blogger-vs.-wordpress.

Blogger vs. WordPress – Which is the Best Choice? (Expert Review)

 

Looking for the perfect platform to start a blog?

If you did some online research or asked someone with blogging expertise, the suggestions would be to start with WordPress or Blogger.

Choosing the right platform can be tedious because WordPress and Blogger are among the most popular blogging platforms in use today.

In this article, we will discuss Blogger vs. WordPress thoroughly in terms of their features, ease of use, design options, strengths, weaknesses, and more.

The WordPress vs. Blogger comparison is split up into 10 sections:

  1. Overview
  2. Ease of Use
  3. Design Options
  4. Features and Functionalities
  5. Ownership of Your Blog
  6. Monetization Options
  7. Security
  8. Support
  9. Cost
  10. Ease of Migration

1. Overview: WordPress and Blogger as Blogging Platforms

What Is WordPress?

wordpress-org

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in use today which powers over 30% websites online. It is an open source / free software that facilitates creating, editing, organizing, and publishing content.

You need a hosting server and domain name to create a WordPress blog. A web hosting is where people store the content and files of their blog and a domain name is the address of your blog on the internet, like IsItWP.com or Google.com. When you type your domain name on a browser’s address bar, then you’ll be directed to the hosting server where your website is hosted and your website will be shown.

Note: This comparison is between self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) and Blogger. If you want to know the difference between the two WordPress flavors, here is our comparison WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.

What Is Blogger?

blogger-for-blogging

Blogger is a basic blogging platform where you can add content and publish. With Blogger, you can publish free blogs using the blogspot.com domain. Google bought Blogger in 2003 and rebranded it as Blogger.

With Blogger, your blog is hosted on their servers, so you don’t need to find a hosting company. You don’t even need a domain name if you’d like to use blogspot subdomain for your blog. For instance, your blog’s name on Blogger can be like example.blogspot.com.

2. Ease of Use

Ease of Use – WordPress

The first and foremost thing people love about WordPress is its simplicity.

To start a blog on WordPress, you need to purchase a hosting plan and a domain name. Then, you install WordPress on your hosting server and connect your domain with it. That’s all it takes to set up a blog on WordPress.

After your blog goes live, you can start publishing articles. While a default theme is preinstalled on WordPress, you can change the theme and customize the appearance by installing a WordPress theme of your choice from the free WordPress themes directory. Make sure to read the reviews of popular WordPress themes before randomly selecting one.

Below is how your WordPress dashboard looks like.

wordpress-dashboard-create-new-post

Easy of Use – Blogger

Blogger setup process is easier than WordPress. Blogger is already hosted by Google and ready to use platform so you don’t need to find a hosting server for your blog. It also means that your site will be on the same server where all the other Blogger sites are. You will also have the same subdomain (.blogspot.com) if you don’t purchase a domain name.

To start a blog on Blogger, you need to have a Google account and that’s the only requirement. Simply sign up with your Google account and follow the steps. You have to give a title to your blog and choose a blog address.

Then, you can start creating posts and publishing them. See the screenshot below to see how Blogger platform looks like.

create-a--post-blogger

The winner: Both WordPress and Blogger are known for ease of use. However, Blogger is easier to set up when the two are compared. If you want an easy-to-use platform that also comes with lots of customization options, then choose WordPress instead.

3. Design Options

Designing a WordPress Blog

When it comes to design options, WordPress is way ahead. You can find thousands of free themes in the official WordPress.org theme repo. In addition, there are hundreds of third-party theme stores and marketplaces where you can purchase a premium theme.

In order to install a theme, you can simply go to Themes » Add New. You can directly access the free themes from the dashboard and install.

add-wordpress-themes

Designing a Blogger blog

Like WordPress, the design of a Blogger-based blog is also managed by themes. However, the downside is that theme options are limited. There are mainly 10 types of themes with 3 to 7 variations of each theme.

In order to change the theme, simply go to the Theme menu, preview the available themes, and add the one you like the most.

add-blogger-themes

The winner: With no further explanation, we can confidently say that WordPress is the winner in design and customization options. You can easily find a free WordPress theme that best suits your unique needs. There are endless possibilities to customize a WordPress theme. On the other hand, with Blogger, the available themes and design options are limited.

4. Features and Functionalities

Adding Features and Functionalities on a WordPress Blog

As stated above, WordPress is supported by a huge community with thousands of developers across the globe. Just as themes, there are thousands of free and premium plugins that add features and functionalities to WordPress sites. There are plugins for almost any feature you can think of; contact formslead generationSEO, etc. to name a few.

With these plugins, you can turn your simple blog into a business site, eCommerce or any other types of websites.

To add plugins on your site, you can simply go to the Plugins menu in the WordPress dashboard. Just like installing themes, you can directly access official free plugins from the dashboard whereas you need to upload premium ones.

add-wordpress-plugins

Adding Features and Functionalities on Blogger

Blogger doesn’t have the flexibility like WordPress. There is no way to add plugins. However, you can insert scripts of third-party services to add basic features. For example, you can add a Wufoo.com script for adding a contact form. It goes without saying, using a third-party script has its own limitations unless you get a premium subscription. Of course, you can’t extend Blogger’s functionalities just like WordPress.

The winner: With no doubt, WordPress is way ahead with regards to extending features and functionalities.

5. Ownership – Who is the Ultimate Owner of Your Blog?

Ownership of a WordPress Blog

WordPress is free / open source software that you can modify, and use for free. You can create a WordPress blog using your own hosting and custom domain name. This means that you are the ultimate owner of the blog.

You have the full control of managing your WordPress blog. You can customize it fully without any limitations. And, when you want to shut it down, you can do it on your own will.

Ownership of a Blogger blog

Unlike WordPress, the ultimate owner of your Blogger blog is not you but it’s Blogger itself. Since you are using Blogger’s platform, you are liable to its terms and conditions. You cannot do much customization and even worse, Blogger can shut down your site without your consent.

If you’re serious about blogging, then Blogger.com can’t be considered as a reliable platform.

The winner: With WordPress, you own your blog whereas on Blogger, you’re liable to Blogger.com
s Terms of Service.

6. Monetization Options

WordPress Monetization Options

If you’re looking to monetize your blog, then WordPress is the best choice. You can add Google Adsense, affiliate links, and advertisement banners easily on your blog.

Moreover, you can create an eCommerce page on your WordPress blog easily and sell your products. There are multiple eCommerce plugins for WordPress that let you enable eCommerce features on your WordPress blog.

Blogger Monetization Options

You can monetize a Blogger-based blog by adding Google Adsense and affiliate links. Since Blogger is a Google-owned service, Google Adsense is a built-in feature in Blogger. However, since Blogger is a free platform, most advertisers undervalue the blog especially if you want to sell direct ads with no third-party services like Google AdSense in between. This could be a serious blow to your earning potential. Plus, Blogger doesn’t provide built-in eCommerce integration.

add-adsense-on-blogger

The winner: WordPress is the most reliable platform if you want to monetize your blog. Conversely, your earning potential with your Blogger.com blog will be low, since most advertisers undervalue it.

7. Security

Security Aspects of a WordPress Blog

Providing security to your WordPress site is not a rocket science thanks to the wide range of WordPress security plugins.

In addition, you’ll also have to manage backup yourself using a WordPress backup plugin.

Security Aspects of a Blogger Blog

With Blogger, you don’t need to worry about managing your server’s resources, backups, or any other aspect regarding security. You can create a blog, publish posts and have a peaceful sleep as you know Blogger.com takes the responsibility of securing your blog.

However, it’s advised to take the regular backup of your Blogger.com, since Blogger can retire your blog anytime without your consent.

The winner: Blogger is the winner here. Securing your WordPress blog is your sole responsibility while Blogger.com takes the responsibility of securing your blog on Blogger.com. However, it’s advised to take the backup of your blog, no matter on which platform you’re in.

8. Support

How to Get WordPress Support

WordPress community is so huge. The spirit of community is helping another WordPress user, sharing knowledge, and contributing to the WordPress software.

You can visit the official WordPress.org support page for some fundamental tutorials, documentation and support forums. Additionally, you can find a huge number of resources online like IsItWP and WPBeginnerto help you with your WordPress issues.

wordpress-support

How to Get Blogger Support

Unlike WordPress, Blogger has limited support options. If you click on the Help icon, you will find some articles on how to use Blogger.

blogger-support

You can also find more articles and support forums on Google’s support page.

The winner: WordPress is the clear winner when it comes to support.

9. Cost

How Much Does It Cost to Set Up a WordPress Blog?

Although WordPress software is free, you need to buy a domain and hosting to set up your WordPress blog.

A domain name costs around $14.99 for a year. However, if you choose Bluhost, then you will get a free domain name along with your web hosting. The basic Bluehost plan costs $2.75 per month which is quite a fair price for all the flexibility your WordPress blog can offer.

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How Much Does It Cost to Set Up a Blogger Blog?

You can set up a Blogger blog completely free of cost if you are happy with a shared subdomain (eg. example.blogspot.com). You can use it free forever with a blogspot.com subdomain.

If you want to change it or remove the subdomain, you need to buy a domain from third-party domain registrars like Godaddy or NameCheap. To run a blogger blog, you only have to pay for the annual domain registration fee.

The winner: Starting a Blogger blog is free whereas you need to spend about $120 per year for running a blog. Considering the huge potentials a WordPress blog offers, the cost is reasonably fair.

Learn more about how much it costs for running a WordPress website.

10. Ease of Migration

How to Migrate a WordPress Blog

The process of migrating a WordPress blog to another hosting or other CMS platforms is quite easy.

If you look for tutorials online, you will get a plenty of articles, tutorials, and video tutorials on how to migrate a WordPress blog,

How to Migrate a Blogger Blog?

You can migrate a Blogger blog to WordPress or other platforms by exporting database. However, it’s not as easy as WordPress migration.

With better migrating options, WordPress is the clear winner.

Evidently, WordPress is the best blogging platform in existence. When compared with Blogger, there is a slight learning curve to set up your WordPress blog.

If you want to make a professional blog, then WordPress is your go-to platform. It offers all the flexibility you need to customize your blog. Plus, you can build any types of websites on WordPress with a minimal effort. On the other hand, Blogger is a basic blogging platform that comes with limited customization options. It’s best suited for hobby bloggers who don’t want to spend a dime for building a blog.

If you want to learn how to start a WordPress blog, here is the complete guide for beginners.

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