January 20, 2006
Comparison of WordPress and TypePad by someone who has used both extensively for over a year
I am feeling really frustrated right now – like I’m stuck in limbo with a conundrum on my hands. Why? Because I’ve grown to love WordPress so much so that I really prefer it over TypePad, for an increasing number of reasons. (Please note that in this review, when I refer to WordPress, I’m talking about the full version of it – the one that must be installed on your own web server. In the few instances where I refer to wordpress.com, the hosted and dumbed-down version of WP, I specify it’s wordpress.com I’m talking about.)
The main issue is how spam is handled. On TypePad, spam is a nightmare to deal with, whereas on WordPress spam is almost a non-issue (provided you are using the proper plug-ins like Spam Karma 2 for those running v1.5.x – or for those on WP 2.0, the included and revolutionary Akismet).
Then there are all the other easily customizable things. Like the look and feel of your site. Ok, so TypePad’s is easier to control without having to know any code — but really limited in comparison to WP. As my comprehensive wordpress theme list shows, there are now 615 free wordpress themes out there, and growing! OVER SIX HUNDRED. That’s a staggering amount of templates to choose from to give your blog it’s own unique flair. And they are all customizable as well (if you know some css) – and with WordPress 2.0, themes can be made customizable within the admin area by their authors such that bloggers can customize areas of the theme at will without ever touching any code!
Then there’s the issue of pagination. It’s quite simple – WordPress has it and TypePad doesn’t. By pagination, I mean those little links folks have grown accustomed to seeing on blogs that say “Next Page” and “Previous Page”. Don’t see them on this blog? That’s b/c TypePad doesn’t have that feature. TypePad bloggers get to choose the number of posts that will appear on their homepage, and after that – well, good luck navigating the blog b/c the only options are to do so through clicking on the categories or the monthly archives. TypePad doesn’t even have built-in search. And of course, WordPress does. (TypePad users should check out my article on how to make your typepad blog searchable).
And then there are the plugins. No small matter. WordPress has plugins that enhance it’s functionality for almost any thing you could want to do with it:
- Tagging plugins (such as Jerome’s Keywords or the Ultimate Tag Warrior) that provide an easy way to automatically tag posts with keywords for social bookmarking systems such as Technorati, del.icio.us, and Flickr. This means more traffic for your blog. Tags also provide a whole new way for readers to interact with a blog. For example, Jerome’s Keywords makes it so “readers can click on a post’s keyword/tag link to see other posts with the same tag. It’s a simple but effective way of letting users find content that interests them.”. You can even create a local tag cosmos.
- Post related plugins, such as the ability to display the top 10 most popular posts in your sidebar, or the ability to show a list of related posts when viewing an individual post
- Comment related plugins, such as giving users the ability to display gravatars in their comments and allowing blog readers to subscribe to a particular post’s comments
- There are just WAY too many ways in which plugins expand the functionality of WordPress way beyond the capabilities of TypePad to even discuss here. And from what I’ve been hearing about WP 2.0, which provides added hooks making it even easier for programmers to create even more fantastic plugins in the future, the possibilities seem limitless.
Customization of where you ping to notify the world that you’ve updated your blog — WordPress has it, and (you guessed it) TypePad doesn’t. The workaround with TypePad if you want to use a service like pingoat, is to paste the URL for pingoat’s RPC server into the Trackback area for each and every post, each and every time you update it.
And while this isn’t an issue for me in choosing a blogging platform, the issue of cost still needs to be brought up in any review. Again, it’s simple – WordPress is free, and TypePad isn’t. Of course, the full version of WP with all of it’s glory and customizable options (including access to all free themes and plugins) requires you to have a web hosting server with mysql support (which most do). Which means it really isn’t entirely free b/c now you’re paying for web-hosting. But if you do want entirely free, Wordpress.com offers that — and while it’s a really dumbed down version of WP, it still offers some things that TypePad doesn’t, like sub-categories (however, it doesn’t allow you to run adsense ads on your site – you get what you pay for with wordpress.com).
Then there’s ease of use when posting. When it comes to blogging editors, WordPress 2.0 finally has a built in WYSIWYG editor (something TypePad has had all along, and which I think every blogging tool should offer). The only problem is that WordPress’s wysiwyg editor is kinda buggy. See this problem that I encountered on my WordPress 2.0 test blog. However, I generally use an external windows client (BlogJet) to post to my blogs, which has it’s own WYSIWYG editor that’s better than both of them. But you also need to take speed into account when you talk about ease of posting. WordPress is very speedy when creating or updating posts. TypePad is very sluggish, especially if you are sending trackbacks to a large number of sites.
Want stats for your blog? Well TypePad only shows you referrers from the past 24 hours. That’s it. And not only that, but it is slow as molasses
Now there are a few areas in which TypePad sort of shines in comparison to WordPress, with the main one being maintenance and upgrading. I say sort-of, because sometimes TypePad has outages and when that happens there ain’t a thing you can do about it. On the other hand, every time WordPress comes out with an upgrade, it can sometimes be a major pain in the rear to install it, wreaking all sorts of havoc over your blog (although sometimes the upgrade process is totally smooth). All of that customizability that WP offers through themes, plugins, etc, makes for more things that can get broken every time there’s an upgrade. And sometimes it seems like those upgrades come every few days (like after the release of WordPress 1.5 when there were numerous minor point releases that were required updates because they pertained to security flaws which seemed to come out every few days!) And when there’s an upgrade, you’re the one that has to install it (unless you’re using a free wordpress host like blogsome, but then you’re at the mercy of them deciding which themes and plugins are available to you, and when and if they’re going to do an upgrade – right now they’re still using WP 1.5). When TypePad does an upgrade, it’s behind the scenes and you find out about it in the TypePad news (unless the upgrade wreaks havoc on their servers, in which case you get the joy of TypePad outages, the inability to post to your blog for sometimes days on end, etc – but ultimately they fix it, and it’s up to them, not you, to fix it).
All of this makes me want to move this blog and all of it’s posts (and future posts to come) over to wordpress on my own server at emilyrobbins.com. Which brings me to my conundrum (and the possible state of limbo). Is it worth moving an existing site that gets over 1000 visitors a day and is ranked well in the search engines over to another server, URL, and blogging system entirely, possibly losing all of my backlinks and high pagerank that I spent so much time in generating? And if so, should I wait until WordPress 2.0 has ironed out some more of the kinks (there are currently problems with trackbacks, which I think is a rather major issue, among other things) before proceeding?
WordPress 1.5.2 works great and is a very stable release. But I know I’ll eventually want to move to Wordpress 2.0.x — it’s new features are just too enticing. And I also know that I do not want to have to deal with doing the kind of major upgrade that going from 1.5 to 2.0 entails on a website that is this important to me (I just don’t have the time deal with it in case something goes wrong with the upgrade, and there have been far too many reports of people having trouble with the upgrade for me to risk it). But I’m getting so damn sick of TypePad’s limitations, and even more so of managing all the spam (I have to have all of my trackbacks and comments moderated because of the vulgar spam that people try to put through a zillion times a day – an issue that I wouldn’t have to deal with if I were using WordPress instead).
So what should I do? Should I hold off on doing any more posting until WordPress 2.0 comes out with a more stable version and then move the whole site over to WP 2? Should I just take the plunge now, and hope that the trackback issues don’t affect me too much until they are resolved? But what if I lose all of my traffic as a result?Should I just leave things as they are right now and stick with TypePad for ‘How to Blog’??
What to do? What to do??????
Update: I’ve taken the plunge now that WordPress 2.0.1 has come out and moved How to Blog over to http://www.emilyrobbins.com/how-to-blog/ so please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds!
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January 21, 2006
Blogosopher said (trackback):
How To Blog: Comparison of WordPress and TypePad by someone who has used both extensively for over a year
Comparing Static and Dynamic publishing blogging/content management solutions.
…
Tony said:
Wordpress 2.1 or 2.0.1 are going to be out sometime in the near future, and I’m going to wait for that to come out - I suggest you do the same. But when it does, SWITCH!
wordpress > typepad
tony
January 31, 2006
elle said:
Nice post - I think that now is the time to start testing out WordPress. I’ve got a couple of MT blogs, and they take up much more of my time in terms of problems than my WordPress blogs. I’ll be moving them all to WP.
One thing you should check out is WP’s ability to use custom URLs. Maybe you could mimic your existing URLS?
The other thing is that you could replace your typebad blog with redirects to your pages at your new server..
No matter what, though, moving the site will be a pain for you and your readers in the short run. In the long run, though, you gain complete control, and you stop investing in a domain you don’t control.
February 4, 2006
Astorg said:
Interesting. I basically had exactly teh same dilemma as you, after using a Typepad blog for a while and then realising I needed WordPress. I had initially rejected Wp as I felt it made too heavy programming demands on a layman like me… and then so rapidly frustrated at Typepad’s many limitations that I decided to switch.
Migration was not much of an issue. I “solved” or at least minimised the traffic issue by keeping my Typepad blog open (for a few months at any rate) with a basic rather than à Pro account (at a cost of about $5/month) with a post at the top indicating that the blog has moved and giving teh new address). So far I’m not regretting it! Compare and jusge for yourself :
Typepad : http://dbdj.typepad.com
WordPress : http://astorg.info
PS : Put a link to this page in my blog’s Colophon…
February 7, 2006
Bill Kelm said:
Hi Emily,
It’s been about 6 months since I started blogging, and I will always remember the help you gave me initially on your blog.
I’m going to show my ignorance by asking this question, I’m sure, but I’m thinking of starting a business using blogging software. I know your answer will depend on what features and functions I will need, but I’m not sure myself. That said, I started using TP because it was easy and simple and someone told me that it had less spam than Google’s Blogger. But, TP is a limited service, as you know, when it comes to plugins, features and functionality for a business blog.
So, I would like to stay with SixApart because I am famiiliar with their educational set up, but go with MT for more functionality. Even though it is about $70 vs. WP being free. I guess I have a comfort zone with SixApart, plus I think I can transfer my TypePad blog over to MT vs. WP easier. I’m curious, with your MT blog experience, do you agree that MT appears to have more plugin functionality than TP (but does it have as much OVERALL and pluging funcionality as WP?) = http://www.sixapart.com/pronet/plugins/ vs.
http://wp-plugins.net/ ?
Any help would be appreciated.
Jack Ventura said:
I’ve been using both the tools for some months, although in a less ‘professional’ way, but agree on everything you wrote in your post, actually.
WordPress is definitely here to stay, and growind at a steady pace to become a full fledget professional platform.
Also, it’s open, and free, and has a very large community, what else do you need to get the plunge?
Or, at least, why don’t you just ‘mirror’ your blog on a WP hosted blog for a while after exporting the TypePad contents and reimporting them into WP (as I did with my www.mobtech.it site?).
Whatever you decide, keep going with the blog, it’s great
Jack Ventura (AKA Bonaventura from Italy)
February 11, 2006
Stuart said:
Hey Emily,
I love Wordpress 2.0. And I’m glad you finally moved to your own domain! It’s easier to find you now…
Stuart Tan
Singapore
February 21, 2006
james governor said:
hey just a heads up becasue the trackback didn’t seem to work -i cite you here
http://www.redmonk.com/jgovernor/archives/001310.html
Dug said:
Hi Emily,
I would agree WP rocks. I tried it recently and from the super-quick one-click installation to the way that templates are stored as applications (as opposed to folders full of stuff to migrate and hack) I was very impressed.
I just wanted to grumble a little bit about your article as I don’t think you’re comparing like with like and are unfairly penalising Six Apart. If you fancy rewriting it as a comparison of Movabletype with Wordpress I’ll shut-up, but comparing (non-hosted) Wordpress and Typepad just doesn’t make sense.
Most of the features you highlight as missing from Typepad *do* appear in Movabletype (extensive plugin resources, one-click style changes etc) and if you’ve taken the trouble to install and configure your own server to test WP, you should do the same for MT.
All the best,
Dug
February 24, 2006
Robin Capper said:
Must agree with Dug, you are comparing things that are not comparable.
Wordpress may be more powerful & flexible but TypePad, and the other hosted services, mean more people can spend their time creating content without worrying about “systems”. The trade off is limitations vs simplicity but its the difference between me bothering to have a Blog, or not having a Blog so TypePad wins.
I use TypePad + BlogJet to create content and have added Google search, Feedburner and Sitemeter.
February 28, 2006
james governor said:
did you ever see this?#
http://www.redmonk.com/jgovernor/archives/001310.html
May 11, 2006
andreas04: close to attraction said (pingback):
[…] Là dessus, j’ai découvert WordPress qui semble être très populaire et qui présente l’avantage d’être disponible à la fois sous la forme d’un logiciel installable sur un serveur perso ou sur un serveur hébergé, y compris sur les pages perso de Free auquel je suis abonné, et sur le site de WordPress qui propose un hébergement gratuit de son propre logiciel. Par ailleurs, j’ai trouvé ce template qui est pas mal et qui évite d’avoir du texte sur une colonne très étroite, peu adapté à mon style d’écriture assez… dense! D’autres avantages: le search, des templates en grand nombre, une plus grande souplesse en généra (cf cette comparaison détaillée entre WordPress et TypePad). Me voilà donc dans WordPress, et cela fonctionne plutôt bien. En plus, c’est le système utilisé par Robert Scobble, le blogger le plus connu de Microsoft. […]
May 17, 2006
links for 2006-05-18 » 自然法则·吸引定律·个人指导 said (pingback):
[…] Comparison of WordPress and TypePad by someone who has used both extensively for over a year 写博软体的比较，详尽 (tags: wordpress typepad blog software comparison) […]
June 14, 2006
pamela bloom said:
Hi There,
I am a total newbie but want to start on blog on starting a business. I actually have a web site (ecard, emovie business) but my web desgner is charging $2500 to post a blog on my site-no thanks will start on my own. So I’ll get a domain name but then what? do I go to word press site and download? I am totally clueless..
Help Please!!!
Pam
June 29, 2006
William Teach said:
here is one thing I liked about Typepad over wordpress: Yahoo News picked my articles up. Hasn’t happened since I moved over to WP on 2/19/06, and I rarely see anyone else who uses WP on Blogs Beta at yahoo news.
Still, SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better then Typepad.
July 17, 2006
Takuya Hikichi said:
Emily,
I use WP for most of my blogs and I like what’s capable of. I do also agree that this applies to the full-version of WP when installed on to a hosting server.
I use godaddy.com ’s cheapest hosting which costs me $4 a month with own domain to add flexibility.
But when I used Typepad, I had to buy the premium service to get what I wanted to add onto my blog and it cost … $15 a month I think.
So for my own use, I prefer WP over Typepad…
PS I love your blog.
July 22, 2006
drfeelgood.rocco said:
Hello,
I am new at this and was wondering what is the best thing for my site moving it to WP or Typepad.
I have no clue what all these RSS feeds.
How do I get people to read my blog?
Do you offer services to help make a blog more appealing and get more traffic?
You could e-mail me @ drfeelgood.rocco@gmail.com
August 25, 2006
Owen said:
Either this post is way out of date or much of the information is simply wrong. As of the publication date of this post Typepad had pagination for well over a year, I know, I was using it. Typepad has no problem wih spam at all since early this year. Typepad allows the user to set a Featured post which remains on the front page until re set and allows for specific categories only to show on the front page as you like. Typepad is good to go with RSS and Typepad has a fast growing number of easy to install widgets which include various Search engines. Typepad has very limited number of themes but is fully customizable and the photo albums are a fantastic feature that make off site image services redundant. Typepad is not free, but what in life that is worth while is? Wordpad is free, woo hoo, all you need to pay for now is your hosting fee so you can load the WP platform on it and use it. My guess is your going to pay at least 15 bucks a month for that.
However, power to the WP fans et cetera because there is a blog platform out there for everyone, you just need to find the one that works for you and in the mean time, make fair and up to date assessments when comparing. Your info is out of date for sure.
October 9, 2006
anina.net said:
yes, but wordpress doesnt have lifeblog. so it’s useless for mobile people. 360Fashion.net
November 17, 2006
Rick McCharles » Blog Archive » blogging - Wordpress or Typepad? said (pingback):
[…] Comparison of WordPress and TypePad - Emily Robbins […]
November 22, 2006
Jon said:
I have been thinking of moving from Blogger to Wordpress. Has anyone done this recently, and if so, do you have an advice?
My main reason is that I am planning to rebuild my website and I think that word press’s URLs will be more compatable, as Blogger uses the website/blog/date/date/blog-title which seems to mess things up for my php plans…..
December 15, 2006
Pozycjonowanie said:
Someone else below asked this already about antispam scripts.
I am getting nailed with Spam on my website mails and in our blog website - now its offline too
much spam. Is there anyway to stop this? If not, there really isn’t any point in leaving it up
and active. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for help, Keep up the good work. Greetings from Poland
December 30, 2006
Essentials #4 - The Chosen Blogging cum CMS Software » Alino Franco dot Com said (pingback):
[…] Comparison of WordPress and TypePad by someone who has used both extensively for over a year […]
March 16, 2007
» Comparison of top blogging platforms– Wordpress, Typepad, Movable Type, Blogger. | Bethesda,Maryland website designer design company said (pingback):
[…] After using both for a year, Emily Robbins gives an indepth comparison of how Wordpress and Typepad compare to each other. And I do mean indepth! […]
April 3, 2007
Kavoir Magazine » Blogger, WordPress and MovableType Compared said (pingback):
[…] Comparison of WordPress and TypePad by Emily Robbins who has used both extensively for over a year. […]
June 28, 2007
newsmotto! » Resource links for Wordpress - Installation, Themes, Plugins, Categorization, Widgets & SEO said (pingback):
[…] Why should you chose wordpress as your blogging software Some experiences shared by bloggers : Janne Kaistinen, Susannah Gardner, Emily Robbins […]
October 28, 2007
De mudanza said (pingback):
[…] El tema de la “migración” de los blogs y de la disyuntiva (antigua, hoy casi no hay dudas) entre Type Pad o Word Press se ha discutido hasta la saciedad en Internet, pero yo recomendaría a los colegas un par de enlaces bastante didacticos: aquí y aquí. […]