7 Reasons Why Blogger Users Should NOT Switch to Wordpress
Because We would rather Fight than Switch.
Do you remember those old smoking commercials? So do I. Well it so happens that I was reading a great post by Rory explaining the intricacies of switching your blog from Blogger over to WordPress, and it reminded me of why I’ve decided to stay with the New Blogger.
So what’s that got to do with fighting? I left a quick comment on his post explaining my position and apparently it hit a sore spot with Rory who thought I was giving him a “kick him in the pants”.
Hey, that was not my intention bro… honestly, so I thought maybe I should elaborate a little and hopefully it might help as you struggle with this decision like I did.
So without further ado here are 7 (good) reasons why you should stay with New Blogger and not switch over to WordPress:
1. By staying with Blogger you won’t lose all your backlinks. Alternatively, if you decide to switch over to WordPress it would be just like starting all over from scratch again with a brand new blog. You will lose all of your incoming links and pagerank that you earned by your blood sweat and tears.
2. There is a relatively high learning curve hosting your blog on your own server (WordPress software, MYSQL, PHP, etc). So who needs the hassle? But hey, don’t take my word for it — read this. I would much rather spend my time writing than geeking.
3. The free hosted version of WordPress doesn’t offer features like full access to editing the HTML, Custom Domains, etc. like Blogger does. Who wants a blog that looks like everyone else’s? I sure don’t.
4. WordPress‘ import plugins are notoriously buggy and generally don’t do very well, especially @ importing your Blogger comments.
5. Then of course there is the controversial subject of whether or not Googlebot is biased towards Blogger blogs. Or perhaps it could just be a matter of WordPress being penalized for creating duplicate content. You choose.
6. Both blog platforms are free, robust and make extensive use of plugins (or widgets as Blogger calls them). More and more widgets are becoming available for Blogger making customization as easy as WordPress (if not easier).
7. Both blog platforms lend well to hacking but Blogger is arguably even more flexible than WordPress.
Accordingly, it’s not like the good old days when there was a big difference between the two blog platforms. Now that the New Blogger has in so many ways caught up to Wordpress there is no longer a compelling reason to make the switch.
Moving is not worth the headaches and my advice is just stay where you are. So if you already have an established blog, stick with the New Blogger (or WordPress).
Both are excellent blog platforms and you won’t be disappointed.
UPDATE: Of course, since then I’ve changed my mind … Moving Over to Wordpress: The Good, Bad and the Ugly
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Key to your post is “if you already have an established blog”.
If you don’t, it would be crazy to chose Blogger over WordPress.
I do empathize that WordPress has a bigger learning curve.
As for the bugs… have you seen the quantity of plugins available for WordPress? There are thousands! Of course some aren’t written as well as others… anyone is allowed to try.
Regards!
Doug
Yo, Doug. Could you define “crazy”? That’s the kind of statement I would have expected with the old Blogger but it’s no longer the case.
Granted, the availability of Blogger widgets have some catching up to do, but mark my words bro it’s gonna happen.
Perhaps we could debate this with an open mind? We could call it the ‘WordPress vs. New Blogger Smackdown’.
And of course Doug, the key to your point is you are only referring to hosted solutions because the free WordPress doesn’t offer much in the way of plugins.
Actually in some ways Blogger has now surpassed WordPress.
Mon coeur! Mon coeur! Je suis day-zoh-lay!
I can’t argue with much of this. In fact, I would heartily agree with it, especially the hassle…and geekiness. I feel pretty much all geeked out.
I had the advantage of having a fledgling blog, so the switch was relatively painless - but even I haven’t rectified all my outgoing links. It would be a major overhaul for someone with hundreds of posts.
Anyway, BB, you know that this posturing is only because you yearn to make the big switch ;P
LOL Rory. Hit the nail squarely on the head. BB is a WordPress wannabe
1. Fair point. That’s the most compelling reason for staying with Blogger, in my opinion.
2. I’m not sure that a working knowledge of MySQL or PHP is required to run with WP, to be honest. I’ve never needed to with any of my sites to date.
3. I’ve only ever used hosted versions so can’t comment.
4. Never imported a Blogger site so, again, can’t comment.
5. Google favouring Blogger in the SERPS? Yup. That’s a given. I’ve blogged about it before but I’m not so sure that it’s as cut and dried as it was. I’ve seen some of my WP pages indexed in Big G within a couple of days which was never the case previously so I think changes to the algorithm have levelled out the playing field to an extent.
6. As Doug says, the number and quality of WP plugins far outweighs the widgets for Blogger. Over time the number of widgets available will increase, of course, but they’ll always be playing catch up and trying to emulate out-of-the-box WP functionality.
7. Does this not contradict point 2 to a certain extent? Surely the fact that WP gives you the option to play with the database and PHP files makes it more flexible than Blogger?
Tsk, tsk, sticks and stones… so the WordPress boys think they can beat on the Bloke do they. This is so typical of WP snobbery that I’ve come to know and expect.
Ok, now you’ve got the Bloke’s attention (and dander up). So for your information fellas I have several WP blogs that I put on the shelf because I don’t like the clunky interface and all of the WP templates look like… well, WordPress blogs quite frankly.
Whereas on the other hand the Blogger interface is more user friendly and the templates are more elegant looking. And speaking of interface, have you ever noticed how WP has been copying Blogger’s dashboard? It really makes you hmm don’t you think.
With all due respect you boys seem to be speaking from a position that you might not have a whole lot of experience. Have you even tried the New Blogger for yourselves? I mean seriously tried? Because unless you have then you really can’t talk the talk if you haven’t walked the walk. (Know what I’m sayin’).
And speaking of scalability, I would rather rely on my ability to hack the code than on someone else’s perception of what a widget/plugin should be. Blogger on the other hand is extremely flexible and will bend to my every whim. And diddling with MSQL is not the same thing - that’s called maintenance (something that Blogger takes care of for me for free, nada, zilch, no charge).
So maybe we should have that smackdown like I suggested earlier and do a feature by feature comparison of the two. What say you? Any takers? This could get really ugly, er I mean interesting and might even be fun.
So there
Not sure about the snobbery bit. I still use Blogger for some of my other projects as I can see that it has some benefit but, to be honest, I’ve had a play with New Blogger and can’t say that I was overly impressed.
Templates - your Blogger template stands alone, BB. All other Blogger templates look like…well Blogger templates quite frankly.
Dashboard - Chicken and egg. The old Blogger dashboard bears no resemblance to WP. The New one, however…
I’ll continue to use both platforms. Blogger has it’s advantages. WP has it’s advantages. However if I were to stick a stake in the ground and plump for my favourite? Well I think you know the answer…
I’m still trying to decide to make the big switch to my custom domain from a blogspot url.
The question is, do I transfer it all to a dot com still hosted by Blogger?
Nah…I’m leaning more towards what this guy did, transfer all his old Blogger stuff — WITHOUT LOSING HIS BACKLINKS NOR RANKING, he says — to a dot com on Wordpress.
http://www.sciencetext.com/blogger-custom-domain.html#comment-62
You gotta admit, those WP plugins that let folks subscribe to your comments are cool.
Along with the fact that on WP, people don’t have to wait and wait and wait for a new window pop up to even GET to the comments.
I’m still researching. Thanks for all the good commentary though, it’s helping me figure out the best solution.
Happy blogging,
Paula
Hmm. Paula, of course you realize that he is advocating using Blogger to redirect to a WordPress account. I wonder how long that will last once Blogger catches wind of it? I’m sure they won’t be pleased finding their bandwitch being used to redirect to a competing product. This sounds more like an SEO black hat trick than anything else so consider this with caution.
Hey Mike, you’re a Brit so you can’t help being a snob. But I forgive you. Likewise, I’m not a “wannabe’ Wordpress user (so we’re even now ;-).
You really need to get down and dirty with the Blogger code see what it is really capable of to understand its power. Playing with it just won’t suffice.
Nevertheless, all kidding aside to each their own but I still think it would be interesting if someone would co-write a showdown post representing WordPress’ benefits, and I advocating the Blogger side. It would be an excellent learning experience for all of us.
But I think we got away from the original point of this post — which is I don’t recommend anyone moving between either blog platform IF you already have an ESTABLISHED blog. Otherwise, you can’t really lose from choosing either of them.
BTW, it’s good to have you back again Mike. We missed you!
If we’re talking about Blogger or Wordpress hosting your blog, then I would have to agree that, for me, Blogger wins hands down. All the Wordpress templates will look generic because if you want to manipulate the style you have to fork out $15. That ain’t free any more.
I had purchased hamelife.com, but my blog was at hamelife.blogspot.com. I also had hamelife.com with a host service - but it was merely a frontpage, merely a welcome screen. All the action was at Blogspot. Once I made the switch and amalgamated the two, my stats went up because hamelife.com was being recognised.
If you have a blog hosted by Blogger under your own recognised domain name, then it might be as well to stay where you are. But, now that I’ve used Wordpress, I don’t know…
As for Paula: I would agree with BB about the other site that’s mentioned - that does look a bit suspect. Having a quick look at Paula’s site revealed that it would be quite a job replicating the look and feel, but it wouldn’t take too long. And, for the feeling of being able to type in paulamooney.com - well, it has to be worth it, to my mind. (Frankly - and, forgive me - I wasn’t too sure what the name of Paula’s site was)
As for your gauntlet being thrown down, BB, I’m going to give it some thought. Maybe I’ll come up with something…
For FREE hosted sites, the New Blogger is probably a lot better.
But, for hosting your own, WP wins since you can not use the New Blogger on your own server.
And, if you are only willing to blog for free, how committed to your blog are you?
I have only one blog hosted by Blogger, more of a learning tool than anything else.
It’s a lot like my driveway, I have a Dodge, Ford (Lincoln) and a Buick (GM). It does not have to be just one or the other. Each one has their good and bad features and should be measured on what the objective is.
If you want to be well rounded and educated, use them all with an open mind.
“And, if you are only willing to blog for free, how committed to your blog are you?”
Oh darn, CyberCoder, I’m running for cover right now!
“if you are only willing to blog for free, how committed to your blog are you?”
Dear CyberCoder: Ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha ha hee hee hee!
Nobody can ever accuse the Bloke of not having a sense of humor. Nor you either.
But I suppose you could call me cheap. No argument there.
One more thing. Am I committed? Yes, VERY. That’s why I’m called the BLOG Bloke. Cheers! (wise guy
Thanks, Blog Bloke and Rory, for your great feedback.
Yeah, I don’t want to get into any black hat stuff that would mess me up. Total white hat here!
And, Rory, I didn’t really know what the name of my blog was either!
I’ve redesigned it and now I’m pressing forward with towards my own dot com.
No, No, Bloke…
It was not, “should you be committed”
it was…”are you committed”
You probably know be better than almost anyone on the net and you certainly know my sense of humor and devils advocate nature.
Whats the old adage, “nothing cheap is good and nothing good is cheap?”
Although there are some benefits to the FREEway, there are also a lot of downsides to it.
I agree with Doug in that I would choose WordPress over Blogger if I was starting a blog. But I’d have to go with a self-hosted solution. Then this issue of generic templates goes away.
Sure, there’s a learning curve - though not a steep one. And there’s plenty of help. Just search YouTube and you’ll find plenty of videos about how to do ‘whatever’ in WordPress. I often teach my clients how to write their first post in less than 10 minutes. And that’s after a tour.
The bottom line, for me, however, is what’s the intention and long-term plan for your blog? Figure that out first and then worry about platform.
CyberCoder, you and I both share the same warped sense of humor. That’s why we get along so well. And for your information I haven’t been “committed” for a long time now ever since my escape. But please keep it to yourself.
It’s been mostly WordPress users who have commented here and it’s evident to me that if you have already committed yourself to learning how to host your own WordPress blog you are going to stick with it. And why shouldn’t you, because it is most definitely an excellent product. There’s no denying that.
But I still recommend that established Bloggers should NOT make a switch. I also know that most WordPress users would be quite surprised to see how much Blogger has really caught up and maybe even surpassed in some areas.
Interesting post. I’ve decided to stick with blogger for a while myself, even though everybody seems to think Wordpress is way better for some reason. I’ve used it a little and liked some of the features but wasn’t overly impressed.
Anyway, I found you through Blog-Blond and wanted to wish you a
Happy Inappropriate Card Day!
Hey, thanks for input Dawud and Diesel. Everybody’s opinion is valid here. It’s been a learning experience for all of us and the more the merrier.
You’re most welcome, Paula. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out to see how your site looks.
Hey, BB, a joint venture! Blogger and Wordpress can co-exist in perfect har-mo-ny.
Chicken
> that he is advocating using Blogger
> to redirect to a WordPress account.
Hi
I wasn’t advocating redirecting to any specific type of blog account from Blogger, just happens that I run WP on the ST blog (but it’s not a Wordpress “account” it’s a standalone install on my server) and thought it made sense to 301 redirect it from my old blogspot address once Google made that an option, which they did in New Blogger through the system’s settings. It certainly wasn’t intended as blackhat anything. I just didn’t want to lose all the backlinks when I made the switch, nor did I want the old blogspot site to become a cobWeb and die. I couldn’t see where it says blogspotters weren’t allowed to 301 redirect to another domain. In fact, I thought G was now encouraging that!
Hope that clarifies things. Incidentally, the site has lots of tips and tricks as well as my own brand of Brit MoanWare(TM)
db
I recently switched back from WP.com to blogger for the template custom changes and the custom domain names. I will someday have.
I have a quick question though will my links and feeds get redirected to my new domain name?
Yes, absolutely Curtis, as long as you follow my directions here.
Just as an update to the Googlebot preferences, Blogger vs WP…
It seems that the discussions/debates/conspiracy theories regarding Google favouring Blogger have paid off and the playing field has definitely been leveled now.
I’ve got to agree that Blogger is much more user friendly for novices and if you’ve already got your blog setup then switching to WP will do some SEO damage (unless you’re on a custom domain and are willing to re-write URLs). If you’re starting from scratch, however, I’d still give the edge to WP.
I should have made the switch years ago. Sigh! Hindsight is indeed 20/20.
Dumb question?
When importing my blogger blog to Word Press, will it damage or ruin any content of the page or blog posts on my blogspot page thereafter? I’m thinking of running two at a time for a while to see which one I like better, then make up my mind and retire the other one in the future.
Looking forward to seeing your response.
C
Chuck, there will be no “damage” to your content, BUT when Google finds out you have duplicate content on two different blogs it will penalize you.