Blogger vs Wordpress: Which Blog Platform to Document Your Vacation?

So you’ve saved up all year for a trip to Miami and you want to make this trip memorable.

You have a camera. You have a laptop. And you are constantly connected, as most of us are these days.

You’re on Twitter, you’re on Facebook, but both of those platforms can be limiting to really describe your trip in detail.

So naturally, you need to launch a blog.

Now the question is, which platform should you choose?

The two most popular platforms are Wordpress and Blogger, so we’ll stick to those two.

For years, the consensus was that Wordpress had the sleeker look while Blogger was simpler to use.

But now Blogger is about to introduce a new interface that is supposed to put in on par with Wordpress, but without the complexity that some bloggers complain about Wordpress.

Miami Beach 411 was in Austin last month for the SXSW Interactive Conference where Blogger discussed its plans. And we managed to get interviews (top video) of representatives from both companies.

We asked them to explain why we should choose one over the other and they gave us the usual canned answers you would expect from a company representative.

So that still didn’t help us come to a clear, objective answer.

And the truth is, the more online research you do on the subject, the more confused you will be, not much different than the Canon vs. Nikon debates that have raged on the internet for years.

What do local bloggers use?

For the record, I am both a Wordpress and Canon user and would most likely never switch to Blogger or Nikon.

I like Wordpress because its themes look more professionally designed. And I am far from a techie, but I don’t find it difficult to use at all, even though there was a slight learning curve in the beginning

I used Wordpress when I launched Photography is Not a Crime in 2007, even though it is now under a different (not nearly as intuitive) platform because of an agreement I signed with Barnes and Nobles.

And I chose Wordpress when I launched my Social Media Puto blog last month. I purchased both domains and I self-host, meaning it costs me money to maintain my blogs.

However, other popular South Florida bloggers prefer Blogger, including Rick of the South Florida Daily Blog, who stated the following reasons in an email:

1.  Flexibility: Blogger provides a lot more options to fine tune your blog with ease. Colors, font, layouts are simply a click. Also I find that inserting and moving images around posts is easier with Blogger although I think ultimately that images look better on WP.

2. Search engine optimization: Blogger is owned by Google. ‘Nuff said.

3. Stability: Royal Pingdom recently found that Blogger had the least down time of any platform. Although Blogger hasn’t always enjoyed that status, it virtually never goes down these days.

Maria de los Angeles, who pens Sex and the Beach and is also a Miami Beach 411 contributor, also prefers Blogger.

“I’ve used Blogger for five years and it’s worked for me,” she said. “It provides a white canvas and that’s all I need. I don’t need all the bells and whistles that come with Wordpress.

It’s really all about the content

“For me, content is king and that’s what is going to make people come back to your blog. If you want to fuss with design and deal with CSS, go toWordpress, but if you just want to publish and just go, then Blogger is for you.”

The content is king sentiment is echoed by the blog, Will Work for Followers, who also hosts on Blogger.

But then there is Caity Kauffman, a sports reporter from Fort Myers, who switched from Blogger to Wordpress and ended up losing her domain in the process.

She was paying $10-a-month to be able to have caitykauffman.com instead of caitykauffman.blogspot.com, but Blogger would not allow her to switch that domain to Wordpress, who apparently also has a similar plan.

When she tried to contact somebody from Blogger to inquire about it, she was directed to forums where her questioned was never answered.

“They don’t have customer service, only forums,” she said. “It’s like the blind leading the blind.

“I posted a question and it never got answered.”

So now she just uses www.caitykauffman.net on Wordpress.

“Wordpress is just a lot cleaner and a lot easier to use,” she said. “The features are a lot better laid out.

“Blogger is Bush League compared to Wordpress, much more amateurish.”

So that probably didn’t help you decide which one to choose for your trip to Miami, so to further complicate the decision, check out this site that break down the technical aspects of each platform.

As much of a Wordpress fan as I am, if all you’re looking for is a platform to post photos and details of your trip, then Blogger is probably the way to go.

Because once you’re in Miami, the last thing you’re going to want to do is deal with CCS issues if you’re not a tech-minded person.

But if you decide you want to continue blogging after you’ve returned home, then maybe you might want to switch to Wordpress.

But wait until Blogger releases it’s updates before switching over just to see what it’s all about.

Related Links: • What We Learned at SXSW: Content & Networking Is King! • How to Distinguish Between Social Media And Social Marketing • SXSW Shows Miami Still Lagging Behind When it Comes to Innovation Related Categories: Miami: Local News, Technology, Carlos Miller is a featured writer at Miami Beach 411. He also operates Photography is Not a Crime, a blog about photographer rights, New Media and First Amendment issues. See more articles by Carlos Miller. See more articles by Carlos Miller Was This Post Helpful? Please Share It With Others! Tweet

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