why i switched to WordPress

ever since i switched my blogging platform over to WordPress a couple weeks ago, i’ve had tons of people ask me one simple question, “Why?”. good question. {honestly, it was my most stressful week in blogland to date. so glad it is over and all you lovelies are still here!!} i was very anti on making the leap of blind faith from Blogger to WordPress. i knew the ins and outs of Blogger. felt confident and comfortable with it. so why switch? well, its a little thing called SEO {Search Engine Optimization} basically in a nutshell, it helps your blog show up more frequently in online search engines {like Yahoo, Google, etc}.

Why is SEO Important?

improving your SEO helps your blog’s link show up higher and more frequently in search results. the higher your blog’s link shows up in the search results, the more likely the searcher will click on your link. therefore, resulting in more traffic to your blog. {feel like you’re in a science class proving a science experiment or something? haha} it sounds all scientific….and it kinda is! before i switched to WordPress, i would go into the HTML of each post and add things into the code that would help build my blog’s SEO……which t took a TON of extra time!! {esp. when the internet was slow. ugh.} and that’s not all i did….. when i uploaded pictures to my computer, i would carefully choose what i named them to help with my SEO….. AND i tried to be very thoughtful about what i named each post…..bascially, i was doing double backflips trying my hardest to build my SEO as much as i could. but doing it the hard way because of the limitations of Blogger. i was spending so much time stressing over SEO, i needed to find something better.

The Solution

the solution was simple: switch to WordPress. in WordPress, i can control exactly what i want my SEO for each post and picture to be as i am writing my post. SO.SIMPLE. it couldn’t be easier! no more “fixing” my HTML code, no more stress over names, no more renaming everything on my blog, and no more worrying about using the wrong word in my post title! YAY! less time spent on SEO, more time to CRAFT! i’m a happy blogger.

Using WordPress

i am still learning WordPress…. and there’s a lot to learn! there seems to be so much you can do with WordPress  more than Blogger. and some things i have found are easier to do. like i think posting is a breeze in WordPress! the widgets, plugins, and appearance things in WP…..well, i’m still figuring them out! but i am very happy that i made the switch. although, i will say that the process of switching was stressful. very stressful.

Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

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Comments

  1. 1

    i so needed to read this. i am scheduled to migrate to wordpress this week. i am so nervous. i could post blindfolded on blogger, it’s so familiar to me right now. i hope i can keep it together while i’m transitioning!!!

  2. 2

    Was it hard to migrate? I’m thinking of doing it myself but not sure who to go about it.

    1. 2.1

      Sasha,
      It’s not hard if you get the right person to do it for you! I’m sure you could do it yourself, but I was too afraid to lose followers. I used RFE Hosting, but there are plenty of companies that do WordPress migrations.
      Linda

  3. 3

    AMEN! S stressful. But I am excited to see how SEO can help build my blog. We need a WP support group…

      1. halla!! Skype?!

  4. 4

    I am in the process of switching over my blog too.
    I agree so much more u can do, but a whole new learning curve.
    xo hugs

  5. 5

    I knew about being thoughtful in your post title, but didn’t even think about what I named my pictures, thanks for pointing that out!

  6. 6

    Yes!

    I spent hours on Friday trying to get the host name out of the URL after I switched to wordpress. Definitely stressful since I am so familiar with blogger. The benefits do seem to outweigh the growing pains and as my etsy teammates pointed out, now I can focus on my new site!

  7. 7

    I’ve also moved my blog from Blogger to WordPress. I use a Studiopress child theme called Social Eyes. It’s got a cleaner feel to it than blogger. Anyway, I think your transition looks great! You are crafty and internet savvy!

  8. 8

    Im so new to all of this. Im learning someting different every day. I tried to start out in WordPress, but I felt totally lost. Maybe I will give it a shot again once I figure out more of what Im doing. I know littltle to nothing about SEO and stuff like that. I wish I had a friend who could come over and help and teach me stuff like that. Have an awesome week!

  9. 9

    Wow! I started out with WordPress and switched to Blogger from there. My blog is small and I was getting so many spam comments in WordPress! It was very annoying! I haven’t had that trouble with Blogger.

  10. 10

    Thanks for sharing your Whys? I have been curious as to why so many people are switching over after the Creative Estates conference (at least that is how it seems). I am glad to know a little more. It has been having me thinking…

    1. 10.1

      Tasha,
      RFE Hosting gave all CE participants a good discount on WP migrations, hence of all us switched right after CE! lol

  11. 11

    I’ve been contemplating this for several weeks now. The only thing I’m worried about {other than having to learn a whole new program} is my followers. How do you make the transition w/out losing them?
    Jen
    Scissors & Spatulas

    1. 11.1

      Jen,
      I put it off for the same reason, fear of losing followers! I lost 7,000 feed readers for 2 days, but we were able to get them back. Fortunately. In the end, everyone transferred and it turned out just fine! I would highly recommend having someone switch your blog that has done it before.

  12. 12

    I should have asked this weeks and weeks ago, but all over your blog I see these little frogs inside icecubes and a thing that says “domain unregistered, to view, register at: …..” Does that mean that I have to register somewhere to see the graphics on your blog, or does it mean my browser is not compatible with yours? I have an imac and use safari.

    1. 12.1

      Hi Katie,
      Thank you for letting me know about the frogs in ice cubes! I had no idea. I asked my web master about that and he’s not sure what’s wrong. Could you possibly send me a screen shot of what you’re seeing? craftaholicsanon@gmail.com I’d appreciate it so much! thanks!
      Linda

  13. 13
    Lisa

    I look at your site daily (first time commenter) and just wanted to say that I am glad you switched because your page load so much faster than it did before!! Not sure why but I like it! Great posts, really enjoy your site. Thanks.

    1. 13.1

      Thanks for leaving a comment Lisa! I heart stalkers ;o) Yeah, my page loading time was killer before. WP has definitely helped a ton!
      take care!
      Linda

  14. 14

    VERY STRESSFUL! Just found out I lost 5.000 subscribers TODAY!! Random that it happened a month later. .. And my PR dropped from a 3 to a 0. Totally bummed. SO frustrating. I just wish I would of started in WP to begin with.

    1. 14.1

      sorry about losing all your readers! I hope aaron can get them back for you!!!! ugh. such an awful feeling. I wish I’d started in WP too. would have been easier! But if you’re like me, I started this blog on a whim. Little did I know it would EVER grow into what it is today!!
      PS what is your PR?

  15. 15

    I was actually thinking of switching to WordPress too but I just had someone design my blog. :-( I would love for you to come and take a look at my blog
    I would like to see what you think of my handmade cards and crafts…

    Thanks
    Wendy Couture

  16. 16

    Sweet! It looks great. I’ve been toying with the idea for a few also, this is inspiring!

  17. 17

    Linda, I love your new look and love that you shared this. Your blogging tips have been so helpful to me in the past. I really value what you share. You gave so much info about wordpress in this post, in a very easy to understand way. Thank you! AND of course you rock with your craftiness too! ;) lol. Have a great week!

  18. 18

    Love your blog.
    How did you figure out how to get started with the transition to wordpress?

  19. 19

    Thanks for the vote of confidence. Since I began in Sept. I purchased my dot com but was scared so stuck with Blogger. I’m not technical but finally found someone to do it all for me. Getting pics together and finalizing things now with her. I’m happy to see how yours and so many others recently that have done this and are successful! Great job!

  20. 20

    This is SO good to know… After the Blogger issues, I’m ready to jump ship right now!

  21. 21

    Are you using the free verision of wordpress or paying to have it hosted?