I need your advice...and don't worry it's not scary.

So, I've been toying with the idea of switching this little ole Sassy Molassy over to a Wordpress or something of the like where i have a bit more freedom to roam if you will. No Blogger, your 16 design templates don't quite work for me (no versatility or variety). And A LOT of other things.

It just makes me wish I really KNEW html and how to design. That Journalism degree helped my writing and researching skills, however as a Public Relations focused student, we weren't encouraged to take classes for Photoshop or InDesign. Annoying now that I know better. Alas, I know the blog hosting shift is a time consuming one and me being a haphazard blogger with a FT job, I just want to hear your opinions. Come one, come all!

So, give it to me...

1) who hosts your blog? did you every switch and if so, why?
2) what are the advantages of your host?
3) what's a pain in the arse?
4) is it worth the cost/time to have your own url?
5) any other advice?

P.S. HAPPY FRIDAY!

I'm off to meet my momsie (again), grandma and aunt for coffee just up the road (45 min)! It's definitely worth the drive for a little family time and good coffee. Plus, I have the day off. Just sayin'...

What are YOU doing this weekend? Oh, I'm running 15.5 miles in the mud and hills AND enjoying some good eats. Don't worry about me, but expect a recap on Monday!

Comments

Jen Feeny said…
I'll def have to check back and see what people are saying, I've been contemplating Word Press myself but the whole switch over seems like such a pain and I don't want to loose all my comments! I know that might sound weird but I have gotten some really informative, supportive, inspirational comments, especially on race recaps that I really don't want to loose!
Kayla said…
I switched to self-hosted Wordpress last year and am generally pretty happy with it. It was a good opportunity to learn a little CSS so I could customize an existing template.

In retrospect, there are probably ways I could've done it cheaper, like stick with a Wordpress.com site (instead of self-hosted Wordpress.org) and just bought a domain name to redirect, rather than buying a whole hosting package.

The main benefit for me has been staying up on my html/css skills and having a financial reason to blog (I want to get my money's worth!)

I wrote up my tips when I was done at http://kaylagregory.com/blog/?cat=27. If you decide to go with Wordpress, hopefully some of those links/tools will be helpful!

Have an awesome weekend.
Kara said…
The switch from Blogger to WordPress was fairly easy for me! I was able to import all my old Blogger posts (comments included!)

I don't have my own domain name and it's something I've been contemplating doing in the future. There are lots of fabulous bloggers out there who would love to help you create a page stressfree! LiLu (http://www.livitluvit.com/get-some-ads-blog-layouts) is one of them and she's fabulous!
Anonymous said…
The switch over from Blogger to Wordpress worked well for me -- there were some HTML issues with a few posts, but otherwise everything with photos and comments transferred well. That being said, I'm getting ready to make a switch to a regular .com with a friend of mine who does design hosting and I will have even more layout freedom. The biggest cost for that is the upfront design cost. Otherwise the monthly fee isn't too bad.

If you want freedom with HTML or using an imported template, Blogger is actually better than the standard Wordpress. Wordpress has some cooler standard templates to use though.
Will be interesting to see what people say as I have also contemplated switching...
Amber said…
OMG SO WORTH IT!

Everyone who is interested in what people have to say: DO IT.

Fork out the $67ish and get the Thesis theme which is completely customizable and SO EASY TO USE! Seriously!!

There are so many easy tutorials on the web to help you do it too so it's not as scary as it sounds and, attention, this is important:

YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW HTML OR CSS.

Seriously, go to wordpress.org and read through some of the tutorials and it will probably help a ton.

Do it ;)
Amanda said…
I use typepad, and I really like it, although the one set back is the cost. If you dont mind paying, I would highly suggest it!

Blessings-
Amanda
Unknown said…
I was thinking of switching as well. I just found out that Blogger now allows you to create your own design for templates. check it out! Pretty cool!
Thanks so much for everyone's input. I really appreciate it! It looks like I've got a lot of research and thinking ahead for myself.

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