This will have to be a very brief post, as I can’t see very well today. I have an eye infection and don’t have any glasses, so until tomorrow I have to keep my right eye closed to be able to read the screen.
Free Services
I consider free blogging services (example: blogger) “gateway blogs”. They are great for people that are just starting to blog, but once someone gets really excited about blogging, they will almost always need to move on to another package. In this short post, I’ll be using Blogger and WordPress as examples.
WordPress is a free software program that sits on a web server, whereas Blogger is a free services that is hosted elsewhere. To use WordPress, you’ll need a web host. With Blogger, you do not.
Whenever someone asks me about getting started, I always suggest using blogger. This way, they can get used to posting without having to pay anything. And if they decide blogging isn’t something they are interested in, they can just stop, without putting money into a blog.
And when someone picks up steam and gets serious about their blog, they’ll notice that there are some shortcomings to blogger.
Problem 1: No categories
Blogger does not allow you to create categories in which to organize your entries. This creates a twofold issue.
First, once you’ve amassed a significant amount of posts, you’ll want to be able to organize posts in a way that your readers will find intuitive. Think of your first time readers who have stumbled onto your blog. They are at your site, and hopefully they are enjoying your content and want to read more. The goal is to make all of your content accessible and easy to navigate.
Second, having categories gives your blawg a huge boost in Technorati. Since technorati has the ability to index blog posts using “Tags” that correspond to your categories, not having categories takes away that advantage.
Problem 2: Customization
Though Blogger gives it’s users the ability to change their templates, there is a limit to what’s customizable. Since it’s a free service, you are limited to what Blogger lets you tweak.
WordPress has hundreds of templates, each of which can be changed. It also has plugins that further enhance features of the blog.
Problem 3: The server itself
Blogger is a great free service. But since you’re not paying, you’re at their mercy. Not that blogger is going to disappear and take your content with you…..
Instead, you don’t have access to the server itself. That means you can’t upload scripts, forms, etc. Lets say you want to have a signup form, allowing your readers to subscribe to a newsletter. Since WordPress resides on a server you pay for, you have no limits to what you can do.
Blogger is a single service.
WordPress is just one program that sits on a web server.
If you’re using WordPress, it’s just a program sitting on a web site. This means you’re able to do anything a web site does in addition to blogging.
On the other hand…………
Blogger is much easier for non-technical bloggers who do not have a Webmaster to set things up. So if you’re just getting started, Blogger is a great way to go.
Conclusion
This is just a very, very brief look at some of the differences between a free blogging service like blogger and WordPress. I’ll be getting more in depth later, but with one eye, it’s hard to write much!
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