Why Switch from Blogger to WordPress?

Great question! Teri Blaschke from Hidden Valley RV Park in San Antonio, TX asked me that very question over on Google+. My first instinct was to say – “Just because!” or “It was time for a new look.” Blogger has been part of my life since 2008. For the past 4 1/2 years, Blogger has been my choice of blogging tools.

Image borrowed from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224441/Blogging_service_shootout_Blogger_vs._WordPress

For a more comprehensive answer to the question, I decided to google “Blogger vs WordPress.” As expected, google returned way too many results (over 60k).

The first link was from an article written by Preston Gall in March 2012 published on ComputerWord titled Blogging Service Shootout Blogger vs. WordPress. You can read the article by clicking here.

After a brief introduction, Preston compares/contrasts Blogger and WordPress in the six areas listed below.

• Setup
• Adding Content
• Social Networking
• Site Management
• Traffic Management
• Extra features/Power Tools
• Support and community

Preston’s conclusion is pretty accurate – Blogger is free, much simpler to set up and easier to use. Blogger blog is hosted by Google.

WordPress is more complex, has stronger social networking integration and offers more powerful customization features, some with minimal annual fees. WordPress comes in two flavors – WordPress.com provides an on-line user interface meaning there is no requirement to download any software to you computer. Your blog is hosted by WordPress at no cost. WordPress.org provides full feature off-line application that is downloaded to your computer. Your blog is then uploaded to a web host of your choosing.

For a different perspective, I found an article written by Paul Santosh and published on Hell Bound Bloggers in December 2011. Click here for that article.

His article briefly discusses three points that he feels makes Blogger a stronger platform than WordPress.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Google owns Blogger and is the premier search engine on the internet.  The conclusion is that Blogger blogs are at an advantage when using Google search engine.

• FREE – This is true. There are no costs associated with managing a blog in Blogger. Using WordPress, I have to pay to map my domain to WordPress and I have to pay to customize a free third-party theme.
• Monitizing – AdSense is Google’s pay-per-click monitizing program. It is a snap to add that on blogger. I’ve not yet added any pay-per-click monitizing program to our WordPress site. I signed up for AdSense in May 2010. Since then, our blog has generated 10,288 page views and 17 ad clicks. This resulted in a net income of $11.23. (Summary chart provided below.) The sites that make good money using Google AdSense have a lots of followers, which results in more ad clicks.

Paul’s article tends to defend Blogger not by saying why it is superior but by saying it is on par with WordPress. Blogger and WordPress both provide domain names such as waggintailsrv.blogspot.com or waggintailsrv.wordpress.com. Since I own the domain waggintailsrv.com, I can map that name to the blogger (free) or WordPress (Small Fee) name.

I write my blog entries using Apple Pages, then copy pasted them into the WordPress post editor. Apple Pages is equivalent to Microsoft Word. Many folks in the PC world use Microsoft LiveWriter. Before I bought my MacBook Pro, I also used LiveWriter. Mars Edit seems to be the blog editor of choice for Mac users. Microsoft is retiring LiveWriter ahead of Windows 8 launch

One final note. I was able to port my Blogger post to WordPress easily.  I do need to update the some blog links in previous posts. So far I am please with my decision.

So, back to the question Terri asked me. Why did I switch? I was ready for a new look and wanted a bit more control over the look and feel of our blog. I hope you like the new look.

Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.

 

Basic Instructions

I decided to move our blog from Google Blogger to WordPress. It took me a few days of tinkering but I believe all the hooks are in place for the blog to be operational and I did not loose my email in the process.  Without getting technical, let’s just say I had to get all the components talking to each other.

I like WordPress as a blogging tool. Google Blogger is a good product. I just always liked WordPress better. The user interface on WordPress has improved greatly. So let me give you a little tour.

Across the top of the page, you will see these links.

Home – click here to return to the starting page

Contact Us – click this to leave us a private message.

Places We’ve Stayed – click this to see the RV parks and other locations we’ve parked. I have plans to expand this section that tells a story about each place.

Who We Are – click this for our bio.

The column on the far right contains a list of blogs I follow. Towards the bottom is a link to our Blogger site where our previous blog posts reside.

At the top of the column on the near right are two options for following our blog.

Follow Us Via RSS (Real Simple Syndication) can be used if you use a blog reader, outlook, or other software that allows you to receive news feeds.

Follow Blog Via Email can be used to receive an email from us when our blog is updated. Options are also available to receive notifications when comments are submitted.

There is also a Follow Me button on the bottom right corner of the display that you can use as well.

Finally, at the bottom of the blog entry, there are options buttons for sharing this blog post on Google+, Twitter, FaceBook, LinkIn, Email, and Print.

So, there you have it – a short introduction to our new blog. Comments are appreciated.

Ya’ll come back now.