Blogger or WordPress?- Blogging 101- Day 2

Moving on into Day 2 of our Blogging 101 series!

Yesterday I covered some basic yet serious explanation of what you should expect from blogging. I briefly mentioned the importance of having a passion for blogging. I hope, for your sake, you took me seriously. I am not a fan of wasting time, I bet you aren’t either. If you are not sure what to write about- then wait to start a blog until you have found your passion!

Know what you want to blog about?

Then today is the day you make a very important decision. Where to begin!?

There are many venues you can use for your blog, you have probably heard of them- Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr and more…
You and I do not have time to cover all of your options. Therefore, I am going to discuss the two major choices most bloggers choose and what I suggest.

Blogger or WordPress.org? 

I began my blog on blogger and then 6 months later moved to WordPress.org. If I could do it all over again, I would without a doubt start off at WordPress.org. What’s the difference between blogger and WordPress?

Blogger AKA Blogspot:

Pros
Blogger is a completely free choice.
A pretty basic and simple to use blogging platform.
Can place ads like adsense on your blog to earn money.
Many free design templates you can choose from for a variety of looks.

Cons
Blogger owns your site- they can shut you down without any warning or explanation (it has happened to people I know)
It is a struggle to appear in search engines when you use Blogger’s free domain name
You are limited to what you can do with your blog
Blogger blogs are often not taken very serious, depending on your niche, it can make or break you!

WordPress.org (Not to be mistaken for WordPress.com)

Pros
You have full control over your blog
You own your blog- no one can just shut you down!
Done right, you can have a very professional blog- increasing respect and/or sales
99% of all successful blogs are on WordPress!!! (note: statistics may be made up on the spot)
There are thousands of  ‘plugins’ that help you do whatever you want with your blog

Cons
Much more difficult to understand than blogger.
You will need to buy a domain name (averages about $13 a year)
You will be required to buy hosting services (around $7-10 a month)
While there are plenty of free design and layout themes, many find the need to purchase higher quality themes that can range from an average of $20 to over $100.

 

So as I said earlier, if I could start over I would have started at WordPress. But when I began I did not know what I was doing, I did not know my blog would become more than a hobby. Starting on blogger gave me the opportunity to learn more about blogging and understand it before going to a more advanced WordPress blog.

If you are new to blogging, feel in over your head and/or not sure where your blog will end up. Then I do think starting at blogger may be a good choice. You may later choose to move to WordPress and yes it will be a pain but why pull money out of your pocket and buy the car without test driving it first? Blogger is a good way to ‘test drive’ blogging before making any investments.

If you are confident and know you are ready to begin an online business with your blog, then skip the baby step and get started on WordPress.org.

 

Tomorrow we will discuss the art of choosing a domain name.

I will also soon be walking you through the steps of starting a blog on both Blogger and WordPress in days ahead. So, wait on me to get started!

 

Related Posts:

• Starting your Blogger Blog in 5 Simple Steps!
• How to Add your Domain Name to Blogger- Blogging 101 Series
• Track Traffic with Google Analytics- Blogging 101
• Blogging 101- Day 1
• The How to Make Money Blogging Guide