The usual reasons for switching to WordPress are as follows:
- Hosting your blog on your own domains produces better traffic (and more professional credibility*) than a .blogspot.com or .livejournal.com URL.
- WordPress is more customizable, so you can add an "about this blog" page, set posts to automatically publish in the future, and add a whole bunch of really cool plug-ins.
Sounds great, right? Call me crazy, but this blog will be staying with Blogger for the foreseeable future. Here's why:
- Actually, as of a year ago, Blogger does allow you host to your blog on your own domain so the first point is moot.
- WordPress' endless options for plug-ins, upgrades, and widgets can cause a lot of headaches, too.
Trust me, I use WordPress at work, and I've spent a big chunk of the last three months with the IT department trying to unravel a laundry list of WordPress problems. There's a mysterious afflication we call "Blank Box Syndrome" (or BBS for short) that makes adding links a huge hassle. There's the ginormous amount of memory that WordPress sucks up that makes my computer (new as of April 2007 and with a major memory upgrade since then) function at the speed of my family's first computer (circa 1992). There's also the issue of permalinks, which we improperly configured when we first set up the blogs and still haunt me to this day.
Admittedly, I'm a bit of a technophobe, and I was blissfully unaware of all these potential problems until I started using WordPress. Blogger sets up the permalinks for you using your headline and the publish date (WordPress's default uses numbers, which is not as search engine-friendly). Blogger makes adding links really simple, and, aside from a few schedule Blogger maintenance times, I have no complaints about slow response times in Blogger. It's true that in Blogger you can't post-date and publish in the future, like if you were going on vacation, but the post via email feature offers a bit of a compromise.
Yes, I'm aware of the benefits of hosting your blog on your own domain, and that's something I plan to explore in 2008. (What do you think: should it be an extension of my professional website? Or on its own domain?) In any case, I'm sticking with Blogger.
If you'd like to explore more on the WordPress vs. Blogger debate, then check out these posts from other bloggers:
Best Blog Software for Writers
Making That Switch from Blogger to WordPress
Migrating Your Blog from Blogger to WordPress
*Ironically, that post came from a Blogger user, who writes the opposing viewpoint here.
11 comments:
Susan - Another reason for loving Blogger is that you don't have to worry about version upgrades.
Ah, I've been torn about this for a while now.
Should I move to WordPress? Should I stay at Blogger? What would I do if I had major problems with WordPress I couldn't figure out quickly - and I'm not tech savvy...
I read a LOT about free blogs not being "professional" and yet I see professional folks using them all the time.
Yes, I'm still at Blogger and may end up staying. I don't know yet, but I do know that your blog is professional and so are you, so I may just quit worrying about it and blog on!
Smiles,
Michele
Great post!
I'm with you, Susan! I have a Wordpress blog attached to my professional web site, but I don't like it nearly as much as Blogger. Blogger is so easy-breezy -- Wordpress seems pretty high maintenance for a blog.
Wow, I really thought I'd be in the minority on this, but it seems that others are in the same boat.
@Amit: thanks for your comment about version upgrades - good point!
@Michele: I'd say we should both look into hosting on our domain names. But if you're happy with Blogger like I am, why switch to WP?
@Dawn: I agree. WP is high-maintenance, whereas Blogger requires very little effort once you've set up your blog and learned the program.
Having just migrated all my work files from my old computer to my new one, I have absolutely no desire to endure the same kind of headaches with my blog. Blogger has its limitations, but I'd rather spend my time blogging than learning the ropes of a new host. So count me among those bloggers who won't be moving anytime soon.
Actually, I like Blogger better too. WordPress just seems so incredibly technical - I still don't know how to do pictures really well! I only moved because it was the easiest way to move Shenanigans to a new address. I'm still not 100% sure it was for the best...
@Beth: that's really a bummer! I think WP is pretty technical, too.
I'm quite the geek myself, and I moved mine from Blogger to MovableType. I looked into WordPress, but found that it wouldn't work on my server (yes, I have my own server), so I went the MT route. While Blogger would have sufficed, I wanted the technical challenge that came with it.
If you need some tips, I'd be glad to help.
I love blogger. The comments are easier to read, and the little pictures beside each commenter make the whole thing much nicer.
I think it the end, it's the quality of the writing that makes a blog professional or not. If someone has great stuff to say, I want to read it regardless of which blog program they're using. And dull is dull no matter how well-packaged.
I totally agree with Trish Ryan's comment. It's the writing, not the platform, that will bring readers back. :) Great post!
Susan: I use Blogger and would not use anything else. I tried Wordpress and found it hard to use and navigate. Blogger just makes it much easier to do what you want to do. I felt like I needed to have grown up on WordPress to understand it.
Dan O. De Ment
http://elmdrivemarketing.com
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