Who Are You Calling Crafty?

I spent the weekend trying to start another blog this time on WordPress (keep in mind I was using WordPress.com not WordPress.org).  I have heard people rave about WordPress (WP) that it is far superior than Blogger in every way.  I spent over 5 hours on Saturday trying to figure out simple things that I do all the time in Blogger (full customization in HTML code).  I then found out that WP does not support HTML unless you pay for it.  I understand the wanting to have an Open Source if you write very controversial blog.  I know Google has content control over my blog but outside of the NPR piece I don’t really write anything all that controversial.  I read stories on both blog hosting sites shutting down blogs.  Part of me thinks WP shuts down people’s blog so they are forced to get a self hosting one, maybe that is my brain thinking like a conspiracy theorists.  Blogger is no angel in this respect the Anti Obama Blog from a couple years ago comes to mind.  Both sites send out bots patrolling for SPAM Blogs – I am confused on how a blog could be SPAM but I guess there are SPAM Blogs out there.

I have been using Blogger for six years and chose it because it seemed easy, I was not ready to take the WP plunge.  I wanted a platform to document my daughter’s life for family who lives far away not to make money.  I started this blog because I have Attention Crafting Disorder and couldn’t seem to finish anything I started, not because I wanted to be a Crafting Queen of the Internet.  I have had my battles with Blogger (trust me it has not been all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.)  I hated that you could only upload photos one at a time and everything would be all weird when I uploaded them.  I wanted to do stuff like on other blogs a nice slide portfolio or different backgrounds – my biggest peeve with Blogger was NO PAGES.  When Blogger added the new design templates making it easier to customize and then added pages they made me very happy!  I also discovered Blogger Draft which shows everything (even the new stuff that isn’t released yet).  I learned some basic HTML code in college and have taught myself a lot more since my SCAD days.  I am NOT an expert in HTML but I like to think I know more than the average person.  I can walk someone through basic HTML and can write a how to do basic HTML coding.  I happen to like the customization capability that Blogger offers for FREE!  I’m sorry I am not going to pay $15 for something that another platform offers for free – I don’t care if the platform is run by a bunch of monkeys or hamsters on wheels, I won’t do it. 

Numerous amounts of articles stating how much better WP is opposed to Blogger.  In my opinion everything was outdated.  I found one article that was originally published in 2006 that was re-published in March 2011 stating Blogger doesn’t support pages – REALLY!?  I guess my thing was if you are going to republish and article make sure it is accurate. 

Another thing that I saw was that you can’t import blogs from WP to Blogger.  Yes you can – it is time consuming but it is possible.  WordPress2Blogger will configure your WP blog to Blogger.  The only thing is you will have to manually publish everything, which is time consuming if you are a daily blogger.

This is a chart I found from Rudageek – it is a New Chart (March 2011).

B or W indicates winner in the category	WordPress	Blogger
Works on B (Completely Flexible)	Mainly on PHP Need to pay to $15 to use Custom CSS and HTML	Mainly XML Allows Complete editing for free
Hosting W(for self Hosting)	Can be Self Hosted on your Server or WordPress.com	One of few drawbacks of blogger that it cannot be hosted on your own Server. You can only have a blogger blog hosted on Blogger Site
Storage W(for file uploading)	3 GB + Expandable (Paid)	1 GB + Expandable (Paid) Files cannot be hosted, images are hosted on Picasa web albums (I honestly do not mind this at all – I like being able to go through an access all my photos.  It is also easy to host things on Google Documents and have a thumbnail to click on.)
Themes and look B (for free fully customizable themes)	Depends on the template. Most of them only let you change header. All Good templates are costly!	Completely customizable with ease. All WordPress templates can be ported to blogger most people do this for free.
Installation B (for easiness)	Requires installation with Tutorial on Official Site. Not easy for Beginners and newbies.	Easy Installation. No configuration required.  Done within few minutes!
Gadgets B (for ease of adding them)	available as Plugins, Some are paid. Easy to install once you have the package.	Available by default are not much. But all WordPress Plugins are available for Blogger but with a bit difficulty. Still easy enough. Not many of them are needed. Default Widgets are more than enough
Writing Post B (New improved editor)	Easy and full featured	Easy and Full featured. Supports different languages.
Image Uploads	Allows image uploading and editing	Allows Image uploading and editing
Spam Protection	Askimet Spam Filter Supports configuration and plugins	Google Spam Filter Supports configuration, no specific plugins but new improvements have been introduced like avatar support.
Statistics	Supports traffic, views and other basic features	New analytic integration allows users to view stats in new Dashboard option.  (If you have NOT used this it is AMAZING!)
Monetization B (For adsense amazon affiliates integration)	Ads can be displayed with in anyways. Specific plugins available	Google Adsense and Amazon Affiliates are Completely integrated with Blogger.  Which allow Better advertising options.