WordPress or Blogger, Which one you choose for blogging?

It’s often questioned by the newbie bloggers- “Which blogging platform is better- WordPress or Blogger? And why?” When I was new into blogging, I always preferred using Blogger over WordPress due to its user-friendliness and flexible options. Even though, I moved to WordPress later when I started putting more focus into blogging. Most bloggers prefer WordPress over Blogger as it is an open source platform and can be easily extended to add new features and plugins. In this post, I will compare the features between WordPress and Blogger and state the advantages and disadvantages of both so that any new blogger can decide which platform is suitable for them.

About WordPress

WordPress is an open source blogging platform that empowers 26% of the web. The platform is owned by Automattic, who are constantly working to improve it. WordPress rolls out updates every day and develop its additional services and improve your web experience. WordPress also offers anti-spam software such as Akismet that prevents spam and malware from entering the site.

Features of WordPress

• Appropriate to create blogs, websites (business and personal), profiles, and portfolios.
• It is free.
• Supports adding a custom domain.
• Multiple theme options.
• Supports uploading and embedding media content.
• Apps are available for Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows.
• Import and Export content.
• In-depth statistics of real-time visitors.
• Search engine optimised.
• Support for plugins.

About Blogger

Blogger is a product of Google and is a free blogging platform used by most bloggers. The site went through a number of redesigns over the years and supports the integration of the other Google services like Google Plus, Google Photos, Google Adsense, Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Picasa, and Google Drive. Blogger is a flexible and easy to use platform that can be conveniently managed by users.

Features of Blogger

• It is free.
• Unlimited storage and traffic.
• Multiple theme options, along with the support for third-party themes.
• Supports editing HTML code.
• Create multiple blogs with a single Google account.
• Customise a template as you want.
• Integrates with Google Adsense.
• Ease of use.
• Supports adding a custom domain.
• Import and Export content.
• Get blog statistics.
• Create ad campaigns with Google AdWords.

• Country-specific Blogger addresses.

WordPress or Blogger

Observing the features, the decision might turn even more confusing. Because both the platforms offer the best and powerful features, it is difficult to decide which one to start with while you are a beginner in blogging. Still, Blogger is considered as the easiest platform to start. Especially, the newbie bloggers face a lot of technical issues on customising the site for the first time. Blogger provides a good option to customise the templates by modifying the HTML codes. When I was first into blogging, I found altering the HTML codes easier compared to PHP, which is used in WordPress. Blogger gives easy access to the tools and options those are required by any new blogger.

On the other hand, some users find Blogger quite frustrating compared to WordPress. WordPress blogs look more professional compared to Blogger. WordPress offers additional functionality in customising the themes, and their technical support is even more effective.

Blogger and WordPress both offer a convenient hosting option. Hosting is required when your blog becomes more professional, and you don’t want it to look amateur. Blogger lets you add third-party domains, as well as offer you to purchase a domain directly from the site. Even WordPress offers the same, so setting up a custom domain is possible on both the platforms.

Blogger offers you a limited set of templates. You can alter the colours and layout of the templates from the inbuilt tools, but can’t make your own modifications. You can install the third-party Blogger templates, but they might be of poor quality or look unprofessional.

WordPress offers you a number of free and premium themes of professional and top quality. Their themes make your site look professional, and they are available for all kinds of websites and blogs. The themes can be easily customised and modified.

Blogger and WordPress, both offer easy to import and export provisions. You can import any other blog content to your current blog and even export the content. Both the platforms, take a few minutes to complete the import and export process. However, migrating from Blogger might affect your search engine rankings, followers, and subscribers. Even after exporting, your data will stay on the Google servers for a long time. Talking about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), WordPress offers more SEO advantages compared to Blogger.

Using Blogger gives you the advantage of getting security from Google’s secure platform. You don’t need to bother about managing your server, securing your blog, or taking periodic backups. Whereas WordPress is also secure, but you need to take the backups and secure the blog with additional resources and plugins. WordPress offers you a number of plugins to secure your blog and prevent spam.

Blogger consists of a limited resource of support programs like forums and FAQ. Their documentation is very basic, and the options are very limited. On the other hand, WordPress comes with a robust and quick support system where you can find online documentation, community forums, chat rooms, and support from WordPress developers and experts. Besides this, there are many companies offering premium WordPress support.

WordPress keeps offering major updates to the site to give you an enhanced user experience. It updates the plugins, themes, and the software and keeps on improving the site constantly. Whereas, Blogger has not seen any major update over the years, except for a few changes in the interface.

Google has already concluded their major services like Google Reader, Adsense for feeds, and possibly Feedburner would also not last long. So the possibility of the survival of Blogger also depends on the hands of Google. WordPress, on the other hand, carries a bright future and it is uplifting. Because most professional bloggers rely on this platform, WordPress has very minimum changes to extinct.

Why should you use WordPress and not use Blogger?

Although I started my journey with Blogger, I won’t prefer it over WordPress. Blogger is a great place to learn to blog and learn everything about it. If you are not blogging for money and simply want to use it personally, then Blogger would be a great place to start. But once you get accustomed to blogging and explore the new visions and techniques, you’d prefer moving to WordPress soon. Blogger has a very limited number of functionalities, like no SEO benefit. It is a zero cost blog which is great for newbies, but once you learn the ways to earn money from a blog, you won’t love the Blogger features anymore. If you are blogging for branding, building authority, or money, then Blogger is not the platform you should use. Many people carry the misconception that Blogger is a Google product, so you will find more SEO advantages, which is totally incorrect. In Blogger, you have limited control over your site, and hence, it lacks search engine optimisation.

Why use WordPress and why not?

I have been using WordPress for seven years, but that does not mean that I’ll go with a prejudiced comparison. WordPress lets you host your own files and data however you want and gives complete control over your blog. You can manage any technical issues and self-administer it. WordPress also provides SEO benefits and lets you optimise your blog with the latest SEO tactics. You can either make it SEO-friendly or keep it private. The platform offers you a wide range of plugins to optimise your blog which is free, as well as premium. Along with this, the WordPress community can help answer your questions or any technical issue you face. Unlike Blogger, you will be responsible for any error caused to your WordPress blog because the entire technical segment will be managed by you and no other. Secondly, WordPress uses PHP, which is far more complex than HTML as used in Blogger. In Blogger, you can easily modify the HTML codes, but this does not work that way in WordPress. With the trial and error method, you need to get used to PHP, and that will develop your experience with WordPress. WordPress blogs are not amateurish like Blogger, nor are its themes of poor quality. If you are building a blog with the aim to grow and become a professional blogger, then WordPress is the platform you should choose. And if you are creating a blog simply to write occasionally or as a hobby, then Blogger is the best option for you.

WordPress v/s Blogger- A comparison chart

WordPress	Blogger
Free software with paid option for domain and hosting	Free
The CSS file can be customised by upgrading for $40/year, and you cannot install a custom theme. With WordPress.org, you can transform the entire site and make it look like a website or blog, enable slideshows, add PHP, Javascript, etc.	The theme can be transformed into a website or blog. You can set up slideshows, add PHP, Javascript, and unleash unlimited options.
You can set up multiple blogs under the same account. With the WordPress.org software, you can set up your own database and install the WordPress software on your host.	You can set up multiple blogs under the same account.
The software update is automatic and requires no plugins. However, upgrading to WordPress.org will allow you to update the software and plugins manually.	Updates are automatic, and Blogger notifies you in the dashboard when new features are added.
Can add unlimited pages.	Add up to 10 pages.
Support for the widget, but not the third-party ones. However, upgrading to WordPress.org will support the installation of third-party widgets.	Support for widgets.
You can link your own custom domain, or set up with WordPress.org.	You can link your own custom domain.

WordPress.com and WordPress.org: The Difference

Till now, I have made a comparison between WordPress and Blogger, where a little information about WordPress.org is also included. To avoid the confusion between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, here I will clarify the difference between the both.

• com is a fully hosted blogging platform and the self-hosted version, whose software is free of cost available at WordPress.org. Like Blogger, WordPress.com takes care of your site and your data, whereas, you need to be the complete administrator of your WordPress.org site.
• com takes care of your hosting and backups, whereas, WordPress.org will let you find your own host and manage backups and maintenance yourself with the help of plugins or third-party software.
• com includes a number of themes, but no custom theme is supported. But WordPress.org lets you install custom themes and change/edit PHP and CSS.
• Sharing stats, comments, and polls are included in WordPress.com, but WordPress.org requires plugins to extend the functionality of your site.
• com requires registration of your own account and accept the Terms and conditions. WordPress.org requires no registration.

Concisely, WordPress.org is the upgraded version of WordPress.com with extended support, features, and functionalities that every professional blogger need.

Final verdict

WordPress or Blogger, which platform you seek to choose completely depends on your requirement and your motive for blogging. I have also seen many professional bloggers are still using Blogger, but those blogs apparently miss the charm and the interface that WordPress blogs provide. The professionalism of WordPress blogs is far superior to Blogger in terms of interface, SEO, and features. But if you are aimlessly starting a blog just as a hobby or occasional updates, then it’s better to get started with Blogger. So first, it is important for you to determine why you are starting a blog and then go ahead with it. Blogger blogs are simple and can be easily handled by anyone. They are self-manageable and can be customised any way you want. WordPress blogs offer you limited functionalities unless you own a self-hosted blog with WordPress.org. So amateurs or hobbyists might not afford it initially.

WordPress or Blogger, this confusion still rests in the blogging world, and there are people who are still unable to figure out which, and why. I hope this article delivered the right information to you and will help you discover the reason to start a blog. If you would like to discuss anything further about this topic, please feel free to have your queries in the form of comments below this post. Have a great time blogging!

Image Courtesy: Screenshots from the home pages of WordPress and Blogger, Pixabay,

You might also like to read the post “How to make money from different niches of blogging?“

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