92 comments

Why Blogger Isn’t the Best Platform for Bloggers

blogger not best for bloggers

Some of the biggest bloggers use Blogspot/Blogger. The Sartorialist used it for years, as did Fashion Toast (both have since migrated off). Face Hunter, Man Repeller, The Glamourai, Keiko Lynn, Where Did U Get That?, Natalie Off Duty… the list goes on and on. In fact, IFB used to be on Blogger, and my original blog, also on the same platform. I also just went with the first blog platform that came along, and what blog platform that it looked like most people were using at the time.

While I used to say “use whatever platform makes the most sense to you.” There are reasons why I moved from Blogger to WordPress, and it's not because there's that one magical platform that will make your blog successful. After being on WordPress for a number of years and experimenting with Tumblr, I revisited Blogger and was surprised.

Decent Themes Are Hard to Find and Hard to Edit

On WordPress and Tumblr, there are loads of themes on the web, Tumblr has fantastic customizable free themes, but if you want something special, it even makes it easy to browse through premium themes and you can test out the support. WordPress is a more robust system, but with WooThemes, Thesis, and StudioPress you can pay a fee (usually around $80… but when you factor in the headaches you avoid with the support it's cheap). If you want to add ecommerce to your site, there are WordPress themes you can look into to make the process of setting up your blog's shop a heck of a lot easier.

When I went to Blogger, I couldn't believe that they haven't updated their themes/templates since I had last used their site in 2008. That's almost four years ago. I remember that I learned how to code because of the amount of work I had to put into my Blogger blog. Also, I tried looking for new templates from external sources, and there weren't any themes I could recommend. The designs were clunky, expensive and didn't appear to have much support.

Blogger May Shut Down Your Blog

It doesn't happen often, but remember when Blogspot thought Wendy Brandes's blog was spam and shut it down? She started this blog while dealing with the debacle (and has since moved to WordPress). It also happened to Food Fashion and Flow, who one day found her blog had been deleted, and her username had been marked as spam by Blogger, even though she has original content.

One of the biggest reasons for using WordPress (self-hosted) is that you have control over your content. You can backup your content  automatically with a simple plugin, and no one is going to shut down your blog, except maybe your hosting company.  Even then you can contact them and get your blog data back so you can at least move it to another host. Not so with Blogger.

You'll Probably Move to WordPress Anyway

For many bloggers there comes a point when they move to WordPress. For it's functionality, you can a mobile version with a plugin, add forums, even social networks (BuddyPress), eCommerce, and the multitudes of beautiful magazine themes, you can really create robust websites off the platform. And believe it or not, with it's support system and once you get the hang of editing your style.css files the possibilities are endless. Whatever your career is focused there is probably a WordPress plugin to help make that happen. So why not start off on that platform? Tumblr is also great, but getting to know how WordPress works from the beginning will only help you imagine the possibilities in your blogging career.

UPDATE: For information on how to make the move from Blogger to WordPress, use Beautifully Invisible's guide. (thanks Alterations Needed)

UPDATE: For a wider range of blogger templates visit btemplates.com (thanks Eli)

 

 

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92 Responses

  1. WendyB

    I’m a poster child for bad Blogger experiences! Seriously, I’m scared to say anything bad about Blogspot’s owner since then. I change two letters of the name and go with Poodle, just to be safe. You never know when that algorithm will be adjusted to punish you.

    Reply
      • WendyB

        It’s like Lord Voldemort. It’s safer to never say its name.

    • Obat Bius

      I love you for this article and in my opinion anyway, how can we take care of the website that we manage it that much good, if wordpres or blogger so the same if we are not able to take care of and maintain as possible, the same bullshit ya not boss??? regards

      Reply
  2. Erica B.

    I’ve been on Blogger since it was “blogspot”, since 2005. I can’t say that I’ve ever had a problem. I’ve read blogger horror stories. *knock on wood*… I just can’t relate.

    Reply
  3. ellen ross

    anyone have any good suggestions for guides on moving over, or for having someone do it for you?

    Reply
    • Alterations Needed

      Yes! This one!

      http://www.beautifully-invisible.com/2010/11/part-one-so-you-want-to-move-from-blogger-to-wordpress.html

      All her plugin recommendations are spot on. I just moved this summer and thanks to her, didn’t lose a single RSS subscriber, GFC follower…nothing. It was great.

      Reply
  4. Melanie

    I use blogger and have not had a problem either. Blogger is making changes and updating their existing format, so why would I leave now?

    Reply
    • Cate

      I so agree. I know this was never anyone’s intent, but i feel like the WP over BG thing comes up SO often, that it’s like WP bloggers think they’re the cool kids and BG bloggers should get with the program.

      i wish people would stop saying WP is better. it’s NOT. it’s different. and different works for me. if/when i decide that BG no longer works for me, i’ll switch. in the mean time i’d really like to stop hearing about how i’m wasting my time in blogger because “eventually i’ll switch anyway.”

      Reply
      • Allie

        I too agree. Many use the argument that “big” bloggers are all self-hosted and on WP but you can see by the list above that isn’t necessarily so.

        I have been on Blogger since 2005, I have my page customized in a manner that makes all Blogger widgets work yet the template looks the way I desire, and other than the Blogger snafu about a year ago that lasted less than 48 hours (far shorter than any Tumblr drama) I have never had an issue with them. Drama can happen with any platform, even when self-hosted. I still believe Blogger is a great choice, especially with someone not tech- or code-savvy.

      • King_Hermy

        Exactly.I don’t need WordPress.

        Blogger allows for simplicity at it’s finest while giving users every essential tool desired to manipulate their blog into that wich they want…

        Though…
        I will stay with blogger…
        I am already finding limits that i try to work around but it’s not cool…

    • THE-LOUDMOUTH

      I completely agree. I just switched from LiveJournal (I know, ha) to Blogger less than a year ago and I don’t feel like switching again.

      Reply
  6. SACRAMENTO

    I bought my own domain in blogger for about 10 dollar a year, and I am very pleased with it so far.
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    Reply
  7. MJ

    I’ve been on WordPress (the free site) since the beginning of my blog in 2009 and now that I’m delving into the self hosted one there are sooo many things you can do in terms of design, functionality, and the support is great! Definitely recommend it!

    Reply
  8. amy

    My concern is switching blog hosts after many successful years with blogger. Is there a way to transfer my followers, posts, essentially everything on my blog to a new host? I wouldn’t want to lose my years of hardwork.

    Reply
    • WendyB

      I transferred absolutely everything to WordPress. I had a programmer do it though…too much for me to handle on my own.

      Reply
    • Jennine Jacob

      when i changed over, there wasn’t twitter or facebook, and feedburner allowed me to change domains so my traffic wasn’t affected for very long.

      Reply
  9. Joanna

    Great post! I wonder if there’s a way to move from Blogger to WordPress without loosing the stats. I know that numbers are not the most important thing ever, but still..

    Reply
  10. Liz

    I’ve never used anything but wordpress…and I love it. I started a blogger blog before wordpress and at this point, I dont remember, but I don’t think I even posted once before I moved. I was so let down with blogger! If anything it was way HARDER to use than wordpress, there was so little you could actually do.

    Reply
  11. Inez

    Thank you so much for posting this, I’ve been considering moving for months now!!!

    Thanks for this post, very helpful!

    Reply
  12. Al

    Actually Blogger has a new template system with dynamic views (came out last month). Not tried it, or tried customising it, but it isn’t strictly fair to say it hasn’t been updated since 2008 😉

    As for other alternatives: Posterous is very nice.

    Reply
    • Jennine Jacob

      Have you seen the dynamic views? It’s not a viable template or theme because the USER selects how they want to view your blog. I feel like it’s a bit of a joke and probably won’t last very long, because who wants to design a blog for every possible scenario, and how are you going to sell ads on a blog that’s format changes so drastically?

      Reply
      • Cate

        I’m still on blogger and i don’t like the new dynamic templates either, but they HAVE put in newer templates that are not those ones. they came out with a ton of new ones late last year, and an improved editor. it’s worked wonders for me, and when i redesigned my blog i got a lot of great compliments that it looked a lot cleaner and more streamlined. it’s not that it can’t be done on blogger. maybe it takes more work, but it’s not impossible.

  13. Eve Maria

    I understand why people rave about wordpress, and will be switching at some point as my blog grows…but with blogger you get a greater sense of community, and that’s what new bloggers need the most. Also, as you said yourself, you wouldn’t have learnt coding had you not used blogger. And as a long-time web coding geek, I’d recommend all bloggers learn at least some coding.

    Reply
    • Jennine Jacob

      trust me, you need code with wordpress, the difference is there are a lot more code geeks who use the platform and you can find better support.

      Reply
  14. Andrea

    Great info! Being someone newer to the blogging world, I love blogger/blogspot. I still have yet to encounter any problems with blogger. Until I do, I’m happy to stay here.

    Reply
  15. Madeleine Gallay

    OK, Wendy Brandes has terrified me … that’s amazing. I remember that Blogger halted Tavi’s blog for a bit too.

    WordPress, sigh. It’s a little more, that essential part of a little more, intimidating.

    OK, I can’t figure it out.

    Reply
  16. Michaella

    I don’t like WordPress! It’s too confusing and I couldn’t make my blog look ‘just right’. My blog is on Blogger and I love it!
    xx
    Michaella

    Reply
  17. Asma from Haute Muslimah

    I would love for you to write an article about switching over, with tips and other technical info we could use!

    Right now I’m on Blogger and the only problem I’ve had is when they took away my Adsense (along with all my money) because of “illegal activity.” Still pissed about that one. What illegal activity? The never replied to any of my questions… of course.

    Reply
  18. Eli

    While I appreciate the insight of this post and everything that IFB does – I feel like there is always too much Blogger bashing on here. If you recognize that most of us are using it, then build constructive posts about it! Otherwise state that this is a wordpress community.

    As far as finding a good template? This website has worked for me before

    http://btemplates.com/

    Reply
    • Jennine Jacob

      I’m sorry you see too much blogger bashing.. But this is not a word press community. I have tumblr blogs and both Nubia and Taylor use blogger for their blogs. I’m just saying from my experience that I would not recommend blogger as it has several flaws… The biggest one being they can shut down your blog without notice. Something that would never happen in word press.

      The site you suggested has some beautifully designed themes however the support is nothing compared to what you would get using woo themes or thesis. A vital factor on what themes I pick is the support and upgrades. Because if something goes wrong..it’s heplfu and less expensive if you have a place to get answers.

      I’m just making suggestions based on experience working through problems and want to help people make informed decisions.

      Also… Interesting tidbit.. The blogger template site is running on word press http://btemplates.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=http%3A%2F%2Fbtemplates.com%2Fwp-admin%2F&reauth=1
      http://btemplates.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=http%3A%2F%2Fbtemplates.com%2Fwp-admin%2F&reauth=1

      Reply
      • Eli

        There are a few templates that are taken from WordPress adjusted for blogger, I used one a few moons ago. There’s a tab for it too in the choices.

  19. taylah

    i’d love an article on switching blogs/ platforms successfully! so far i’ve been using blogger, and i do like it, however i changed my URL & name a little while ago, and found that while my followers were still listed and not lost, none of them were receiving updates of my posts. every on had to unfollow and refollow my new address in order to fix this, and there was no way i could have properly contacted everyone to tell them this 🙁

    Reply
      • Alterations Needed

        Jennine, when you put this together, read through this tutorial from Beautifully Invisible:

        http://www.beautifully-invisible.com/2010/11/part-one-so-you-want-to-move-from-blogger-to-wordpress.html

        I used it this summer, with a few tweaks for my personal situation, and successfully moved from Blogger to WordPress without losing any stats, subscribers, or anything else. I can’t recommend it enough. =)

      • Cate

        or you can just ask B to guest post it. i’m sure she’s be willing, and tons of people have raved about it.

  20. Jessica James

    The same happend to me! they said that I was abusing adsense… so they took my $5.00 and never replied.. psh..$5… they can have it. lol

    xx Jess James

    Reply
  21. Caitlin

    I just started my blogspot a few days back. 🙁 But thanks for the heads up, I didn’t know any of this. Just claimed a wordpress with the same url as my blogspot just in case. 😉

    Reply
  22. Sai

    Rumi Neely (fashiontoast.com) actually STILL uses Blogspot as her her blogging platform, but is just under the domain of Now Manifesto. If you try to comment on one of her posts, it directs you to the Blogspot commenting box. I’ve always used Blogspot and has released a new lovely design interface. It’s great because it shows traffic source, pageviews, audience, etc. and have added new plugins. I haven’t experienced any problems with Blogspot, *knock on wood* and I hope it stays that way!

    Reply
  23. Tina

    I used to use blogger for everything – it easy to set up and free, but the customization seemed very limited. I have now only recently moved to wordpress, although at first I avoided it since I’d have to pay for all these things, however the options are so unlimited!!!

    Reply
  24. Diana

    I have had another blog on blogger for a little while. At my husbands suggestion, I started this blog on wordpress. The one comment I have to make about wordpress is that I was surprised and disappointed to find out that you can’t monetize your blog on the free version of wordpress. I’ve now moved to a self hosted wordpress blog. The amount of control and creative freedom you have is fantastic, but it definitely helps if you know how to manipulate the code yourself.

    Reply
  25. Indiana

    Blogger fan girl alert here! I was a beta tester for them and have been with them since 1999! Can you believe it? I have mad love for Blogger and could sing its praises day and night.

    I would not recommend a .blogspot domain, though, as it’s so easy to just purchase the .com you want right through Blogger’s dashboard. Since it’s owned by Google, it’s automatically integrated with all the Google tools, ad words, Google’s new ad network, and posts get indexed right away. For every one nightmare story, there’s millions of non-nightmares, right?

    I love the templates you can get for Blogger. Look at the gorgeous work the ladies at Freckled Nest are doing (mostly Blogger) and the free templates that Pugly Pixel offers. Simple! Plus you get a WYSIWYG editor in Blogger and no back end coding or Go Daddy downtime. :0)

    Ask me about the nightmare of WordPress/ BuddyPress on Made This/Love This one day, won’t you?

    Reply
  26. Marissa E

    Glad I found this forum. My blog is currently on Blogger. For a school course I had to start a WordPress account. I’m still deciding if I’ll continue using Blogger after the class is complete or switch over to WordPress.

    I agree that Blogger is more community-minded while WordPress is more diverse and professional. However, I’ve heard rumors from computer nerd friends that WordPress has a limited shelf life and might be ending as we know it in the future. ONLY RUMORS but enough to really make me reconsider using their site for my blog. Why switch over if I’ll just have to switch back?

    My main issue with WordPress is my pictures never show up! I’ll complete a post and it looks great and then the next they’ll be gone. It’s seems like a lot of wasted effort to use their site and hope my posts actually turn out.

    M

    Reply
  27. Courtney

    Interesting topic!

    it seems like some bloggers (ie: Manrepeller, Keiko) get so big so fast that they are almost stuck on the Blogspot platform.

    I started out on Blogspot because I thought WordPress was too hard to use, however Blogspot quickly became too easy to use!

    Reply
  28. Courtney

    Oh! You forgot to mention when Blogger crashed earlier this year and no one could blog! Not having access to your blog doesn’t happen just to people with big blogs taking up a lot of server space.

    I don’t know about you, but i don’t want to be subject to Google’s whims.

    Reply
  29. Courtney

    One last thing (I promise!) another thing I love about WP is the reliable commenting system. Commenting is vital to my blog and is basically why I love my blog. I hate the Blogger commenting system for commenting back to people. And, I’m sorry, but Disqus is not a reliable fix to that situation since it has too many bugs and is down every other month.

    Reply
  30. Sean

    I actually just recently moved from wordpress to blogger because I felt the opposite of a lot of what’s expressed in this post. Basic WordPress themes are often very ugly and cannot be extensively customized (sometimes not at all). It’s also such a closed network that incorporating important features such as a Facebook share button or LinkWithin under my posts without paying for it was impossible. With Blogger I could remove whatever I didn’t like by uploading my own jpegs wherever I wanted and tweaking the HTML. While WordPress support is nice and it is true that Blogger has shut down blogs before including Style Rookie, those people get their sites back eventually and a few instances out of the millions of people on the server…I’m not too worried to say the least. I admit that Blogger still feels, despite it’s recent overhaul, realllly out of date. WordPress is a much more polished system. I sometimes still feel like Tumblr would be a better platform for fashion blogging because they have their own fashion director and send all those bloggers to fashion week, etc. I guess I respectfully disagree and think it’s whatever works for you, especially if you don’t want to pay and you know how to edit HTML.

    Reply
    • Courtney

      You should do some web searches for themes. I’ve found that’s better than just scrolling through the WordPress list. Some are not customizable, but it really depends on the designer or developer who came up with them. I have two blogs and on both I can modify anything I want. However, there are definitely some themes that do not allow this especially if they want you to buy an upgrade to a paid theme. Keep looking around and you’ll find one that suits you!

      You may also want to look into the Header Footer plugin. This allows you to insert code before and after a post. You can then grab the coding for LinkWIthin and Facebook and insert it manually. Is it more steps? Yes. But the amount of control you have this way is amazing compared to Blogspot where you basically drag and drop from point A to Point B and that’s all that’s allowed.

      You should also check out the WordPress FOrums, as most questions you could ever have about WordPress are answered there.

      Hope this helps!

      Reply
  31. Emmy

    I actually tried to go on WordPress first for my blog but for some reason found it really difficult from the get go. I don’t know if it’s just me:P
    I love Blogger right now coz it is so super easy to use, and (knock on wood) have not had any problems with it.

    Reply
  32. Shasie

    What about comments and GFC followers? Do they transfer over with the transfer to wordpress

    Reply
  33. lei ann

    i’ve actually used tumblr almost exclusively from the beginning of blogging, but post original content for my personal style blog instead of being just an “inspiration board” the way most people use tumblr. i know tumblr also has their technical as well as personality issues, but on the whole i’m satisfied with the ease of use & it suits my purposes fine 🙂

    Reply
  34. Ana

    Blogger’s made some changes to the whole template thing.
    It needs tweaking, but it’s a step forward.

    I really dislike that I need to click on the comment section (after I’ve already gone into a specific post) to view comments, because a lot of times comments, that interaction – that’s what makes me come to a blog!

    But I’m a comment fiend 😛 .

    It’s okay in other aspects.

    Reply
  35. Women Are Gamechangers

    I had my first blog on blogger now I’m on wordpress and host it myself because I heard it was better. Funny how so many people have made that switch over. Great post because everything was accurate. Well at least from my own personal experience.

    Reply
  36. Daniel Dunt

    You’ve literally read my mind! I actually started my blog without the use of any of the popular platforms – I instead used Yola (which has proved to be a nightmare; therefore I’d advise anyone who considers it in the future to back away, fast.) – I’m now in the process of moving over to WordPress, yet for some reason I feel the move has to have a reason, which is why I’m also redesigning the entire blog layout at the same time! It’s a lot of work and I feel a little silly for not starting out on WordPress – yet we’ll have to wait and see how it all goes! – Daniel 😀

    Reply
  37. Ondo Lady

    Well said!! I started off on Blogger and loved it, thought it was great and then two things happened – I ran out of templates and a fellow blogger had her blog shut down with no communication from Google. That was enough for me to start making moves to WordPress and my very own domain. I have never looked back. You can do so much with WordPress, the options are limitless. Blogger really do need to step up though, I know they have introduced some new templates but they look very old fashioned and awkward. I get the impression that Google are so busy developing other products such as Google +, the music service etc that they have forgotten about poor Blogger.

    Reply
  38. Célèste

    The biggest annoyance I have with Blogger is how they still won’t let you reply to blog comments (after years of getting requests for this simple feature).

    I’ve only been blogging for a year so maybe this is a stupid concern, but, how do you switch platforms without losing follower. Does a URL change make it difficult for readers to find you or make your visibility to search engines go down?

    Reply
  39. Victoria Suzanne

    I moved from Blogger to WordPress and have never looked back. One blogger I know actually left WordPress from Blogger because it was too hard to use! Sure there’s a learning curve, but it just has so much more power in it, and plugins are a godsend.

    Reply
  40. Joy

    I understand where you’re coming from but as an amateur, right now blogger is best. i also need to mention i dont think fashion toast is fully moved from Blogger because her cmnts are still in Blogger format (it just looks diff with a custom domain name).

    Reply
  41. Tanja

    Interesting post – I can understand that most people prefer to use blogger, as it is easier to handle in the beginning.

    But if your blog grows up, you want to add additional services (e.g. mobile support) and want to stay independent you can better start with WordPress.

    It might be harder a little bit in the beginning and you will not find the success immediately and may have to spend 3-4 more days to get used to it, but after these days, you will enjoy updating your -personal- blog not having the risk to loose all your ideas if they shut you down.

    And the migration later, might be much harder than making the more difficult choice in the beginning.

    I use wordpress on my different blogs for about 5 years and completely (o.k. 99%) satisfied with it.

    Reply
  42. Franca

    I recently moved to wordpress after almost 4 years on blogger, and I am very happy with it. The move was quite scary, but everything went ok in the end.

    However, I would absolutely not recoomend that a complete beginner blogger starts on self hosted wordpress. The hosting fees, while not massively expensive, do make a difference, especially when you’re just trying things out and don’t know yet if blogging is even going to become a big part of your life. I think for the initial period of experimentation, when you are still working out the content, and have few readers, blogger is just fine. If I had my time again, I would have maybe moved to wordpress sooner, but I would still have started on blogger. For those first two years, there was no point in being on WP and all the options would have just overwhelemed me and distracted me from creating a strong voice and consistent content.

    anyway, just my view.

    Reply
  43. Fashnlvr

    I started creating Fashion RECON on wordpress when blogger was down for over 24hrs but I never made the momentous effort to move from Blogger. My blogger site has been doing fine and I don’t have any trouble working with it. I do sometimes still think about switching. Here is the link to what I began: http://fashionrecon.wordpress.com
    Should I stay or should I go now?

    Reply
  44. MEXBIURI

    I actually tried to move to WP with the link you posted, but I was having such a hard time! It’s true, it has tons of amazing applications that improves your blog functionality (and that’s what we’re all looking for) but I think if you’re just a newbie in this blogging world…blogger just keeps it simple and easier to handle for you…WP gave me so many options that its almost overwhelming and their “help” page is not that good. Plus I think you have to be a self host to do a lot of things like install plugins, move your followers and much more…I literarily spend a whole day trying to move, until my head exploded and I decided just to stay with my simple blogger account.

    Reply
  45. TheShoeGirl

    The only thing I hate about blogger is that it’s blocked in china and while I’m working overseas my blog is neglected.

    Reply
  46. Whitney

    I guess I went from “chic” to “geek” because my blog was, initially, on WP and I honestly didn’t like it. I’d used Blogger for several school and work blogging projects and I just took to it better. I’ve, also, never had any problems with it.

    I think the only fair issue that was pointed out about Blogger is that they can potentially shut down your blog. Yet, as far as the templates and themes, there are enough blogger templates out there that you can customize your blog to your liking.
    Saying that people will eventually move anyway is an opinion. It may be true, but it may not be.

    Anyway, I think you can find success whereever you are, you just have to make it work for you!

    Whitney
    www.MyStylishFriends.blogspot.com

    Reply
  47. garconniere

    great article, and too true. count my blog among the thousands that chose to migrate from blogger to wordpress. blogger can be alright if you’re satisfied with a boring template that’s troublesome to modify even if you know html and don’t care about comments.

    Reply
  48. Lindsay (Shrimp Salad Circus)

    I’ve been on Blogger for a couple years now and have built up a decent readership. I would be wary to move and potentially jeopardize that for something that doesn’t strike me as much of a problem in the first place. By using Blogger, I’ve taught myself many things I wouldn’t have had to otherwise. Shrimp Salad Circus is going to remain a Blogger blog until I have my own reasons for switching, which I can’t imagine at the moment. Sure, Blogger has its glitches, but what doesn’t? Everything is always worked back out.

    I’m in the middle of a design overhaul to go live next week, and I’m quite pleased with the new look, which I feel I customized enough for my liking. Blogger has capabilities, they just need some time investment. I enjoy learning. It’s free; it works fine; and it’s conducive to community, which is why many people blog in the first place.

    I guess my only concern would be the possibility of being shut down by Blogger, but that seems remote enough for the positives to mitigate that risk.

    Reply
  49. GawgusThings

    I know I need to move from Blogger but I’m just too scared! I’m scared that I’ll lose all my data and my followers 🙁 I also don’t know where I would start with the themes etc there just seems so many. I know I need to take a deep breath and just do it or find someone who can do it for me….! Thanks for the reminder 😉

    Reply
  50. Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys

    I think both are fine, and I find this pro-Wordpress thing a bit snobby. I’ve had a wordpress blog for years… which I rarely use any more because I just find wordpress a pain. I also write for another website that uses wordpress, and again, every week I find myself swearing at it.

    My current main blog is on blogger and I love how easy it is. Sure there are drawbacks, and I really do need to learn code, but I don’t see why it isn’t a perfectly reasonable platform for the majority of people’s needs. I thought the Sartorialist blog was fine when it was on blogger, same with Calivintage, etc.

    Anyway, just my two cents…

    Reply
  51. Kate

    I actually love blogger! You have the option of their super simple templates that are just sort of “drag & drop” to customize, but you still have the option of using their older, original templates and adjusting all the html yourself, which I LOVE! Yes, you have to learn code, but I just google everything I don’t already know how to do (in the beginning I’d google things like “how to make a 3rd column in scribe template” etc and I’d always find the coding/answers I needed!) I’m sure there are perks to wordpress, but so far, almost two years into my blog, I’ve been very happy with blogger – although, trying to contact admins if something goes down has proven to be difficult, but happens so rarely!

    Always good to know the pros & cons to all the platforms out there, though, so that people can find what works for them!

    Reply
  52. Alexandra

    Blogger is a boring, limited platform. WordPress may seem a little daunting at first but if you can follow relatively simple instructions a wp blog is not that hard to create (no pain, no gain). Once you’re wp blog is up and running switching themes is easy and many updates are handled by the software, provided you approve the upate. If you truly want to present your content in an attractive, somewhat original manner, instead of relying on a cookie cutter look, wp is the way to go, and a hosted blog with your own domain, using a platform you pay for, really is the way to go.

    Reply
  53. Denise @ Swelle

    Typepad exists, too! I’ve been using it for four years and it works well for me, for both my blog and boutique. I don’t use templates, the design is completely custom built. Their support is excellent and that’s why I don’t mind paying to use their platform, though that’s not an option for everyone. Not a ‘this is better’ argument, just wanted to mention this as there is another option! (Susie Bubble and Vint Junky are others who use Typepad)

    Reply
  54. Xizi

    I remember wanting to start a blog. The first thing I did was hit up Blogger because, well, it’s what I thought was the norm. Withing half an hour, I was on WordPress. I’ve been WordPressing ever since. What frustrated me about Blogger and caused my switch was how non-intuitive the dashboard was and how stiff the layout was. I wanted creativity!

    Reply
  55. Mads

    I’ve just come from a blogging conference and the SEO speaker said that WordPress is more SEO friendly. Marginally friendly but the difference is there.
    My blog is on Blogger at the moment but I will be making the daunting switch to WP soon!

    Reply
  56. Loren

    I run a WordPress blog on my own personal server. If you are going to use WordPress.com I’d say in general you are better off with Blogger. It lets you do a lot more for free. But once you are ready to move up to the level of ‘buy a domain name maybe make some money from this blog’ I really think that WordPress.org is a more powerful tool. It just does more stuff, easier than Blogger. But to each her own. I’ve never really touched Typepad or Tumblr myself.

    Reply
  58. Sarah

    I have a WordPress.org site and I’ve actually considered switching to blogger quite a bit (although I KNOW that would be a royal pain). I like the idea of the community on Blogger and I feel like it’s easier to get followers and to follow other blogs. I get a good deal of traffic to my site but I feel like the community aspect is missing.

    Just my two cents…

    Reply
  59. Suburban Sweetheart

    I have zero interest in ever switching to WordPress. While I use WordPress for work and a few freelance projects, I find Blogger to be easier & more hassle-free for my personal blog. Frankly, I’m sort of tired of the WordPress pretentiousness.

    Reply
  60. Krysten

    I disagree with this. I’ve tried out WordPress and found it confusing and really hard to use. Went running right back to Blogger and I won’t stray again.

    Reply
    • Alex

      You’re right Krysten.. I found WP confusing and hard to use.. Blogger is much easier to use and i make some nice money 2 😉

      Reply
  61. Beckydazzler

    The thought of losing my blog by some mistake on Bloggers behalf is terrifying but I do love Blogger! I will stay just because I have been there for years its easy to use and switching over seems intense!

    Reply
  62. Nasreen

    ugh the effort of moving to another host, how do you even do that?!

    http://lazyobsession.blogspot.com

    Reply
  63. Tammy Bridenbeck

    Yet another incentive to stay with blogger: Google Plus = Search Engine Ranking to die for. WordPress is good, too, as I have blogs on both, but blogger is updated, reinvented, and knocking it out of the park.

    Reply
  64. Pakistan Fashion

    I love blogger because it is very helpful for every person .I want to share your blog info with my friend thank you,

    Reply
  65. Paulo Werdana

    Cool! Many thanks! Agree that WordPress has always been miles ahead than Blogger… It is the most unbeatable platform out there, much more customizable and flexible. Besides, I managed to convert to it without any scripts (as I’m not very compluter literate) using this plugin http://goo.gl/m6tZGi.

    Reply
  66. John

    When I started my blogging journey then my first question was, Why I should choose WordPress and not other CMS softwares.

    I searched a lot about it on Google at that time and I found that everybody is recommending to use WordPress and I started doing the same.

    Now today I know that why people should choose WordPress. Because WordPress is an independent and easy to use content management system.

    The best thing about it is, We can bring any feature in our website with just using a single plugin. That’s really good. 😀

    I am using WordPress since last 3 years and I loved it. 😀

    Reply
  67. raja babu

    I think blogger is better than to wordpress, self hosted blogger sites rank better and fast

    Reply
  68. arya

    I use blogger and have not had a problem either. Blogger is making changes and updating their existing format, so why would I leave now?

    Reply
  69. kathir

    Really Nice article.i prefer wordpress for micro blogs and blogger only for event blogs
    regards,
    kathir.

    Reply
  70. bindraji

    New bloggers who lack investment can get free hosting for lifetime on blogger! I still use blogger for many of my side projects!

    Reply
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