Last month, I made the switch from a blogspot URL to a custom domain name for my blog. I’ve known for a while I’d have to make this switch someday, but I thought that switch also required moving from Blogger to WordPress. I am not a fan of WordPress, so I put off using it on my own blog. When I saw recently that Blogger also offered custom domain names, I was in.
I’ve been using Blogger for over five years now and I’ve had no problems with them. I’ve customized my template, added widgets, and scheduled posts. Blogger has made some changes lately that have all been positive, including better spam detection (I don’t use comment moderation or word capture and I rarely see spam comments on my blog).
However, back in May, Facebook wouldn’t let me post links to my blog for about a week—they said anything “blogspot” was spam. I was also aware that having a blogspot URL marked me, in a way, as an amateur blogger. All the serious or “professional” bloggers that I know have their own custom domain names. I just couldn’t justify the $80-100/year price tag for that.
To make a comparison, having a .blogspot domain name is like having a c/o in your address. Your mail is coming to you at someone else’s place. Buying your custom domain name is like setting up a PO box for yourself or putting your own address on letters when you buy or rent your own home.
Since January, I’ve become much more serious about my blog. I’ve spent more time developing posts and pursuing blogging opportunities, such as guest posting (and hosting), interviews, and product reviews. I’ve also been working to build my traffic. I hope that means some great new partnerships for me in the future so I can bring you some great new products. Thus it seemed time that my blog name reflects the professional attitude I’m giving to my blog.
Christine (whom I know from the Canucks Blogger Network) is also a fan of Blogger. When I saw she had a self-hosted blog through Blogger, I had some questions for her. She says, “Everyone told me to go with WordPress, but I’ve been with Blogger for so long and I’m a creature of habit. I just couldn’t get my brain wrapped around WordPress. I find Blogger so much easier to use. I actually LOVE having my own domain name AND being with Blogger!”
Like me, Christine has been blogging since about 2005, “but not seriously until only 3 years ago (when I was put on bed rest for my high risk pregnancy). Back when I started blogging, it was just for family, friends, and former students of mine. I didn’t realize other people would see my posts! Ha! It’s taken an entirely different turn and has a life of its own now. I switched from my blogspot.com to my own domain a few months ago and love it.”
Because most of the information that I saw about self-hosting with Blogger seemed to be coming from Blogger itself, I was happy to hear from Christine. Though I’ve only had my custom domain name or a month now, I can echo her sentiments. Switching was super easy and super cheap ($10/year). Now I just have to change my links everywhere…
Do you prefer WordPress or Blogger? Do you have your own custom domain name?
Addendum: I would now heartily recommend that you buy your custom domain name through a hosting company (like Hostiserver Dedicated Web Hosting) rather than Google. Setting up my domain with Google was quite easy, but I encountered quite a few hassles later when I wanted to make other changes to my blog (including switching from Blogger to WordPress, which I also now recommend doing).
8 Comments
Ashley – obviously I’m still figuring things out… I’ll have to look up self-hosting and domain names again. Thanks for the clarification. 🙂 I’ve found Blogger fairly easy to customize, though I think you can create more pages and categories with WordPress.
Lynn – I used to have problems with scheduling posts in Blogger (it would switch posts from “scheduled” back to “draft”, especially if I tried scheduling too many) but lately it’s been working like a charm. I’ve been scheduling up to ten posts at a time without problem.
I have used WordPress and definitely prefer it to Blogger. It just looks more professional although some of the themes are not as “user friendly” as Blogger. That said, Blogger has let me down when I schedule posts (not working properly) and there are oftentimes glitches that are frustrating. WordPress does not allow Javascript so things like Rafflecopter etc. do not work. Still I much prefer it.
“All the serious or “professional” bloggers that I know have their own domain name. I just couldn’t justify the $80-100/year price tag for that.”
Just to clarify, self-hosting and domain names are two different things. 🙂 A domain name only costs about $10 per year. I don’t know much about what Blogger offers, but often it’s possible to use a public platform but still have your own domain name. (Again, not sure if that’s true for Blogger, but for many sites it is).
I’ve never really used Blogger so I can’t really comment on it. But I’ve been using self-hosted WordPress sites for ages and I absolutely love it. I love how customizable it is. You can literally do anything with WordPress. It’s a great blogging platform and since it has become so customizable, it’s also now a great content management system.
I prefer WP, and I’ve used both, and one of the biggest reasons is the Blogger commenting system. Overall, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re happy and enjoy it.
It was a very smart move to go off on your own with your own domain. Congrats!
I prefer WP. I like blogger if you are doing the free blog, though.
Fredamans – I recommend switching earlier rather than later. It was easy to switch, but now I have to build up my blog rankings (with Google and Alexa) all over again.
The Zoo – I’ve always heard people raving about WordPress and what they can do with it and saying it’s better than Blogger… but I’ve tried it lots of times and I just don’t like it. Blogger does everything I want it to and, as you say, it’s what I know. 🙂
I’m on Blogger and don’t know anything about WordPress except that when I complain about something in Blogger, people usually tell me to “go to WordPress” (and vice versa).
Better the devil you know…
Thanks for sharing. I just got my own domain name three weeks ago and am really pleased as well.
Besos, Sarah
Zookeeper at Journeysof TheZoo
Fellow CBNer
journeysofthezoo at hotmail dot com
For that price, I may do the domain switch too. I prefer blogger and would rather stay with them. Thanks for posting your experience!