Why i went back to Blogger

I went back to Blogger (and built a modern theme for it)

I needed a dead-simple place to host my personal dev logs and documentation. I looked at the usual suspects, but nothing felt quite right:

• WordPress: Too much maintenance and overhead.
• Ghost: Love the DX, but I don't want another monthly subscription.
• Static Site Generators (Hugo/Jekyll) : Great, but sometimes I just want a CMS where I can write on my phone without triggering a Git commit pipeline.
• VPS: Cheap, but I don't want to spend my weekends patching security vulnerabilities.

So, I did something slightly cursed: I went back to Blogger.

Hear me out.

The Landscape in 2026

I made a comparison table before pulling the trigger:

Feature	Blogger (Native)	2026 Industry Standard	Verdict
SEO	Rigid, old-school tags	Dynamic JSON-LD & AI context	Passable
Performance	Bloated XML	SSR & Edge Caching	Struggling
Interaction	Basic comments	PWA & App-like feel	Outdated
Security	Google-backed	Zero Trust / Dynamic	S-Tier

The Verdict

If you want a commercially viable publication or a complex membership site, use Ghost or WordPress.

But if you want a "forever home" for your text content that costs $0, requires 0 security updates, and will probably outlive your startup? Blogger is still king.

The problem isn't the backend (Google's infrastructure is rock solid); the problem is the frontend. The default themes look like they're stuck in 2012.

Enter "Sjanu"

I decided to treat Blogger purely as a headless CMS and built a custom XML template from scratch called Sjanu. It brings modern 2026 expectations to the Blogger engine.

you can look the live demo: https://sjanu.ytsang.online

Key Features:

• SEO & Search: Replaces default meta tags with proper JSON-LD structured data (WebSite, BlogPosting, Breadcrumbs) and includes a global overlay search.
• Theming: One-click Light/Dark mode with 9 customizable accent colors.
• Content Engine: Features a ContentNormalizer that sanitizes copied text (Word/Excel) for dark mode, plus Markdown rendering support.
• Dev-First: Built-in syntax highlighting (Fira Code) and a modern stack using CSS variables.
• Interactive UX: PWA-ready, LCP-optimized Hero Carousel, integrated comments, and auto-generated Table of Contents.
• No-Code Config: Fully configurable via Layout Widgets—you don't need to touch the XML code to change settings.

Why I'm sticking with it

I started my personal blog with the Sjanu theme, and it hits all the sweet spots:

• Free: No hosting costs, no ads, no domain fees (if you use .blogspot.com).
• Lightweight: Blazing fast compared to a plugin-heavy WordPress site.
• Customizable: Hackable enough to make it my own.

Blogger is underrated. It's not outdated; it's just misunderstood. With a clean theme, it holds its own against any modern stack. You’re getting top-tier uptime, ironclad security, and Google’s edge network (CDN) for free.

No plugin bloat. No server headaches. It just works.