Blogger or WordPress?

When I wrote about how blogging is like a home, it sparked a firestorm of questions and a bit of a debate behind the scenes about whether Blogger or WordPress was a better blogging platform.

Here’s the controversial paragraph:

“Remember even an ordinary apartment can look like a million-bucks with a little planning and some style. Though many bloggers have moved to WordPress (and I think it’s fabulous), you can be just as successful utilizing a free blogging platform like Blogger. Work with what is in your means. Who’s with me on this one?”

There were some who were horrified I would suggest Blogger is okay. Others that just wanted to know which platform was best…

Well, let’s continue on with the house analogy, shall we?

Deciding whether or not to rent or own your own home is very personal, as is the decision of what blogging platform is best for you – Blogger or WordPress.

In both cases, fear of the unknown (can I afford it, will I be able to manage it, what happens if something breaks) can be a powerful driver in the decision making process.

Google has created a pretty dreamy home for bloggers. The drag and drop functionality makes it easy for bloggers to move their “furniture” in and rely on the “landlord” to take care of the more serious upkeep like development, increased functionality and hosting.

Best of all? Blogger is completely free.

So why would you want to move from Blogger to WordPress?

Total and complete ownership. You’ve put a lot of time and effort into your “rental,” but at the end of the day you don’t own your own pad. Google WILL delete blogs that receive complaints or that it believes doesn’t abide by its terms of service.

Your space, your style. In an apartment you can make some minor adjustments, but you’re limited by the framework. With WordPress, the sky’s the limit. You can change your design as often as you like.

Room to grow. With WordPress you have room to grow. You can set up pages that can be changed and updated quickly and easily. AND, with thousands of FREE plug-ins, you can use WordPress to add anything from a topic page to a storefront. Also with the integrated functionality of WordPress Multi-User, you can easily expand to a network of websites.

Return on investment. With WordPress you do have to secure hosting and that will cost you. But, it costs as little as $5 a month (more on how to determine your hosting needs). In return, you have access to thousands of free plugins that can do everything from managing your advertising to selecting giveaway winners, saving you loads of time. You also have a more professional platform that makes working with large companies and potentially selling more of an option.

Encourages visitors. WordPress’ efficient coding, organization and built in SEO makes it easier for search engines to locate. As a result, it is indexed much faster driving more traffic to the site with little additional effort.

Security. The frequent updates provided that can be secured right from the website. The changes “scare” the buglers away.

What do you think? Enough to make you switch if you haven’t already?

Clearly, I am a big fan of WordPress. Quite frankly, I think it’s easier to use and provides more short cuts. However, I am an even bigger fan of following your heart. At the end of the day, doing what feels right is what will make you the most successful.

Want another perspective on using Blogger? Go read Bridget’s post on “How not to Blog.”

I am curious. Are you on Blogger or WordPress? I’d love an informal count so that we know what types of posts and tutorials would be most helpful to our audience.

Author Bio

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Tauni Everett

Administrator at Tauni Everett

Tauni is a former public relations executive who spent 12+ years handling communications and events for an array of clients, from the NBA and Olympics to numerous high ranking politicians. Today, she handles social media for a local agency and hosts Snap, an annual social media conference for bloggers focused on entertaining, craft and home DIY.

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Tauni Everett