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Having been critical of Blogger I feel a need to make some amends. After all it did serve me very well for a few years. I prefer it to the other hosted blog platforms for a number of reasons:
- It is easy to learn and use.
- The new blogger has introduced features that make it very simple to add extra features or page elements. More are being added as time goes on.
Click on image to see all page elements
- You can host the classic blogger on your own domain.
- There is plenty of support for those just starting out as well as those who want to make more complicated changes - Dummies Guide to Google Blogger Beta, Blogger Hacks Wiki
- There is no expense involved using a hosted platform.
- Spam protection measures keep the pesky spam down without having to add any extra.
- My blogspot blog was ranked quickly by Google.
- Blogger was voted the ‘Best Weblog Tool’ in the 2006 Weblog Awards
- Basic styling can be done through the dashboard just by choosing colors. More advanced styling is quite simply achieved with changes to the stylesheet.
- I have chosen the following as examples of blogs that are very individually styled.
Would you know these were blogspot blogs if were not for the Blogger bar and the favicon images?
However, It is possible to style the Blogger bar (which runs across the top of blogspot pages to match the color of the rest of the page to help it blend in or to remove it completely (although that is probably against blogspot rules).
The favicon icon can be changed as on laketrees blog. I think that is leading me nicely into an idea for my next post as I am going to start styling this blog top down and I will explain how it is done.
If you think other blogspot blogs that are worth a mention because of their styling, please let me know.
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Sueblimely
Thank you for the compliment, Sue. I also use a favicon at Maryannaville. It’s not that difficult having one, either. Laketrees uploaded hers from a special website that will create a chosen favicon versus I have mine hosted by a friend. It’s on his website. He’s also in Australia. We’ve been cobber mates for years. You can have one if you want to use one, too, I bet.
Blogger is a great beginner for new bloggers. It’s served me very well although I am thinking strongly about setting up a website, I’ll not be doing it until early next year sometime. I’ve purchased my domain and that’s a major start for me since I’d not even considered having a website until a handful of Maryannaville readers began talking about Maryannaville having her own website. ~:o)
What can I say except that I’m easy? I’m not cheap but I have to own up to being easy, teehee! Actually, laid back is more appropriate.
*Hugs!*
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and your nice compliment about the design. I wish I could take credit, however I didn’t create the design. I downloaded it from one of the free design sites, but I can’t remember which one. Since I manage several blogs, I find the blogger bar at the top to be useful.
Thank you very much for kindly mentioning my blog on your Blogspot review Sue.
I used a template from http://www.blogcrowds.com and had it modified by my wife Nitsan who is a pro web designer.
BTW, I agree Blogspot is great for blogger beginners. Its main disadvantage is the template shortage. Many templates are just for the old ones while most of the new ones are pretty much repeating themselves. It is very hard to find a decent looking one. Wordpress has a much larger selection of 2C and 3C templates. So, if you can handle a more complicated interface and care about graphic design and don’t have the ability to play with CSS I would say Wordpress is better.
Having your own domain now will give you chance to get used to managing it and you can install and practice Wordpress or whatever blog platform you decide on. I reckon Wordpress is probably the best though.
It is much better to work from an existing design boliyou, especially if you are using the new blogger. Then you can just work on the css styling rather than wading through the xml code and altering that.
Hopefully there will be more xml blogspot templates as time goes on but I doubt if they will ever number that of Wordpress. I had meant to make some myself but never seemed to find the time.
Thanks so much for the nice compliment on my banner. I’m so happy you chose it, because I actually made several banners before deciding on this one, which is a small collage I made by tearing the images and taping them together. I gave you some link love over on my site, Pacing the Cage. Thanks again, I hope you come back to visit. I enjoy all the tips you have here as well.
I think it’s good for us bloggers that there are several different blog software out on the market, it’s never good when just one is dominating the market. It’s too easy to get careless then. Blogger has gone through a lot of changes, so maybe it’s on it’s way to get real good.
I still prefer WP for now, since it has more advantages to install plugins etc.
BTW: I’ve updated my link to you now, in the blogroll
thanks for featuring my blog Sue….
I’m glad you have a visual record as who knows when I’ll change it next
As for Word Press…..you are right …there are a lot of options…though I do find that when wordpress brings out a new plugin or widget…Blogger is not far behind in bringing out a similiar version …
I am desperately waiting for someone to do a modification of the Wordpress CommentsLuv plugin…for Blogger
Sue, from a design and styling perspective for beginners I have to agree with you: blogspot is a good choice. But as far as professional blogging is concerned I wouldn’t recommend it. It is by far the trickiest blogs’ CMS. Last year an update of the blogger html and stylesheets messed up the SEO friendly metas for many blogger blogs - to give you just an example.
Hi Captain. I agree that it is much better to have a choice. Bloggers have different needs and different skill levels. Some want very simple others want to be able to alter and adapt a blog as much as possible. I am the latter - some may think that crazy - they may be right
Blogger has lots of goodies now. The way it is coded now gives them a lot more scope. I do like the CommentsLuv plugin although was put off a bit when I read that more outgoing links than incoming links are not good for pagerank/SEO. I may use it anyway - I have no pagerank on this blog in any case 
Thanks for the link Shelby, I really appreciate that. Having started this blog from scratch and lost all linkbacks it is good to start receiving them again.
Do you know how blogspot users can optimize as far as SEO is concerned. Do they not have an advantage because it is a Google owned platform? I got to a pagerank of 3 in no time at all.
[…] Advantages of a blogspot blogger (Tonight we’ll be raising a blog spot blog as an example of how super easy this blogging stuff can be). […]
Sue, if I may say so, there is a difference between Classic Blogger and new Blogger. I’m thrilled with Classic Blogger and it is because of the blog skin that I’ve chosen to stay with Classic Blogger.
Se7en created the blog skin that I’m using. I’m waiting for him to return in order to make him a offer on the design to see if I will be able to keep the design. It’s soooo Maryannaville with its zip code being E-I-E-I-O.
The skin is almost greater than life as it’s known here in Hooterville– no kidding!
Saboma’s last blog post..Saddam’s Weapons of Mass Destruction
I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:
blogspot is a powerfull blogging platform, but if we can use self hosted wordpress blog it will be more powerfull
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