Categories and Tags are something that allow us to bunch together certain posts covering similar topics. For example you can choose to have Google as a category and apply it to every post which might be covering something about Google. Tags also pretty much do the same thing as Categories. Main difference is we can have sub-categories while tags have no sub-tags.

How it works with Blogger!

In Blogger.com we use Labels and similarly with Wordpress we have Categories and Tags as explained in writing and editing a post on Wordpress.

How it works with WordPress!

Categories and Tags in WordPress play a vital role while writing posts. They are used for grouping of posts which are on similar topics.  Categories and Tags can be created even while writing a new post. To look that up check out Writing and Editing a post on WordPress.

How to Create Categories on WordPress?

• Click on Categories menu as shown in above image. Now you should be at the Add New Category panel (image below) and now we can start to creating new categories.
• As you can see in the image below you can Name the Category and select a Parent for the category.

Example: We have a category called “Gmail” and Select a parent category as “Google” it means the ‘Gmail’ is a sub-category of ‘Google’.

• There are optional choices like writing a description for a Category and also for adding a name for slug. 

Note: WordPress default category (Uncategorized) cannot be deleted but can only be renamed!

How to Create Tags on WordPress?

For creating tags the process is same as creating categories. The only real difference is that a tag cannot be assigned as parent. Which means we do not have sub-tags like we can create sub-categories.

In Wordpress there are usually many more Tags as compared to Categories. This is not a requirement and it is really up-to the end user.

Video

Now lets see a video on how to go about adding and deleting Categories on Wordpress.

Summary

Like we have Labels in Blogger.com we have Tags in Wordpress. The functionality for Tags and Labels are pretty much the same. WordPress has additional features like Categories which can also has sub-categories.

As of know you got the difference between Blogger.com and WordPress, that Blogger.com has Labels and in WordPress we can use Categories and Tags.

Blogs have posts which but we do need to have some stand alone pages like About Us and Contact Us. Stand alone pages are great to point regular readers and let them know about some background information of the blog.

How it works with Blogger!

In Blogger.com we need look up Edit Pages option under Posting menu for creating pages (see image below). Similarly we can create new pages with WordPress. Creating a post and creating new pages is very similar in Blogger.com.

How it works with WordPress!

• WordPress dashboard provides us with a separate menu for Pages (see image below). Click on Add New option under Pages Menu.

• Just like we create content in a post, we can also upload images,videos and media in a page.

• We can Publish a page or save it as a draft. Changing the date for publishing allows us to schedule the page to be published sometime in the future (See image below).

We can assign any parent page and also templates for page if the WordPress theme supports it. Pages are usually displayed alphabetically in navigation but you can change the order of pages by using the order field. These options are up to the end user’s preferences.

• We can also allow comments as well as “trackbacks and pingbacks” for pages. We can change Author of the page. Scroll down along the page and you will get two options Discussion and Author as seen in the image below.

Video

Here is a short video which explains how to create a page on Wordpress

Summary

Just like Blogger.com we can create and manage static pages on WordPress. In Blogger.com usually there is a restriction of creating only 10 static pages whereas with WordPress the options are literally unlimited. WordPress unlike Blogger.com can also be used for static portals instead on of only blogs.

Advantages of Intense Debate

1. With this your blog readers can get the chance to engage in a better way with your blog content.
2. Comments will encourage and enhance conversation on your blog or website.
3. Readers can subscribe to comments through RSS feeds.
4. Email notification can be enabled when someone has responds to comments. Reply by email feature is also supported.
5. Providing facility for comments voting.
6. Intense Debate supports many platforms like WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, etc.

Issue: Cannot import comments directly into WordPress

You might have installed Intense Debate into your Blogger.com blog. Now you want to move your blog to WordPress. You may import all the posts from Blogger.com blog but you will not get the comments from Intense Debate account to your WordPress blog. This is because WordPress does not provided any tool to import from Intense Debate account.

Workflow of comments importer :

Solution – Our Comment importer tool

Our bloggertowp team has developed a tool that import posts and comments from Blogger.com as well as from other third party commenting systems like Intense Debate and Disqus account. This importer moves the comments from Blogger.com to WordPress keeping the comments related to the posts on which they were previously.

Checkout list of migrated blogs by our team under portfolio.

Many times when we start writing a blog we often like to share some links with our readers. For instance you might want to share links to other blogs you own or even display links to blogs run by your friends. WordPress allows us to create Links Menu and show them up on the website in a Menu for easy navigation.

How it works with Blogger!

In Blogger.com you might be familiar with “Blog List“, “Link List” and “List“. These are gadgets that you need to add and they basically display links to other blogs or websites which are your favorite (see image below).

How it works with WordPress!

The same way you can add external links in your Wordpress blog. In Wordpress you can distinguish links by assigning Link Categories. This is very similar to how we assign categories to posts.

• Click on Links menu, You will get three options Links, Add New and Link Categories (see image below).

• Click on Add New we get started with adding links for the blog. WordPress by default provides a Link Category which is named “Blogroll”.
• The default Blogroll category cannot be deleted but we can rename it.
• We can assign only Link Categories to links and not assign categories that were created for posts.
• Click on Link Categories and we can add new categories.

• Click on Add New option and we get the area where you can add external links. Here we can add Name, URL, Description and assign Categories for the link.

Video

Check out the short video about Links menu :

Related Settings

For displaying these links in the blog with WordPress we need to use widgets or menus. Once you click on Widgets on the sidebar of the Dashboard we can drag and drop the Link Widget where we want the links to be displayed on the blog.

Summary

Just like Blogger.com we can also show links to our favourite blogs with WordPress. This is possible on Blogger.com only by adding gadgets. With Wordpress we can not only add links on the blog directly but also display them based on the categories.

While writing a post on a blog there is often a need to insert images and videos. Also we might need to make certain files available with the blog. Videos and Images often are used by bloggers to better illustrate or demonstrate their points. This article deals with managing media files in WordPress.

How it works with Blogger!

While writing a post in Blogger.com you might use simple “Browse..” button to upload images and videos from local computer or from “Web Address URL”. In Blogger.com you can only add an image or video while you write a post.

Image below shows how to add images with Blogger.com

How it works with WordPress!

Wordpress gives us two options under Media menu “Flash Uploader” and “Browser Uploader“. Wordpress shows you all the uploaded files in a list and you can also edit them. We can also use “File URL” multiple times in different posts and pages.

Note: A “File URL” is the URL of where uploaded file can be accessed.

Steps to Add media in Wordpress:

1. Login to Wordpress dashboard panel.
2. Go to Media menu on left sidebar of the dashboard and click on Add New.
   
3. You will get two options for uploading media which are Flash uploader and Browser uploader. By default Wordpress has Flash uploader selected (see image below).
4. Click on Select Files button and then add file from your computer.
5. Now once the file is uploaded it will show us options to add title, description, alternate text, etc..
6. Copy “File URL” and paste it into your post or page content where you want.
7. Click on the Save All Changes button.
8. You can see all the uploaded media files in the Library menu. Also by clicking on edit option you can find “File URL“.               

Bonus Tips

WordPress allows us to do the same but also with an added feature which lets us add files and store them like your personal media library. The URL of these files can be shared with friends who can view images or videos directly without the need to create a post.

Summary

Just as you can add images and videos  with Blogger.com, you can do the same while writing a post using WordPress. The big difference is that you can upload and manage files without writing a post on Wordpress. This doubles up Wordpress blog like your own personal FTP which can store files online.

Then she contacted us to do migration of her blog. Our bloggertowp team helped her for all the remaining process of migration. Also we added some extra plugins into her new WordPress blog to give proper SEO, database backup facility and many more.

Check out our other migrated blogs on portfolio.

Scottish Terrier and Dog News blog is also migrated by our team into a WordPress blog. This blog is headed by Ann. She started writing about dog news on Blogger.com at http://scottishterrierdogs.blogspot.com. Now she has successfully moved into self hosted WordPress blog with this address http://scottishterriers.dognewsandinfo.com/.

We developed theme for her new WordPress blog just like the one that she had on her old Blogger.com blog. You can check out another blog (http://dachshunds.dognewsandinfo.com/) of Ann which is also migrated by our bloggertowp team.

Do check out all the migrated blogs by our team in portfolio.

If you own a blog the most important part of running a blog is writing content. This content finally ends up being published as posts on a blog.

In this article we will briefly touch on how writing and editing is done on Blogger.com and explain in detail how we can go about it using WordPress.

How it works with Blogger!

If you are used to writing posts on Blogger.com then you might recognize the image below. Once we are at the Blogger.com dashboard we can easily start writing a new post by clicking on the Posting option.

How it works with WordPress!

To start with, you can look at the image below for a quick idea on how to create new post with WordPress. The image below shows you two options to create a new post.

Now once you click on any of the two options, you will be at the Add New Post screen. This is pretty simple and has quite a few features which are similar to the Blogger.com layout for writing a post.

How to write a post on WordPress?

• Now you might need to add videos and images or format the content further. If you do not see all the options to format the post content, do not panic. Just click as shown in the image below on the Kitchen Sink icon.

• Adding Images, videos and other files can be managed using Media Library. To know more about media check out Managing Media with WordPress.

• With Blogger.com you might be using Labels to organize or bunch together posts on similar topics. Similarly in WordPress we have Categories and Tags instead of Labels. Check out All about Categories a nd Tags.

Allowing comments  and trackback ..

Once you write a post with WordPress you might want to link to other legacy blogs. To let those blogs know that you have linked to them enter their URL in the ‘Send Trackbacks field’.

Below that you will see the Discussion box. By default both options are selected (see image below) and this allows people to leave comments on your post along with allowing other blogs to send trackbacks to the particular post.

How to Publish your Posts?

Now that you are all done with writing your post you can go ahead and publish the post. If you want to schedule the post you just need to change the date. Alternately if you want to save your blog so that you can edit any time save the post as draft by clicking on Save Draft.

Editing Permalinks

WordPress has a major advantage over Blogger.com when it comes to editing Permalinks. Permalinks are generated according to WordPress slug. The post while being edited allows the user to change the permalink. Even after the post is published you can change the permalink but that it not desirable from SEO perspective. It might end up with a Page not found error to other pages which have been linked to the post.

Video

Here is a short video which explains how to write a post on Wordpress.

Summary

There are many similarities with Blogger.com and Wordpress when it comes to writing a post. Some of them are editing in HTML, adding images and videos. There are some changes like adding tags and categories instead of using labels in Blogger.com.

The advantage you get while writing a post with Wordpress as compared to Blogger.com is that you can change the permalink of the post.

Our bloggertowp team :

• Developed and designed theme for her new WordPress blog as per the theme (template) that was on old Blogger.com blog.
• Added htaccess rule to maintain redirection from old blog to new WordPress blog.
• Changed Blogger.com blog template and added redirection code for redirecting to WordPress blog.
• Added all the widgets that she wanted on her new blog.
• Provided SEO for the new blog.

Check out the Daily Dachshund and Dog News blog.

Many bloggers start using Blogger.com while starting out their blogging career. Professional bloggers quickly realize that WordPress is a better platform which simply gives a lot more customizable options when compared to Blogger.com.

This user guide is mainly for someone familiar with Blogger.com interface and may find it a little difficult to find his/her feet around with the new WordPress dashboard.

Now that you have started the journey of migration from using Blogger.com to WordPress there will be a few changes you might need to get used to. This article will try to make you familiar with WordPress.

How it works with Blogger!

Now lets start with your Blogger.com Dashboard which should look something like the image below.

How it works with WordPress!

How to login into WordPress Dashboard?

In most blogs you will not see a link to sign-in to the dashboard. You can directly access the login interface by adding ‘wp-admin’ to your URL.

Example: “http://yourblog.com/wp-admin” OR “http://yourblog.com/wp-login.php”

When you manage to get into Wordpress Dashboard it would resemble something similar to the image below. The numbers are obviously my creation and corresponds to the points below for you to get familiar with Wordpress!

#1. Posts

When you click on the Posts menu, you will find a sub menu with options for showing you all posts on the blog, writing a new post and additional links to create Categories and Post Tags.

Check out Writing and Editing posts with WordPress for complete details.

#2.  Media

You can upload videos, audio files and images by using the Media menu. Click on the menu and you will get the two sub-menus like Library and Add New. Here you can add media files and explore them. You can also find the URL of uploaded files here.

To know more about this feature check out Managing Media with WordPress.

#3. Links

A blogger usually likes to add links to websites and blogs maintained by friends and mentors. This can also be an indication for visitors on your blog to check out which websites or blogs you frequently visit.

If you want to add some external links of other websites that you like, you can add them from the Links menu. Just like posts can be organized into categories you can also create categories for your external links.

Check out All about Links Menu on WordPress for complete details.

#4. Pages

With Blogger.com we can create pages which are static on the blog. This is very useful to show information like ‘About Us‘ or ‘Contact Us‘ on a blog. Similarly Wordpress also allows us to create pages which are static. You might already know how to go about writing a post in WordPress. In the same way you can create pages and write content on it.

You can not create Categories and Tags for Pages like you can with Posts.

Check out Writing and Editing a Page with WordPress for full details regarding Pages.

#5. Comments

You can find all the comments in Comments menu. It is one of the options for moderating your comments. It gives you many options with which a user can approve, move to trash, edit, add to spam and also most importantly reply to all the comments. Just like we can not allow comments on a particular post or page we can also do the same with WordPress.

#6. Appearance

Click on the Appearance menu and you will get many options for styling and providing some extra functionality to your blog. Using this menu you can change the theme of your blog, create custom menu for pages, categories and links.

Change of background or header of the theme can also be done from this menu. The Editor option allows the user to edit your theme files (PHP and CSS). The background and header can be changed with only the default themes available with WordPress.

With Widget option you can add extra functionality to your blog. (widgets are similar to gadgets in Blogger.com).

#7. Plugins

Plugins menu is very useful in WordPress. It gives more flexibility and also functionality to your blog. With this  menu a user can add, delete, activate or deactivate plugins.

Plugins at first glance is what really sets Wordpress apart from Blogger.com as it has no options for adding plugins. Some plugins might gives you new widgets or extra setting options in the dashboard itself.

#8 . Users

Like the Blogger.com has a Permission menu in which you can manage users and their roles. With WordPress we have the Users option with which we can add, remove and mange users.

#9. Tools

In Tools Menu you can see import and export options. With these options you can import a blog which uses Wordpress just like the tools in Blogger.com. Additionally these options can be used for moving a blog from Blogger.com to Wordpress.

#10. Settings

Settings menu is the most useful option in WordPress. You can tweak the required settings for the above discussed points for your blog like “Site Title & Description“, “Email address”, “Date & Time Formate”, “Post Count on front page”, “Default Category”, “Comments Moderation”, “Uploaded Media”, “Blog Privacy”, etc.

#11. Dropdown Shortcuts

With this drop-down you can directly be taken to the respective menu. This is a great way to jump off to writing a new post, creating new pages, looking up drafts and comments etc.

Hope this article has increased your familiarity with WordPress functionality and features.

Summary

In this article we saw a basic introduction to the WordPress Dashboard and its features. If you click on the links accompanying each point you can learn about these features and options with WordPress in a more comprehensive way.