The million dollar question for many new bloggers is which one is better – WordPress or Blogger? The answer to that question is nearly impossible unless you look at the situation and consider all angles. The best platform is the one that fits your unique goals and style. Still, both do have advantages and disadvantages. Here is a simple look at the pros and cons of each profile so that you can make an informed decision:
Blogger
The good stuff:
– It costs you nothing – This is awesome if you have no money to work with at first. You literally can set up and start within minutes and be blogging your heart out.
– Even the beginners will be able to use it quickly – There is nothing easy about blogging, but Blogger makes the tools easy. If you are easily intimidated, Blogger can make you comfortable.
– You can design or have designs done cheaply or free – Most people are able to “build” their Blogger blog for free. If you are not comfortable with that, however, you can find countless templates out there for a very reasonable price.
– You already have it if you have a gmail account – Blogger is tied in with Google, so you already have it ready to go if you have a Gmail account.
The not so good stuff:
– Advanced designs can be a pain – Trying to work with the limited design options is a pain in the butt.
– Stats are often messed up and inaccurate – Blogger is notorious for having the counts wrong. There are things you can do to fix this, but most beginners won’t know that.
– They all “look the same” – You can identify the vast majority of blogs on this platform by the header at the top. This is a huge turnoff for some readers.
– Limitations on photo storage – You only get 1 GB.
– Less “respect” from potential readers – Not having your own domain is frowned upon and Blogger blogs are often not taken seriously within individual industries. (fair or not)
WordPress.org
The good stuff:
– Tons of image space – You never will run out.
– Total “respect” from readers – The problems with respect are null and void with WordPress. If you don’t say anything, they won’t know what you have.
– Total control…over everything – What ads are displayed, how much header space there is and even how much of the page is dedicated to flowers is all under your control. You control everything about it.
– Plenty of great and affordable templates and designs out there – Self explanatory
– Super easy to use platform – Just like Blogger, WordPress is extremely easy to use as far as posting.
– Visually appealing – The blogs and various designs are some of the best looking ones out there. Because you can play around with it, you might even come up with some pretty awesome looks yourself.
– Plug ins (apps that can make your life easier) – To me this is the big difference. Plug ins take you to a new level with blogging.
The not so good stuff:
– You have to pay for hosting – Paying for anything stinks, but it is not all that bad.
– You may have to pay for designers – Ditto.
– Some things are tougher than on free platforms – The free platforms are set up so that you really can’t mess them up all that badly. WordPress. org can be messed up for sure.
– Learning curve is higher – When you first get started, you will need to study a bit and find folks to help you out. It takes some getting used to, but most people figure it out quickly.
Given this information, the clear winner to me is WordPress.org, although there are certain situations where I would go with Blogger. If you are brand new to blogging, have a very limited budget or simply are intimidated by all things HTML, then Blogger might be better. Otherwise, WordPress.org gives you all the power and tricks that bloggers demand. I knew from the begining that I wanted to go in “all or nothing”, so I went with WordPress from the beginning.
What blogging platform did you choose and why?