In the following chart features at Blogger (blogspot.com) and Wordpress.com are compared. These are the two main contenders for free blog hosting. Features which are clearly better at either BlogSpot or Wordpress have been highlighted. Widgets are listed in another summary table after the features list. If you purchase web hosting with PHP/MySQL support, you can install and use WordPress with no restrictions — a better option if the WP.com recipe doesn't match your wish list. Otherwise, you might need to pay for upgrades.Download at http://wordpress.org/
Updated September 2011 — New table entries — New Conclusion.
| Feature | Blogger.com | Wordpress.com |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | New: Updated dashboard design. More features, but is unusable without JavaScript. It's an Opt-in alternative for now. | The WP.com dashboard renders fast and dial-up users can switch to the mobile interface to post an entry quickly. |
| Themes and customization | Blogger introduced a collection of easy-to-customize templates with mobile versions and Google Web Fonts. Earlier templates can still be edited, but without all the new features. | No template editing. Style sheet editing is only available as a paid upgrade. Most of the 100+ themes let you upload a header image. Many of them have additional options. |
| From a mobile | Blogger Help has a section with information about mobile blogging. | m.wordpress.com/ Applications exist for a wide range of mobile devices (more info). |
| Visitor Stats | Built-in visitor stats. | Built-in visitor stats. |
| JavaScript | You can include third-party scripts. | No scripts allowed. |
| Domain names | Free domain name mapping (more info). | A paid upgrade is required to map a custom domain. |
| AdSense | Yes. But it's hard to attract enough visitors to make more than pennies each month. | No. But Wordpress.com often appends its own version to users' posts. Logged-in users don't see the ads (more info). |
| Import | Only from another BlogSpot blog. However, a third-party tool called Wordpress2blogger can convert up to 1 MB. | Import from Blogger, Yahoo! 360, Type·Pad, MovabIe·Type, Blogli, Israblog, Posterous, Vox.com, Live·JournaI or another WordPress blog. |
| Image storage | 1 Gigabyte. There is no interface to browse through the images unless you sign up for Picasa Web Albums. | 3 Gigabytes. Paid upgrades are available to add more space. You can also upload .ppt, .doc, .odt and .pdf files (more file types with an upgrade). |
| Galleries | Slideshow widget (Picasa Web Albums or other external sources). | Simply add the tag [gallery] to any post or page (more info). |
| Static pages | Create up to 10 pages, but unlike WordPress no static front page. | Create posts or 'pages'. Static pages are listed in separate menus. |
| Categories | 'Labels'. | 'Categories'. |
| Share buttons | In the Navbar, plus a "Share" buttons option: | Configure any of your favorite "Share" buttons. |
| Post excerpts | Include Jump Breaks in your posts (more info). | Post excerpts with a "more" tag. |
| Post by email | Submit your posts by email. You can receive new posts by email too (helpful for team blogs). | Submit your posts by email. Images can be attached (more info). |
| Contact forms | Not available. You could add a third-party contact form, however. | Simply add the tag [contact-form] to any post or page or use advanced features. |
| Private blogs | You can restrict access to 100 invited Google account holders. | You can restrict access to 35 invited Wordpress account holders (no limit with a paid upgrade). Alternatively, individual posts can be password protected or Private. |
| Team blogs | Administrators and non-administrators only. | Administrator, Editors, Authors & Contributors. Option to receive post changes by email. |
| Comments | Visual confirmation, spam filtering and moderation options, but no editing of comments. | Moderation, comment editing and Akismet spam protection. |
| Feedback | Reactions. A mini-poll option for reader ratings. | A "Like" button. Visitors can put a link to their Profile page in your post. Beware! |
| Widgets | See the next table. | |
Visitors can preview comments. They can also choose to receive follow-up comments by email. However, the embedded Comment Form option is entirely dependent on JavaScript. Spam filtering is now available as an alternative to moderating every comment.
Wordpress comments:
In 2009 Wordpress.com added follow-ups by email and comment threading options. Wordpress has more comment options than Blogger, but there have been problems with Akismet spam protection. See this post on the WP user forum...
http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic.php?id=16584
Widgets compared:
| BlogSpot Widgets | Description |
|---|---|
| Add a Gadget | Software applications that do cool things. There's an extensive menu in the sidebar. |
| Popular Posts | Displays a list of popular posts on your blog. |
| Blog stats | Displays your blog's visitor count. |
| Pages | Displays a list of stand-alone pages on your blog. You can create up to 10 pages. |
| Followers | Displays a list of users who follow your blog. |
| Search Box | Search over your blog, your blogroll and everything you've linked to. |
| HTML/JavaScript | Add third-party functionality or other code to your blog. [ i.e., any third-party widget] |
| Text | Add some words to your blog - like a welcome message - with our rich text editor. |
| AdSense | Earn revenue by displaying relevant ads on your blog. |
| Picture [for the sidebar] | Add a picture from your computer or from somewhere else on the web. |
| Slideshow | Add a slideshow of your photos to your blog. |
| Video Bar | Clips from YouTube and Google Video for readers to watch without leaving the page. |
| Poll | Survey your visitors by adding a poll. |
| Blog List | Show off what you read with a blogroll of your favourite blogs. |
| Link List | Add a collection of your favourite sites, blogs or web pages. |
| List | Add a list of your favourite books, films or anything you like. |
| Feed | Add content from an RSS or Atom feed to your blog. |
| Newsreel | Automatically add current headlines from Google News to your blog. (see an example) |
| Labels [categories] | Show all the labels of posts in your blog. |
| Subscription Links | Let your readers easily subscribe to your blog with popular feed readers. |
| Logo | Choose from a variety of Blogger logos to add to your page. |
| Profile | Display information about yourself. [Wordpress blogs have an "About" page] |
| Blog Archive | Display links to older posts. |
| Page Header | Display your blog's title and description. |
| Wordpress.com Widgets | |
| Akismet | Archives | Authors | Author Grid | Blog Stats | Blog Subscriptions | Box.net file sharing | Calendar | Categories | Category cloud | del.icio.us | Flickr | Gravatar | Image | Links | Meebo | Meta | Pages | Recent Comments | Recent Posts | RSS | RSS Links| Search | SocialVibe | Tag Cloud | Text | Top Clicks | Top Posts | Top Rated | Twitter | Vod:Pod Videos | |
Blogger has a favicon option. Wordpress.com calls them blavatars.
Theme choices
Blogger introduced new, easy-to-customize templates in 2010. Earlier templates can be modified, or you can install a third-party theme. Make sure that third-party themes have the latest layout tags.Although the Wordpress.com collection of 100+ themes sounds like a lot, finding features you might want is a challenge. Customization options are limited unless you pay for an upgrade that allows stylesheet editing. Wordpress.com uses a scheme called Typekit for changing fonts, while Blogger offers a straightforward method to choose between standard fonts (in addition to standard fonts there are Google Web Fonts). Both systems have Mobile Templates.
WordPress theme browser: http://theme.wordpress.com/themes/
Ongoing improvements
The WordPress team frequently add new features and themes, and since the new BlogSpot publishing system was rolled out in 2006, the Blogger software team have added lots of new features too. Visit the developer blogs to find out what's new:Feature Bloat
Both Blogger and Wordpress.com have undergone feature "bloat" in recent years, more so on Wordpress.com. That means it takes more time to become fully familiar with what you can and can't do. If you set up a self-hosted blog from wordpress.org you can eliminate any feature's you don't want. At Wordpress.com, new features appear without warning — and are turned on by default.Conclusion
In 2007, I wanted to find out what was on offer in terms of free blog hosting. I chose Blogger by preference and this was my first post. If Wordpress.com had allowed stylesheet editing without having to pay, and visitor stats comparable to the tracker scripts you can obtain for free, my choice would have been Wordpress.com.Now, I would say that those who prefer WordPress should consider paying for a hosting plan so they can use WP without restrictions.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/advertising/ ... contained the following statement today (2011-09-01):
AdvertisingRecently, I've noticed advertising appended to posts quite often, including Flash® animations. It only happens if you are not logged-in to your account at Wordpress.com. See for yourself. Go to individual posts, not Home, About, Archives or Categories. Enable JavaScript and log out if you happen to be logged-in at Wordpress.com.
Note: To support the service (and keep free features free), we sometimes run advertisements. We try hard to only run them in limited places. If you would like to completely eliminate ads from appearing on your blog, we offer the No-Ads Upgrade.
Some blogs have the "no ads" upgrade, so try several:
http://google.com/search?q=site:wordpress.com/2011/+post+-blog