WordPress: Don’t Fear The Learning Curve
The Blogger (Blogspot) to WordPress Learning Curve
The first time my blog went down, I headed over to the BlogFrog community to see what other bloggers were using. Though the majority suggest WordPress.org self-hosting, I headed over to WordPress.com free hosting.
- Cause it was free
- Because being a web designer since the days of HTML and uploading files every time I made a change, I somehow had it in my head that it would be the same process as a WordPress Self hosted account. I had no idea that I’d be able to blog in “real-time” as I did with Blogspot.
- Did I mention it was free?
One look at the dashboard and I went running back to Blogger. Seriously. Of course, as I mentioned in my last post about WordPress being the best move I ever made, I finally did move to the Self-Hosted version and honestly, there is a learning curve, but it’s really not so steep. And now that Blogger has updated their interface, I’d like to share a few basic WordPress backend areas with my Blogger bloggers in the event that you’re as intimidated as I was.
The Dashboards
Here’s a shot of my Blogger Dashboard vs. my WordPress Dashboard. (click on the thumbnail for a larger view)
As you can see, the WordPress menu has the same basics as the Blogger menu. WP has a bit more because it has more functionality than blogger due to being able to install plugins. The WP basic dashboard itself offers Stat information, Right Now (same as Blogger’s Updates box) and Recent Comment at a glass. Since I have the WP Stats Dashboard and Google Analytics installed, I’m also able to see those stats at a glance.
Choosing what information you’d like to display on the dashboard is simple via the Screen Options tab on the top right. CLicking it will give you the following menu where you can check and uncheck info boxes to display on your dashboard. Not every plugin comes with a dashboard widget, but many do, so this list can get long, but I think it’s great that I can easily hide what I don’t need. Plus, you can move the widgets (info boxes) around by dragging the title bar.
The Posts Area
The Posts List Area is Wp and Blogger are also very similar. The only difference being that in WordPress, access to filtering your drafts and published is in the main screen in a horizontal menu and you’re also able to filter by categories, tags, etc.. In my WP screenshot you’ll also see that I have the option to choose whether a post is featured or not, that’s due to a plugin I’ve installed and doesn’t come with the basic install. You’ll find a WP Screen Options tab available here too.
And as for the New Post Area, the sidebar options are a bit “more” with WordPress, there’s also a Screen Options tab, but the layout is pretty much the same.
My options area on the right has more than the basic installation because I’ve added plugins. You can also reorganize the boxes as you do with the Dashboard. The more post specific plugins you add for functionality, the more boxes you’ll find listed on this page, but again, you can easily hide the boxes and reorganize them. Only the area where you write the post stays where it is.
As you can see, there’s really nothing to fear. And the time invested in the not-so-deep learning curve, is well worth it.
I could use some help from Blogger bloggers.
When I was on Blogger, I use to host my images on PhotoBucket. I did this so I’d always have access to my images. Then I’d have to copy the link to the image when writing a post. I’m not sure if Blogger gives you easier access now. I still can’t find a list of images on the backend.
With WordPress Self Hosted I can easily upload images to MY server. Easy access. This also helps with SEO, because my images tend to come up in Google Image search and when they do, the link goes to my blog, not Google’s servers.
Can any Blogger bloggers share in the comments section whether this has changed with Blogger. I’d really appreciate it.
Twitter: LogAllot
says:
WordPress is no joke and it can make people really confused because it is completely different. It took me 3 months to get comfortable with WordPress and it’s been roses ever since. The only issues I have is with the themes I have chosen. Most times people don’t realize that the installation process is the biggest hurdle to get over than anything else. I found myself truly frustrated with many developers lack of help or support, but now, I can manage figure things out myself.
Sonia recently posted..Is Social Media Etiquette Something You Should Worry About?
you’re right about the themes. some build them pretty complicated and don’t give you the ability to change a lot of things. it’s either their way or get yourself a new theme. that may be why it took you three months. the bloggers i’ve moved from blogger to wordpress and built custom designers for got it right away. and the themes i put together give you the ability to change anything via coding or just loading a free plugin. the only thing i’ve found that i can’t run on my site, is raffelcopter.
Hi Vanita! Thanks for giving some points on what to use for blogging. I have once tried WordPress.com and it’s quite doing well. Maybe I should see WordPress.Org for me to see what’s the difference between the two.
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I appreciate the effort for sharing this post to us! I will definitely try wordpress.com as well!
keep in mind, wordpress.com and wordpress.org are two different platforms. I fully support WordPress.org.
By the way, your link doesn’t work, so I removed it. Nothing personal, I just rather not offer my readers links that don’t load. you may want to check your site. feel free to leave another comment with your link when it’s all working.
I am very amazed using WordPress.com..I think this is very helpful specially to me because I am new in blogging..Thanks for the share..
Very nice post! Actually I am very new in this blogging world and by reading your post I came to know many things which will help to improve my blogging. The idea of dashboard is interesting. I will make a note on your post and learning curve for my future reference.
Rodrigo Valenzuela recently posted..Consejos : como vestirse para seducir a un hombre
Twitter: momgosomething
says:
I am so so SO thankful that I chose wordpress over blogspot. I’m not sure why I did that either. I never knew nothing about blogging and the WP dashboard was very VERY intimidating. But like you said, it’s a learning curve and their forums are super helpful!!
Kimberly recently posted..Apparently My Fortune Cookie Thinks That I Have Jesus Like Qualities
Kimberly! Thanks for stopping by. I’m curious, did you start with WordPress.com or did you go straight to self hosted?