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WordPress vs Blogger Comparison: Which One Should You Use in 2018?

WordPress vs Blogger Comparison: Which One Should You Use in 2018?

Every year, major blogging platforms roll out new initiatives and features designed to help people showcase their work and create an online following. Two of the largest blogging platforms are WordPress and Blogger. Each offers unique features that appeal to different types of bloggers — for example, one is more suited to those who want to sell products through their blog. It’s important to do a WordPress vs Blogger comparison before you start blogging, especially in 2018 when so many different options are available.

Deciding which blogging platform to use is a large decision that shouldn’t be made lightly. Once you’ve created a series of posts and habits, it’s more difficult to switch those to another platform. So choosing the right platform for your purposes before you get started is absolutely essential.

Sign-Up

WordPress requires you to make a new account when you sign up. Blogger, on the other hand, operates directly through your Gmail account. If you’re looking for simplicity and don’t want another account to keep track of, Blogger would be the winner. On the other hand, WordPress having a separate account helps you keep your Google account separate from your WordPress account, which can offer some benefits as well.

Type of Installation

There is a huge difference between WordPress and Blogger that you must consider before choosing which one you want. Blogger blogs are hosted by Google. You don’t have access to a lot of administrative options and can’t change many deep-level permissions. WordPress, on the other hand, can be installed separately. It’s free software that you can change to your liking. More features are added to WordPress every year while Blogger is relatively unchanging as of 2018.

Ease of Use

Blogger is slightly easier to learn than WordPress because there’s less to the platform. Where WordPress can function as a blog, store, and website, Blogger is designed simply to be a blog. This means that there’s less to learn when it comes to using Blogger. If you’re just looking to get started and get a blog up fast, it might be worth considering Blogger.

WordPress has a bit more of a learning curve, but you can do more with it once you’ve mastered it. If you know you want expanded functionality, consider using tutorials on YouTube and around the Internet to get up to speed on how to use it. It’s worth the time when you need the features that aren’t available on Blogger. The difference between WordPress and WordPress.org, for example, isn’t an issue that comes up when a person is considering Blogger. WordPress has both a site to run a blog, like Blogger does, plus a CMS that can be used to host entire blogs or create websites. This makes it a bit more difficult to learn.

Blogging platforms can be learned – it’s just that creating a simple written blog is easier and quicker for most people on Blogger. If you want to expand beyond a written blog for a small audience though, the time it takes to learn WordPress is definitely worth it.

Blogging Format

An important thing to consider when you’re evaluating WordPress vs Blogger is the layout for the actual blog writing. If you blog directly on your platform, the way the textbox is set up can make a big difference.

Wordpress vs Blogger

On WordPress blogs, there are lots of options for integrating various fonts, images, and linked media. You can adjust your headings, subheadings, and other types of paragraph formatting to make an attractive post. You have far more fonts and other visual options available because it is so customizable.

WordPress vs Blogger

On Blogger, there are slightly fewer options which for some people makes for a cleaner look. Like WordPress, it offers either an HTML writing box or a traditional one where you see the results of your formatting immediately. Learning how to use Blogger to type up your text is about as easy as using WordPress for the same, even though it has fewer options. Both layouts are pretty intuitive. It shouldn’t make a large difference when you’re choosing between WordPress vs Blogger.

Themes

If you’re looking for more themes, WordPress wins hands-down. There are thousands of themes that run the gamut from free to very expensive, depending on your needs. Entire communities of people work as WordPress developers and designers. There are new WordPress themes offered for download every day which means that you can always be on the lookout for something new if your current theme just isn’t hitting the right buttons.

Blogger, on the other hand, has access to far fewer themes. There are fewer people who develop for it and things are released more slowly. In most cases, you’re not going to find anywhere near as many options for a Blogger installation. If you need to have access to a wide range of themes, consider going with WordPress instead of Blogger. When it comes to themes in the WordPress vs Blogger, WordPress has a wider range of options for any type of blog.

WordPress themes

Customization

Even after you choose a theme, there are fewer customization options for Blogger than for WordPress. Blogger only lets you play with a few different tools. For example, there are specific boxes where you can put specific programs like visit trackers or author biographies. You don’t have a lot of choices over object placement. Many Blogger blogs look very similar and you can’t really create your own layout.

WordPress, on the other hand, is extremely customizable. Even after you have a theme installed, you can change things and adjust things until your blog or site looks exactly the way that you want it to. One reason for this is that WordPress isn’t just a blog platform — it’s also a site builder and has been for years. Of course, the sites are based on the blogging platform; developers and designers have expanded the functions of the original design to offer much more utility to any type of user. That’s one reason why WordPress powers about 30 per cent of the Internet.

Limitations

Storage limitations are one thing that might make you choose whether WordPress or Blogger is the better option. Blogger has many more limitations than WordPress. For example, you can only host photos and videos up to your Google Drive storage limit. Videos longer than 15 minutes and photos with a height or width over 2048 pixels count toward your storage limit. Since a WordPress blog can be hosted by many providers or even by yourself, there is a multitude of size options for people who want to feature a lot of photos or videos.

The WordPress vs Blogger debate also comes down to limitations in what can be included in and alongside the blog. WordPress doesn’t have limits because there are so many themes and plugins. The “About Me” and “Hobbies and Passions” section on Blogger is limited to 1200 and 2000 word respectively. You’re also limited in terms of file post size — more than 1MB may trigger the creation of a second page for the additional text — and how long your labels, blog imports, and titles can be.

Plugins

Plugins can be used on WordPress blogs to expand functionality or change the look of the page. They can give you information about visitors, help back up your information, keep your site safe, or add an area for comments. There are thousands of plugins in many different categories that give you options far beyond that of a basic WordPress installation. When Blogger vs WordPress is being discussed, that has to be considered because of the functions plugins make available.

Blogger has widgets that add some extra functionality. Many are older, however. They also don’t offer nearly the same functionality as WordPress plugins. This might not matter if you’re looking to start a basic blog but if you’re looking to grow an audience, plugins can be invaluable. Without them, it might not be as easy to determine who’s looking at your site. One benefit of Blogger, though, is that AdSense and Google Plus are built right into the template. If those are the only plugins you can imagine using, you could choose a Blogger blog with no extra work. Google Analytics also works on Blogger and doesn’t take much work to install.

Plugins are a big deal in the world of blogging because they help people without a lot of development experience add features to their blog with just a few clicks. They make the whole process easier. Of course, each one takes more time to learn to use properly and you have to put work into locating the right plugins. It does take more time, but WordPress plugins can be very helpful no matter what your plans for your blog are.

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Social Media Integration

Social media integration is a very important consideration when choosing between WordPress vs Blogger. When people like and share your posts or find their way to your page, they’re more engaged with you. Engaged site visitors are more likely to return to your site and recommend your blog to others. Having social media buttons on your pages can help your visitors more quickly make posts that drive traffic to your blog.

Since WordPress has more plugins, you’re more likely to find one that helps with social media integration and sharing. Many of those plugins are developed with other types of assistance too, including different types of analytics. Understanding your audience is essential; it helps you gear your content toward the types of people who visit your blog and to determine whether your intended audience is the one viewing your posts.

Blogger has some different options for social media sharing, but not many. You could remind people to like and share your blog at the end of your posts but that’s more intrusive than an elegant plugin. For people who want extensive social media integration, WordPress is probably the better option. You just have access to more options, more social networking platforms, and more tools for figuring out how to expand your research on social media.

WordPress vs Blogger Social Media

Search Engine Optimization

One important consideration for anyone looking to gain a following is how well their blog is optimized for search engines. Excellent search engine optimization can help you rise higher on search engine result pages and catch the attention of searchers so that they click on your link. This means you’re getting more traffic which helps you get more sponsors, advertising clicks, and views on your posts.

Ultimately, search engine optimization comes down to how your posts and pages are structured rather than the site that your blog is on. However, an important consideration is how many plugins are available on WordPress vs Blogger. Since WordPress has many more options for plugins, you can get one that helps you improve your SEO.

Blogger has less SEO plugin options, which means that you’re on your own as far as optimizing your page goes. You can still definitely achieve a top spot on Google with Blogger, but you might be more likely to do so with a WordPress site since you can get help improving it. If SEO help is something you want, the WordPress vs Blogger debate leans heavily toward WordPress.

Cost

While WordPress is free, a lot of the themes and functionality are not. WordPress blogs can get very expensive very quickly if you’re looking to add many features. Lots of themes and plugins come with initial costs or even recurring subscriptions. Those may be worth the money to you, but if you’re just looking to start a basic blog to share ideas and opinions, they might not be. It all depends on where you want to go with your blog and what your initial intentions are.

Blogger is free and most of the items you can get for it are free as well. That’s one of the reasons why there’s such a lack of third-party features for bloggers to use. There just isn’t profit in it for designers and developers. WordPress designing can be profitable enough that some people do it full time.

WordPress vs Blogger: Conclusions

So how does a person choose when it’s time to sign up and you’re still torn on WordPress vs Blogger? For most people, WordPress is going to offer more options, themes, and utility than Blogger. However, Blogger is good for people who want basic, straightforward features without a lot of room to make adjustments. If you want something where you can start typing and have an attractive blog without a lot of fuss, Blogger might work for you.

The best thing to do is sit down and make a list of your goals for your blog. Look to see which platform best matches where you want to be a year or three from now. If WordPress is more in line with your goals, start a WordPress blog. Start learning to use the program even before you have one reader. It means that you’re putting your effort toward something you’ll use in the long term. If, on the other hand, you don’t want to grow your blog and just want a place to share your thoughts and opinions, Blogger might be an easier and lower maintenance option.

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  • I know and agree that wordpress is more advanced with least limitations but the comfort i have with the blogger is matchless. Also, all the extra unnecessary plug-ins and tabs or tools on wordpress confuse me a lot, which is why I prefer the simple blogger and would be using the same in 3 years time from now.

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