KirstenL4W

There is a mass exodus going on in the blogosphere. Many people are at their wit’s end with Blogger and are making the switch to Wordpress. I myself will be making that change within the next month or so. Snoskred has a great offer of hosting and setup, and I have to say that with the price she is charging, it is the deal of the century.

While I have been dissatisfied with the direction that Blogger has been taking, the biggest reason for me moving is that I want to do more with my blog. The Blogger baloney is the kick in the rear I need to get it going. Now I know that I don’t do a heck of a lot with my blog lately as it is, but I want to have more. I want multiple pages so that I can feature different things. This is probably the single biggest limitation that Blogger has. Anyone can teach themselves enough about coding and design to make it look the way they want, but the whole subdomains thing for separate pages? Not happening. While there aren’t as many design options without paying some money, wordpress.com, the free, they-host-it version of the full-fledged wordpress.org, allows separate pages. If you don’t want to pay for a new domain and hosting, consider wordpress.com. They make importing your Blogger posts really easy, too.

So, back to what I want to do with a bigger, improved blog:

• A better About page, for starters. The tiny blurb I currently have is hardly sufficient. I’d like a bit more of chance to let my personality shine through.
• A whole page for my blogroll. I find it so much easier to check out what other blogs people read when they’re featured on a separate page. I’d also like a place to showcase some links, but I haven’t decided yet if these should be on a separate page or not.
• A page to feature music. As those who have been reading me for awhile know, I like to participate in CD mix exchanges. A separate page for this would allow me a better chance share the music I love with everyone, without it getting lost amongst other posts.
• A contact page. At the moment, I do not have any contact info on my blog, because I’m trying to avoid an inordinate amount of spam. I already get plenty and do not need any more. A contact form will help avoid spammers while increasing communication between my readers and myself.

A new blog would give me a chance to clean up my sidebars by starting anew. Right now I’m a bit reluctant to do so just because of all the work I’ve put into it, and quite honestly I use some of the stuff on there, like hangman and weather (hangman is fun and using the weather modules is easier than going to a separate page for it).

I’m really excited about all the options available to me, and my mind is spinning with all of them. Some firm ideas are taking hold, and I can’t wait to implement them. So why the wait until after the holidays? Well, there’s the time issue. Everyone knows how the holidays are a major factor in time running away from you. Even those who don’t celebrate seem to be short of time during the holidays. Also, I just got hired on permanently at my job, and I am switching from a weekly to biweekly pay schedule. That means that I go one week without pay before my biweekly paychecks kick in. I’ve had to plan carefully to accommodate for the holidays and the lack of a paycheck in the middle of it all. Once I get used to the new pay schedule, I’ll go for it.

So, reader feedback time. What features do you want to see me keep when I move? What new features have you been hoping I would do? What do you NOT want to see at the new place?

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