Blogger Review

Blogger is one of the oldest content management systems available on the internet and it’s been developed a lot since it first began. That’s why so many top bloggers today started their careers on Blogger. So it has to be included and it’s also why we’ve created a blogger review to give you our thoughts on the CMS.

What Is Blogger?

Blogger is a free tool developed by Google to help internet users create and publish blogs. Older versions of blogger were heavily branded, but in the latest versions, this has now been removed and you can now create your own blog branding.

Features Of Blogger

The features of blogger are what makes this free content management system really good.  You can integrate Gmail to make it easier for audiences to contact you and to receive notifications. This can help you manage your website with ease and it’s simple to install Gmail on your mobile device.

Those looking for a great way to monetize their website without too much work can also install adverts on their account. These adverts will generate a small income every time a visitor clicks on them.

However, this won’t make you a significant income unless you have lots of website visitors. Luckily, you have a host of available apps that can help you monitor and assess your incoming traffic. These tools can aid your marketing campaigns, SEO techniques, and content generation to draw larger audiences to your blog.

The biggest benefit of you getting the whole package at the start is that you don’t get any of the compatibility issues you can face with programs like WordPress, Joomla or others. Of course there’s also the downside that you can’t tag on options as you need them, which could mean your site is slower to load than necessary.

How Easy Is Blogger To Use?

If you’re someone who hasn’t got much experience or technical skills when it comes to website design, then blogger is a great solution. It’s possibly the easiest blogging application on the web and you could literally have your new blog ready in minutes.

Designing your website is done in two areas. The first is the template and the second is layout. The template allows you to select, and then customize the aesthetics of the website. There are a few templates you can use from blogger. These are simple in design, which is great for mobile audiences.

There isn’t a great set of tools for customization, and templates can only be changed in minor ways. However, if you do have some technical knowledge, you might be able to adjust the HTML coding to make changes yourself. Although this shouldn’t be tried without the proper skills, as it can cause significant problems. The upside of this is that where other platforms would require you to pay for this, Blogger allows you to do this for free.

The layout allows you to choose where the sidebars, headers and blog posts will appear on the screen. These are important decisions. Considering the heat map of an audience’s attention, the most vital aspects of your new website should be located on the top and left hand side of the screen.

The uploading and publishing process of creating content on blogger is fairly simple. Pretty much all you have to do is write your post, upload visual content, and then press publish.

With blog posts being a major aspect of SEO, this simplicity can help you get the word out to your audiences. However, there are some issues, such as management of your content, that can be more challenging than it is with other programs such as WordPress or Joomla.

Blogger Pricing

One of the more interesting aspects of Blogger is that it’s completely free. The software, hosting, and integrated apps, of which there are many, are yours for free. This is possibly one of the many reasons why you might be attracted to blogger.

Of course, there are some things that you can purchase. For instance, if you want your own domain name, which is great for branding and SEO, then you have to purchase that. Buying directly from Blogger could be more expensive than purchasing from another provider.

Those who don’t want to purchase a unique domain name will have a domain name that will look like:

yourdomain.blogspot.com

The problem with this, is that some audiences will feel that this domain extension looks unprofessional. It’s harder for audiences to remember the URL correctly when it’s longer, and they may struggle to find you. Therefore, those with free hosting options and no unique domain name can often find it more difficult to grow their blog.

Protection For Your Blogger Website

One of the challenges with Blogger is protecting your website. While a secure password can protect changes being made without your knowledge, other aspects of your website’s security can be compromised.

For instance, you can’t ban IP addresses or words in comments. This can mean that without moderation, many spam comments can be added to your blog. This can negatively impact your site’s SEO and looks terrible to new audiences.

You can add moderation to every single submitted comment. This can offer you some level of protection, but it isn’t perfect. Managing the dozens of comments you can receive can be time consuming.

If you’re someone who likes to minimize time spent managing the social aspects of a website, then you might need to consider this. Alternatively, you could turn off comments.

Blogger Review: The Pros

• A free content management system that offers a lot of great tools to develop your business’ website.
• Open-source programming that can be changed to suit your needs.
• Integration with key Google Tools that will support the growth of your website and help you monetize your website.

Blogger Review: The Cons

• Without a domain name, your site could be perceived as amateur.
• Limited customization options unless you have HTML skills.
• Lots of time might be necessary to manage spam comments.

Blogger Review Conclusion

Blogger is a great starting place if you’re new to blogging. It’s free and full of features to get you started. However, our closing statement in this Blogger review is that if you need anything more complex, then Blogger might not be for you.