WordPress vs. BlogSpot : Which Is Better & Why?
When it comes to blogging, we have plenty of options to start a blog:
WordPress
BlogSpot
Tumblr
…and many others…
Which is better for blogging?
WordPress or Blogger?
This debate can get pretty confusing at times. Many users like BlogSpot because there are less technical hassles, and many users love WordPress because of its increased power and features. When someone asks me which platform they should start with, here is my usual answer:
Start with WordPress.com for a month, and once you get accustomed to blogging, start a new blog on the self-hosted WordPress platform.
Alternatively, you are free to use Blogger.com as your launchpad blogging platform, but don’t stick to it for too long.
I say this from experience because I started my blogging life with BlogSpot and later moved to WordPress.org.
Back then, there were a hell of a lot of learning experiences trying to figure out WordPress. But now, learning WordPress is quite easy with the help of detailed guides, tutorials, and videos.
Anyway, in this article I will share a quick comparison of WordPress vs. BlogSpot and will explain which one is better for certain situations and why.
WordPress or BlogSpot: Which blogging platform to choose?
Why and Why Not Blogger?
The Blogger platform (aka BlogSpot) is very useful when you just want to start a blog to share your thoughts. When you are not blogging for money, or you need a simple platform which doesn’t require any technical know-how, BlogSpot is really good.
While there are many limitations of BlogSpot in terms of functionalities and SEO benefit, if you just need a platform to start a blog with at almost 0 cost, BlogSpot is the right pick.
At the same time, if you are blogging for money, building authority, or for branding yourself, BlogSpot is not the ideal choice. This is because you have limited control over visibility in search engines, and after a while, you become very limited when you want to add new features.
I have read it many times:
Blogger is a Google product which means it gives more SEO advantages.
This is simply not true. It doesn’t matter if you are using WordPress, Blogger, Drupal, or any other platform, SEO is decided by how you configure your complete site for search engines.
In the Blogger platform, we have limited control over our site. Despite the fact that they have added some new SEO features, BlogSpot still lacks in SEO optimization.
In a nutshell, the Blogger platform is better than WordPress when you are creating a blog for no other reason than you want to write. If you are OK with the limited features offered by the Blogger platform, then this is a great choice.
Why and Why Not WordPress?
Note: ShoutMeLoud uses WordPress as its blogging platform, but this will not make my comparison biased.
WordPress gives you complete control over your blog, and you can technically do anything you want.
You host your own files, can design it however you like, and can use it for any purpose (personal or professional).
You also get complete control over the SEO including adding SEO plugins to make your blog more SEO friendly. Moreover, you can always introduce the latest SEO techniques like “star ratings” using a plugin such as Rich Snippets.
WordPress will let you do everything you want to do.
But at the same time, you need to manage your own blog. You need to install WordPress on your own server and maintain your blog’s health.
It may sound technical, but with amazing support from the WordPress community, you can learn everything in no time.
In fact, if you stumble onto the ShoutMeLoud WordPress guide, most of your queries regarding WordPress will be answered.
Getting started with WordPress may require some effort in terms of watching videos, learning how to add a plugin, getting used to the dashboard, etc.
But we also have to do that with Blogger, right?
If you are planning to create a blog with the mindset of making it popular and making money from it, you should go for the self-hosted WordPress blog.
If you are an occasional writer or a hobby-blogger, BlogSpot is the best pick for you.
Here is a handy chart from HowJoyful, explaining the feature differences between BlogSpot vs. WordPress.com vs. Self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org):
WordPress or Blogger
Matt Cutts on Blogger or WordPress for SEO:
Matt Cutts is not only a Google engineer, he is also the head of the Google Web Spam team.
He is one of those guys who educates normal users like you and me about what Google expects from a website and how the Google search engine works.
In the past, I have shared many webmaster videos from Matt, and he has always helped me learn something new. In a recent video, a user asked him:
“Which is better in terms of SEO: WordPress or Blogger?”
Matt answered the query with this video:
Interestingly, Matt Cutts uses the WordPress platform for his personal blog, though he mentioned that Blogger is good for new users as it’s very simple to get started. He says that for casual blogging, it’s fantastic.
With regards to SEO advantages between Blogger and WordPress, both are about the same with the default installation.
The WordPress default installation is not SEO friendly, but you can always make your WordPress blog SEO friendly with the help of many available plugins.
In short, WordPress gives you more power and you can customize it according to your needs.
The Verdict
The Blogger platform is good when you are looking for a simple blog.
The WordPress platform is amazing when you are opting for professional blogging, creating a business blog, or planning to earn money from your blog.
It’s important to figure out why you want to start a blog and then go from there. Blogger has many limitations that WordPress doesn’t have. In terms of functionality, there’s no question that WordPress is far superior.
If this article convinced you to move your Blogger hosted blog to WordPress, you can read my article on how to get ready for the big move.
Do let me know: What’s your verdict on WordPress vs. Blogger? Which platform do you prefer and why?
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