Which blog site to use?

[cheesedip1]

I'm thinking of blogging at either wordpress or blogger.com

Advantages / disadvantages of both?

[Agota]

USE WORDPRESS!

Wordpress is the best platform for blogging, with loads and loads of free plug-ins, themes and so on.

[Kaie]

Another vote for WP!!

[Sandstone]

I use Blogger and I really enjoy it. EVERYONE on here talks very highly of WP and I have thought several times of switching over. I have yet to hear someone say to use Blogger instead of going with WP. I guess ignorance is bliss. I have never used WP so I don't know what I'm missing. Just remember: use Wordpress.org instead of Wordpress.com. Two very, very different things!

[CoolBee]

I've used both and personally I found blogger much more simple to use.

Also, I think if you are planning to monetize your blog then wordpress place some limits on what you can do if you are just using the free site?

[Kaie]

Yes, I forgot to mention, if you use wp.com, you can't add plug ins, which means you can't monetize by accepting donations or payments of any kind.

If you want to be self hosted with wp.org, it is fun to play around with all of the plug ins, and there are many more opportunities to monetize. I had to have help though setting up my self hosted sites, but that is just me

Many people find Blogger more simple, and you can add paypal plug ins.

[just jr]

wp if if you are paying if u want to monetize

[itybiz com]

I definitely agree that Wordpress offers more possibilities in terms of themes and plugins to customize it.

You didn't mention whether you were looking at hosting Wordpress yourself or whether you were planning on using the site's own hosting. The strength of Wordpress is in the ability to expand and customize it on your own server, but if you're looking for an easy online solution then either Blogger or Wordpress running on their own site would work well for you.

What about creating an account on both and see how you feel about entering posts?

Steve

[nishu]

wordpress is better option than other so go for it...........

[mainstreetcm]

A self-hosted Wordpress blog is a much better option.

In terms of blogger, you will find that you are at the mercy of an editor (or an angry competitor who clicks the spam button). There are countless stories of someone's blog literally disappearing overnight, never to be seen of again.

Self-hosted wordpress is the way to go and will be for the foreseeable future.

[chadcharlie]

I LOVE, love, love Squarespace! Been with them since 2007, they are little know, highly under rated, but feature rich, have fantastic tech/customer support and are incredibly versatile! Unless you are ready to crack your knuckles and dive into your own CSS and XHTML, or ready to pay a freelancer, check out Squarespace. They take care of everything but the content generation.

Definitely full service publishing.

Good luck! Definitely blog though
R/
Chad.

[CoolBee]

Originally Posted by mainstreetcm

A self-hosted Wordpress blog is a much better option.

In terms of blogger, you will find that you are at the mercy of an editor (or an angry competitor who clicks the spam button). There are countless stories of someone's blog literally disappearing overnight, never to be seen of again.

Self-hosted wordpress is the way to go and will be for the foreseeable future.

On that note, whatever service you use for any web site activities, blogs or not, KEEP A BACKUP. I have known several hosts go down the pan overnight with no warning taking everything with them. One reason I always keep domain name registration separate from hosting, you can always knock up a free blog somewhere as a temporary page and repoint your domain name should the need arise - much harder to do if you are registered with and hosted by a vanished service.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by cheesedip1

I'm thinking of blogging at either wordpress or blogger.com

Wordpress.com doesn't let you customise your blog in any meaningful way. You can't add stuff, and you can't even redirect your RSS feed to Feedburner.

If you were talking about your own web space, I'd say Wordpress, but I definitely do NOT recommend using a Wordpress.com hosted blog. For hosted blogs, I certainly recommend (and use) Blogger.

[Beingist]

Originally Posted by butterflywoman

for hosted blogs, i certainly recommend (and use) blogger.

+1

[Justin Mazza]

WordPress is best!

[Mused]

Self hosted Wordpress is the way to go

[tractions]

I second a self-hosted wordpress setup but I understand that if techy stuff really scares you, then blogger is also useful.

Having said that, you could always engage the services of a freelancer to do all the technical bits to wordpress.

[GregD]

Hi I have a lot of experience with this.

Blogger, Tumblr
ADV: are very easy to blog in and do not require any IT knowledge.
DISADV: the site does not belong to you and, in theory, can be deleted. Also if you develop further and want to create more nice/fancy things you will be limited in what you can do.

Weebly
Similar to above but it can be moody so I think requires more IT skill, but, in return, gives more customisation abilities.

Wordpress installed on your own hosting/server/domain
ADV: site belongs to you. Nobody can shut it down or give you warnings or set any restrictions on you. As it belongs to you, you also have full ability for customisation limited only by your IT skills.
DISADV: need some IT skill or read guides slowly and carefully to set it up. For basic blogging no more is needed, but if you want to make a proper awesome blog you will need to tune up your IT skills.

Dreamweaver, HTML editor
ADV: all 100% in your hands
DISADV: highest requirement in time and IT skill

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by GregD

Wordpress installed on your own hosting/server/domain
ADV: site belongs to you. Nobody can shut it down or give you warnings or set any restrictions on you.

I hate to be pedantic, and under normal circumstances this is the case, but a web host most certainly CAN shut you down in various circumstances. If you violate their TOS or you don't pay your bill, for example, they'll shut you down. In the latter case, it's fairly easy to regain your access (just pay the bill ), but if you've violated TOS (or they think you have), you may be out of luck.

I've also seen plenty of web hosts just suddenly shut down for all kind of reasons, sometimes ones beyond their control. In a case like that, everyone's out of luck, possibly indefinitely.

Which is why, of course, you should make regular backups and download them or have them emailed to you, etc. (there are Wordpress plugins that can do that).

[Eisho]

Originally Posted by cheesedip1

I'm thinking of blogging at either wordpress or blogger.com

Advantages / disadvantages of both?

Site Build It (SBI) is on the verge of making some serious changes to its platform...I don't know if they will be useful or not for blogging, but you may want to be patient for a little while and check out what they come up with (before Xmas?).

Cheers,

Eisho

[GregD]

>> ButterflyWoman

Hi, I think you are missing the point. A web host is a company and as such has, as you said, a TOS and can for example go bankrupt. However, as you own your domain name and you own all the files then you have the power, in a matter of few hours even to move the location of your files to another web host. Nobody can shut you down for the simple reason that you are the owner.

In the case of free blogging platforms like Blogger and similar, they can literally delete your blog and you can not move it or restore it and most importantly you can not recover the domain name.

[chadcharlie]

Originally Posted by Eisho

Site Build It (SBI) is on the verge of making some serious changes to its platform...I don't know if they will be useful or not for blogging, but you may want to be patient for a little while and check out what they come up with (before Xmas?).

Cheers,

Eisho

ALLLLL of this is solved with Squarespace. Ecko uses them, and a number of other high profile companies now. I've been with them for 7 years, I migrated to them when I wanted to focus more on my creative publishing, and less on de-bugging my CSS and XHTML, ect. They are the perfect compromise between not knowing how to fully customize your own personally hosted WP blog, to not wanting to look like you're on Blogger or Wordpress.com

Look at their samples, from there it's a no-brainer.

I host my business site on there, and my personal blog. Both with very different purposes, needs, and requirements. ALL with the same customization.

IF Site Build It one day changes their platform, I might vote for them occasionally, BUT Squarespace is years ahead of them, and any money-making strats that SBI teaches you, you can learn on your own...even from this forum.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by GregD

Hi, I think you are missing the point.

I love how people say that when you've just brought up something they didn't mention.

I got your point. I'm just saying that you can't state that if you host your blog on a paid host you can't be shut down, that's all.

Originally Posted by GregD

A web host is a company and as such has, as you said, a TOS and can for example go bankrupt. However, as you own your domain name and you own all the files then you have the power, in a matter of few hours even to move the location of your files to another web host. Nobody can shut you down for the simple reason that you are the owner.

I own multiple domains, have done since 1998. Worked in IT that long, too. I'm well aware. I understand that you're just making sure others reading this thread are also aware, of course.

Originally Posted by GregD

In the case of free blogging platforms like Blogger and similar, they can literally delete your blog and you can not move it or restore it and most importantly you can not recover the domain name.

Yes, I understand that, too, and never suggested otherwise.

The OP specifically asked about blogging ON Wordpress versus blogging on Blogger. There was no mention of self-hosting, and I answered accordingly, and then just wanted potentially neophyte bloggers to know that even a self-hosted blog doesn't guarantee you anything as far as being shut down or losing your content.

Okay now? Can I buy you a coffee?

[GregD]

Hi ButterflyWoman, nobody is perfect most important for me is I think we have given a good and complete answer to cheesedip1's original queston.

Best of luck to everyone.

[Humancure]

Wordpress all the way! Be it the free one, or the free-self-hosted one...