Blogger vs Wordpress - I need some opinions! :(

Capes&Corsets

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Hi all! I have a bit of a blog dilemma and was wondering if you could offer me some opinions.

Currently, I have a personal blog on Blogger. I've used Blogger for a while and its a great platform. However, I don't blog much at the moment as I'm a bit busy (I'm a web editor and student, along with my full-time day job) so sometimes it can look a little odd.

People I know who are also web editors tend to have sophisticated-looking sites that show off their other work as well. *site envy*. I was thinking maybe I should get something along these lines, as then I could have an 'about', 'portfolio', 'contact' etc page.

Of course, getting a free WP blog means that I will not be able to change the layout (unless I pay). But I love the Unsleepable layout. WP also has inbult stats and a 'read more' option for longer posts.

I'm thinking a professional-looking site/blog may be the way to go, especially as I've just finished my novel and am querying agents. What is more attractive to agents and publishers?

Here is my current blog - http://theseventhcircleofelle.blogspot.com
My WP blog can be found here - http://seventhcircleofelle.wordpress.com - although it's simply full of test stuff at the moment.

Which do you think looks best? Can anyone offer an opinion? Thanks so much in advance!
 
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laharrison

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Your Wordpress.com blog URL doesn't work for me, so I can't see what the site looks like, but I do think that WordPress.com is a good choice, if you like the free themes that are available to you.

Another choice would be to buy a domain name and some inexpensive hosting, and install the self hosted version of wordpress on that - then you have a lot more control and freedom. It doesn't have to cost a fortune to run your own site.
 

Capes&Corsets

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Oh, poo - sorry about that! I've now edited the URL. :)

Thanks for the suggestion! I've had a self-hosted blog in the past and I keep messing with the layouts so I decidd to just get a free one.
 

laharrison

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I see it now :)

I like the layout you've chosen. It looks clean and professional, and 'portfolio-like' in my opinion. Your blogger layout is nice too, but it looks more like it's aimed at friends / fellow writers, rather than as a platform for selling your work.

Of course I'm just a writer, not a publisher, and I break all the rules anyway - I didn't even have a personal blog when I approached my publisher, because I was too busy working on blogs for clients :)
 

AliceAnderson

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I'm probably biased but I'd go with a self hosted version of wordpress. Much more flexibility and an overall professional feel. www.TheSeventhCircleofElle.com has a nicer ring than mywebsite.blogspot.com I've read a few articles lately from agents about what they look for from new clients. Let me go see if I listed any of them on my writers page.
 

SeattleGhostWriter

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Of course, getting a free WP blog means that I will not be able to change the layout (unless I pay). But I love the Unsleepable layout. WP also has inbult stats and a 'read more' option for longer posts.

Not true. If you are familiar and confident with CSS, you can create your own WP Blog theme, layout. The only time you have to pay is to host your own WP domain with Wordpress.org. If you are not familiar with CSS programming, there are preformatted themes that you can use and customize accordingly.

Which do you think looks best? Can anyone offer an opinion? Thanks so much in advance!

Wordpress because it is more user-friendly, you can add pages, and you can actually see stats of visitors coming to your sites, where they are coming from, and what links they are clicking on.
 

IndieWriter

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I definitely prefer WP over Blogger. Blogger is simply too restrictive for me. I find that I spend a lot of time fighting with Blogger just to get it to do what I want.

Plus, the built-in stats in WP are pretty cool, as is the grammar/usage checker (which is _very_ cool).
 

desozapeaterr

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Hi Dear.

According to me, Blogger is nice compare to word press.
Blogger is more user-friendly.
 

GabrielNovo

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Congrats on making the move to Wordpress. It's a fantastic platform with limitless potential for your content.

Wordpress can be as colorful as you want it to be. Here's a great example of colorful, professional and packed with functionality blog by an aspiring author - http://www.reganleigh.com/ Then again, this is a self hosted WP site, which may or may not be a direction you want to go in.

Like @SeattleGhostWriter said, if you're comfortable with CSS (or know someone who can is) then you can tweak your current site to your heart's content.
 

Don Harold

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It actually depends upon the purpose of your blogging. But as for me, i use Wordpress than Blogger. I find Wordpress more easy and convenient to use. Plus, i get to customize my page in high detail. Doing promotions doesn't really have to do about Wordpress or Blogger. If you want to promote something on your blog, you can paste links (or icons that are directed to links) every time you update an entry. Promotion has to d something with tagging and pasting links. So, you don't really have to choose between Blogger and Wordpress