Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Good Old Wordpress Debate

This is one of my long-winded posts, so if you don't give a rat's behind about ever moving to Wordpress.org, then you might not want to bother reading this treatise, if you will.

There are some misnomers out there about blogging platforms, domains, etc. So if you have questions, let me know or leave a comment in the comment section. 

I'm sick to death of hearing some bloggers say that to be taken seriously, one must switch to Wordpress.org. Which of course means chartering your own course by virtue of having to find a host (and of course paying them). Calling said host whenever there is a problem and waiting on the phone, which I can tell you wasted much of my valuable time when I was on WP. It means having to always keep abreast of updates that might pose security risks. Etc. etc.

The way to be taken seriously is to provide quality content. It also makes Google happy. Google happens to own Blogger. So what does that tell you about search engine optimization?

I have seen comments on blogs that say they switched to WP because they wanted their own domain. As many or most of you already know, you don't have to switch to anything to get your own domain. I have had my own domain on Cozy Little House for years. So that's a moot point. 

Being on Wordpress.org does not better your chances of being granted opportunities or having magazines come calling. All they care about is that you have an email address on display so they can approach you. I should be evidence of that with my little decoupaged cabinets. No one came calling me on WP. So, I'm saying, that argument doesn't hold water.

Being on Wordpress does not mean you make more money. I have always made more money on Blogger. And when you take into account the costs you must pay to have a Wordpress.org blog, then you must subtract that from what you've earned in revenue. 

I've made some people mad, I do believe, by coming back to Blogger and singing its praises. For some reason when I left the ranks of WP, or defected, that made me and my sanity questionable. And who does that, I heard more than a few times? 

Who, everyone said, goes back to Blogger after Wordpress? I even have people on WP that use to read my blog, but when I returned to Blogger, they stopped. So I guess I lost substance in their eyes. 

There are many very popular blogs, such as A Cup Of Jo, that have remained on Blogger. And I can assure you that she is very sought after and doing quite well, thank you very much. Here is her blog: http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com. (There are many others than the ones listed below, and I'm quite sure I'll remember them as soon as I hit Publish.)

Let me list just a few others that remain on Blogger:
The Old Painted Cottage (has her own domain)
Savvy Southern Style (has her own domain)
The Country Chic Cottage (has her own domain) *
Madigan Made (has her own domain)*

Yvestown went to WP for a short time, said she didn't like it, and now is on Squarespace.

The ones I have * by, you will find the paragraph below at the very bottom of their blogs:


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4 comments:

  1. I love blogger. I blog as a hobby and the less time and money is a good thing...Thank you for your wonderful blog on blog tips.
    Betty @ My Cozy Corner

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  2. Brenda, I do have to say I am one that made the switch and so far I am really liking the freedom of the open designs for my blog but then again I have a web design background so I think it might be a little easier for me to work through some issues. I do have a small web hosting charge now but I like the fact that I can upload pics to the account to be used other places as well. I know some blogs that are pretty successful and on Blogger so I do not agree that you HAVE to make that switch either. Great post and thanks for sharing with us. Have a great day. :-)

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  3. I am pretty happy on blogger and do not see myself changing any time soon. I agree with you that if your content is good, you will be successful as a blogger. You have to do what makes you happy and not really listen to what others say in the long run. Good post!!

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  4. Thanks for this post, Brenda. I only know Blogger, and have been pretty happy, so far. I'm glad you clarified why it isn't necessary to change.

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