Top 5 Reasons Why I Use Blogger (Blogspot) as my Blogging Platform

For those who don't know, this blog site is running on Blogger (Blogspot) CMS.

I'm using a custom domain and host it to Blogger by Google for free.

So why not WordPress which is easier to use and more manageable, and why Blogger?

We all know that WordPress is the most popular Content Management System in the world with over 75 million websites using it.

With its easy to use features such as installing themes and plugins, creating pages that requires no coding skills, anyone can really set up their own blog or website in just a couple of minutes. 

You may be wondering now why I choose to use Blogger instead of WordPress or any other CMS, here are the reasons why.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. I love the User Interface.

2. It's inexpensive. There's no need to spend for hosting if you'll use your custom domain.

3. It allows me to become more creative and resourceful.

4. It allows me to learn some coding skills.

5. It acts as my online portfolio.

But before that, let's first talk about the disadvantages of using Blogger (Blogspot).

1. Google may take down your blog/site anytime without prior notice.

Unlike WordPress or any Content Management System in which you're the only one who can have full control of, Blogger by Google may take down your site anytime without prior notice if your blog violates their terms of use. 

If they found out that your blog has malicious, illegal, hijacking, or hacking contents, Google might take down your site without giving you any announcement.

Nonetheless, you don't have to worry of having your blog shutdowned if your site doesn't have any contents which are against their policies.

2. You have to wait for over six months to monetize your blog via Google Adsense.

For some who believes that you can only monetize your blog if it has a custom domain and hosting, it's time to change your mind because it's actually possible to monetize your blogger/blogspot blog through a hosted Google Adsense account since Blogger is a product of Google.

 However, you have to wait for six months or more especially if you're from Asian countries.

This is Google's way to ensure the site ownership and age of the blog.

And of course, you also need to have enough quality contents, decent traffic, create legal pages, and adhere to Adsense policies in order for you to qualify for blog monetization.

3. It has limited features.

Blogger has pre-made templates, however these are not as optimized as WordPress themes. It also has few choices to choose from.

It is also almost impossible to install exclusive plugins unlike that of WordPress which is a vital factor to your site's performance.

4. It requires manual coding skills if you want to change your site's theme and pages.

If you want to change your site's look, layout, and theme, you sometimes have no option but to learn JavaScript, HTML, and CSS coding. This might take a lot of time especially for beginners and for those who don't have any prior knowledge about web development. Good thing Blogger has a feature of installing customized themes via a 'Restore' function.

5. You only have a subdomain.

Blogger is free to use. However, it has some limitations and one of those is that you'll have a subdomain for your blog and you can't do anything unless you buy and connect your custom domain.

Although a subdomain is fine to look at, still readers might have an impression that it looks unreliable and unprofessional. And sometimes, social networks might flag blogs that use subdomains as spam.

Having a subdomain is also hard to monetize using different ad networks aside from Google Adsense unless your blog  is unique, has great traffic, compelling contents.

6. It's hard to rank blogspot blogs on search engines.

Even if some say that Blogger is easier to rank, the truth is that it's not even if it's a product of Google. It's hard to rank your blog because Blogger's code is unstructured like its Heading tags. You basically have to manually edit or tweak your theme's HTML code if you want to come up for a better result.

Now that I've shared with you the disadvantages of using Blogger (Blogspot), let's move on to the real intention of this article, and that is to share with you my reasons why I still choose to use Blogger for blogging.

Let's go!

1. I love the User Interface.

Sounds funny but it's true. I think Blogger has one of the cleanest and minimalist user interface any user will get to familiarized with. In fact, it only took me an hour for me to be familiar with its functions.

2. It's inexpensive. There's no need to spend for hosting if you'll use your custom domain.

As I've mentioned in my post intro, my site is running on a Blogger platform with a custom domain. Google hosts my domain for free and I've never experienced any site crashing errors. One thing that I also like about Blogspot is that you can turn on HTTPS feature for free which is also a great influence to your blog visitors. It means that when you turn on HTTPS, visitors will see that your blog is secure.

3. It allows me to become more creative and resourceful.

That's true! Because of Blogger, I was able to become more creative and resourceful with the availabilities of the current platform that I use. 

I was able to make my blog a user-friendly site even if it's just running on Blogger (Blogspot) CMS.

4. It allows me to learn some coding skills.

To be honest, I started this blog without any coding experiences. I've visited several blogs and I was amazed how they were able to make their blog site beautiful even if they're just running on a Blogger platform. From then on, I became curious. Because of curiosity, it leads me towards learning basic HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and CSS just to make my own blog to be user-friendly too.

And through that, I think it's paving the way for me to acquire web developing skills which is now one of my interests. In fact,  I'm dreaming of becoming a Web Developer someday.

5. It acts as my online portfolio.

Having an online portfolio is also one of my reasons why I pursue blogging on my own. 

Someday, it will serve as a proof of my skills and certification that I'm resourceful and independent. Blogger allows me to be more relevant content  creator.

And I hope that this will pave the way for my future success.

So those are the top five reasons why I use Blogger/Blogspot as my blogging platform.

Blogger allows everyone to start their own blog and monetize it for free and I believe Google promotes that kind of inclusivity.

Even if it's not as popular and powerful unlike WordPress, I do believe that everything is limitless if you have the passion, dedication, and skills as a Blogger, Online Freelancer, and Digital World Conqueror.

How about you? Do you have the same Blogger sentiments as well? Share us your thoughts in the comment section below.