I openly admit at first I wasn’t entirely sure about the switch from Blogger to WordPress…I’m not going to lie, it definitely has a learning curve.
So, here I am a week later and I’ve got to tell ya! I LOVE it! After learning some of the ins and outs I am realizing that there are so many awesome ways to use WordPress to your advantage and the upside…you own your content!
My biggest issue with blogger was the fact that they claimed ownership to my content. My second biggest issue is that they could close down my little blog at any time. I really didn’t like that. At all. I’d been fence sitting a while because I heard that switching over could be tough and that I would lose ALL of my GFC contacts.
After seeing another bloggers blog get taken down accidentally…it pushed me right over to the WordPress side of the fence! Yes, her blog was restored no biggie, but it was still enough to scare me.
So within a week. I switched.
It is a bummer that I am now paying a hosting fee. But you see, I love blogging. A lot. I love sharing my tips and tricks and tutorials with you so it’s worth it. I’m not going to lie, I would love to have people who think I’m cool enough to sponsor…and hopefully someday that will happen. But until then, I’m happy to pay my monthly fee and I’m happy that by paying it, it allows me to share what I love to do with you.
It’s true. I did lose all of my Google Friend Connect followers. My total number of subscribers dropped when I switched. But I noticed something interesting…my reach only dropped by about 10. So yes, I did have a lot of “followers” but they weren’t really following my little blog. Google Friend Connect is a tricky little bugger…it leads you to believe that with that number, ALL of those people read that blog on a regular basis…when they really don’t. And that’s ok. I just wanted to state if you’re afraid of switching over because of losing all of your Google Friend Connect followers…don’t be. Those who follow you regularly, will follow you over!
So, to those of you who have followed me to WordPress I wanted to say thank you. Truly thank you!
I feel like with switching over, it has allowed me the freedom to change some things around and do more. I will still post tutorials often! Before, I was hesitant to post updates about my cute little family and what my kiddos and I have been up to. I’d like to do a post here and there about that. I am also going to update regularly on my weight loss journey! I think it’s important to stay accountable. I’m excited about my latest update for you guys! Also, I was hesitant to mention anything religious in my posts in fear of “losing a follower” or offending anybody. But not anymore. Now don’t worry, I’m not going to get all preachy on you and try and convert you to my religion, if you have questions, of course you may ask, but I’m not going to hunt you down and make you listen! I do have some fun crafts and activities that are Christ centered that I’ve been hesitant to share. But I’ve decided that I want to share all aspects of my crafty interests with you, not just the “safe” ones!
I completely understand that it’s important to stick within your “niche”. But I also think it’s important to stay true to yourself, and just be yourself. I am more than a crafty person. I’m a wife, mother, daughter, aunt, friend, follower of Jesus…and brownie addict! 
There is a lot more to me than just crafts, and since this is Cox’s Corner I hope to be able to share more than just crafts with you. And, I hope you’ll stick around!
I’m also taking my cute mom on as a contributor! She will contribute, as often as she would like, with all sorts of fun things…mainly tried and true family recipes! To get a sneak peak of her awesome talent you can head over to her blog: Ninja Grandma. She is indeed a Ninja!
I know it’s unheard of to write a post and not include a picture…so here you go!
Welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy your stay.
It’s great that you’ve taken the plunge and you’re really happy with WordPress.
I’d be interested in how you went about it, costs etc. Let me know if you can!
I’m one of those who are still following!
Karen,
I went ahead and actually paid somebody to switch me over. I heard that it could be a nightmare and I didn’t want to take the risk. She was very reasonable priced and helped me a ton along the way. Her name is Sarah and she blogs over at Technology for Moms. She was fast and easy to work with! For my hosting I went with RFE Hosting and signed up for their semi annual fee which brought their fee down. If I could afford for a longer time, I totally would!
Thank you so much for still following along, it makes my heart happy!
Hi!
I found you through the blog hop and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.
I hadn’t realized that some people’s blog had been temporarily shut down. :/ I will have to check into all that stuff! Thanks for letting us know!
xo
alexis
http://www.livingthewifestyle.com
I’m glad that you stopped by! I’ll have to come by and visit.
Yep they did shut her down without so much as a word, but it did come back up. I just didn’t want to risk it.
I am SO glad you posted this. You just pushed me over the fence to switch to WordPress too . . . I have just heard so many horror stories about how hard it is and I just wasn’t sure if it was worth it . . . but it sounds like it’s the way to go! Your site looks fantastic! Hope you are having a good day!!!
Camille
Camille, I’m so happy you stopped by.
It was definitely worth it to have somebody make the switch for me. Otherwise I’m sure it would have been an absolutely nightmare! At first I had a lot of figuring things out, but now that I’ve got the hang of it, I’m pretty happy.
I initially started with WordPress but was overwhelmed with trying to learn everything so I switched to blogger because it was a little easier for me to use. However, I DO love wordpress more because you can totally make it all your own. Maybe someday…
Blogger definitely has an easier interface at first. But now that I’ve gotten the hang of it, I’m happy!
When Blogger got wiggy on me (paragraph’s were weird, stuff would disappear) I stopped blogging and used FB as my outlet. When I decided to give WP a try along with a new and improved look, I slowed down my FB stuff so I could concentrate on blogging. Like you, I am many things and have many interests so it’s hard for me to find my niche. I’m eclectic! So I’m crossing my fingers that your new format brings you what you’re looking for (because I still don’t know WHAT I want, haha!)
(came here from the UT FB bloggers group)
I’m so glad that you stopped by! Us eclectic girls can’t just stick to one niche. It doesn’t work!
Still here! Don’t you just love Word Press?
I do! I totally do! Thanks for sticking around Gina!
I’m so happy you are loving your change! I just made the RSS Feed change so now you are only down 9.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
Fantastic post – you have a new follower
Yay! I LOVE new followers!
Love the info! I had no idea blogger claimed ownership to the content of our blogs…I’m sure it’s in the fine print but I guess I never read that. Now I have some things to ponder. I think I would definitely pay someone to switch me over as I’m terrified I would mess it up!
It’s definitely in the fine print. I had a lot of thinking to do. I was positive I needed help in switching over.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I keep considering the switch myself, so your post is helpful. I’m currently just trying to get my domain linked properly to my Blogger account. It seems hit or miss, depending on the server.
Also, thanks for playing the Boo game! I’ll be following on Bloglovin’ from now on!
Thank you! I’m so happy that it was helpful. I’ve heard of a few ladies having trouble with their domains linking to blogger! I hope it worked out for you! I’m so glad to have you as a follower!