Blogger vs Wordpress

RSnider · Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 12:11 am Post subject: **Blogger vs Wordpress**

Hello Rosalind,

I recntly purchased your book and took a hosting package through BlueHost as you suggested. I am fairly conversant in using MS Frontpage, Blogger etc.
I know how to use FTP software and understand fully the guiding principles of how it all "works".

I have made a decision on a topis for a site that is dear to me as you suggested we do. I have created using Wordpress a site and uploaded it initially with one of their templates and 1 posting so far.

I have found that using Wordpress is very confusing as compated to Blogger, but only hear bad things about Blogger.

I am really stuck and don't know where to turn right now. Should I create a site using Frontpage and upload to BlueHost? Should I continue mu struggle with understanding Wordpress? Can you monetize Wordpress with affiliate's links and code like you can with Blogger?

Please HELP me before I give up without really getting started. LOL

Robert S.
Moncton, NB

BradleyD.Haslam · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:33 pm Post subject:

Jim Hutchinson · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:32 pm Post subject:

Hello Robert

While Blogger may be easy to use, there are some things to consider when comparing it to WordPress.

WordPress is hosted on your own website with your own domain, making branding yourself much easier.

Having a search box on your own WordPress site keeps visitors in your site, not allowing them to venture off and get lost on another blog somewhere.

While Blogger allows some plugins, you still have more flexibility with the plugins that you choose to install. That are literally hundreds, or even thousands of plugins and themes from which to choose.

Take for example the WordPress plugin called sh-autolink. With that plugin, you can choose which words you want linked within your pages and articles, then let the plugin link them automatically. You do not even have to remember typing links in to the articles anymore.

Speaking of pages and articles, from what I have seen Blogger is all about articles on a single page, which can get very long. With WordPress, you can break the articles into sections and create individual pages, all while setting up the linking structure for optimum Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

So while WordPress may take a while to get comfortable with, it is much better for you in the long run. Just think of it as learning to promote your own website, not one operated and controlled by someone else.

Hope that helps.

Jim Hutchinson

BradleyD.Haslam · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:41 pm Post subject:

BradleyD.Haslam · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:50 am Post subject:

Ohhh...
That one's sweet.
Quick n easy.

Very cool Jim Cool

.
Nice find.
Brad.

Jim Hutchinson · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:13 am Post subject:

Thanks Brad.

Here are some of my other favorite plugins.

* Adsense-Deluxe : Easily put AdSense Ads on your in your articles and pages. You can set up multiple formats depending on the position you want to use them.

* Bannage : Ban users by name or IP address who abuse your blog (it happens)

* BDP RSS Aggregator : Show titles of articles from other blogs on your sidebar. Good for SEO and cross referencing.

* CompleteRSS : Makes sure your RSS Feeds contain full article text and are fully valid

* podPress : Add podcasts to your blog
Post Email : Allows users to register on your blog so they are emailed when a new blog entry is written.

* SimpleTags : Allows you to easily add Technorati tags to your posts.

* Sociable : Automatically add links on your posts to popular social bookmarking sites.

* Subscribe me : Displays a tile with subscribe buttons to other syndication services such as Bloglines, Google, MyYahoo!, MyMSN, etc.

I like the flexibility of WordPress. Are there others not listed here that anyone else likes?

Jim

BradleyD.Haslam · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:44 am Post subject:

This is a copy/paste straight from my plugins page.
Some really nice ones here.
Enjoy.
(Didn't take the time to find links. But I'm sure Google will oblige a searcher Wink

)

Akismet 2.1.4
Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not. You need a WordPress.com API key to use it. You can review the spam it catches under “Comments.” To show off your Akismet stats just put <?php akismet_counter(); ?> in your template. See also: WP Stats plugin. By Matt Mullenweg.

HeadSpace2 3.3.28
Meta-data manager on steroids, allowing complete control over all SEO needs such as keywords/tags, titles, description, stylesheets, and many other goodies. By John Godley.

Jerome's Keywords 1.9
Allows keywords to be associated with each post. These keywords can be used for page meta tags, included in posts for site searching or linked like Technorati tags. By Jerome Lavigne.

Lightbox Plugin 0.5 PLUS!
Plugin that turns linked images into neat Javascript-powered overlay popups instead of just linking to the fullsize image. This plugin is based on the cool javascript done by Lokesh Dhakar which got modified to PLUS by Takuya Otani and transformed to a Wordpress plugin by Kjell Bublitz, inspired by Frank from 2d-sign. Enjoy! By Kjell Bublitz.

Login LockDown v1.1
Adds some extra security to WordPress by restricting the rate at which failed logins can be re-attempted from a given IP range. Distributed through Bad Neighborhood. By Michael VanDeMar.

Maintenance Mode 3.2
Adds a splash page to your blog that lets visitors know your blog is down for maintenance. Logged in administrators get full access to the blog including the front-end. Navigate to Options → Maintenance Mode to get started. By Michael Woehrer.

Post Schedule Ping Optimizer 1.1
Optimizes the pinging function of wordpress. It saves your blog from getting black listed at ping services by avoiding unnecessary ping as well as it make sure to ping your blog when pinging is actually needed. By Pawan Agrawal.

SH-Autolink 0.94b
In posts and comments, it transforms predefined words automatically into hyperlinks. By Stevie.

ShareThis 2.1
Let your visitors share a post/page with others. Supports e-mail and posting to social bookmarking sites. Configuration options are here. Questions on configuration, etc.? Make sure to read the README. By ShareThis and Crowd Favorite.
(Got this one from Rosalind. WAY cool. Knocked Socializer off the map!)

WordPress Database Backup 2.1.5
On-demand backup of your WordPress database. Navigate to Manage → Backup to get started. By Austin Matzko.

Wordpress Mobile 1.2
A plugin to let you post and upload files to your WordPress blog from your mobile phone. It also enables mobile phone users to view your WordPress posts, archives, comments and pages in a mobile friendly environment. Users can even reply via comments. This plugin supports MTLD and W3 best practices plus optional mobile revenue from admob.com. It’s a quick and easy way to make your WordPress posts mobile ready By Andy Moore.

wp-cache 2.1.2
Very fast cache module. It’s composed of several modules, this plugin can configure and manage the whole system. Once enabled, go to “Options” and select “WP-Cache”. By Ricardo Galli Granada.

WP JavaScript 1.1
Some nice javascript snippets for your head Smile

Go to Options >> WP-JavaScript to configure. By Martin Hipfinger.

Jim Hutchinson · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:46 am Post subject:

WOW! Now THAT is a blog on steroids.
Looks like I have some blogs to update. Laughing

Thanks Brad!
Jim

BradleyD.Haslam · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:44 am Post subject:

No steroids man.
I work straight "white hat". LOL!!

Anyway, I just stumbled on a good one.
http://www.maxblogpress.com/plugins/msa/

(Don't think "ad" when you read about it. Read further down the page.)

Downloaded it, but it's not in use right now.
However, the potential for uses is crazy!

And if we got into all the ones I have downloaded?
Oiy!! Rolling Eyes

Chat later!
Brad.

Jim Hutchinson · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:24 am Post subject:

That is a nice one! I was already a member of MaxBlogPress from installing another one of their scripts but missed the stripe ad. That is now on my blog too.

I chose not to remove the "Powered by" because in the advanced options, there is a box for your ClickBank ID. Putting your ID in there changes the Powered By to your ClickBank link. So there is no need to go searching the files for a place to insert your affiliate link. Very cool.

Thanks Brad!

Jim Hutchinson

BradleyD.Haslam · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:15 am Post subject:

No problem bro! Cool

I did forget a couple.
As I am re-building my blog right now,
I went back to the reload folder and found ones I needed to install.

Check out "firestats".
It's a bit tricky, but not hard at all.
You can use "slimstats" if you prefer.
It works great, but I have heard weird things about it.
I also use "blog metrics", for a different set of stats.
Then there is "google sitemaps". A must have if you ask anyone "in the know".

That actually completes the plugins that I use.
(till I find the next one Wink

)

Hope this thread helps LOTS of people!
Jim and I had fun with it!
Right Jim?

Cheers!
Brad.

Jim Hutchinson · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:04 am Post subject:

I am having a blast with all these additions! It comes at a good time, since I recently rebuilt the blog after a recent upgrade misbehaved.

One of my next additions is the Google Sitemap. I think that one is good since every time an article is published, the sitemap is updated.

I am updating the list in the blogging info section on my site too, adding all these "must have" plugins.

As for stats, I primarily use the ones built into cPanel to see what keywords were used to find my site and all the pages that visitors went to while there. Although the trail is not real clear, I can still see which pages were last before the visitors left and how long they were on that page.

So much info makes my head spin sometimes! Laughing

Time to sleep some of it off. Have a great night!

Jim