Blogger Vs Wordpress

Blogger vs. WordPress: 6 Reasons to Switch & How to Transfer (Feb. 2024)

Written by: Laura Bernheim

Laura Bernheim

Laura has spent more than 12 years crafting engaging and award-winning articles that share the passion behind organizations' products, people, and innovations. As a long-time HostingAdvice contributing expert, she combines a reputation for producing quality content with rich technical expertise to show experienced developers how to capitalize on emerging technologies and find better ways to work with established platforms. A professional journalist, Laura has contributed to The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the Sun Sentinel, and the world's top hosting providers.

See full bio »

Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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Even though we regularly tout the prowess of the world’s most popular content management system, our Blogger vs. WordPress review presents a formidable test for the open-source darling.

The need to find a simple but powerful blogging program hasn’t gone away. Today, the debate largely centers around WordPress, the CMS behind more than a third of all websites, and Blogger, the free tool owned by Google. As WordPress users ourselves, we clearly favor self-hosted WordPress over free services such as WordPress.com or Blogger.

We made the case for why you should turn to WordPress for your blogging needs and will even tell you how to move your site if you’ve outgrown your current Blogger setup.

1. WordPress Users Can Actually Own Their Site — With a Free Domain!

When choosing WordPress, you receive the software to do with what you wish. You host the WordPress software, along with all your website content, on your own account. On Blogger, your content lives on Google’s servers — if they decide to shut down Blogger, they don’t have to give you access to your data. That’s not likely, but wouldn’t you rather safeguard your keepsakes at home instead of a stranger’s house?

In addition to one-click installers to get you started with WordPress, many hosting providers include a free custom domain with your plan. That enables you to host your blog at yourname.com instead of the somewhat more tacky yourname.blogspot.com. Blogger lets you buy a custom domain name for $10 per year.

Get started with WordPress today and enjoy a free domain registration from our top-rated WordPress hosts:

WORDPRESS RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Recommended by WordPress.org since 2005
  • Automatic WordPress updates and initial install
  • FREE WordPress themes in the Bluehost Marketplace
  • 24/7 support via live chat, phone, and email
  • Get exclusive discounts on WordPress plans
  • Get started on Bluehost now.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD - 100 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com):

Bluehost's WordPress hosting packages are aimed at first-time site owners and personal bloggers. These services come at a premium compared to the standard Bluehost web hosting (basic shared hosting) plans, but the WordPress optimization and platform-specific resources are arguably worth the cost.

Go to full review »
WORDPRESS RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Officially endorsed by WordPress.org
  • FREE migration plugin or automated installation
  • Pre-installed Git, 3 caching levels, and FREE CDN
  • FREE WP setup wizard, staging, and auto-updates
  • Fast, 24/7 support via custom chat system
  • Get started on SiteGround now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name New or Transfer
SiteGround: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

Want a hassle-free, WordPress-optimized hosting service. SiteGround has thought of everything you need to get your site up and running.

Go to full review »
WORDPRESS RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • 1-click WP install, PHP 7+, HTTP/2, and NGINX
  • All-in-one security protections from BitNinja
  • WordPress optimizations boost performance
  • No price markup for WordPress services
  • Daily backups and FREE SSL certificate
  • Get started on Hostinger now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.49
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 100 GB SSD - 200 GB NVMe
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Hostinger: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

As much as we love WordPress, one of our biggest pet peeves is when hosting providers exploit the popularity of the world's most-used content management system by offering so-called WordPress hosting that, in reality, is exactly the same as the host's shared server plans. Fortunately, Hostinger's ultra-fast infrastructure and easy access to SSL certificates and backups sets up the company to outperform the vast majority of the violators of our admittedly made-up rule.

Go to full review »

See other top WordPress hosts »

2. WordPress is Open-Sourced and Actively Maintained, Unlike Blogger

With a global community of millions of developers working on WordPress, the CMS is always evolving to meet user needs and online trends.

The WordPress platform is shared all the way down to the source code, meaning you can change and extend the service as needed.

Blogger, on the other hand, is a proprietary product with no outside influence. While the Google team actively maintains the platform and occasionally releases new themes and updated features, the pace can’t possibly contend with the vibrant WordPress community.

3. WordPress and Blogger Both Tout Themes, but WP has Way More

Again, this is a numbers game. Blogger has a limited team behind its designs and only so many options for users to customize or create their own templates. New templates trickle out to the public here and there, but the platform hasn’t gotten a major facelift in a few years.

WordPress includes thousands of themes in its directory, and many more are available externally.

WordPress, on the other hand, has hundreds of thousands of free and premium themes for seemingly every conceivable website need. Each theme is fully editable, and developers with a touch of experience and patience can create and upload their own custom design.

4. WordPress eCommerce Tools Make it Favorable for Making Money

Out of the box, neither Blogger nor WordPress comes with the ability to create an online storefront.

WooCommerce, however, is the internet’s most popular eCommerce platform and is owned by the same company as WordPress. In the no-restrictions world of WordPress, however, you can use any number of platforms and plugins — most of which are available for free.

With Blogger, on the other hand, you can only earn money by displaying targeted ads through Google AdSense. To add an online store, you’ll need to reach out to Ecwid or Shopify, third-party eCommerce platforms, to integrate their selling tools.

5. Blogger Boasts Google Security, but No Plugins Means Less Flexibility

Here’s where Blogger might have the slightest of edges over WordPress. Because Google owns and operates the servers hosting your website, along with the blogging software itself, your website will be less susceptible to malicious attacks.

The popularity of WordPress makes the platform a big target, and rookie site owners inadvertently leave themselves vulnerable by not updating themes, plugins, or the WordPress software as a whole.

The WordPress Codex provides some great resources to securing, or hardening, your WordPress installation. Recognizing this, however, developers have created hundreds of plugins aimed at securing your site, backing up your information, monitoring for attacks, and automating updates.

6. Moving From Blogger to WordPress is a Pain

Why do something twice when you can get it right the first time?

If you have any aspirations for your blog beyond a private, online journal, you’ll eventually outgrow Blogger’s limited platform. WordPress is the better solution for stability, given the active community behind it.

The lack of recent updates to Blogger might indicate that the system isn’t in Google’s long-term plans. Take the time to get started on the right foot.

Have a Blogger site but are ready to jump ship? Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through all you need to know to make the switch.

How to Transfer Blogger to WordPress

Switching to WordPress doesn’t have to be a tedious process. WordPress plugins crop up from time to time that help with this process, but we prefer trusting our websites to the built-in tools both platforms offer.

From finding a host to house your WordPress blog to importing your content, we’ll walk you through the process of a seamless transfer.

1. Select a Top Hosting Plan For WordPress

It might seem a little counterintuitive, but your first move for getting started with WordPress should be signing up with a hosting provider, not the CMS.

You’ll want a shared hosting plan from a reputable company. In addition to easy WordPress installations, our favorite hosts include tons of extra features you’ll enjoy such as a free domain, unlimited storage space, and extra-fast SSDs for performance.

Even better, most of our favorite WordPress hosting providers will migrate your site for free with zero downtime — perfect!

WORDPRESS RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Recommended by WordPress.org since 2005
  • Automatic WordPress updates and initial install
  • FREE WordPress themes in the Bluehost Marketplace
  • 24/7 support via live chat, phone, and email
  • Get exclusive discounts on WordPress plans
  • Get started on Bluehost now.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD - 100 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com):

Bluehost's WordPress hosting packages are aimed at first-time site owners and personal bloggers. These services come at a premium compared to the standard Bluehost web hosting (basic shared hosting) plans, but the WordPress optimization and platform-specific resources are arguably worth the cost.

Go to full review »
WORDPRESS RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Officially endorsed by WordPress.org
  • FREE migration plugin or automated installation
  • Pre-installed Git, 3 caching levels, and FREE CDN
  • FREE WP setup wizard, staging, and auto-updates
  • Fast, 24/7 support via custom chat system
  • Get started on SiteGround now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name New or Transfer
SiteGround: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

Want a hassle-free, WordPress-optimized hosting service. SiteGround has thought of everything you need to get your site up and running.

Go to full review »
WORDPRESS RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • 1-click WP install, PHP 7+, HTTP/2, and NGINX
  • All-in-one security protections from BitNinja
  • WordPress optimizations boost performance
  • No price markup for WordPress services
  • Daily backups and FREE SSL certificate
  • Get started on Hostinger now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.49
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 100 GB SSD - 200 GB NVMe
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Hostinger: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

As much as we love WordPress, one of our biggest pet peeves is when hosting providers exploit the popularity of the world's most-used content management system by offering so-called WordPress hosting that, in reality, is exactly the same as the host's shared server plans. Fortunately, Hostinger's ultra-fast infrastructure and easy access to SSL certificates and backups sets up the company to outperform the vast majority of the violators of our admittedly made-up rule.

Go to full review »

See more WordPress hosts »

2. Export Blogger to WordPress in Settings

Plenty of great WordPress hosts don’t mess with site transfers, or especially from one platform to another one. But that’s OK, you got this!

Prepare your Blogger content for its move by exporting it to an XML file. From your Blogger dashboard, go to your setting page and click on the “Other” link at the bottom of the navigation menu.

Find the imports and backups section, and click the button for backing up your information. The system will combine your data into an XML file, which you can save to your computer.

3. Import Blogger to WordPress in the Tools Section of Your Dashboard

If your web hosting plan didn’t come with WordPress pre-installed, go to your control panel to activate the one-click installation process.

Once that’s done, log into your new site to upload your content. From the WordPress admin interface, navigate to “Tools” and then “Import” in the menu on the left.

The import page will list several platforms that commonly get merged into WordPress; click on Blogger to install that specific importing tool. Once added, don’t forget to click the “Activate Plugin & Run Importer” link.

The importer will ask you to upload the XML file you exported from Blogger. Upload the file and watch as WordPress imports each of your Blogger posts. When it is done, WordPress will ask you to assign the posts to an author.

4. Set Up Your Permalinks and Redirects for Your New Site

Now that your content has arrived, you can tweak some WordPress options to make sure your readers and search engines can still find your content. First, go to Settings and then Permalinks in the WordPress dashboard navigation to make your URLs more SEO friendly and close to Blogger’s URL structure; that means selecting the Month and Name option.

Now that the content is labeled correctly, you’ll want to set up redirects to funnel your readers to the right website and posts. To point people to your WordPress blog, log back into the Blogger portal.

Navigate to the template page in your settings and revert back to the classic template. From there, you’ll want to edit the template HTML — don’t worry, it’s simple copy and paste. Replace everything in the Blogger text area with this code, making sure to change example.com with your WordPress domain:
[crayon-5f16fe2ce25ed155592099/]
Save the template and move to the Site Feed section of the Settings area, which is found under Other. Change your Post Feed Redirect URL to http://example.com/feed, again changing the URL to your domain. Now, log out of Blogger — you’re all done with that platform!

In WordPress, however, you’ve got one more redirect to create. Navigate to your theme editor, which is found under the Appearance menu. On the right, find and click on Theme Functions, which will open your functions.php file. To avoid breaking anything, we recommend you scroll to the bottom of the file and find your closing PHP tag: [crayon-5f16fe2ce25f4130823356-i/] . Immediately before this tag, paste the following code:
[crayon-5f16fe2ce25f6035554348/]
You can hit the enter key to put the closing tag back on its own line, if you’d like. Once you update the file by clicking the bottom under the text area, your WordPress site is ready to go! Visitors clicking on a link to an old Blogger post will instead arrive at the same post on your new website.

5. Move Your Blogger Images to Your New WordPress Library

Occasionally, the WordPress importer might miss a few images from your Blogger site. As with basically every other headache you might encounter on WordPress, there’s an available plugin that will ease the pain.

We recommend Auto Upload Images; install and update the plugin, which will scan your posts for links to images that still exist on your Blogger site. The plugin will then add the images to your WordPress media library and update the URL.

WordPress vs. Blogger — Why WordPress Wins with Long-Term Value

We say it all the time — free is great, but “almost free” is usually much better when it comes to websites and hosting. Whether you’re blogging, running an eCommerce store, or hosting your professional portfolio, the number of benefits, tools, and security features with a basic hosting plan makes the spare change you’ll invest in your online presence a bargain.


Continue comparing with similar articles on popular site-building options:


Voice your thoughts on either of these popular platforms — or thoughts on blogging life in general — by commenting below!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura has spent more than 12 years crafting engaging and award-winning articles that share the passion behind organizations' products, people, and innovations. As a long-time HostingAdvice contributing expert, she combines a reputation for producing quality content with rich technical expertise to show experienced developers how to capitalize on emerging technologies and find better ways to work with established platforms. A professional journalist, Laura has contributed to The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the Sun Sentinel, and the world's top hosting providers.

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