Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Diane Amento Owens on May 22, 2012 at 5:47pm

Andrea,

That's such an easy question. Wordpress—I'm a huge fan! You are very wise to ask around to see what other women are using. 

First of all, you need to know that there are two types of WP sites, hosted using Wordpress.com and self-hosted using Wordpress.org. If you use WP's hosted version, the title "wordpress" will be in your domain name. For the second kind, you need your own domain name and a host provider—so this does require a $$$ investment. The second type also has more free themes plus premium themes. And there are countless plugins you can easily add to your site that can make your WP site act like it's on steroids! Or maybe you'd just settle for something simple like adding a contact form. There's a plugin for that! This type of WordPress site has plugins that help the SEO (search engine optimization) of your blog. 

I have helped writer friends with their hosted WP sites, and what I saw was no comparison to what my self-hosted WP site can do. However, it's been over a year since I poked around "under the hood" of a WP.com site, and I've heard that they now offer paid upgrades. I've had a WP.org site since 2009 and worked on other sites built with this type. Plus, they keep updating WP with even better features. I just helped a writer who's moving her site from iWeb to WP.org and I was so surprised to see a welcome-type screen with steps to follow to familiarize yourself with WP. Way cool!!

You might check out this link to info comparing the two, directly from Wordpress. It's interesting because some of the "cons" that they state for using WP.org are easily overcome with a plugin. You can also Google "wordpress vs blogger" and my BFF Google will serve up all kinds of resources for you. You can do the same to find more comparisons of the two WP types. Then, eventually, if you don't go into information overwhelm, you'll figure out which is the best option for you. Good luck and I  hope my input helps to at least get you started!

http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

Diane Owens

Permalink Reply by Andrea Miles on May 22, 2012 at 6:02pm

Thank you so much, Diane! Your insight has helped a lot. I will definitely check out the link you suggested.

Permalink Reply by Kathy Brunner on May 22, 2012 at 6:42pm

Andrea,

I blog on blogger and on Wordpress  and unlike most who prefer Wordpress, I actually think I have more choice about design etc. on blogger. Wordpress tends to incorporate a little better into a website but it hasn't stopped me from actually having a wordpress website with blogger on it!

Good luck! Let us know what you decide.

Permalink Reply by Diane Amento Owens on May 23, 2012 at 9:10pm

Hi Kathy,

Yes, Kathy, I'll say you certainly have been more creative design-wise on your blogger sites! But still with your Wordpress.com site, you are using just the "out-of-the-box" theme. WIth Wordpress.org, you have your choice of so many cool themes, and many of them are customizable with the colors, header, number of columns, etc. Just wanted to point that out for Andrea. 

Love the idea behind your latest book!

Permalink Reply by Andrea Miles on May 24, 2012 at 5:34am

I have been toying around with the Wordpress site. There are some pretty cool themes - it's hard to choose! But i think i'll need to check out their helpful videos/articles to fully see what all the options are.

Kathy, love your sites & your book seems very interesting. Im going to keep my eye on you :)

Diane, you are so kind to keep up with this & make sure I have all the information. I am leaning toward Wordpress, but I don't know if I'm tech-savvy enough for a self-hosted site. The whole con of potentially losing everything if the site goes down is a little disconcerting!

I have been visiting writers' blogs, checking out which they chose (WP or Blogger) and how they've styled their pages. I'm actually on vacation right now & my husband has been commenting on this sudden obsession, as if I have to have this decided by the end of the week!

Thanks again, ladies, for your insight and advice. It's nice to know I have people I can go to for such helpful info!

Permalink Reply by Diane Amento Owens on May 24, 2012 at 9:56am

Oh how funny--you're on vacation and you're doing all this research! No wonder your husband is concerned. :)

A point of clarification on your site going down "con" that the WP article mentions. Remember how I told you that there's a plugin for everything? Well, there's a handy-dandy plugin that backs up my site weekly and emails me a copy of the backup. 

So glad that you're visiting writers' blog sites and taking note of their design and blogging platform choice! That's definitely a smart way to figure out what's been done so that you can visualize what's possible for you.  Have you checked out my site yet, www.wisewomenwrite.com?

You know, Andrea, that you can always go with WP.com at first and then later change over to the "full monte" after you become comfortable with Wordpress but decide you want more options, etc. Going with WP.com would be a good way to "stick your big toe" in the blogging water. However, I still recommend that the blogging lake you dip into is the Wordpress platform. :)

Now shut off your computer and go out there and get in VACATION mode!!

Permalink Reply by Andrea Miles on May 24, 2012 at 3:35pm

I can be a bit obsessive, but ok, going to return to vacation mode! But maybe after I check out your blog! :)

Permalink Reply by Nancy MacMillan on May 22, 2012 at 9:31pm

Hi Andrea,

I've been with blogger for over a year. I knew nothing about nothing at the beginning, and I'm quite pleased. I've written a book, which is the purpose of my journey . . . to tell about my story, and to tell about my writing/publishing adventure.  I have hits from all over the world (59 countries to date), and close to 5000 page views at this time. May not seem like a lot to some, but to me it's a jackpot. And it's free. If you're curious, you might want to take a look. My older posts explain my journey and my lack of knowledge at the beginning.

Good luck with your quest . . .

Nancy MacMillan @ http://blogofavetswife.blogspot.com/

Permalink Reply by Andrea Miles on May 24, 2012 at 5:39am

Thank you, Nancy, for your insight. And you should be proud of the traffic you are getting to your site. The blog I currently have that's all about my kids is only read faithfully by my mother and a handful of relatives. I'm not even sure if my husband is a subscriber!

Permalink Reply by Diane Amento Owens on May 24, 2012 at 10:08am

Great blog, Nancy! And I applaud your courage in telling a story that's often unspoken about returning vets. I'll be watching your publishing story unfold, and I'm interested in learning the POD publisher you chose.

Thanks for sharing the story about obtaining permission to use the song lyrics. When I was editing a book a year ago, the writer used a snippet of a lyric, and I told her what she had to do in order to use it. I had just read the awesome resource The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, and prior to reading the book, I hadn't seen anywhere else a mention of this "must-do" pre-publishing requirement. You certainly have earned "your stripes" going through THAT process!

Good luck to you on your continuing journey. It is so worth it!

Diane Owens @ wisewomenwrite.com

Permalink Reply by Andrea Miles on May 30, 2012 at 9:44am

Here's a link to my new blog with my first post!

http://andreamiles.com/2012/05/30/the-courage-to-be-fearless/

Thanks everyone for all your help!

Permalink Reply by Diane Amento Owens on June 3, 2012 at 11:36pm

Andrea,

Awesome blog! I typed out a comment and then I couldn't leave it without logging in to wordpress.com or gravitar.com. Then poof--that comment disappeared! Oh well...but I did want to persevere and tell you what a great looking blog it is and how much I liked your first post. Really love your bio too. 

Your next blogging assignment is to figure out and then set up three or four categories for your posts. I see you have the tags, but categories are really good too. But above all, keep writing!! And keep being fearless!!! 

Diane

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