WordPress has made its new plan changes official. The announcement covers the radical reduction to only two plans and includes somewhat clarifying information about related options. It’s nice to see this news properly addressed outside WordPress forums. And it really looks like WP is listening to its customers and adjusting some of its new plan offerings. But...
Not all of the changes have been settled upon yet. So while one of my initial concerns was somewhat relieved, I’m still not content with the new plan direction and continue to consider alternatives, namely one at this point.
It seems official: current paying users — like myself on the now “legacy” Personal plan — can keep things going just how they are; no changes necessary. That’s…kind of fine, though it feels a bit tenuous. And any future change will mean accepting either the free or pro plan of WordPress.com. So far, there are no other options; it’s “all or nothing.”
But in the announcement, WP stated that some “a la carte” options are being worked on and should be offered at some point. I understand that to mean maybe someone on the free plan could pay a small sum — say $2 per month — to get one extra feature like a custom domain or the removal of ads. Such an offering could be good, or maybe not. The sweeping changes are still unsettled and are kind of sweeping me and some other personal/hobby bloggers away.
A few days ago, the plan updates shook many bloggers, myself included. The unexpected and unwelcome change moved me to search for fallback options on other blogging platforms. From that initial impetus up to today’s announcement, I think enough inertia was gained to keep me moving away from WordPress.
This is disruption. Yet I’m kind of glad it happened because the platform I’ve set my sights on looks surprisingly good so far. I’ve liked it in the past, and it feels like I’m just now realizing how much I still like it.
I think I’m moving…back to Blogger!
Yes, Blogger — blogspot.com — is still around.
Yes, I wonder if Google will kill it like it has so many other services (cough, Google+, cough).
Then again, I’ve started to think that maybe the fact Blogger is still alive means it’s…immortal? Nah. But maybe it’s worth letting things be, so Google stays its plug-pulling hand. In any case, I’m of the mind to use and enjoy Blogger for as long as I can while it remains. Who knows, maybe my and others’ use of it will keep it going longer.
I haven't made any final decisions and am waiting on WordPress to finalize its new plan and pricing structure. That said, I’ve been busy testing my old Blogger account and preparing a migration. I already transferred my domain from WordPress to Hover (mapping it to my current WP blog). And I added a different custom domain I own to my Blogger blog.
Much of my time lately has also been spent customizing my Blogger theme down to the HTML - for free! I’ve missed Blogger and feel happy at potentially relying on it once more. I love its classic — now nostalgic — blogging feel; I’ve missed it.
By the way, if I leave WordPress, I will not miss the block editor (I'm kind of turned off from everything turning into blocks...they're effective but not elegant; learning how to work them is clunky).
My blogging will continue on WordPress at Jason Journals for now. Meanwhile, I’m cross-publishing all future posts to Blogger too, starting with this one (though it is a private blog for now).
Anyways, that’s where I stand. I’m willing to risk Google killing Blogger (fingers crossed) in order to potentially use it, with its simplicity and flexibility, for free. That’s a tough deal to beat for a simple hobby blogger. If I switch, I'll likely keep my WP account and blog as an archive on a free plan. It's possible I'd return to WP if Google does eventually delete the fine indie web relic that is Blogger.
What are your blogging plans?
(Photo by Justin Morgan on Unsplash)
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Thank you for sharing.