This post is simply about some of my experiences when I moved from Blogger to my own dot com, and started using WordPress.
The Layout
- At a whopping 1400 pixels wide, a blog is very difficult to read on a laptop.
- My new WordPress layout is 1200 pixels wide, and I have it from a trusted source (hubby) that that alone improved my blog 100%. Not so overwhelming, and no more scrolling from left to right.
The Photos
- The maximum width for my photos is 760 pixels.
- The maximum height should be no more than 760 pixels. At that height, people may still have to scroll up to see the top of a photo, and scroll down to see the bottom of it, but I am partial to a square format so there’s not much I can do about that. Whenever I add a photo that is more than 760 pixels in height, I know it’s not going to display as well (the scroll down factor). And yes, I still do it (naughty)! Here’s a prime example of a really bad one: “Follow Your Art“.
Speaking of Photos
- All photos should be re-sized and saved for the web. The result is that a blog loads faster, and potential readers might not flee after 30 seconds of waiting. If you don’t know how to do this, check out my Photoshop Tips.
760px x 509 px at 72ppi, saved for web
Do Not Delete Your Old Blog
- When a blog is transferred, the photos stay exactly where they are. In my case, I was with Blogger, and therefore, all my photos stayed with Picassa. The images are simply re-directed.
- After the move, all images uploaded to my dot com are now on the server, and are under my control (not Picassa’s). I’m slowly re-doing old posts and uploading new photos to my site (not necessary, but I want it that way).
Get Help
- I had Kristi, from Linaur Designs move my blog for me. I could not have done it myself, since I was in a big enough tizzy at the time. Kristi charges for WordPress coaching after the move, but I ‘m exploring and learning at my own pace, and it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.
My World Did Not End When I Lost My Google Friend Connect
- Heresy to some, I’m sure… and yes, I was choked at first. I had worked hard to gain my followers and respected them all so much that it felt like a betrayal. But life goes on, and I didn’t fall off everyone’s radar.
- I’m happy with my stats (Google Analytics), and my following is growing. I now use Feedly to read blogs and honestly, I like it better than Google Reader.
- There are other ways to connect… more on that later.
Please don’t get me wrong – I am not making light of losing my Google Friend Connect. I am also not by any means recommending it, but when I made the decision to move to my own dot com, I accepted it, and moved on. It’s what worked for me, and I’m quite happy with where I am now.
Thanks for visiting today, and I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
i know it was a bit bumpy, for a while, so i’m glad you’ve settled in and are happy. :)
Very interesting.
I don’t know much about WordPress, have always been with Blogger, my images are 900px wide and I hope you don’t have to scroll down to see them. I know I don’t but that doesn’t mean that everyone doesn’t with different screen sizes, laptops, ipads etc.
I do use Feedly and enjoy it after I got use to it as it is the way with everything it seems takes me a while to warm up to things.
Hi Barbara! The width of your photos looks just fine to me at 900px. Mine are 760px due to the constraints of the WordPress template I am using (as set up by Kristi). On my 23″ monitor, viewing at 100%, your square image is completely within the viewing screen, but on my 15″ laptop, viewing at 100%, I do have to scroll down to see the bottom (the sides are fine). There are so many different things that factor into stuff like this – but my blog was over the top huge!!
Are you saying the blogger width is 1400? I didn’t know that. I know on a Mac if you hit Command+ or- it will make the type and photos larger or smaller to fit your screen. Not sure about a PC. I use this trick all the time when viewing blogs that pop up huge. Love those sunflowers!
Hi Roxi,
No, the width depends on how you set it up in Blogger. I had chosen to set mine at 1400 pixels, and my photos were sized to over 800 pixels. My blog would then run off the screen for people who were viewing on a laptop. I do know that you can use the + or – keys to adjust the screen, but not everyone knows how to do that, or may not want to.
To quote Kristi:
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to be narrowing your blog just a bit. Right now, it’s 1400 pixels wide, and I’m going to make it 1200 pixels. The reason for this is because I think your current blog is just way too big and overwhelming, especially for people who use laptops (like I do). None of your vertical pictures fit on my screen, which kind of inhibits me enjoying your gorgeous photography. In other words, I have to scroll up to see the top of your picture, and scroll down to see the rest. I think it would be nice if people could just see one entire picture at a glance. Does that make sense? So in addition to making the blog a little smaller, I would also advise that you start reducing the size of your vertical pictures so that they’ll fit on the screen for those of us who use laptops exclusively. I’ll let you know what size that is after I get everything transferred over. I should mention that I’m on a widescreen laptop. On my husband’s laptop, he even has to scroll horizontally to see all of your blog from one side to the other. That’s definitely too wide.”
I view a lot on my ipad and it is fine glad you survived the move having an expert makes it so less painful…
Hmm, some interesting points made. So far I am still happy with blogger, but like everything I am sure eventually I will want to change things up a bit. Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge with us, Barb.