blogging•blogging essentials•Blogging Freebies•Blogging photography•blogging tips
My Top 5 Reasons for Switching to WordPress
March 23, 2016Okay before we get started, let’s just put it out there. People get oddly crazy about this subject of blogger vs switching to WordPress. This is not a who is better post, one is superior than the other etc etc. I’m going to tell you why I switched. I’m not attacking your platform or your blog, just simply giving my opinion of why the switch worked for me. Good? Housekeeping out of the way. Let’s get into it then.
Also, I’ve had a lot of recent emails from people asking about starting blogs. Here is my one piece of advice, make sure you start on WordPress. Switching is such a pain. I have a great designer and coder if you need a recommendation, shoot me an email.
The Top 5 Reasons for Switching to WordPress
My Image Quality & Sizing
I get a lot of positive feedback about the quality of my pictures. It definitely has to do with the equipment, lens etc (have you check my photography tutorials yet?) but the other part is WordPress optimizes your images and allows the sharpness of your image quality to be seen. I felt like on blogger no matter how sharp my picture was, it always didn’t look crisp when my post would go live. There are also a ton of plugins for image optimization where it compresses the file but keeps the quality. I personally like the Kracken plugin.
My other may reason for switching to WordPress was the image sizing. It drives me nuts when photos are all different sizes and widths. I am way too OCD/Type A for that. On WordPress, when you upload an image it automatically resizes or you can set your sizes so everything looks nice and uniform. I think that helps with the overall aesthetics and professional appearance of my site.
The Plugins
I was never trained in html coding but I had to learn a lot along the way with blogging. When I was on blogger, you have to know so much more about coding to be able to make any changes to your blog, or pay someone who does. With WordPress, anything you want to do….there is a plugin for it. I also noticed a HUGE jump in my traffic when I started using the plugins for SEO. Type in google “What to Wear to a Pure Barre class” and on the first page you will see one of my posts. That is because I made sure to optimize my posts for google to find them. The Squirrly plugin is so helpful with helping you have all the correct headers and bolding to make your posts be found. I highly recommend using that one. They also have amazing support if you ever need it. My other favorite ones are….
SumoMe – That is the floating “shareable” icons you see on the side as well as the newsletter sign in on the top of my page. Free and great support as well.
Askimet – To help control the spam comments. It does a fabulous job. I make sure to clean it out once ever few days.
Better Click to Tweet – The easiest and most user friendly way to share your posts to Twitter.
[bctt tweet=”The top plugins you need for WordPress and why to Make the Switch”]
Google Adsense – It generates hot spots for you to place your ads. I noticed a nice kick up in my adsense sales after installing this plugin.
Instagram Feed – For running my instagram feed on the bottom and side of my page.
Public Post Preview – If you need to send a preliminary post to a sponsor. You need to install this app otherwise they won’t be able to see it in draft form.
Those are my top plugins. Try to only keep the ones you need on there otherwise it will slow your site speed down. I used Plugins Speed Test to check and see which plugins are slowing my site down. Also, make sure to read if the plugin works with your theme. Sometimes they aren’t compatible and it will mess up your theme display. Learned that one the hard way.
I Own My Content
Basically think about this renting vs owning. When I was on blogger I was basically renting the platform to write but the content was owned by google. If google decides one day it doesn’t like your pictures or something you said, it can shut down your own account. I know it’s rare but I have worked way too hard on this blog not to own my content. Yes, I have been self hosting on Godaddy for almost 2 years now and I have had three times where they were doing something with the maintenance and my site was down. However, I tweeted them and it was back up in a few hours. That is annoying but at the end of the day it’s still my content. I will probably at some point change my hosting platforms to those such as Hostiserver or others, I’m open for suggestions for anyone that has them. Always looking to learn more.
Formatting
If I want to make my post body wider, I just move my slider on my widgets theme. If I want to make my header bigger, its easy. I want to add a new carousel picture slider, just install the plugin. I can format anything with this blog without having to pay a designer. That is extremely liberating. I try not to mess that much with the overall format because with how OCD I am, I could spend an entire weekend on it and I’d rather be at the Farmers Market. With WordPress, it is extremely user friendly to update your blog layout and there is always a plugin to help you accomplish it.
Overall Aesthetics & Usability
It’s no secret around here that my blog is my business. When I switched and starting working on the aesthetics of my blog, that is when brands and companies wanted to start working with me. Also around that time I made sure to stop using iPhone snaps and only use my DSLR camera so I can’t say it was the only reason but it definitely helped. I love my current WordPress theme. I think it looks professional, I really like the hover tab pop outs on the top of my blogging categories. When you hover over lifestyle, wedding and travel pops down. That was a one minute change in my widgets. Anything I want to change, I can pretty much do it on my own. I like how clean and user friendly WordPress themes are. Plus, the back end writing aspect is so much easier for me to use as well.
Takeaways points. I wish I would have started on WordPress from day one but I was new to blogging and the free blogger platform was easy to start with. If I could recommend to anyone starting would be to start with WordPress. Yes, it is an initial small investment but in the long run it will be worth it for you. Switching to WordPress from blogger can sometimes be expensive and frustrating. If you are on blogger and thinking of switching, shoot me an email. I’d be happy to go over any questions you have and I will also shoot you the name to my current WordPress guru who is the smartest person ever. She has helped me quite a few times over the years.
So these are the reasons why I switched. I don’t want this to become a “well I’m on this platform for XY and Z and why it’s better“. I simply wanted to share the reasons as to why it worked for me. My number one concern was image quality and easiness of upload and I feel that WordPress is the best for me from that aspect. Any questions please feel free! Also, if you liked this post, please share it and check out my other blogging freebies including photography tutorials here.
I’ve been debating making the switch for quite some time now, but part of me is like..don’t fix what isn’t broken. I just love all the plug-ins that WordPress has to offer. Did you manually make the switch or have someone help?
I completely agree! I have had wordpress for almost a year and I just love it! It is so much more professional with more options too! Many companies I work with require a wordpress platform too, so I am so glad I switched! Your blog always looks professional and pretty :)
I have my business set up on wordpress agree that the customization was far better…but making that switch for my own blog is just daunting…not to mention so many wordpress sites are blocked at my job that I’m not able to comment on and it is a fear that mine would be blocked on my own work computer lol! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
I swear by WordPress and love how customizable it is! Askimet does such a good job!
These are all great reasons, and you’ve definitely got me thinking about the switch. I’m just scared to do it haha
I’ve thought about switching for awhile, but have yet to pull the trigger. You have me thinking about it more.
I love reading these posts! I’m still on blogger and have been happy with my current theme and setup, but there are some tweaks I would love to make that are only possible with WordPress – I’m thinking about making the switch at some point!
Zelle
Southern Style
Interesting insight; I use Joomla because Mr. Cubicle Couture is a hands down expert (and his services are the free!). But I really labored over the joomla vs. wordpress decision and might make the switch soon. All good stuff to consider! Thanks for sharing! Make today work, Rachel –CubicleCouture
My hubby really wants me to switch to WordPress but I am so nervous about the switch haha! I’ve heard wordpress doesn’t take your labels for your posts so I would have to go back in and redo it! Everything else seems like it would be amazing.
http://www.amemoryofus.com
I recently read that some other blogger switched and she mentioned it was such a hassle. I was wondering why she switched…now I know why! Sounds like you get ALL control and I like the sound of that. But is scares me a tad bit…I think I would eventually like to change, so if I decide to, I will probably bombard you with emails! ;) Thanks for the info, I pinned it!
Switching to WordPress was such a headache, but definitely worth it. I always recommend it to new bloggers!
xo, Whitney and Blaire
Peaches In A Pod
This was a great post and I loved learning more about why you made the switch! It’s a “in the future” change for me now, but I love learning more about it!
I have been thinking about switching to wordpress for a good year now! Just can’t find the time and energy to switch! I agree with all your points. Someday I will get there lol!
Yes to all of this! I’m so glad I switched. Owningy my content was the #1 reason I switched. I love the freedom of WP and it really is pretty easy to use with all the plugins available.
This is all good to know.
That’s scary about Google able to shut your stuff down & its gone. YIKES. I never thought of that.
This is such an informative post as well as helpful. It sounds like wordpress really is the way to go. If I ever decide to switch, I will totally be asking you alot of questions about it.
So you’re self-hosted wordpress right? I am thinking, especially once the baby comes, about self-hosting. Your blog is so pretty!
I absolutely agree with you that WordPress (and owning your own domain) is so worth the switch! Even the headaches of shutting myself down (multiple times) was worth it ha. I’m looking into a few of those plug-ins you suggested (and love Askimet!).
I love that you own your own content on WordPress, and that your images are re-sized to all match. I try to keep mine all the same size, but they don’t all end up appearing that way which is frustrating! Your pictures are definitely beautiful and so crisp on this platform <3
Green Fashionista
I am thinking about making the switch from Blogger to WordPress. I agree about the image quality. They always look better before I upload and publish photos. I may be emailing you with a few questions.
Lisa
Daily Style Finds
Yes yes and yes!! I made the switch last year and couldn’t be happier! Definitely need to check out some of those plugins!
<3 Shannon
Upbeat Soles
Absolutely love this post! You know I’ve been going back and forth forever about switching over to WP – I still think I want to make the jump, but I’m terrified lol. I can’t find our old email conversation with the name of your person, so I’ll have to shoot you another one. :)
This is great for people debating the switch – I agree it’s totally worth doing and really can take your blogging to the next level. Plugins are amazing, I’m no wiz at HTML coding either and doubt I ever will be. Love wordpress! I also typically enjoy reading wordpress blog over blogger blogs!
Loosing all my content was my biggest reason for switching. I came across a blog where all her content was just gone and it freaked me out!
There are so many endless options with WordPress, I definitely think it’s the best platform to use! Also, I love Sumo Me Plugin, it’s amazing!
I’m slowly getting the hang of Word Press. I can say the same with the pictures, I like how they’re displayed now – they look more crisp. I need to get comfortable with formatting things on my sidebar and look into plugins.
Yup. I know. I get it. And before I even saw that you wrote about this today, I was drafting in my head a post called “When Blogger IS Better Than WordPress.” I know I said I was switching, but I’ve since reconsidered – I think. At least, I’m still on the fence. I know all these things you said are so true, and I know that WordPress is indeed more professional and customizable but there is one massive, huge, nearly insurmountable draw back: learning curves when one has next to zero time and 2 kids under 2 who interrupt all normal brain functioning!
I love having WordPress and would never go back to blogger. While my pictures aren’t from a fancy camera, I feel like they look better on WordPress to. And if people are only looking for one reason, owning your own content would be it!!
I started off on WordPress, and I totally agree with you about the image sizing! It would drive me nuts to have to update everything manually! I also love getting to use the plugins so I don’t have to deal with hardcore coding!
I really want to make the jump soon! These are all great reasons to switch! I used to have a WordPress blog, and I love all the plugin options.
i had no clue about Google owning blogger’s content. I mean obviosuly it’s common sense but I never though about it in that way. Going to check out those plugins now. Great info and tips you provided!
Amanda, these are some fabulous blogging tips! I recently stumbled upon your blog when I installed SumoMe’s Discover feature on my own page. I found myself diving into your posts, and a couple hours later feeling totally refreshed and ready to re-commit to blogging. You have been such a source of inspiration! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your tips and always being transparent with your readers.
x Lauren
http://GreensAndGlamour.com
I’ve always been on WordPress, so I totally agree with you, but I am so excited about these plugins you listed! Pinned for future use- looking forward to playing with them over my spring break : )
I loved this post!! I’ve pondered the idea of switching at some point (obviously this isn’t the time for me lol) and you’ve answered a lot of questions that I’ve had. It is definitely nice that you can easily customize without having to pay someone and wait on them to have your design ready. Keep up the good work, girlfriend!
xo, Kristina
I felt like this was personally addressed to me ;) jk! I loved this! I am still trying to figure out plug ins.. like once you install them how do you make them work? I’m so impressed with everything you have done on your own, my guru!!
Definitely remembering these tips if I make the change in the future – thanks for sharing, lady!
100%! I love WordPress so much. I made the switch wayyyy back when I was a wee little baby blogger who really didn’t know anything, and I am SO glad I did it then, vs. having to do it now.
I need/want to do this so badly, but am also SO intimidated! WordPress definitely seems like the way to go the more we get into this blogging journey. I had no idea pictures look better on there, too!
oh this was an excellent post! pinning for later. I’m considering hard making the switch!
I am planning on making the switch this summer when I have more time on my hands. I already reserved my name on WordPress. I started on Blogger because it seemed easier but I definitely know that WordPress will be better in the long run! Thanks!
these are definitely all great reasons. i think nit’s so weird that people get all up and arms about it. i personally doubt i will ever use wordpress but i don’t care or attack those that do. we all gotta do what’s right for us, right?!