Making the Change from Blogger to WordPress – Part 1

Posts in this series
Part 1 – Why Make the Change?
Part 2 – How I Moved the Blog

I recently changed from the free Blogger.com service to my own WordPress site.   For most people visiting my site, they may not even notice.  The links are the same, the content is the same, and the comments are all the same, but behind the scenes there was a huge change. Here are the reasons why I changed.

Advantages of WordPress

  • Multiple pages – I can add different pages for different purposes.  Currently, I have an about me, links, and archive page, but you can add anything.  It’s super flexible to build a simple or complex site.   I would recommend using it for a complete church or business website.
  • Speed – Blogger was sloooooowww.   I had several javascript sidebar items on my blogger page and they took forever to load.   WordPress is much, much faster to load.
  • Control – I can host all of my own images and content.   I can access my database.  I can make any changes whenever I want to.  Why, because I pay for my own domain and my hosting.   I have unlimited file storage and data transfer through Bluehost.com for $6.95 per month.
  • Widgets and Plug-ins – there are thousands of third-party apps that you can add to your wordpress installation. You are seeing the effects of several of them now.  The power is incredible.
  • Themes – changing your theme on blogger is extremely frustrating.  On blogger, you have very little control without learning their xml structure for templates.  On wordpress, you have many more high quality free themes to choose from.  There are also very powerful and great-looking themes available at a reasonable cost from ithemes and studiopress.
  • Support and Improvement – WordPress is constantly adding new features and they have great support.  Blogger has finally started adding some new features, especially in their Blogger in Draft, but still they lag way behind
  • Search Engine Optimization – WordPress has many more options to help you be found

Advantages of Blogger

  • it’s free
  • it’s by Google

If you aren’t blogging yet, but want to start, I would urge you to consider starting from the beginning with wordpress.   If the cost is an issue, then you can get started with wordpress using their free wordpress.com service. It’s not quite as powerful, but it’s a good way to get started blogging. And the transition is easier from wordpress.com to wordpress.org.

In part 2 of this series, I’ll share how I actually moved my blog, keeping all the links, posts, comments, and permalinks intact.  Part 3 will have the details on how I customized my theme and added sidebar content.  And finally Part 4 will be about which plug-ins I recommend.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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2 Responses

  1. Jenni says:

    I have to admit despite all the tech talk – your blog looks great!! Now you can make mine look good.

  2. Aaron says:

    Hi mike, I’m a designer also, just started at bible college. I have never studied like this before. I am finding it hard to clearly define expository, textual and topical sermons. As when you google what is you get all these over complicated ideas created by intellectuals. Do you have any clear info?

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