for you!
The Daily Prophecy is truly one of the most beautiful “Blogger” sites I’ve seen. Love the colours and how your reviews look. I could never get my reviews to look that good on blogger. The books never wanted to hover over the review with a border and all that. Obviously I was doing something wrong with my html or something else. Very nice!
I use Windows Live Writer for all my formatting, so perhaps that does the trick 🙂 And thank you Carrie, that is a very nice compliment 🙂 You made my day!
I’m glad! 🙂 Windows Live Writer.. y’know I think I had that at one point and lost it in a puter crash and never downloaded it again. I never tried using it in blogger. At least now I know it wasn’t how I was doing things… I just wasn’t using the right resources. 😉
I started out on blogger with my blog and I thought it was a great way to get started. I agree with you blogger is great for getting started and it’s easy to learn.
But after a year or so i switched to wordpress and I have to admit I love it. It’s so customizeable! And the switch and learning how to use wordpress was pretty easy too, easier then I expected. Beside the hackers I love everything about wordpress. And I think having your own domain name is a must if you’re serious about your site or blog, because it looks much better then having .blogspot or .wordpress behind your blog.
It is indeed all about the direction you want your blog to go in. Because I’ve seen some very nice, clean, ‘professional’ looking blogs on Blogger. It’s all about knowing how to work within the guidelines you have. I plan to buy a domain name, but I’m not a design person, by any means. So be it Blogger or WordPress, it’s going to take some time to build up my site the way I want it to look. That goes for anyone.
I’ve had blogs on WordPress self-hosted, WordPress.com, and blogger, & blogger is my least favorite of the three. Now, I haven’t used it in YEARS so it’s possible some of the frustrating parts have been fixed, but I think even if you don’t want to put money into blogging right away, starting on wordpress.com isn’t bad either. If I wanted to start a new blog & not worry about putting money in it, I would totally go with wordpress.com. I know some people who have made their blogger blogs super nice & love working on them, but it’s not the platform for me.
I personally wouldn’t choose WordPress.com. Some people may not mind the restrictions, but for me, they’re a deal-breaker. You can’t make your own themes, can’t edit the HTML, can’t use JavaScript (Rafflecopter, link up widgets), can’t use iframes/embeds, can’t even edit your own CSS without paying for it! At least Blogger allows all those things.
As I said, everyone has their own preferences and priorities though. Those things are a deal breaker for me, but might not bother someone else.
I sort of disagree and want to add a third option. Yes, blogger is free and easy and you can start and stop and all that, but the same is true for wordpress.com. If the person is considering moving to a self hosted wordpress site sometime in the future, starting with blogger is not the best way to go since converting the site isn’t super easy. Starting with wordpress.com instead will help them easily transition to self hosted. Just my two cents.
WordPress.com has a ton of restrictions. They may not bother some people, but personally, they would be a deal breaker for me. I would never want to blog in a place that doesn’t allow me to make my own theme, or at least heavily customize an existing one, and unfortunately that’s the case with WordPress.com.
Then there are other things like no JavaScript (no Rafflecopter/link up widgets), no iframes/embeds, etc.
Those restrictions may not bother some people, but as someone who highly values being able to make her own theme (or at least heavily customize), it wouldn’t work for me.
Also it’s actually pretty easy to move from Blogger to WordPress. The only downside is that some of the post formatting gets messed up (whereas that’s not an issue when moving from WP.com).
I’m biased, but when it comes to selling something (like novels), self-hosted WordPress is the way to go. I know many people, especially self-published authors, aren’t necessarily looking to spend all that money, but appearances matter. Your own domain name and control over your content is a must. I know I started off with free hosting with both my business and personal author-ish site, and both times I’ve realized the value in paying for hosting with a WP.org site. (You’d think I’d learn. Maybe I have now.)
I agree. I honestly think that anyone who’s looking to make money should put money into their main marketing tool (their website). It’s almost a little insulting if they’re NOT willing to put money into it. Like, if you’re not willing to put money into your website to make it the best it can be, maybe you didn’t put money into your books either to make them the best they can be (editor, cover artist, etc.). That’s how I see it.
WordPress ftw! I can’t get into Blogger. I tried. I really did.
I have been blogging for three years now and I started in Blogger. A few months ago (just when you launched Book Host) I moved to WordPress. Although there is a learning curse and I’m still no expert, I love WP! It’ is so different, it makes sharing information from the blog a lot easier, the plug-ins are amazing (I mean the Ultimate Book Blogger alone is a good reason to move). LOVE it 🙂
I definitely agree! I feel like as you continue to use Blogger you notice more and more issues with it as you go on so it’s always good for people who want to make a commitment to stick to WordPress 🙂
In all honestly… I wish that when I had started blogging I didn’t read the whole “blogger is easier to start with”. It may be easier to start with … but then it’s a pain in the butt to get away from. I look back now and wish I would’ve started the other way around (wordpress instead of blogger).
I switched from Blogger (mostly) because I wanted the UBB plugin and then from there I’ve found a whole bunch of other reasons why I’m glad I switched. I certainly can’t afford to be spending more money on hobbies of mine. However, when you break it down it’s literally less money per month than what I was spending on getting coffee at Tim Horton’s every day. So, I cut out Tim’s and I’m fine with it. (Okay, okay I had some withdrawal, but I’m fine now.)
Plus, when I cut out Tim’s my husband did too so we’re actually saving money now,
I don’t regret the switch at all. I started my blog several years ago and kind of got bored with it because I just wasn’t happy with my site especially how the reviews looked on it and the UBB has cut my work in half or more. I feel rejuvenated about it now and find myself looking forward to writing the reviews. I just need to work on getting more traffic now.
I started with Blogger (as you know :P) but I got more and more fed up of it. I bought my own domain name so eventually thought why not pay for hosting to? I have to admit, one of the things that really swayed me towards WordPress were the plugins – ESPECIALLY Ultimate Book Blogger.
WordPress just feels so much more organised. I can easily find and sort things, plus I like the customisation I have over my blog now.
Great post. As a new blogger, we want to read positive things like this to keep us motivated.
Thanks for the ultimate guide on blogging !!