Before I started my blog, Domesblissity.com, back in 2011, I had followed and read a lot of blogs. It was very much a form of relaxation for me as well as being a great source of information. I was inspired by a lot of bloggers but I also found there were many people out there who thought the way I did about homemaking, cooking, baking and making do. It was then that I thought I should blog as well as a way to record all my recipes for my children when they leave home as well as a place to record their birthdays, special events and other bits and pieces of information. What I didn’t know anything about was how to blog. All I knew was that there were two main players in blogging and that was WordPress and Blogger.
I did a bit of googling and everyone was raving about WordPress but when I logged onto WordPress, I thought I was looking at a completely different language. I didn’t have a clue how to get started, whether to get the free version or pay for the self hosted WordPress platform. When I looked at Blogger, it looked a little more user-friendly so I went with that.
I am no expert at all with HTML code, what the internet is coded with but I have had experience with a little computer programming on mainframe computers as well as having a lot of experience with business software and all the Microsoft applications. I thought I could muddle my way through Blogger and I did. It was very crude in the beginning.
By looking at a lot of other blogs, I saw that they all had fancy header graphics and smartly set out pages but I really didn’t know where to start. I really wasn’t out to impress anyone. I just wanted to start blogging. By looking at other Blogger blogs, I soon started inserting ‘gadgets’ and follow buttons. It wasn’t until I got my first couple of followers, I got a bit excited and started to look more into it. I also employed the services of a friend to design a logo, which is the same one I use today.
Blogger is pretty simple to understand. You don’t have to worry too much about manipulating HTML code but rather just use the standard gadgets that are provided with Blogger. Gadgets are like automatically programmed functions on the blog like ‘follow me’ social media buttons, latest posts, date, time, archives and blog roll type functions. It didn’t really steer much from that for the nearly 5 years I was on Blogger but over the years, I was still hearing about ‘self hosting with WordPress’ but still didn’t really know what it meant.
Blogger served it’s purpose well for me and I was sorry to leave it especially when I went to WordPress and I didn’t really have a clue where to find any of those ‘gadgets’ or how to personalise my blog. Over the weeks since late 2015, I’m slowly making progress with WordPress but there’s still a lot to learn.
Am I happy that I’ve moved to WordPress? Yes, I have to say I am. Even thought it’s costing me to self host with Bluehost and I had to pay for the transfer from Blogger to WordPress (I didn’t want to risk losing any old posts), there’s definitely a lot more scope with WordPress with what’s called ‘plug ins’. A more detailed post to come on that but if you’re thinking about starting a blog and have limited knowledge of HTML, plug-ins and self hosting, I’d give Blogger a go.
There are plenty of experts out there who give detailed descriptions on the differences between the two. Here are some interesting posts I found.
Blogger vs WordPress Comparison by Make Use Of
WordPress vs Blogger by WP Beginner
Blogger vs WordPress Comparison by How to Make My Blog
There’s no harm in trying so why not check Blogger out and start blogging now. It might be all you need to start your blogging journey.
That’s interesting to read Anne and I think your story is similar to so many of the Australian bloggers I know. When I started my blog I had a few goes via blogspot but I knew nothing and in the end found a company which got me going via my now still host (the internet company we were already with) and I got my site up. Back then it was a few different titles but in 2011 I got another person to completely makeover the WP site, I bought my own domain names, and use my domain name as an email addy and essentially over the years, the hosting company and the tech guy (who lived near me in Sydney) got me fully on line and working well. It cost(s) and still does a little (domain name rego every 2 years and annual hosting) but I have had no issues at all and I trust the people who keep me going. I have learned much more behind the scenes in a basic way and have few frills. My recent makeover was made possible by a friend who was willing to try to interpret my vision and some phone guidance from my tech guy. I am pretty happy to be exactly where i am now and not try to do much more…Cheers, Denyse
That’s definitely the way to go Denyse. I thought I’d read enough blogs to know how I wanted my blog to look but over time and a lot of hiccups, I got it to where I wanted it to be. Being on WordPress is a whole new learning curve but thank goodness for Google and the experience I got on Blogger, I’m slowly making my way through it. I guess it’s just a matter of having a go if it’s something you really want to do.
Anne xx
Hey Anne!
Who did you hire to do your blogger to wordpress move? Thinking about making the move myself, but definitely want to hire someone to do it! Thanks! 🙂
-Bonnie @ Revolutionaries
Hi Bonnie. I’ll be posting the details of my move this coming Friday. I’ll be sharing the name of the person who did the migration for me. It’s definitely been worth it and something I wished I’d done earlier.
Anne xx