Blogger vs. WordPress, and age old question. I have had blogs on both Blogger and WordPress. WLGYL started out on Blogger, on which I posted about 140 posts. It’s clearly now on WordPress, on which I’ve posted about 85-90 depending on when I publish this post.
When I first started this blog, I didn’t even look up a comparison of WordPress and Blogger. I should have, but I just jumped to Blogger.
There are pros and cons to each. Many people believe that WordPress is better in every single way. I disagree, but I do like it a little better, so here’s my version of WordPress Vs. Blogger:.
Design
Blogger blogs are easier to design, whereas WordPress blogs have more range and options. I’m not terribly tech savvy, so my designs are never super intricate, but I also liked the range of widgets available at blogger better than I do here in WordPress. Plus, adsense was nice.
Ease of Use
In my opinion, Blogger was much easier to use. I think that’s why they do so well, you can just jump right in. WordPress takes a lot more time to use, but this may be because it has a much broader capability.
Stats
I hated Blogger’s stats page. When I logged on, it was messy, annoying, and hard to look at. With WordPress, it’s all laid out neatly and obviously. You can see more of what happened than with Blogger, such as clicks out and not just clicks in.
Comments
WordPress blogs get substantially more spam comments than do Blogger blogs. However, WordPress does do a great job in catching them – my WordPress blog has about a 95% success rate in distinguishing spam comments between real.
It’s so, so difficult to comment on Blogger blogs. WordPress blogs are intuitively easy to comment on. Many people refuse to comment on Blogger blogs – I don’t. I just hope they have the Name/URL option, because logging into WordPress for Blogger rarely works well. However, if a Blogger blog has a captcha, I’ll only comment if I really like the blogger or if the post is pretty good.
Blogger doesn’t allow you to reply directly to comments. Hate this. WordPress does, and it makes life so much easier.
Posting
To be honest, with my Blogger blog, I never used the schedule post option, and with WordPress I do almost always. They both have the option, so neither is more superior in that regard.
Blogger does not allow private, password protected posts. I hate this. I don’t do many (or any), but I like having the option. WordPress allows password protection.
WordPress allows for both categories and tags, whereas Blogger only allows for one.
WordPress allows for a blogger to publicize a post on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Blogger does not.
WordPress allows “likes”. Blogger does not.
Blogger lists followers publicly, WordPress does not.
You can copy a post in WordPress as a template. You can’t in Blogger. You can also request Feedback in WordPress before publishing. In blogger, you cannot.
I’ve stuck with WordPress because the posting, stats, and commenting capabilities are much, much better than Bloggers’. However, it’s personal preference. I have struggled (and continue to struggle) with designing my WordPress blog.
This is just my take on Blogger vs. WordPress. Feel free to tell me yours in the comments. I know Blogger has changed recently, so I didn’t take into account any of the changes the would have done.
Starting a blog? You may also be interested to read some of my other posts about the subject:
Blogging 101
- Why Should You Blog? I Have a Bunch of Reasons!
- If You’re Just Starting Out, You Should Start on WordPress. Here’s why
- Ways to Inject Personality Into Your Posts (because nobody wants to read boring stuff)
- A Post About Knowing Your Audience
- If You Want a Successful, Money Making Blog, You Should Outsource (or quit your job and blog full time)
- Make Sure You Are Running Your Blog Like You’d Run Your Business
- Learn From My Mistakes in Blogging
Should You Blog Anonymously?
Feel free to email me with any blogging questions and I’d be happy to help!
You may also be interested in checking out the comments below and leaving one yourself if you don’t know whether to blog on WordPress or Blogger.
OH GOD! The new changes! When I first switched to Blogger from WordPress, the most annoying thing was the random extra lines that Blogger would put in. Well, with the New Editor, you have some cooler options with photos, but those extra lines are also back. I hate publishing a post, thinking everything’s fine, only to discover on the blog that the formatting is all off. My biggest gripe with Blogger is that they don’t allow individual password protected posts. I really wish they did, just so I could vent on GRB from time to time without getting tomatoes thrown at me for not being sensitive enough. 😉
Just came to say that I see clicks out as well as clicks in on WordPress. I have the Jetpack plugin, which gives me more detailed stats. So that’s always an option!
I struggled A LOT when I came to WordPress. It wasn’t due to lack of technical knowledge, but more the fact that everything was in a different place. Plus I had so many options I didn’t know what to do with them. For the first few weeks, I really regretted my decision to leave the simple, comfortable world of Blogger. That said, it’s nice to know that my site is MINE and Google can’t randomly shut it down (I’ve seen that happen to a few of my friends).
I don’t judge people who use Blogger – after all, I loved it – but WordPress was definitely the right choice for me.
I only used blogger for a few weeks. Just to publicize my new site on WordPress. I am really happy with WordPress and haven’t had that many problems at all. I was a little overwhelmed with all the options, themes, plug-ins and etc..but now it’s great.
I hate the Blogger commenting, and I almost never do it. Making it easier for readers to comment is a huge deal in my book. That’s where a WordPress blog would win over my vote over a Blogger blog.
Great post.
I thought about moving to wordpress but it was overwhelming. I was not up for changing although I agree about the comment system, that’s why I installed Disqus. Blogger just started a new format that I really like. I really don’t judge blogs either way, although I could do without captchas. They drive me ka-razy.
I used blogger for a long, long time before jumping to self hosted WordPress. WP is a little overwhelming at first, but I have found it is superior in almost every way. As you mention, design is harder unless you have PHP/CSS/HTML knowledge, but I have self taught and think I am doing pretty well now.
Also, I think your site looks just fine!
I switched from blogger to wordpress too 🙂 . It took a little getting use to but I like all the customization options. I believe wordpress is better overall for serious bloggers.
i have just started reading your blog how are you getting so much views id love to know your secret i hope that you will find time to read my blog i only just started it i have not been getting any views so i’d love it if you would help me thanks