User Feedback: WordPress is Nice

I switched from Blogger to
Wordpress in August of 2006, almost one year after I started blogging. Blogger was currently experiencing a lot of
downtimes, I wanted to start hosting a blog from my own domain, www.dagossip.com, rather than www.dagossip.somethingelse.com,
and I felt like I had outgrown Blogger. (Update: You can now host your own domain name at Blogger.)

I wanted more options, options I
didn’t even know I wanted and Blogger could not read my mind. I told Dan (my husband and resident computer
programmer) that I wanted to switch to TypePad and he began researching. He read everything there was to read about
the different platforms and their strengths and weaknesses. Then he presented a well-documented case that
Wordpress was the clear winner for me long term. I nodded and smiled and have not regretted
the decision for a moment.

Here is why I heart WordPress:

1.  Customizable – I have complete control over
the look and feel of my site. If you
enjoy tinkering around with the code on your site, you’ll love that you have
total access to your WordPress blog template.

2. Versatility – It’s
open-source so not only can you change things around, but everyone and their
dog online is creating plug-ins and upgrades you can use on your site. Some are super-useful like amazingly
effective spam filters and some are just fun like the Hello Dolly plug-in, which displays a different line from the song Hello Dolly each time you switch administration
screens. “You’re lookin’ swell fellas!” There are hundreds of different plug-ins you
can get to solve just about any problem you’re having, even boredom apparently. I’m still looking for one that will dispense
ice cream to all of my readers.

3. Idiot Proof – after a
the small learning curve, I’ve found the software easy to use. The technology does not get in the way of functionality. It is super user-friendly. It’s very easy to moderate comments, set
permissions, respond to comments and even edit them if, for example, your
sister uses your daughter’s real name in a comment she leaves you.

4. Supportive – There are
amazing forums for help on nearly every topic. I have used them to do all kinds of cool modifications to the HTML, CSS,
and PHP code in my blog, things someone with my level of knowledge should
probably never be messing with. Luckily
the forums are so well organized and clearly written that I felt confident
experimenting beyond where I would have been comfortable in Blogger.

5. Geek Chic – It seems
that WordPress is the current golden child among the techie elite and it makes
I feel like I've been promoted to the grownups’ table.

WordPress software is freely
available at wordpress.ORG but you need to find and pay for a web host and a
domain name (Most hosting companies offer a free domain name with hosting
service. I pay $50 per year for my
hosting and several companies are listed on WordPress.org.)

You can also use WordPress
software for free at wordpress.COM but your storage space and customizability
are limited and your URL will be yoursitename.wordpress.com. If you’d like to upgrade your storage or add
features, you have several different levels for payment options.