I must preface this post by saying that many of the blogs I visit are powered by Blogger. Although I had an absolutely horrible experience with Blogger, this will not deter me from continuing to support, visit, follow, and comment on your blogs. This, my dear readers, will never change. However, I needed to make a change for my own site. And since many of you have been asking me why I made the decision to leave Blogger and make the move to WordPress, I am going to dish right now.
Basically, Blogger was like a really bad boyfriend to me; he was always late, sometimes unresponsive, totally unreliable, never supportive, and acted like he owned me. A girl can only take so much before she reaches her breaking point. And this girl had enough.
Blogger Was Always Late and Sometimes Even Unresponsive: My own blog would take time to load and some blogs I visit frequently would take so long to load, and some not at all. This process proved that Blogger was never on time. Even worse, to try and comment on a blog that had restricted users to Google accounts only? Blogger was never on time. Most often, I couldn’t wait around long enough for Blogger to show its face. Is this an Internet Explorer issue? Perhaps. Did it happen to all users? No, but I was certainly one of the lucky ones. Even when I downloaded Google Chrome and other “tricks” that were suggested to me, these problems still existed. This is when I totally reached my threshold.
I need a platform that will always be on time and responsive. I want my page to load easily for readers and make adding a comment a pleasure, not a hassle. No need for logins, passwords, page loads, pop-ups, none of that garbage. One quick form without any login necessary. Completely a fast process that’s consistently easy, seamless. Effortless.
Blogger Was Unreliable: Aside from sometimes not being able to leave a comment all together, there were a few occasions when I was completely locked out of my own blog! I received either a Google server error message or one of those crazy error messages full of code that actually would not let me on my own damn blog! I couldn’t even get to my Dashboard to post my sheer frustration with Blogger. Did it happen all the time? No. Enough to spook me? Absolutely. Enough to make me leave? You better believe it.
I can’t be worried that every time I login to my blog, there is a chance something has gone terribly wrong. I don’t want to have to hold my breath every single time to make sure that my Dashboard will completely appear. Blogger showed me time and time again that it’s simply not reliable. I need a platform that will give me peace of mind when I login to my blog, it will be there!
Blogger Was Not Supportive: With the many issues I was facing, Blogger never came around to help me. I would share my frustration and issues on the help forums and the administrators would never respond to me; not in an email or on any of the Blogger help forums. My time spent there was completely useless. I worried that there would come a day that I would be locked out of my blog for more than a few hours and then what? Hope the Google police would rescue me? Not a chance.
I need a platform that encourages support. I need a community of users that will help you when you need guidance, be there for you in time of need, and help you to find your way through code when you’ve screwed something up. You will get a response from some WordPress gurus on twitter almost instantaneously, let alone the hundreds of users who login to the help forums to chat and support hourly. There is always someone there, regardless of your issue or time of day. Especially since I am a new user, I foresee myself chatting on these boards a lot, and that’s the kind of support I need.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying WordPress won’t have its own issues. Give me some time and I’ll probably find some pitfalls, but at least with WordPress, there is an entire community ready to provide support and give you the help you need. To me this is priceless, and it’s something Blogger could never and will never provide.
Blogger Owned Me: Need I say more? Although I wrote and owned my content, I was always at the mercy of Google. If Google was down, so was my blog. If Google EVER decided one day to erase my little blog out of the blogosphere, it could be done instantly because my domain was pointed to Google, and technically they could do whatever the hell they want with it. This goes for all blogspot addresses as well. Using Blogger, you will always be at the mercy of Google. I have come to realize since I am paying a hosting company as well as my domain name to have a dot com, I want a little piece of that action and I certainly deserve that.
On the WordPress platform, my blog is mine and all mine. I own it. All of it. If Google crashed tomorrow, I will still be standing.
So you see, Blogger was like a really bad boyfriend that I finally realized needed to go. Was I scared to leave? Totally. Was it a leap of faith? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, I had to follow my gut, and my gut was telling me to move on.
As for WordPress? Well, he’s the kind of guy that I want to stick around for the long haul. I see a real future together; one full of stability, reliability, and endless support.
And the best part? He doesn’t own me.
I do.
Hmmm. Been thinking about doing this for a few months now. Did you just do it yourself or did you hire someone to help you out?
I’m just afraid if I make the switch by myself I’m totally going to erase my entire blog. I’m a bit code-challenged.
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..The New York Times Wants To Interview Me? =-.
Hi Amanda~ I can’t wait until I add the plug-in to automatically reply to your comment. Anyway, I hired a designer since I am totally code challenged. I used Lauren at Resotred 316 Designs and she was amazing. I highly recommend hiring someone to move it, since it can only be imported once and you wouldn’t want to lose posts, comments, feeds, etc. If you ever have any questions, please email or tweet me and I’d be happy to help!
.-= Theta Mom´s last blog ..Blogger Was Like a Really Bad Boyfriend, So He Finally Got the Boot =-.
Hey! Good for you! I love how it ‘looks’ the same, only more tidy and neat! Love this! Now I’m wondering if I should make the jump, too? Or at least become a dot com?
Hahaha such a creative post!!! so u finally traded blogger a used model for a new one hehehe
love it ..eventually I will be doing the same…but since am still a lil baby ill give into blogger for now lol…great job though.
.-= Nikki´s last blog ..Kristen Stewart! =-.
Congrats on the move… looks great! I may do this at some point, but I’d have to hire someone too. 😉
So even if you are on blogspot but with a dot com it is hosted by google? And, if that is the case, how do you move it to different hosting? It seems so complicated!! I have issues as well and it pisses me off. I have had many people tell me that my site won’t load and they can’t leave a comment. But I’m kinda nervous to make a move….tell me who did your design again??
.-= Lee the Hot Flash Queen´s last blog ..Third Time is a Charm? =-.
Hi Lee~Lauren from Restored 316 Designs did it and she rocked. I have her link in the previous post. You are a dot com, no? So although you are paying a hosting co, your domain is pointed to google, so TECHNICALLY they “own” it. They have all the control. With WP, I am on my own host and it feels fabulous!
.-= Theta Mom´s last blog ..Blogger Was Like a Really Bad Boyfriend, So He Finally Got the Boot =-.
Makes me want to switch!!
.-= shortmama´s last blog ..It’s Time To Get Randomfied =-.
Owning my content was a big thing for me, I want to know that it’s mine. There are many things in life I don’t own or control, but come on give me my OWN FREAKING CONTENT! I had to bleed words, on a keyboard, with a coffee fueled haze, I deserve it.
Not to mention all the different things you can do with WP plug-ins. Love it
.-= beth aka confusedhomemaker´s last blog ..Pumpkin Allergies, Pumpkin Pie, And Horror =-.
Hey, nice to have you back lady!! Looks great. I so want to take the leap too. Has it been easy? Anyway, welcome back and congrats!!
.-= clueless mama´s last blog ..Thankful Thoughts for the Holidays: Forgiveness & Acceptance of Others! =-.
I fear Blogger is going to lose us soon too!
I’m so glad you’re back!!
But now I’m mad at my blogger because it hasn’t even shown that you’ve had updated posts. What the heck?!
So…how easy was that move?
I am not sophisticated enough to switch, but like your clean new look! I’ve missed you!! So glad you’re back in business and loving your new man
Congrats!
and now I’M tempted to switch!
It looks great here! You’ll love my man, WP. Such a stand up guy.
seriously considering this move myself, but thinking about all the logistics is exhausting and then I’ll have to part with my “followers” haha…sad
.-= Kelly´s last blog ..A Stuffed Acorn Squash Makes My Day =-.
Your new layout looks great! I do think it’s brave for you to move over to WordPress… so much can go wrong in that transition process — although it sounds like plenty was going wrong already! I have not had any major issues with Blogger, but there are things that drive me crazy like the commenting. I ALWAYS have to push “Submit” twice … the first time I press it I always get an error message, then it goes through the second time. Not just once in a while. Every single time I comment on someone’s blog. Frustrating. I don’t really trust my current designer to make the switch, though, so I feel I’m stuck, at least until I do a redesign.
Glad it all went well for you! Your blog is just exploding with followers! Good for you! ;0)
.-= Melinda´s last blog ..Ready for Some Good Clean Fun? =-.
One question … would Lauren from Restored Designs be willing to do a switch to WP (and maybe even add some pages), even though she didn’t do the original design? Just wondering…
.-= Melinda´s last blog ..Ready for Some Good Clean Fun? =-.
I’ve been wanting to make the change………I think you’ve just convinced me………
.-= angie´s last blog ..Wordful Wednesday-the perfect location? =-.
Let’s try this again!
I’m so glad you dumped your loser boyfriend!
Also wanted to ask, am I supposed to get you a house warming gift?
http://www.thewannabewahm.com
.-= Sophia’s Mom´s last blog ..Hot Nanny: The Saga Continues… =-.
Welcome…we’ve been expecting you here at WP!! 😉
you’ll find that it’s so easy to use and you can do SO much with Thesis. The site looks amazing, and I’m sure you’ll love it here…
I can definitely understand why you would change, those issues would send me packing too! Glad you are happy with your move and congrats again.
.-= One Chic Mommy´s last blog ..Music Monday!(Mad World) =-.
Good for you. It takes courage to kick a bad man (or blogger) to the curb!
.-= Sara @ domestically challenged´s last blog ..2 Things =-.
Love the new move! I would love to do that! I seriously am tech. challenged. I would love to change my blog up and get a designer, but money is an issue (isn’t it always?). I am trying to make some money blogging and would LOVE any advice from ya! Your stuff is awesome!
Well congrats! That makes me a little nervous that Google can delete my blog at anytime! Yikes!
But, I am no longer getting your updates thru my dashboard:(
I am new this year to the world of food blogging but guessing I’m lucky I started with WordPress. As the owner of a web development company, I did my home work and there was never another choice. I’ve just finished a huge project switching a very active food blogger from Blogger to WordPress and felt the need to comment because of what you discovered regarding your domain name.
She, like many others, signed up for a domain name and a Blogger account. Google handled it all so at the time seemed to make it very convenient…and maybe it was until she decided to switch to the self hosted blog we had setup.
Google is not a domain registrar, they outsource their domain name business to GoDaddy; so the only way for her to get control of her domain is to first change that relationship. Not so fast! They also automatically set her domain up with Private Registration which is another party to the relationship and keeps her public registration information private; adding another huge layer of hassle to this process.
What should have taken a couple of hours to process is now taking up to a week. She doesn’t want to blog at her old site, her viewers don’t know about her new site and so we limp along waiting for the process to transpire, a process that ultimately has her having to transfer her domain to a new registrar to get out of this quagmire and actually have ownership of the domain name she is paying for!
If I could get the word out in any way to others seeking to start with Blogger…well, other than Don’t…I would say, purchase your own domain name separately.
If you’re ready for the change it might require some assistance to accomplish that move, but in the long run it will be worth it. The capabilities of Word Press combined with Thesis make for a very robust blogging experience that you won’t regret.
I have been thinking about this, but I just paid to have my blog redone, and I don’t know if I can afford to switch at this point! But I am loving your look so much I am thinking more and more about it!
I definitely know what you mean about Blogger…I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one who was having negative experiences with them! Glad to know you’re having better luck with WordPress so far!
.-= Leslie´s last blog ..Business As Usual =-.
Blogger is my bad boyfriend too. It takes me hours to make comments because it times out on me, cannot find the page, pages don’t load, “freeze”. I almost want to give up it is so frustrating! I agree with what Lee said too. Who did you design/switch?
.-= Holly L´s last blog ..Do I have something for you, or you, or you…A Giveaway! =-.
Hi Holly-
Lauren at Resored 316 Designs. I have her link in my previous post. She was awesome!
.-= Theta Mom´s last blog ..Blogger Was Like a Really Bad Boyfriend, So He Finally Got the Boot =-.
I have a couple of blogger accounts. One was supposed to be for personal stuff, the other for business. I don’t really use either of them anymore. I’ve been using WP for months now. At first I was using the “hosted by wp” and made the switch to hosting my own. I much prefer self hosting. I can use whatever plugins and themes I want now. I also need not worry about someone at WP getting their undies in a twist over my content and deleting my blog.
It was an easy switch to make. Once I had my new hosted site up, I exported my old blog to my pc and imported it into the new site.
The only thing I lost was the theme. That was easy to replace.
.-= igster101´s last blog ..2 meteors does not a shower make =-.
Stop!! You’re scaring me! Lol! I know it’s all true; I’ve experienced all of those problems. *Sigh*
But, I’m broke and code challenged, so here I sit, trapped by Google.
I agree with the others. I love how your blog still looks the same, but cleaner. Very nice!
.-= Lisa @ All That and a box of Rocks´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday-Memphis Skyline =-.
“a really bad boyfriend”…LOL! I hope your WordPress relationship works out!
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Baby on the Move =-.
Hey there!!
Glad you’re back!! Sounds like you’ve had more than enough problems with blogger and I don’t blame you for moving your blog at all. If I start having them, I’m moving mine also. Blogging should be enjoyable and not a big hassle…it’s our outlet afterall. lol
Hugs!!
Tamara
.-= Tamara´s last blog ..Kids and Cell Phones =-.
You go girl.
You already know about my new love affair with WP!
.-= SITS Girls´s last blog ..She’s a funny southern crafter. =-.
Ok, I am totally freaked out right now. I’m a new blogger and I’m USING blogger and I had no idea that Google could erase me if they wanted to. I’m going to have to check out this whole WordPress thing!
You’re really making me think…been mulling over switching for some time. Hmmm, maybe after the holidays.
Hopefully Blogger won’t crash before then.
.-= Zen Mom´s last blog ..Ain’t He Sweet? =-.
I am watching to see how you like Word Press. So far I don’t hate Blogger, but weird problems seem to happen frequently. (ie. I will be on my site for a while, I click on my followers list from my dashboard, and there aren’t any. Sometimes I have a followeres list on my blog, and sometimes not. I too have contacted Blogger help forums and have never been answered.) I am very curious about the “other side…”
.-= Susan´s last blog ..Tunes for Tuesday =-.
Great reasons for switching. I’ve been thinking about doing so too. It does bother me that I don’t own my blog and it worries me a bit. I have to say, your blog loaded up so nice and quick, I am jealous. It looks great! Good move.
.-= 2 Toddlers and Me´s last blog ..How to Get 2 Toddlers to Wash Their Hands – Disney Musical Hand Wash Timer =-.
Such a clever post…and it makes me both interested in and nervous about switching. LOL.
.-= JennyMac´s last blog ..Sometimes I like Donald Trump’s magic words… =-.
I tried WordPress. I’m just not techie enough for it. I did find that Internet Explorer are not friends. When I use Firefox, I seldom have problems.
I do know that should blogger go away, I’d be beyond sad as I’ve put months and months into my blogs.
I had myriad problems with Blogger too. I switched to WordPress and have been mostly satisfied. I will never be totally satisfied because I have issues with my web host.
.-= Mocha Dad´s last blog ..The Promise of a Father =-.
Well congratulations Heather! Welcome to the other side. I know you will love WordPress and you will love Thesis even more. Plugins can get addictive. They’re like apps for your iPhone 😉
The site looks great. Lauren did a great job, as I knew she would. Cheers!
.-= Carolyn (the grown up child)´s last blog ..Self Destruct? Not Tonight. =-.
I am only quite new to blogging but this all makes so much sense. I am constantly removing HTML from my side bar so that I know it won’t take long to load for myself and others. I really hope that wordpress works for you and that you get some joy from blogging again.
Best wishes until next time, Natasha.
typepad was it’s own nightmare. Trust me. I just moved to WordPress last weekend. I’m so glad
Enjoy your new digs.
Wow. You are really going on and on about your switch… : ) I think I was over here a few days ago and you were talking about it. I am glad you are happy! It sounds like word press is PERFECT for you : )
.-= Life with Kaishon´s last blog ..the Dentist ( a long and boring report!) =-.
you are obviously rich…good job…
.-= shraddha´s last blog ..Self Love =-.
I just made the move to wordpress too… and lost — I cant even tell you how many readers cause so many subscribed through blogger.
It makes me sad…. but Im hoping the readers will come back and new ones will find me… WordPress took a bit getting use to– still am. but so far so good.
See, I have considered this… except I just paid someone to redesign my blog. I can see the benefits but I can’t pay someone to change me now that I just spent the money to have a makeover.
Your site looks fantastic!