Hi everybody, I trust you all had splendid weekends? If you are Italian, congratulations, if you are a Brit, commiserations. If you couldn't care less about football or come from somewhere you call it soccer, then please ignore all this!
Anyway I have one big question today...
Blogger or Wordpress?
Please bare in mind I'm useless with computers so I need simplicity. As much as I love the look of many Wordpress sites, is it harder to use?
And if I don't have the design skills of say Sati at Cinematic Corner, then should I just forget a good looking blog?
Does anyone know the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Will I lose traffic by switching? Will you stick with me?
Should I change my bloody silly simple name while I'm at it?
Are there downsides to Wordpress?
How do most people subscribe to blogs? I do by email but I'm sure there are other better ways like RSS and all that sort of stuff?
Sorry that's a lot of questions. Please feel free to answer any you can! Your advice is appreciated! Have a nice week!
I don't use Blogger or Wordpress so I can't help you there...
ReplyDeleteI would stick with you, Pete!
You should love your name so if you want to change that, go ahead...
I subscribe to blogs I read primarily through Bloglovin', I don't like to do it through email. Bloglovin' is great for keeping updates of all the blogs you follow in one place...
aaaah thanks Shala! I do love my name because the point of this blog was to spread love but I don't know, maybe it's not very clever!
DeleteWill have to look into this bloglovin thing, thanks for the tip!
I use Wordpress and I love it so far. It's easy to use and most of all, the commenting system seems to work better than Blogger, at least the ones I've encountered.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog name is great, Pete, and as for design, there are a lot of attractive templates out there, though of course it helps to have Sati's design sense, ahah.
I actually don't subscribe to blogs, I prefer to manually go through my blogroll and visit instead of being bombarded by notifications on my email.
Hmmm yeah I do find it a bit stressful having so may email notifications all the time but on the other hand, I can't bear to miss posts!
DeleteBut perhaps I should try that. I'm not even sure I have a proper blogroll. It's going to be about 100 blogs long probably!
Yeah I know, I'm actually thinking of moving my BlogRoll to a page instead of on the sidebar.
DeleteIt's nice on the sidebar though!
DeleteIt's nice seeing all those cool blogs in the sidebar though!
DeleteThank you for mention! I think design sense though is more of 'let's make this picture more pretty thing :)
DeleteI can't say which one is better since I only used blogger, but I like it. I wish there was more options available when it comes to placing certain elements on the page so I wouldn't need to create the code myself, but I think it's a good site, easy to navigate and there are a lot of tips online how to improve one's blog.
Cool I'll do some research and hopefully be able to come up with something a bit prettier!
DeleteIf you were using a custom domain name I think its quite easy to migrate from blogger to wordpress without losing any post, comments, and maintain traffic. Since you're still using the blogspot domain its trickier. Just google "migrating form blogger to wordpress". I subscribe to blogs either through the Google connect gadget at the blogs or by adding the url to the reading list at blogger (its at the main page).
ReplyDeleteWill do Asrap, thanks! Might look into that Google connect thingy too.
Deletea football fan, nice! I'm rooting for Portugal of course, but I was sad to see England go. Their style is quite different from ours, so it always makes for an interesting match. Anyway, here's hoping we win over Spain. But enough of sports!
ReplyDeleteI once tried wordpress but ended up going back to blogger, because of design issues. Perhaps I didn't devote much time exploring the possibilities of wordpress, but it seemed like blogger provided more freedom to customise themes, and better base themes to do it. But if you don't want to do much design, than wordpress is probably good for you because their themes are quite complete. Also, there's a couple of great widgets that I'd like to have on my blog but can't, because they're only available for wordpress.
As for following I do what asrap virtuoso up here does, I add the url to my blogger reading list. Either way, I'll follow you wherever you go. I'd do some more research about the subject, though.
haha not really a big football fan but couldn't help getting swept up in it all with all the facebook and twitter updates and all the flags everywhere! Good luck to Portugal!
DeleteThat does sound like Wordpress might be the way forward for me as I don't spend any time on design (much like my general appearance! Yeah sounds like I need to look into it a bit more! Thanks for the advice!
As someone who's easily bewildered by computers, I find Blogger fairly easy to use (I won't speak for Wordpress, though, but I imagine it's not too difficult to use either). As you probably know, following blogs with Blogger is also pretty easy -- I like to add links in the dashboard, but I don't follow by email -- as is making a nice layout.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, in my personal experience I've had trouble commenting on blogs that use WordPress -- and as I understand it, the same holds true for WordPress users commenting on Blogger-powered sites. I think it's a problem that can be solved if you switch to the commenting system provided free (the magic word!) by Disqus, and I think you can install it onto your site whether you stay here or cross over.
Personally, I think that since you've already got something going on Blogger, you might as well stick with it. Go with what you know...you know?
Hmmm thanks for the advice! Yeah I like that Disqus thing. I will look into getting that. Decisions, decisions! Not going to rush into anything so will keep checking out the options!
DeleteI admit, I'm not Blogger's biggest fan. As a blogger and visitor of many blogs, I just find Blogger blogs incredibly hard to comment on. You have to jump through so many hoops! Aside from that, I have no experience of Blogger. I used it over 10 years ago, but I think it has changed since then!
ReplyDeleteWordPress - I love. I have my own self-hosted blog, but all the people who are hosted with WordPress love it. It's incredibly easy to use and there are countless free themes you can use.
What I'd do if I were you is go set up at WordPress and keep this blog with one post here redirecting people over to WordPress. Keep that up here as long as Blogger will allow. I'm sure people will follow.
I subscribe to blogs and read most of them in my google reader. Best way to go.
Hmm that sounds like very good advice and kind of what I was thinking of doing. Want to trial Wordpress before commiting.
DeleteSo Google Reader will let you have all your blogs, (Blogger and Wordpress and self-hosted) all in one place?
That's the fault of the blog owner rather than blogger. They set the settings for comments, etc.
DeleteI need to figure out how many hoops all you lovely commenters are having to jump through then.
DeleteI completely agree with Jaina. I greatly prefer Wordpress simply because it is much, much easier to use their comment system. They also have a good amount of templates and widgets to use.
DeleteI also use Google Reader to keep track of the blogs I follow. All you have to do is go to a blog and subscribe to their RSS feed, and then every new post they make will show up in your reader. You can organize your bookmarks and save some posts to read later if you like. It's very handy, and I can't recommend it enough!
Thanks Eric, great advice. Just as I think I'll try sticking with Blogger, I get another glowing recommendation for Wordpress. Tricky deicsion!
DeleteI use GoogleReader to keep all my RSS feeds from blogs in the same place. It's the easiest way for me to know which blogs have been updated. It's a free application once you have a google account.
DeleteThanks again Max, am definitely going to give Google Reader a try!
DeleteI have everything in my Google Reader. Blogs, magazines, websites, everything. I let Google control my life!
DeleteNice, definitely going to give it a try!
DeleteWordPress is massively overrated and its alleged superiority is a myth!
ReplyDeleteI've tried both and Blogger is far superior in every respect, hell WordPress only has ONE text font!
Stick with Blogger Pete or you'll be journeying into a Blogging graveyard.
Thanks for the advice! An interesting and vaguely controversial viewpoint!
DeleteTechnically you *can* change fonts in Wordpress, though I think they charge an annual fee to do so.
DeleteOf course, if you go self-hosted, you can do anything you want for free (aside from the web hosting fees).
Thanks again Eric. Don't want to be paying anything but not too bothered about fonts anyway.
DeleteJack! Nice to see you around, hope you are doing good.
DeletePete, as far as free platforms go Blogger gives you far more freedom in customizing things. Wordpress might actually be easier to use for non technical people, but it is very limited with what you can add or change design wise. Unless you go self hosted, then you can do whatever you want, but the trade off is you have to pay to keep your blog up, and also worry about stuff like bandwidth and security.
Also I believe Google gives preferential treatment to Blogger blogs in their results, so that's something to think about.
I've become somewhat of a Blogger expert from tinkering with my own blog, so if there's anything specific you need help with implementing on here, feel free to ask.
That's really useful BT, thanks for the advice! Think I will certainly stick with Blogger for awhile, Definitely might have a few questions for you though so thanks very much for the offer!
DeleteI honestly think both platforms have their benefits matey. FRC is on a self hosted site with wordpress installed. It is very flexible and easy to work around, but I miss out on the community of having a free wordpress or blogger site.
ReplyDeleteI can help you with WP and plug ins if you make the switch!!
Sorry for my absence since Wednesday, I have been on a little holiday!!
Back now.
Glad to hear you get a holiday Scott! You were missed! Thanks for the offer and advice. I'm not going to rush into anything so will continue investigating!
DeleteI guess I missed the opportunity to get traffic bumps from Wordpress or Blogger by having my own hosted site, but people take me more seriously.
DeleteMax you think people take your site more seriously for not being self-hosted? This is an interesting point I haven't yet heard.
DeletePeople don't take me seriously!! :-)
Deletehaha me neither Scott! I feel your pain.
DeleteI think it comes down to your personality/what you're most comfortable with. I love WP interface and system, but I have to agree that Blogger is easier to use (or maybe because I'm self-hosted WP so I did things from zero). But, knowledge on html code and script is helpful (maybe you have a friend who knows this?)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, your name site is already good so don't think you should change it.
Thank you Andina. I do like the name and want to stick with it but was thinking it might be better to think of something cleverer!
DeleteI have no knowledge about html code or script so if blooger is the easier to use, perhaps I should stick with it. No decision yet but appreciating all this advice!
Add me as a +1 towards Wordpress. The backend of my website is built upon the Wordpress framework and I find it very easy to use. If your hosting your own website like I am, you can get custom themes that are easy to manipulate and customize. I don't have too much experience with Blogger, so I can't really add much to that discussion.
ReplyDeleteThanks Max I don't even understand what 'hosting' your own website means exactly so I'm going to have to do a lot more research!
DeleteHosting means that I own the internet domain name (impassionedcinema). I can get email addresses like (soandso@impassionedcinema.com). I also pay a web hosting service like HostGator a fee yearly.
DeleteThere's a give and take, but I think that people see my site as a website as opposed to a blog and there's a big difference in the two.
Oh nice! I see what you mean, a film site does sound much better than a film blog I guess. So now I'm wondering about these fees? I guess as long as you can make the fee back through advertising then it all makes sense?
DeleteYeah or Press passes. I haven't made any money yet from advertising. I'm sure the only sites in the LAMB network that do are sites like Flixchatter or Anomalous Material.
DeleteAdvertises want your site to get a lot of unique visitors, so if your only getting 500 hits a day that's not quite enough.
The fees for me yearly would be probably something under $100. It depends how much funds your willing to put into it I suppose.
No I'm sure it will be a long time till I can give up the day job haha! I would love to be able to get press passes though. Thanks so much for all this advice Max, really helpful!
Deleteadd me to "Team Wordpress" as well. Easier for people to leave comments, I like the look of it and the use of themes, the ability to follow comment threads, and more.
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with blogging on Blogspot, but It is a lot harder to interact with when visiting other's pages and always having to enter the annoying captcha. (my opinion)
This is getting me worried! How hard is it to comment on my blog? I can't say I've noticed it being that difficult to comment on other people's blogspots. Is it just the captcha thing or is there more to it than that?
DeleteThat's one thing I forgot to mention above, WP does have a way better default commenting system over Blogger.
DeleteThere's the captchas but also logging in is sometimes a pain for non Blogger people, and recently they implemented a comment reply notifier for WP in their toolbar. It's a cool feature that helps encourage longer discussions because sometimes you just forget where you've left comments. Especially if you visit a couple dozen blogs a day.
I solved all those issues by switching to Disqus early on with my blog and haven't looked back.
Thanks BT I will definitely try to figure out how to switch to Disqus.
DeleteI'm on blogger because it was an easier platform for me to learn as a complete newbie. But I'd still follow you if you made the migration.
ReplyDeleteI also use the email notification things and like them because I know how to sort email pretty well, so I can see if I haven't been to someone's site in a long time and stop back by. (There's probably a way to do that with RSS Readers too, but I don't know how). Which is to say if you do switch, please give us the option of following you in either email or RSS formats!
Aaaah decisions. Got to find time to experiment with Wordpress. Definitely will give as many options for following as possible no matter what I do!
DeleteWow. This is a pretty serious thread! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm on wordpress. I LIKE wordpress quite a bit, and I find their support staff to be great... but having not been on blogger, I dont know the diffrences.
I know Wordpress has helped me increase my audience a couple of times by "Freshly Pressing" my posts, and they've always helped when Ive run across bugs or glitches.
I also think it's easier for commenters to leave comments, which to me, is very important.
That said, I can totally see why someone wouldnt want to migrate! You have a tough choice ahead, good luck Pete!!
Welcome Fogs! Thanks for stopping by! It is a tough choice. I think I'm going to stick with Blogger for now but perhaps start a mini blog on Wordpress to test it out!
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