I never thought in a million, bajillion years that I would even think about switching to Wordpress, but... it's happening. When I first started blogging on Blogger, I thought it was the best thing since that triple chocolate cake from Costco (because really, is sliced bread all that great? Invest in knives people!).
It was fun to play around with designs and play around with photos and fonts and colors and all that jazz.
Blogger is fun. Blogger is easy. But eventually, Blogger got annoying. I forget when Blogger got a makeover-was it 2011? But I hated it. With a passion. I kept the old Blogger dashboard for as long as I could, but eventually I had to make the switch. I've never regretted anything more.
The pre-made Blogger templates look kitchy (no offense to anyone who uses them–this just comparing them to a professional-looking blog), and you could only do so much with HTML after you made the switch. At this point, my HTML is so jumbled and scrambled and all-around ruined that when I try to mess with it, it takes me so much longer than I'd like it to.
Sure, I could take the time to repair my site structure and clean up the coding, but not only do I think it's easier to start fresh, but I think I will genuinely enjoy Wordpress so much more than Blogger.
My mom has been researching Wordpress for the past week or two, and after reading dozens of articles, she thinks it's a no-brainer to switch. And I must say, after my thorough quest this morning to find out exactly why she and a large percentage of other bloggers prefer Wordpress over Blogger, I'm almost convinced.
From my research, I gathered some information that I thought I would share:
1. YOU do not own your blog
Did that get your attention? Because it certainly got mine. Basically, here is how Blogger works:
YOU own the content of your blog. GOOGLE (who owns Blogger) owns the blog itself, and has permission to use, modify, publicly display, etc. said content. Crazy right?
When I first read that in this blog post (please read it, it's great for people who are deciding whether to switch or not), I was stunned, and honestly a little freaked out. I kind of wanted to find a safe and lock all of my posts in it, with a big sign on the safe that said "PROPERTY OF HANNAH."
2. Wordpress IS NOT a big scary monster that will eat your brains out
You will realize this over time. Wordpress seems intimidating, almost prestigious. It really does. BUT, just like a new pair of shoes, you have to break it in. When (yes, not if, when) I move to Wordpress, I'm going to just play around for a few days before I actually announce it on this blog.
And no, once I switch I'm not going delete this blog. I've recorded three years of my life here, and I don't plan on throwing those recordings away. My plan is to just switch to a simple template and leave it at that.
3. Wordpress is (in my opinion) more professional
Now I'm not saying that professional bloggers who use Blogger aren't blogging correctly (just look at The Wiegands or The Wonder Forest), but in my view if you're going to blog professionally, Wordpress is the way to go.
No, it is not cheap for a host+domain name+framework, but I truly do believe it will pay off. I very rarely hear of professional bloggers moving from Wordpress to Blogger, and those who do regret it. I really don't think I'll regret going to Wordpress. I'll have to fiddle around with the coding and design and learn my way around that stuff, but it's exciting to me.
I was really encouraged after reading this article as well, and while I don't know exactly when the move will be made, I know there is for sure going to be one. Another factor that pushed me into becoming a Wordpress-er is the whole "google is shutting down google reader."
I honestly don't know many details about that, but I didn't pursue it. There's no need anymore ;)
What are your thoughts and opinions on Wordpress and Blogger? Have you ever considered switching? If so, what stopped you/made you?
xo,
hannah
