Many of you have asked why I decided to switch from Blogger to WordPress. And seeing as how my brain is in a creative prison as of late, this type of post comes easy. This was somewhat of a hot topic at the conference this weekend as well so I wanted to share some of the reasons why I switched.
Address
When I first started a blog, I never considered the importance of having a URL that was easy to remember. Thus, emmafree.blogspot became my permanent address. Which would have been fine, except for the fact that Emma Free is not my name. Strike one. At BlissDom both in October and this past weekend, the panelists emphasized the importance of streamlining your bloggy identity. Ooops. Strike Two. Now, I know it is possible to have your own domain name on Blogger (like ChattingAtTheSky.com), as many of you do. But before I made that switch, there were a couple of other issues I was concerned about.
Multiple Pages
Blogger does not have a multiple page option and this is one of the main reasons I decided to switch platforms. Basically, I wanted to avoid the sidebar. Sidebars in general don’t bother me, but showcasing the words and the photos are my top priority. However, a sidebar serves a purpose so I needed a place to put sidebar things like archives, about me, and links. Though I have seen lots of Blogger blogs fake the multiple page option beautifully, Kate suggested if I ever wanted to expand the blog in the future (adding a page for photography, perhaps?) that WordPress would be the best option. I took her word for it.
Space
When uploading my photos to Blogger, I noticed my allotted space percentage was climbing. When I got to 46%, I began to wonder what would happen when I got to 100%? I didn’t want to stick around to find out. As far as I know, Blogger doesn’t currently have an upgrade option for bloggers to purchase more space. Though I’ve never heard of anyone being kicked off Blogger because they used too much space, I also couldn’t find anyone to assure me it wasn’t possible. I thought perhaps it was time to pay a little bit a year for more space and move to a platform where I could self-host.
If you want to know how much of your allotted space you are using, you can find it when you upload your photos to Blogger as seen in the screen shot above next to the orange Upload Image button in small print.
Edited to add: You CAN purchase more storage space from Google. And hosting photos through an external provider like Flickr or SmugMug is a good way to conserve space. Okay. Carry on.
design and function
This is another area where I followed Kate’s advice. Basically, WordPress has the ability to be fancy, more so than Blogger. And, it has more umph when it comes to PlugIns. Or so I’m told. Techy people seem to think that is important.
If you don’t know much about code and you don’t have a Kate, I would stick with Blogger. There are a variety of templates to choose from that can be applied in minutes without much work. It is not so simple in WordPress. You don’t have to be concerned with computery things as much on Blogger. Posting and uploading photos are equally simple, though WordPress has a cool media library that stores your uploaded photos whereas Blogger simply stores the photos within each post.
so far so good
I really like WordPress so far. It feels clean and simple. I don’t think Blogger is bad. I liked Blogger, honestly. It was easy. But the timing of this mades sense for me and I was ready to try it out. If I begin to regret my decision, I’ll let you know. This is not an exhaustive Blogger vs. WordPress post by any means. I don’t know enough lingo for that. Feel free to add your reasons for switching or staying put in the comments section.
Nicely done. And in english and not weird computer language too! I love that you are really using Wordpress and taking advantage of what it has to offer. I think you should do this post in a year again and tell other other differences you noticed.
I did see that supposidly you can buy more space on blogger but I have no idea how it works. I’m always afraid my blog might be deleted although I have no idea why I’m worrying about that.
For now I’m uploading photos on photobuket and then coding them in. Oh, look how profesh I look.
From everything I’ve seen and read, I think you made the right decision. I’ve personally looked into Wordpress, but I am staying with Blogger until I know that this blog thing is going to “stick.” I have a short attention span. LOL Once I know for sure that I’m going to keep doing this for a while, I’ll switch over and get a fancy new layout.
Nester, that’s what I do most of the time – Photobucket and then code them in.
i always appreciate posts like this because i’m always thinking about it. about a year ago i was seriously considering switching but the $$ for my own domain, someone to help me design and paying for wordpress so that i could design my own blog made me decide not to. i prefer to go free for now since i’m not making any money off my blog (none to speak of).
i have considered getting my own domain and using it on blogspot. how important do they say that is? is having the blogspot tag at the end that detrimental?
i love that i’m able to pretty much do whatever i want as far as design goes on blogspot since i’ve figured it all out already. right now i don’t have the time to figure out another place. i love that i can easily change my headers too. i’m all about change.
but i do think my blog is going to be long term. so that’s why i started using flickr to link my photos too. i didn’t want to run out of photo space either.
this is why i need to go to a blog conference! maybe next year. i’m such a geek though. i’d be scared to death. at least you have a sister to hold your hand.
THANKS FOR TAKING TIME TO SHARE ALL THIS WITH US. IT’S GOOD FOR NOVICE (ME 4WEEKS TOMORROW), & SEASONED BLOGGERS TO KNOW WHAT, WHY, AND ALL IN THE BLOGGING WORLD.
HUGS FROM MAINE
You know, it’s funny. We all get stuck on what we like and use and don’t think about changing. There are things I like about Blogger and things I wish were different. I wish you could add a document, but you can’t.
I don’t think I would have even considered much of this unless I had a Kate either!
There are a couple of things I will throw out about Blogger for you, at least about why I stick with it. One, I know the code enough to expand it so the focus is on words and pictures (and I just plain like the sidebars!
) For instance, my photography site has the navigation in a sidebar, but I’ve done it without too.
Also, blogger does have a cool album – all of the photos you upload through Blogger go into your Google images album. If you go into your Gmail account and click “photos” along the top, you can pull up your album, arranged by day uploaded. I’m not really using it right now – I’m linking all my images in from SmugMug, where I can get the sizes I want, and not have to deal with the Blogger resize and distortion.
I have already linked my photography site (which is actually on Blogger for now) to a domain name (informalmomentsphotography.com), and as soon as I have settled for sure on an identity for my main blog, I’m planning to link that to a domain name too.
So I think it just boils down to knowing whatever blog provider you’re using. There’s always a way to get around it if you can figure out the code. I just like that Blogger is free. So what if they’re working with Google to take over the world???
thanks for this info kelly! I’m glad to know about that album thing. I think I tried to get to mine once and did it wrong. Surprise, surprise.
For now I’m personally staying put. I’m happy. And you know what? I just started posting on WP for Chic-Critique and I think it’s a pain in the rear. But I totally respect anyone’s choice for platform. (And for those wishing to know, yes, you CAN purchase more storage space from Google.)
Wow..I learn something everyday…we have limited space..oh my!
-sandy toe
I have wondered about the differences, too. Thanks for spelling them out. Sometimes Blogger does drive me nuts when I’m trying to upload pictures, but it may be my template. I suppose there are pros and cons no matter which one you use. I love your new place, though! : )
Thanks for this great post. I’m wanting to buy my own domain in the next few weeks – and I’ve often wondered why some bloggers switch from blogger—-a note on the ’space on blogger’ I upload all of my pictures to photobucket, so when I checked my space it said I have use 0% – so that may be away to go around that problem if some are afraid to move.
I just LOVE your new look – it’s not the same thing you see everywhere else!
~TidyMom
Im dealing with these same issues. I wanted to become a .com but it was taken,yikes. Oh the issues of a bloggers life,hehe.
Emily — absolutely uncanny that as I was logging in, I thought, “I need to ‘ask’ Emily why she switched…” Voila!
I have to admit, I’m still wading through trying to comment, figuring out where everything went, etc. etc., but I hope you do end up enjoying the change — and I had always wondered about ‘Emmafree,’ anyway!
Blessings,
Karin
Ohmygosh, emily, this is a total techie-geek-chic post in disguise! Look at those links on the bottom. Additional resources! You rock, Kate or no Kate (although clearly having a Kate makes things pretty and makes things work).
Hi Emily!
I was happy to “find you” once again! First of all, I wanted to check and see how your little one was feeling? I hope he is on the mend and that the rest of the family is staying healthy!
I too wondered about your switch, it sounds like there is a lot of flexibility in this new site, although I do miss your pretty page and the embellishments. I’ll keep reading no matter how you post!
Take care and I wish you and your family a blessed Valentine’s Day!
With love from Colorado,
Denise
You know, I never really thought about why I use the platform I do. I suppose it’s just because Blogger is what everyone else I knew was using. Thanks for the thoughts about why you changed. It’s given me things to consider.
I left Blogger over a year ago, but I went with Typepad. Like you, I agree that Blogger has a lot of great features to offer – even more is offered now then when I left. I also just felt the need to expand beyond what Blogger could offer. The multiple pages thing is big as well as required email for comments – it drove me CRAZY to not be able to reply to some comments through email because the commenter hadn’t “checked the box.”
I have NO html/coding know-how and I do not have a Kate. Typepad offers lots of neat features and does all the techy stuff for you. I considered going self-hosted through WP, but quickly realized I would have been in WAY over my head. The support service Typepad offers is phenomenal. I’m really NOT on Typepad’s payroll, I’ve just been very happy there and wanted to throw that out there, too!
I just want to say again that you and Kate did an AMAZING job with this new design. It is so unique and fresh and wonderful.
Thanks for the info- I for one love your new blog and it’s clean feel–although I’m not ready to switch.
well. I like it! so simple
How’s your little boy?
you are a great teacher!
well done!
happy V DAY to your precious family!
Very interesting. I am debating switching AND whether to use my name as the website since I write for the paper and other online sites now. I can’t decide if I want to brand my name and bring all my writing under my name on the web or not. Decisions, decisions.
I love the unique look of the ink drawing around your entries. So cool!
I am currently using both Blogger and Wordpress and I like both for different reasons. Wordpress works well for my preschool’s parent blog, because I need those pages. For some reason, I didn’t like using Wordpress for my personal blog. Guess I loved my sidebars a bit too much! I got frustrated that I couldn’t manage the widgets as easily. So, both have their good points and I think it just depends on the person. I love your new blog!
Sheryl
Very relevant topic!
This is Jen from Grace Community Church.
I’m using Blogspot for a family blog but I launched my professional blog on Wordpress (http://drjenthomas.wordpress.com/).
Also, congratulations on your upcoming gig at Proverbs 31! I’ve attended their conference twice (but didn’t make it last year) and always got a lot out of it! When my co-authored book, The Five Languages of Apology was about to be released, I stepped up my speaker training quite a bit! Now, I speak to church and corporate groups several times a year. Contact me if you ever want to swap pointers about speaking and writing!