I started using Blogger a couple of years ago when it was recommended to me by the online editor of my local paper. I happily set up the account without considering any other options and I created Total Travel Bug. This was a blog that followed my travels around the world and was featured on my local paper’s website.
It was my first relationship with blogging and I enjoyed using Blogger; it was really helpful and easy and we had a lot of fun together. It was around about our two-year anniversary that my eyes started to wander and I started looking elsewhere.
I began flirting with WordPress, a new blog on the scene who seemed younger and edgier, more stylish and sleek and ultimately better equipped. My friends all told me how much they prefered WordPress and I started neglecting Blogger. I tried to hold things down with Blogger but it was obvious they were coming apart. I was updating my travel blog less and less and I wasn’t replying to emails.
I couldn’t upload any photos and Blogger missed yet another scheduled update. It claimed to be stuck in an Australian time zone but I knew it was just making excuses.
Blogger and I were drifting in opposite directions and WordPress was waiting with open arms to pick up the pieces.
WordPress was what all the ‘cool kids’ were using and I could see why. Modern designs and a user-friendly dashboard mean WordPress blogs look more professional and have so many options.
Then, one fateful day, I committed myself to WordPress and started a new blog. My life was changing from my old backpacking lifestyle that I associated with Blogger to a new ‘journalism student’ lifestyle that would I would come to associate with WordPress.
I started writing a blog about all my thoughts on journalism and my future studies in the subject. I named it ‘Junior Journo’ and was excited to have a new project to work on. Junior Journo is still in the very early stages of development. I’m using WordPress.com and can’t quite commit myself to the self hosted pressures of WordPress.org. I’m really enjoying writing about my early experiences with journalism and hope there will be lots more to come.
But one day last week I felt a familiar longing for Blogger. I missed travel writing and the travel blogging community. My relationship with WordPress wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped and I logged into Blogger. I still have so many travel tales to tell and experiences to share so I will also be blogging here regularly from now on.
I considered migrating my travel blog to WordPress but if I’m quite honest it is far too much effort and I wouldn’t have a clue where to start.
I now have more of an open relationship with both Blogger and WordPress. It’s a relationship that most people don’t understand but I have my reasons. ‘Just chose one or the other’, people tell me, but I’m happy using both.
I neglected Blogger for a long time and for that I am sorry. After the initial honeymoon period with WordPress I realised that Blogger does have some unique features that I appreciate but it is ultimately the familiar comfort that has been drawing me back to my Blogger blog. I know how Blogger works, what makes it tick and how to make it do exactly what I want it to do. WordPress may be younger and more exciting but I haven’t quite got the hang of it. I’m still learning and that can be great fun but it can be frustrating.
So I won’t be chosing between Blogger and WordPress just get and for now I’m happy to use both…
What blog hosting service do you use and why and what are your opinions on the Blogger Vs WordPress debate?
Josh
Saturday 20th of August 2011
>Hi,
I started on blogger around a year back. It was fun as blogger was easy to manage, but soon I saw the WordPress platform, it is more stylish and with better options.
But again, migrating to WordPress was so much of efforts and I was pretty tensed in the beginning.There are two tutorials which helped me a lot:
Why to Migrate: http://bloggertowp.org/15-reasons-to-migrate-from-blogger-to-wordpress/
and How to Migrate: http://bloggertowp.org/migrate-from-blogger-to-wordpress-best-tutorial/
Hope it will help, fellow bloggers.
Cheers!
elleswim.net
Friday 19th of August 2011
>I started with WP last year (I never gave Blogger a shot) and I absolutely love it. It's so user friendly! I am definitely not looking to switch to another host anytime soon.
Monica
Thursday 18th of August 2011
>Thanks Martine! Your blog is looking great too and I know what you mean about the massive effort of swapping over. I do think that 'content is king' but a blog has to look nice to get me to read it in the first place.
Martine Dudes on the road
Thursday 18th of August 2011
>Oh boy, do I understand! We are with Blogger and everybody tells us that we should move to WP. We are not sure yet if we should move or not. It's king of a love/hate relationship with Blogger but moving to WP sounds so much work! We konw that the blog would look more pro but still, we hesitate... And to be quite honest with you, I always thought that what makes a blog is not the template, it is what the blogger writes. So I guess your blog could be on either platform and still be very interesting if you have something interesting to say to your readers.Yours is!
Monica
Wednesday 17th of August 2011
>Your blog is looking amazing Katherina, I remember when it was on Blogger and it does look so much better on Wordpress. I think it is down to the individual as well though because I've seen some good and bad blogs on both Wordpress and Blogger. I guess its what you do with it that counts.