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Having used both, like many others, I realise WP blogs have a few problems.
I feel its a good idea to list out the drawbacks of Blogspot as well as Wordpress so that it might help new bloggers.
for a start, I'm listing the fact that Wordpress does not support Javascript (unless you buy your own WP based domain).
So you can't even run a digital flash gordon style clock on the blog. But thats one of the easiest things in Blogspot.
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Heh heh heh... you've kicked off one of the oldest battles in cyberspace! Watch this thread get a million responses!!!
Conclusion: Blogger took all the criticism and improved tremendously. Blogger Draft really does a fantastic job.
cheers!
Prashant.
yeah, it does look like it. lol.
Good point Prashant, about Adsense. I even got the WP terms of monetization : http://support.wordpress.com/advertising/
About the templates, WP does have limited templates but isn't it general conception that they are more professional looking than the blogger ones.
And on that note, if WP based domains are bought, the templates are much more in number than the blogger ones, right?
Yep... You can put whatever template you want if you own your space.
In terms of the professional looking: Good point, lot of WP templates are modded for Blogger (we use one) but never see it the other way round.
i was using wordpress bt then the limitations of themes n no flash was making things a bit boring ! so i shifted.
I am also using Wordpress... But i too feel Blogspot is better, as i can't use widgets having java script like Shoutmix...
Even i can't add ads in wordpress...
I use Wordpress, but I host it myself on my server. There are such limitations as those which are listed above. I love Wordpress much better than Blogger.
Following is the difference in Blogspot and Wordpress (hosted)
It gives me a great interface, good performance. Blogger some times gets really boaring. The text editor of Blogspot has some limitation which is much improved in Wordpress.
The following are the positives of Blogspot.
Wordpress is opensource, Blogspot is Free. Space for Wordpress in limited to your hosting limit. Blogspot does not have any limit. In Wordpress, you can use any advertisment and flash and it is easy to edit the pages. In Blogger, the editing the code is tough.
You can get yourname@domain email id if you host yourself. Buying a domain and poiting it to Blogspot does not help you get an email id@yourdomain.
I use Wordpress, but I host it myself on my server. There are such limitations as those which are listed above. I love Wordpress much better than Blogger.
Typo:
I use Wordpress, but I host it myself on my server. There are no such limitations as those which are listed above. I love Wordpress much better than Blogger.
True Hemal, having your own webspace might make it a real advantage using WP.
But, with the others, I don't find it a point to leave WP just because it doesn't support Javascript unless hosted. I think people can do without a clock when text editing is real good.
But most other widgets, except the flash and js ones work as good as they do in Blogger.
for me personally hosting my own wordpess is the best. That way you can have more control.
that is perhaps the best option 
There's one more point worth noticing about WP -- Akismet. Its been blocking heaps of spam for all of us. does Blogger have any equivalent?
Naah. Don't think so. There's comment moderation, word verification etc. But nothing as such, similar to Akismet.
A must plugin for every WP users. It protects and save your life.
i has saved me close to 700 spam comments and that to on one post only.
I agree... Akismet was a lifesaver when I was using Wordpress. But Kadambari is right, comment verification and word verification are good enough. Still though, would be nice if Blogger had something similar.
~Prashant.
I have wordpress. I have been using it from the time of 1.0 release. WP grown from the waste tool with nothing to offer To almost everything you need as a blogger.
I have been using it in my own space. Now i provide hosting service with my company HEXAHOST You are on your own. In your own space.
Wordpress is distinct cos,
Well I am new to this whole blogging thing and in my 2 mth experience of using both wordpress(not hosted) and blogger. I find a few things that tilt me towards wordpress.
1. WP has Akismet it helped me a lot.
2. WP provides cool stats which help you in analyzing your visitors, incoming links, out going clicks and lots of other useful stats. I couldn't find this in Blogger.
3. WP editor has far more options then blogger particularly adding images is also a cakewalk, blogger gave me nightmares. Then adding widgets to WP blog is very simple except the javascript and stuff like that. WP editor seems to be working better in legacy browsers, I use IE 5.5, blogger fails at times.
4. I am repeating WP has more professional themes which have better presentation.
I mean list is quiet long.
Blogger's best feature I liked is the transliteration facility in editor which i didn't find in WP.
Blogger is more simple not for tech savy people that way its good.
A final observation I found most blogs either hoster or otherwise on WP to be more pleasing and professional. But till date I found more blogs hosted on blogger.
I agree with Dhiman. I think there are a lot more Bloggers than there are posts on WP. I think the only reason for this is the Google connection.
Otherwise, the stats are one major thing that pulled me from Blogger to WP.
Even i signed up coz it was a Google product...
Free Wordpress
+ves :- better looking templates, ease of use, ability to create pages, SEO friendliness, quick & easy import/export facility, better text editor, good readily available plugins like (tag cloud/categories plugins, recent posts, related posts & recent comments plugins), no coding knowledge required, inbuilt analytics support, Akismet spam comments protection, no login issues.-ves :- limited no. templates, no ads/affiliate links policy, limited space (3 GB), no flash/javascript addition allowed.
Blogger/Blogspot
+ves :- Numerous free templates, unlimited storage space, ability to add flash/javascript (hence any possible plugin can be added), easy import/export facility, Ability to redirect to a custom domain, inbuilt Adsense manager & flexibility to add ads/affiliate links frm other networks, single email account & login id for multitude of services, special google plugins like friend connect, reader gadget etc
-ves :- Messed up editor gives u lots of formatting errors which at times are extremely tough to deal with, atleast some Coding knowledge required for most of the goodies, login issues at times, no pages feature, labels instead of categories create lot of confusion, no comment spam protection.
Messed up editor gives u lots of formatting errors which at times are extremely tough to deal with, atleast some Coding knowledge required for most of the goodies, login issues at times, no pages feature, labels instead of categories create lot of confusion, no comment spam protection.
It is a problem i faced quite often and henced switched to my own wordpress blog...
Having said all the above, best approach for begginer with no coding knowlede would be start with a wordpress blog, learn about various aspects of blogging including advanced issues like SEO, popularity & traffic requirements, monetization skills etc & then switch over to self hosted domain with wordpress software.
I don't think the coding issue should stop anyone though. I spent a week messing around with our blog's template. Anyone with coding knowledge would have taken maybe a few hours but it was a fun experience and I learnt a lot about design and coding! And there are ENOUGH tutorials out there to help you out. Amanda Fazani pretty much holds a newbie's hand through her blog.
~ Prashant.
@Prashant Yeah i know that there are many easy to understand tutorials on the web. But i said its an issue coz newbie's who are just about to start their first blog don't have an idea about it & its a little discouraging thought. Those who like tweaking can have fun & learn at the same time using blogger.
Yes, even I think Wordpress is much simpler for any new Blogger than Blogspot.
I use Blogger. And I love it
I like to design templates for my blog. I think this will never be possible with a WP blog. This also gives blogger a hell lot of templates..so that each blog can have a very unique theme.
+ blogspot isn't much confusing for beginners. (I don't knw abt wordpress) . I started my blogspot blog when I knew nothing about all these stuff. Still it was going pretty cool.
High Five to blogger!
Oh... and about widgets. Now people are contributin to the widgets area, and also we have the freedom to add any javascript or any flash animation.. all these things make blogger so beautiful!
How much does holding a WP blog at your own server cost? Are the costs same as blogger? I host a blogger blog at my own server. http://www.youthkiawaaz.com
yea, there are great offers on the prices as well Anshul!
@Anshul: There's a thread on the forum that discusses this question. I think Sriharsha posted it. In short... when you host a WP blog, you need to buy space as well. With Blogger, you just need the domain and you can continue using Blogger's servers and facilities with the domain. So Blogger would be cheaper.
cheers!
Prashant.
and, we've spoken of what's best etc but what's interesting is that we here about so many people switching from Blogger to WP , but I don't think people have ever left WP for blogspot. there might be a few exceptions but mostly, no!
I did... First blog on Blogger (lost interest, shut it down). Second blog was paid Wordpress (again lost interest and shut it down) and now my third blog back to Blogger. Think i've finally found a devent niche and don't see myself switching.
~ Prashant.
There are a lot of 'em. SInce the free WP has limitations, Blogspot becomes the defacto choice...
I've been having some problems lately. I've been using Chrome by default for the past 2 months and its been quite a while since I ever uploaded any image on to my WP blog. When I tried doing it yesterday, it showed me an error msg. but I later tried the same on IE7 and the image easily got uploaded to WP.
I'm sure this is not really a problem with WP but if I can upload a lot of other stuff such as an attachment to a mail etc, I'm really wondering why WP alone should cause such a problem.
Does WP have browser specific problems? can anyone help me with this?
Browsers keep updating themselves. The real problem is that not all browsers follow standard. Which makes lives of developers and designers (like me) so difficult. The issue does not limit to Chrome... Safari 4 also has a problem displaying the Wordpress. I cannot insert image, link. Similar problem i faced with IndiBlogger website on Safari 4.
The fact is unless Wordpress updates their code, nothing can be done about it.
thanks for that info Hemal! so, I guess we'd have to use a browser that does have ny issues with the codes, in my case IE. I really hate IE but I guess im left with no option. and Hemal, if I can ask u one more thing, I have been into CSS for quite some time now. I learnt by myself. and I have been thinking of learning php for a while now. is it easy to go about it the self-taught way? any e-book that u'd suggest?
Believe it, I have not learnt XHTML, CSS, Photoshop etc. from some institute. But you need a guide, and it can be some one or a book.
Ebooks can be help. Search online and you would lot more resources. Best way to learn PHP or any language is to experiment with existing applications / source code which you can find on the net. Get Wamp or Xamp so that you can pratice on your machine.