Blogger vs. WordPress....Is WordPress really better? And how hard is it to switch after you've started at Blogger?

[Emily Ludlow]

Hello supportive book blogger friends!  If there's already a discussion on this, please let me know.  I couldn't find one, so I thought I'd start my own.

I began my book blog in Blogger because it was what I already knew (I had a personal blog there) and it seemed super easy to use.  I've begun having issues w/formatting my posts to look the way I want and I've heard from a couple friends that WordPress is supposed to be so many times better in so many different ways.  Is it?

In your opinion, is WordPress a better platform and is it easy to use?  Have any of you switched over from using Blogger to using WordPress?  I currently have a domain name, but it just forwards to my "blogspot" address and people are mostly following my blog using that "blogspot" address.  I'm guessing I'll have to start all over / get my current followers to "follow" me again if I decide to make the switch.  I'm still under 100 followers, so maybe it wouldn't be a HUGE deal....

Any thoughts?  Anyone know if I'll still be able to use the "google friend connect" public follow option while using WordPress?

Thanks, in advance, for any help!!
-Emily (Super Reader Girl Reviews)

[The Girl from the Ghetto]

I started off with both a Wordpress and Blogger account, and dropped my Blogger account within a month. I can not stand all of the hoops you have to go through to post a comment on a Blogger account, and to be honest, most of the time I won't even read or comment on any Blogger blogs because of it. I just find it is easier to connect with people on Wordpress.

Wordpress suited my needs better overall, but the downside for you may be that you can't use google friend connect, and most badges won't work in Wordpress widget boxes, including the one for Book Blogs.

[Emily Ludlow]

Thank you for the feedback! I think I would miss the easy "friend connect" and use of badges. As far as the hoops for commenting, I think you can turn those off. So far as I know, my blog currently allows people to comment w/out having a blogger account and w/out typing in a confirmation code. Still wordpress may be better. Blogger seems buggy where layout is concerned....

[Enbrethiliel]

+JMJ+

I know someone who used Blogger for years and didn't have any issues with it, but switched to Wordpress because he was bored with the limited selection of templates on Blogger.

[steph t-d]

in Blogging for Dummies new edition, they they say it is the other way - . Plus no 3rd party widgets in wp. I haven't had issues with Blooger but would like to be able to reply directly to a comment.

[Book Calendar]

Wordpress charges extra to put videos on blogs.

[Miss Giggles]

Really? What kind of videos? Because I've put videos on my wordpress blogs. I've also never paid wordpress anything so I'm not sure what extra they'd be charging.

[Anna Moore]

Wordpress.com charges extra - if you get a host for your WP blog and install it on your host (which you can get for as little as $4/mo) then you have no fees to use Wordpress at all. Wordpress is completely free as long as you're hosting it on your own!

[Emily Ludlow]

Thank you Ebrethiliel & Book Calendar for your feedback!

So far the main benefit to WordPress sounds like the variety of templates offered. I've seen people create great things with Blogger as well, designing their own backgrounds, formatting with 3 columns, I just haven't figured out how to do it myself yet. Any other strong "pros" to WordPress vs. Blogger?

[Skip O'Neal]

Emily-

I use blogger and it so far has been flexible. The key has been to use Blogger in Draft, which features a bunch of beta features (such as three column blogs). Go to draft.blogger.com and take a tour of what's available. I was thinking about choosing wordpress but these features kept me in the googleplex.

Skip

The Reading Ape

[Connie Ray]

Thanks for the tip about draft.blogger.com! I just used it to totally redesign my page in 10 minutes, and I love it!

www.thebluebookcase.blogspot.com

[Shesten @ I Heart Monster]

Also, there are a lot of hacks out there that you can add straight into Blogger to make it do the things you want it to do... Wordpress too, but you'd have to upgrade your account before you could do them... and upgrading costs $$. I use Blogger and a lot of people are surprised to find out that I'm not a Wordpress blog.

[Cait]

I'm currently on a Wordpress blog right now and I love it. It's true you can't use google friend connect, or in fact anything using javascript (unless you self-host over on wordpress.org instead of wordpress.com), but you can post videos no problem (I imbed right into posts - no money, no fuss), and there are some great templates.

It does cost money if you want to fiddle with the CSS of your template, but you can easily find customizable templates that don't require it to get the look you want. Commenting is really easy, the dashboard is a snap to navigate and wordpress offers domain mapping. I've also got a blogger account, and I just find wordpress a lot easier to navigate.