Previously I shared some of my thoughts about moving to WordPress and why I made the decision to do so. Honestly, I think it’s a great platform and I’ve been very happy with it.
But in the interest of balance, there are some downsides that you should know about if you are considering a similar move…
1). The first and biggest hurdle is the cost – moving to a (self-hosted) WordPress blog costs more than Blogger. If you want to own your own domain name on WordPress (meaning your blog’s URL will say myblog.com instead of myblog.blogspot.com or myblog.wordpress.com) you need to pay to rent space on the internet. This is called Hosting and it typically costs ~$10 a month. If you are using Blogger, you don’t have to pay for hosting even if you have your own domain name.
2). WordPress is not as “point and shoot” as Blogger is. When I started with Blogger I had the blog set up and ready for posting within 15 minutes. It is a very user-friendly interface that assumes that you are a newbie (which is VERY NICE when you are, in fact, a newbie). In my experience, the WordPress interface is a bit more challenging to learn. I don’t mean to say that you need a PhD in engineering, but it is slightly more complicated that Blogger.
For example, in order to add layouts and functionality (aka Themes and Plugins) to a WordPress blog you need to upload the information via process called FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Basically this is how you add information on to the part of the internet that you are now renting. It is a free and relatively easy process once you’ve done it a few times. However I had never heard of FTP before and had to do some scrambling to learn what it was all about (I told you I was a newbie!). You don’t need to do this on Blogger because they have already added the information for you.
4). Learning a new program can be hard, and when you’re good at Blogger it’s hard to go back to the beginning with WordPress. It’s akin to graduating from High School and then needing to go back to Kindergarten! But eventually you learn your way around and get comfortable again — it just takes some time to get the lay of the land. If you do make the move, I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of the support from your hosting company, and the help forums for WordPress. Every problem you’re encountering has been addressed by someone already… So don’t give up!
As I mentioned before, I have been very happy with Dream Host and would recommend it to you if you are looking for hosting. Their support has been excellent and I think the cost is competitive!
If you haven’t already done so, and you’re thinking about moving to WordPress check out the comments on moving to WordPress. Some good questions and answers!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve used WP and Dreamhost for years, and have been happy with their service!! WP has some wonderful free themes as well, and it is fun to play with the different things to get the look you want. (you can even have a “fake one” to play with, so you don’t mess up anyone!)
Unfortunately, I don’t have any suggestions for you as to the followers . . good luck though!
thank Michelle! I agree, I’ve been really impressed with them. Great to know that my it’s true for over the long term!
I lost you in the changeover. I missed you. I think I’ve fixed it now. Your updates weren’t showing up in my reader!
welcome back Jenn! I know, the reader is the biggest problem. I tried to send notes to everyone to give them an alert that it wasn’t working, but I’m not sure they went through. But I’m glad you’re back!! (and thanks again for the scarf… it’s great!)
In order to update your reader, you’ll need to unsubscribe and refollow… I hope that works!
I love reading your blog. I have an award for you at my blog http://mommysmoneycents.blogspot.com/2010/02/blog-awards.html
I concur with your assessment that Blogger is simpler for the ‘novice’ to learn. I suspect I would have given up early on if I’d started on WordPress. That said, I’m glad I branched out a bit when I decided to back up my Blogger sites at WP. I’ve not tried ‘self-hosting’ on either platform and don’t know that I ever will, though I am occasionally frustrated by limitations of the ‘freebies’ …
Hugs and blessings,
I think you’re right on HRGal! If I was going to recommend a place to start to a new blogger, I would have to say go with Blogger. Even having your own domain name is easy with them! But now that I’ve got a year under my belt I’m glad I’m at WordPress. And I would have had a very hard time making the financial investment with a Self Hosted WP site when I first started!