Ode to Blogger
Oh Blogger, you have been so good to me.
You launched me into the world of blogging.
You slowly eased this technically-challenged girl into the world wide web.
You nurtured me with your simplicity.
But I’m afraid our time has come.
We must part ways. We must say goodbye.
New horizons with more flexibility are calling my name.
The voice of (self-hosted) WordPress beckons me…
I will miss you, Blogger.
Your dashboard is like an old friend.
I am so comfortable with you.
But alas, I must depart into the vast unknown.
Into the world of having no clue what I’m doing.
But I recall I’ve been there once (or twice) with you too.
Soon and very soon, I know I will be
Just as comfortable with my new beau as I am with you.
Goodbye, dear friend. Goodbye Blogger. To document our time together, I thought it fitting to include a few screenshots of what we once had.
See your navigation bar without the drop-down menus? That’s not going to work anymore.
*In case you have absolutely no clue what I’m talking about…I just launched my new blog (same address) on WordPress. WordPress is just a different blogging platform that has much more flexibility than Blogger (but is also much more complicated).
Take a few minutes to poke around, especially on the navigation bars…they’re my favorite part. Everything should be pretty easy to find now!
Oh, and you might give me a little grace these next few weeks (or months!) as I’m learning the ropes. :)
Special thanks to:
Joy from Five J’s. Joy, who is also a homeschool mom, transferred my blog posts from Blogger to WordPress and updated my header. I still love my design from RV Blog Designs and couldn’t part with it, so Joy graciously used many of the same elements (thanks to Rachel from RV Designs for her permission). Joy also put up with the fact that I am a technical dummy and held my hand through the whole process, including at almost 3am this morning when we were waiting for everything to transfer over! I am so thankful for you, Joy and I hope that someday we can meet in real life! :)  Be sure to check out Joy’s homeschooling blog…she’s got lots of amazing ideas!
BloggingwithAmy.com: Â I spent “many a hour” watching video tutorials from Amy on setting up/optimizing/using WordPress. Her tutorials break up the “beast” into manageable pieces…leaving you saying, “Well, that was easy.” Amy, I’m sure my husband will be hearing your voice in his dreams for days to come…I have had my laptop in bed with me, watching your tutorials into the wee hours of the morning while he’s snoozing beside me. :)
PS- Stay tuned for a blog tour in the next few days!
NOooooooo… more b-u-t-t-o-n-s! Augh… I am struggling as it is… LOL…;) Will be checking it out. ;)
Dawn, what do you mean “no more buttons”? Just curious! :)
How do I get to the new blog?
You’re here! Is it working okay?? It looks very similar but has lots of new features.
Looks great!!
Thanks Kelley!
It’s true that WordPress gives a lot more options! It will be fun for you to play around with. I’ve heard it said that WordPress is more professional than Blogger. One of my favorite features is CommentLuv. It would be great on this site and bring more community among your followers. :)
I’ll have to look into that plugin. :) Thanks Becky!
Here are two blog posts about Plugins that I thought you’d like to read:
http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/2011/01/7-more-plugins-every-mom-blogger-needs.html
http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/2009/02/how-to-install-a-wordpress-plugin.html
Congratulations Jenae! Your blog looks great! Hope you enjoy wordpress!
Thanks Mercedes!
Looks great!!! Congrats!!
“Ode to Blogger”–LOVE it! Ha! I’m in the midst of getting everything in order to switch too! Hopefully this week! ! Fingers crossed! :) Any words of advice?
The new site looks great! Love it! :)
Sara, be prepared for some really LATE nights! :) I don’t think I’ve gone to bed before 2am any day this week!
Are you doing it yourself or having someone help? I would HIGHLY suggest getting help…I couldn’t have done it on my own!
Yikes! That’s some serious late nights! The company I’m hosting through is going to do the domain switch and WP Theme install. Then, I have a friend who has migrated a bunch of sites for others. So, fingers crossed everything goes smoothly. I’m getting a WHOLE new look too–nervous and excited! :)
Good news! I’m here now! IT looks great!
Woo-hoo! So glad it worked for you. Thank you! :)
I loooove it! I think it is nicer.. I think I would love to have wordpress too!
Hi Jenae! It looks great! Good for you for being brave and going out of a comfort zone (eek! I love comfort zones.) You are doing a super job! (And you looked really good on Thursday, even considering the week you’ve had! :)
You will LOVE WordPress! I made the switch years ago and NEVER regretted it! GOOD LUCK
Welcome to WordPress! What kind of housewarming gift do you give to someone who makes the Blogger to WP move? LOL
I love WordPress and have taught myself to do just about everything thanks to some awesome tutorials and friends at Savvy Blogging. The plugins are awesome. Now, if I can just figure out how to do a featured content gallery, I will be happy.
Your site looks beautiful. I don’t know why WordPress looks so much cleaner than Blogger.