I needed a new website for my Wide Web Zine project. Normally I would have purchased a domain and set up a website on Wordpress.com... that was until they got greedy.
I have used the Wordpress.com blogging platform since 2014. Before that, I had several self-hosted Wordpress websites hosted by Powweb. The reason I moved from Powweb to Wordpress.com was because I found a lot of convenience in a service that provides a Wordpress blog instantly that you don't have to set up and maintain yourself, other than the media, posts, and pages that you publish on your website. I have had, and still have several .com websites and "free" blogs hosted there other than this website here on Blogger.
In the past I've also used Blogger. It was in fact Blogger where I got my start with maintaining blogs before I got into Wordpress at Powweb. I had not however used Blogger regularly since I got on Wordpress.com in 2014, but I maintained a Blogger account since I use Google. Anyone with a Google account actually has access to use Blogger whether they know it or not. You just sign in with your Google account which is basically your Gmail.
Over the years I have seen Wordpress.com make ridiculous changes to it's plan structure, or requiring plan upgrades to use certain features. These changes have occasionally caused me to halt purchases of new domains. I just happen to be one of those people who can't stop buying domains. I get an idea for something, and then I just have to go buy a domain for it if a suitable domain is available. But I'm not going to buy a domain, or waste my time trying to build a website or blog if I'm required to pay more cash to use some select features in Wordpress that has been placed under a lock and key for a cash grab.
In the last couple of years, Wordpress has switched over to the new Gutenburg block system. At first I wasn't a fan of it. But then I took some time to learn it, and see what it can do for blogging, and well, now I love Gutenburg. There is one thing I don't like about the new block system however. In the past, Wordpress.com used to put out awesome new blog templates at least once every month, or every other month. They still do occasionally now, but these are block based themes, and in my opinion, none of them resemble a blog at all. I had to design my own preferred template using the Blank Canvas block template for Wordpress. Once I was finished with that, I was happy with it. I actually started several websites using the template I designed.
But then, Wordpress made a recent change this month in December 2022, about a week ago from this post, that now requires you to upgrade to their Premium Plan at $96 a year just to be able to change colors in a blog template. Fuck that!
So that was the exact reason why I decided to come back to Blogger and see what I could build there in terms of a suitable blog that actually looks like a blog... at least like a blog that has a structure I'm used to and love... like what Wordpress used to provide before block templates. Bear in mind, I am an old-school internet user. I've been on the internet since 1998 when WebTV was popular. So I've seen trends in website designs change a lot over the years, and yes I know I just dated myself lol.
What I have discovered is that since 2014, I have been wasting a lot of money at Wordpress.com just to try to maintain a blog I could enjoy writing and sharing content.
When I came back to Blogger, I found that there weren't a lot of templates available, but the templates provided are very nice, and have the blog structure I like, and there is just enough ability to customize these templates to really make your website unique to your own style and liking. The best part was, I don't have to pay a dime just to be able to change colors on my blog template. If I want my website to be red today, and then blue tomorrow, I can do that without forking over money for that privilege.
Also, Google Domains makes it so simple and cheap to purchase a custom domain for your Blogger blog. I got liiinkz.com for just $12 a year. I bought 2 years upfront. Since Google, who owns Blogger, does not charge for website storage or hosting... my total investment on this website for my first two years was just $24 dollars. Now I have a blog and a custom domain for this website for literally a few pennies per day over that 2 year time period.
I'm really glad that I gave Blogger another chance, and I hope that this post may inspire others to give Blogger a chance for basic blogging. Blogger does not have as many features as Wordpress.com, but for basic blogging and getting a custom domain for your blog if you want one, you can't beat Blogger as far as I'm concerned.
SEE ALSO:
Integrate A Google Domain With A Blogger Blog For A Great Basic Blog Website - https://www.liiinkz.com/2022/12/integrate-google-domain-with-blogger.html
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