Blogger vs Wordpress: Which One Should You Use?

If you are planning to start a new blog, chances are that you are still thinking about the platform to use. Most beginners get confused between blogspot or blogger vs wordpress. In this post I will share the pros & cons of both and also highlight on what basis you should be choosing your blogging platform.

I have tried to share this information from a “user’s perspective” under three major points which most of us consider before starting a blog, namely;

Ease of use (i.e Use interface) – How do I start & How much time will I need to learn?
Design & layout – How should my blog design be?
& finally How much money do I need to begin?

So Blogger vs WordPress, here it goes.

1. User Interface

Blogger

Sleek and easy to use. Blogger/ blogspot is a Google product and therefore the UI is super smooth. It won’t take you more than an hour (if you are tech savvy) or two hours (if you are a total newbie) to completely understand how to use the platform. If you look at the screenshot of my blogger account below, you will notice how easy it is to create account (as it’s connected with your gmail) and start publishing your posts.

blogger_1

WordPress

WordPress UI gives you full control. WordPress has a lot of free plugins/widgets/tools that can help you automate tasks. These can be easily be installed. However, wordpress UI may get a tad-bit intimidating. Have a look at pinchofsocial dashboard screenshot below. There are tons of links on left and right navigation panels. So the learning curve for WP is a bit more than blogger. Probably, a day or two.

WP_1

2. Blog Design & Layout

Blogger

Blogger does not have many design templates or ‘themes’ as it is popularly known in the blogging world. There are very limited theme options to choose from. The core concept of a “blog” is the scrolling nature of it and this platform is best if you are looking to create a personal blog and not a website.

WordPress

WP offers thousands of free and paid design themes. You can also search for themes focusing on a particular niche or industry. If you are looking to start a commercial blog then its best to use wordpress.

In both cases however, complete customisation can be done. But mostly when we start we want to have a hassle-free quick-start to keep our motivation levels up and for this wordpress is probably the best option.

3. Monetary Investment

On both platforms wordpress.com and blogger.com you can start a blog for free without having to spend a dollar. This is when your blogs are hosted under wordpress or blogspot domains, which means your blog URL will have “example.blogspot.com” or example.wordpress.com” at the end of your domain name.

Blogger

Blogger does not have custom domain packages within the platform. So if you need your own domain i.e “example.com” instead of “example.blogspot.com” then you must buy domain and hosting from one of the domain providers. Here is a stepwise guide to help transfer your Blogpost blog on to a custom domain.

Begin your domain Search here

WordPress

The free version of wordpress works the same way as blogger. If you wish to host your blog on a custom domain without the “.wordpress.com” then you have an option of upgrading your wordpress package that includes hosting and domain. Here are the various packages with the offerings.

WordPress.com Plans _ WordPress-page-001

Conclusion

Overall, wordpress plays a better role in being an all-rounder blogging platform. I’d say stick to wordpress if you have plans to monetize your blog in the longer run. If you just want to start an online diary sorts, then blogspot is for you, as it’s simple and easy to use.

There are many more things I would like to highlight in this post but honestly when you start your blogging journey, these three pointers are all your need to review before deciding.