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[Dena Gottlieb Company: Marvalous Contribution Level: 2]

I have blogs on both Wordpress and Blogger.
My Blogger blog was very easy to start and maintain.
My big "but" is that all of a sudden Blogger decided to "freeze" my blog because they "suspected" it of being spam. Baloney. It's a neato blog with lots of my opinions and product reviews relating to internet marketing. Once I found it "frozen" I tried to contact them but there's "like" noone to talk to. I think they eventually opened it up again but it was very, very annoying.

Also, I once tried to move a blog to my own domain and couldn't figure out how to do it. I'm not THAT technically challenged, but the info I was finding on Blogger to help me wasn't helping!

On the other hand, it's easy to get started and get indexed in Google with Blogger.

[Jonathan Huie Contribution Level: 1]

I keep hearing about the "bells and whistles" of WP and others, but I would appreciate a few specific examples. What are the advanced features that you find particularly useful.

Robert, thanks for the pointer to SquareSpace. I looked at the example sites. Certainly the business sites are impressive, but they are by no possible definition blogs. The example blogs didn't seem in any way remarkable - nice and clean, but nothing that couldn't be done easily on Blogger.

[Josef Benjamin Contribution Level: 2]

I personally use squarespace only at this moment...this blog is my only focus.

I've used blogger before, and it really isn't layed out in a way that is "marekter" friendly.

Squarespace is.

Seriously, if you can't afford 8 bucks a month for a uber quality blog that allows you endless
customizable options and gives you the space to move and do your work -- without the fear
of getting shut down -- you need to take on a job or 2nd job.

Wordpress is another good one. Only problem is is you have to spend a lot of time learning
what widgets and options work best for optimization. I would only use wordpress if I hired
a professional wordpress programer to do it. I'm not a programmer, I'm a marketer and
coach, my time is better spent creating content, networking, and marketing.

[Melanie Kissell Contribution Level: 3]

Liz,

I think "Jonathan" summed it up beautifully!

I have been using Blogger for quite a while and I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever. I have two Blogger blogs that I manage and I've come to realize that Google loves Blogger. I get good page ranking and that's important.

I find Blogger to be versatile, simple to navigate, and one of the best free blog hosting sites!

Write On!
~Melanie
http://melanie-writeon.blogspot.com

[Jonathan Huie Contribution Level: 1]

Josef and others - PLEASE be specific. WHAT great features - No one has mentioned a single specific feature yet - so I can't very well take your arguments seriously.

[Jonathan Huie Contribution Level: 1]

Oh, and the $8/month SquareSpace plan doesn't even allow you to use your own domain name - which Blogger does for free.

[Bob Firestone Contribution Level: 2]

Josef and others - PLEASE be specific. WHAT great features - No one has mentioned a single specific feature yet - so I can't very well take your arguments seriously.

Here are a few WP extensions that I use...

All In One SEO Pack - Manages site wide keywords, site description and page titles.

WordPress Automatic Upgrade - upgrade to new versions of WP and plugins with a couple of mouse clicks.
Robots Meta - Allows you to control where website spiders go and try to index.

WP-Ban - Stop specific IP or a range of IP addresses from accessing your page. Very helpful if you become a favorite of comment spambots.

SEO Smart Links - ads links from phrases in your content to other posts. ex. You have a post titled "i love cookies" anytime you write that phrase into another post it turns it into a link.

Google XML Sitemaps - Allows you to automatically create and control your site map. When you post it updates the site map and pings the google & msn to notify them of your new content.

WordTube - allows you to self host videos. Useful if you don't want everyone and their cousin watching all your stuff on youtube.

Position Yourself - Quickly track your position on google for your key phrases. This also tracks it over time so you can see if you are moving up or down.


With a self hosted WP you don't have to be very technical. There are hosting companies that have 1 click WP instillation. Plugins are now downloadable and installable directly from the admin panel. Self hosted wordpress is easier than ever to use.

[Bob Firestone Contribution Level: 2]

I've come to realize that Google loves Blogger.

Yes they do, because Google owns all your content!

[Jonathan Huie Contribution Level: 1]

Bob, thanks for your post. It's very specific and helpful - gives me something real on which to base future decisions. Your comment about Google "Owning" your content, however, seems more emotional than factual - do you care to amplify?

[Robert Nelk Contribution Level: 2]

Jonathan here are some examples of Squarespace's capabilities as compared to Blogger.

In Squarespace, you can configure you home page to not have your blog, allowing you to create a true business home page. You can then also create sub pages that do not contain any blogging entries such as an about or contact page.

Then my other problem is that Blogger does not have a built in 3 column template.
To create my 3 column template in Blogger I had to copy and paste third party HTML.
To adjust the columns to fit my needs, I went through trail and error within the HTML.
Squarespace has built in templates with easily adjustable 3 column layouts including customizable header and footer placement.

They also have built in widgets to allow you to collect data from your readers,
Including a built in secured contact form that can be easily personalized.

Blogger's archive is limited in customization. Squarespace has more options in this arena and all you do is check a box or boxes.

Adding page titles to Blogger requires you to know some HTML.
Adding a title in Squarespace is merely a configuration question not an HTML edit.
And this is just the basic stuff.

They have a 14 day free trial if you want to check it out.

Robert