Blogger or WordPress?
It’s a question asked by many people every day as they start out on their blogging journeys. It’s a question I didn’t ask myself, I knew nothing about blogging, and I just started my blog on the first result Google gave.
Had I asked myself Blogger or WordPress, and done a bit of research, I wonder if my choice would have been different. In all honesty, I think starting out on Blogger was the right move for me. Although it did make going self-hosted more complicated, I’m not going to lie, I loved the Blogger platform. If I could have gone self-hosted through Blogger, I would have definitely made that choice.
I’m certainly not going to tell anyone else what to do in terms of where they host their blog. What I am going to do is list some advantages and disadvantages of both so you can make a more informed decision.
Advantages of WordPress
• Freedom – There are a lot more design choices on WordPress. From themes to moving around the side bar and the header and footer, you can make a unique blog without too much technical knowledge.
• Ownership – You own your content. If you do something Google doesn’t like, it can still block you from showing up in searches but it can’t close you down.
• Working with brands – If you plan on monetizing your blog, self-hosting is the way to go. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with several brands whilst I was on Blogger, and it is possible to build up a successful income there, but it is much harder. A lot of the big brands won’t entertain working with you if you aren’t self-hosted. Whether this is because you don’t own the content or because they think paying to host your site means you are more serious I don’t know.
• Plugins – Before moving to WordPress, I believed it was more complicated than Blogger. The setup of the dashboard etc is a bit more complicated, but thanks to the plugins, everything else is simpler. Pretty much anything you want your blog to do can be done with a plugin. Simply Google whatever it is you want and you will get plugins recommended.
Disadvantages of WordPress
• The speed – WordPress is slow compared to Blogger. I don’t know if other people have found that to be the case, but I have. Everything seems to take longer to load or update etc. And writing posts has such a huge lag. I type around 60 words per minute (which I think is around average, maybe a bit below) so I’m not exactly Speedy Gonzales and I find myself constantly sitting waiting for the cursor to catch up. It’s so bad I have taken to writing my posts on Word and copy pasting them over.
• Everything is your responsibility – Blogger is powered by Google, so the chances of downtime are extremely remote to the point where I can’t imagine it would happen. If your site goes down or crashes when you are self-hosted, it is your responsibility to find out why and fix the problem. Also, there is no automatic back up, again it is your responsibility. I paid a little extra through my hosting platform to get back up, otherwise you need to manually back up your data.
• The dashboard – I find the dashboard is unnecessarily complicated. There is a lot on there that I just don’t need to see displayed every time I log in. This could just be a case of better the devil you know, but I really prefer the dashboard on Blogger.
• Cookies disclaimer – In recent months, the law about displaying cookies in the EU changed, meaning every blog (and website) must display their cookie policy. When this happened, Blogger automatically added this to every one of its blogs. Over here, that’s your responsibility. It isn’t difficult to do, there’s a fab plugin that allows you to choose how you want the message to read, what options people can click to accept, where the message displays and how frequently. The problem is that you could be breaking the law without even knowing it if you don’t put this in place.
Advantages of Blogger
• Easy – Blogger is so easy to set up and get started. It’s also really easy to navigate around and to add/remove widgets etc from the side bar.
• Free – Obviously a big advantage is that it’s free. There is nothing you can’t do here without spending money. For around 8 months I was on Blogger, I had a free site, free URL and free template. It worked. If you aren’t interested in monetizing, or massively into design, you can build a reasonable looking blog without spending a single penny.
• No worries – You don’t have to worry about downtime, storage space, back up, technical issues. You are in very good hand with Google and everything is done for you.
• Post layout – Blogger makes SEO really simple. There is an easy option to add alt text to images and H2 headings etc with no real knowledge of HTML required. It is also really easy to change fonts, text size etc. If you can use Word, you can use Blogger.
• Placing images – If you accidentally place an image in the wrong place, or you decide it would look better somewhere else, it is much easier to move it around the post on Blogger.
Disadvantages of Blogger
• Alignment isn’t always as you planned – Sometimes, you write a post, add images where you want them etc, and are really pleased with how the post looks. Then you hit publish, view the post and everything has moved. The images look weird and the text alignment is off. I never did work out why this happened to some posts and not others.
• Harder to make your own – There are limited templates available for free through Blogger. You can buy custom made ones, but I found no matter what template someone uses, somehow it makes no difference. You can still see straight away that this is a Blogger blog, even if you have your own URL. This might just be me, but at times I sort of felt like Blogger is a bit of a joke in the blogging world. I would find myself cringing when I had to put the “blogspot” part in my URL when talking to brands etc.
• Google owns your content – While your blog is still your intellectual property, Google has the power to shut you down. If you do something they don’t like, or write something that contravenes their policies, they will close your blog down, with no warning, and that’s it. All your hard work is gone. I don’t think it’s something they make a habit of doing, but it is still worth noting.
So there you have it.
Obviously, this is just what I have found having used both platforms, but it is worth taking into account some of the points before just going in blind like I did. Both platforms have their advantages and both have their limitations/disadvantages. Ultimately, I think the decision lies in exactly what you want from your blog and how unique you want to be able to make it look.
In my opinion, if you never want to monetize your blog, and you just blog for the love of it, Blogger is a great platform. If you want to take it to the next level and work with brands then WordPress is probably more for you. I just wish Blogger allowed you to self-host.
Overall, I quite like both platforms, for different reasons.
Which platform are you on? Have you/would you consider moving? Do prefer Blogger or WordPress? Let me know in the comments
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I totally love WordPress although I never used blogger. I’ve read a lot about both and like the one i’m using best!
I actually like both just for different reasons 🙂
That’s funny, I don’t notice a time lag when I type in wordpress. Perhaps I am just a really really slow typer. I use at least 4 fingers 😉
#bestandworst
I prefer WordPress (although I use Wix) as it has more freedom of design and I just think that aesthetically it looks more professional. However I have had to use blogger before and it is okay on a non-professional level.
I like WordPress for the way it looks, I love how you can tweak things and no two blogs are the same. I did enjoy my time on Blogger as well though, I think it’s an excellent start point.
I have always used Blogger and don’t have any intention to swap. I LOVE Blogger. I believe that ANY blog can look professional, regardless of what platform it uses. It’s more about content and engagement than the platform you’re using. I have had to learn various things about HTML and customising but I think that’s a good thing. I’ve never had any trouble with Blogger and like you said, they take care of hosting etc.
As long as you keep a back up of your blog, you can’t lose it, even if Google decide to shut you down. Which I can’t imagine they would do.
I haven’t used WordPress so don’t know about that side of things but I am very happy with my blog and where it’s going. I’m a Blogger girl all the way. 🙂
I really liked Blogger, I just wish they had an option to self host. I think you would have to do something pretty bad for them to shut you down, but I have heard stories about it happening to people, but whether or not they are true I don’t know.
That’s the main part really – if you are happy with your platform that’s all that really matters! 🙂
Google will take blogs down if they breach their t&cs – but so will any hosting service. I think the theory is that if you’re self hosted, it’s easier to start again. (TBH, if Google ever closed me down, I’d take it as a sign from the universe it was time to shut up!)
The platform doesn’t seem to matter to brands – as there are loads of monetised blogs on blogger. All brands seem to care about is the size of your audience and they prefer a custom URL as that gives you DA etc.
Like Morgan, I ain’t shifting. 🙂
I would never tell anyone they should move if they are happy where they are! As you know, I loved (and secretly sort of still do!) Blogger, it just felt like the right time for me to self host.
I’m probably a bit paranoid about the Google shutting you down thing, but I have heard of it happening, although I don’t know what the person had done to get shut down.
I know a lot of bloggers do make money on Blogger, but I have read (from bloggers way more experienced than I am) that a lot of the big brands only want to work with self hosted blogs, or maybe I misunderstood and they just meant the personal URL.
I always enjoy your blog and I will still be reading it wherever it happens to live 🙂
I started on Blogger and moved to WordPress. I prefer it. I didn’t know about the cookies policy though and better look into doing that with mine. I’m now self hosted which I like too #BrilliantBlogPosts
Google EU cookie plugin and it will bring it up for you 🙂 I am too, that’s the main reason I wanted to move and I like being self hosted better.
I am glad that I came across this post about the pros and cons with blogging platforms. It always interests me.
For me I love Blogger, yes I do have blog spot in my URL but Blogger is a straightforward platform and I don’t think I would jump ship.
Now with WordPress it can seem too complicated but blogs can look so different from the next one. So I guess it’s each to their own and what works best for them really!!!
On any platform you can make your blog look professional and get involved with some great PR work. But for me I think it’s a case of your content and your engagement rather than the platform.
I really did enjoy my time on Blogger, I just wish I had been able to go self hosted there! I am also loving WordPress too, it’s not as complicated as I feared but I think if I had started here without the experience of Blogger first I might have thought it was too complicated.
Yes, I agree, the main thing is that you are happy there and it works for you.
I do think content and engagement are priorities for brands, but from what I have learned along the way (from bloggers much more experienced than me) is that a lot of big brands won’t work with bloggers that aren’t self hosted.
I’m with Blogger – the main reason is that I prefer the dashboard, and some of the basic themes are very similar to my previous favourite blogging platform (Livejournal). If I hadn’t blogged before my choice might have been different. 🙂 #binkylinky
I like the dashboard on Blogger, I liked how I could access everything relatively easy, mostly from one place!
I am currently still hosting on blogger but I have always planned to make switch to wordpress eventually. I love how I can still have my own domain name and you are so right in that blogger is so easy to use. I love it – but the fact i don’t completely own it myself does bother me. Maybe in a years time ill be on wordpress but for now I am happy #binkylinky
Funnily enough, when I first started seeing posts about being self hosted, I always thought it was something I would never consider, and yet here I am! I do think having your own domain name makes a bit of a difference, maybe I should have just done that, but I thought all or nothing and if I hadn’t done it when I did I don’t think I ever would have. Being happy where you are is the most important part 🙂
I miss Blogger as you are right WordPress can be so slow!! Replying to comments is the worst! But I do like the freedom and plugins. Saying that if I change it again I’m buying a template and getting someone to put it on for me!! Love your new look X #binkylinky
Yes, replying to comments is so much easier on Blogger! I like the freedom and just the thought of knowing this really is my little corner now, not just Google’s corner that I happen to be sitting in 🙂 Thank you, glad you like it! x
When I first decided to start a blog I googled something like ‘start a blog’ and came across blogger. I didn’t even know wordpress existed! Thanks for linking up to the #BinkyLinky
Yeah, that’s pretty much how it was for me too! Thanks for hosting 🙂
I’m with blogger and love it don’t really know anything about WordPress great post thanks for linking to the Binkylinky
I loved my time on Blogger too 🙂 Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst Debbie! xx
You’re welcome, thank you for hosting 🙂 x