The reason you’re reading this article is that you’re keen on beginning a blog. You aim to learn the top blogging strategies that will guarantee your triumph in the world of blogging. Is it safe to assume that you have an online shop and are contemplating starting a blog to bring more traffic to your site?
As a freelancer, you may be seeking a cost-free platform to exhibit your writing and attract additional clients.
One of the most popular blogging platforms is WordPress, which may be your initial choice for starting a blog.
There is a reason why WordPress hosting is known in the industry, and this is not meant to be disrespectful in any way. However, there are other blogging platforms that may be more suitable for your requirements or financial constraints.
Whether you are here for any purpose, this article will guide you through 6 of the most prevalent blogging platforms, assess their possibilities, and select the attributes that are most pertinent to your requirements.
How to Choose The Best Blogging Platform?
There are a few things that should be taken into consideration when selecting a blogging platform.
Your blog platform should be user-friendly and straightforward to install if you’re starting a website. At the same time, you do not require any coding or design knowledge; thus, you’ll need a solution that offers simple customization features.
Furthermore, it is important to contemplate the kind of blog that suits your intentions. Certain blogging platforms are more suited for specific blog genres, whereas others are versatile enough to accommodate any niche.
As your blog expands, there is a likelihood that it will undergo modifications. This may entail altering its layout or integrating additional features and capabilities. Therefore, you require a platform that provides more bandwidth and complete flexibility to adjust your blog accordingly, as it develops alongside you and your readership.
Choosing an unsuitable platform can result in difficulty when transitioning to a different one later on.
If you plan on earning money from your blog in the future, you will require a blog platform that enables this feature.
Best Blogging Software & Platforms
After familiarizing yourself with the necessary qualities of a reliable blog platform, we present to you our preferred selections which provide an array of marketing assets indispensable for achieving your goals.
1. WordPress.org – Best Blogging Platform
With over 30% of websites on the internet running on WordPress.org, it is indisputably one of the top free blogging platforms available.
You can use WordPress.org to create a blog or website for free in a matter of minutes. This blogging platform is open-source and doesn’t cost anything to use. However, because WordPress.org is a self-hosted solution, you’ll need to obtain a domain name and arrange for web hosting services.
One of the top self-hosted blog platforms available is WordPress, which allows you to maintain full control over your blog, its posts, and its future as you continue to expand.
Your blog can benefit from numerous WordPress plugins that come in both free and paid versions. These tools can improve your blog’s capabilities, including integrating effortlessly with Google Analytics and optimizing SEO to increase traffic and improve your search rankings.
In addition, several hosting providers offer a single-click option to install WordPress, enabling you to commence promptly.
and Cons of Social Media Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking Platforms
- Complete control over personal blog, business website, or eCommerce store with its content management system and automatic media embeds.
- You can add extra features like forums, online stores, and membership areas as your blog grows. This makes WordPress.org the best platform for making money on your blog.
- Choose from thousands of customizable free WordPress themes to customize your site. This helps you stand out from your competitors. You can also use CSS and HTML to make advanced changes.
- Access over 54,000 free WordPress plugins to extend your blog’s functionality. This allows you to easily add contact forms, galleries, landing pages, popups, Google Adsense, and more to your blog from the backend to boost subscribers and leads.
- WordPress.org is search engine optimized. This means you can create SEO-friendly categories, tags, and URLs for your content. There are also several top SEO plugins to help you add even more features.
- With online help forums and plenty of documentation, it’s easy to find customer support when you need it.
idering the situation, it would be wise to postpone the meeting until we have more information.
- Managing a website with WordPress.org has a learning curve at first.
- Website backups and security are your responsibility. So, you’ll have to handle this yourself.
Pricing for WordPress.org
Although the WordPress.org software is complimentary, creating a website or a fresh blog will require your personal website hosting and domain name.
Bluehost is a top-rated provider for hosting WordPress websites. They are an officially recognized hosting provider by WordPress.org and offer the benefit of a complimentary domain name with select hosting packages.
Bluehost offers hosting plans that begin at a cost of $3.05 per month, which include a complimentary domain for one year, a free CDN, and a free SSL certificate.
2. Web.com
With its integrated blogging platform and user-friendly drag-and-drop builder, Web.com is a widely used and reasonably priced website creator that does not require any technical expertise to initiate, thanks to the array of professionally-created website templates.
The package provides all the necessary components to initiate a top-tier blog, ranging from a gratis domain name, hosting, and a corporate email account. Furthermore, it also grants access to search engine optimization mechanisms, website statistics, protection, automated storage and backup, and additional features.
Cons should be weighed before making a decision.
- User-friendly drag and drop builder to customize your design.
- Hundreds of ready-made website templates.
- Pre-designed content blocks like photo galleries, promotional banners, and more.
- Access to millions of free stock images that you can use on your blog.
- Easy setup because Web.com handles all the technical aspects of hosting your site.
idering the current economic situation, it’s important to be mindful of our spending habits and focus on saving money wherever possible.
- The blogging features aren’t as powerful when compared to WordPress.org.
- There are limited apps and extensions, so you can’t use as many third-party plugins as WordPress.
- Switching your blog to another platform in the future would be difficult because Web.com is a proprietary website builder.
Pricing for Web.com
For as low as $1.95 a month, Web.com offers a website builder, blogging platform, a variety of website templates, complimentary stock images, and a domain name at no additional cost.
3. Squarespace
Squarespace is renowned for its stylish design templates, making it a fashionable choice. Its drag and drop functionalities are what establish it as a good platform for novice bloggers. Just pick a template that catches your eye and begin quickly.
By using Squarespace, you can avoid expenditures on a website builder since you can handle all the intricate work yourself. Although it is straightforward to use, there are some downsides to consider. The platform’s versatility and customization are not as superior compared to others out there.
Distinguishable characteristics:
- Beautiful, minimalist and modern design templates + free themes
- Mobile-ready blog site, e-commerce functionality
- Fast turnaround time to create a blog, negligible learning curve to get started
4. Medium
Selecting the most suitable blogging website can be quite challenging as there are numerous aspects to consider, including hosting, domain, security, integrations with social media platforms, plugins, and search engine optimization tools.
Thinking about everything is making me feel dizzy!
On Medium, all you have to do is focus on writing your blog post – no added responsibilities. Once it’s written, simply publish and share. The platform boasts an active and substantial community, with a distinct Medium-style aesthetic featuring thought-provoking, long-form pieces with a minimalistic approach.
A few individuals have gone to the extent of stating that Medium is similar to long-form Twitter, but I’ll leave it to you to make your own judgment on that!
Remarkable characteristics:
- Blog for free. Just write and share. Also, you can monetize your blog the more you grow, publish and get discovered.
- No need for a website builder as it’s all done for your with a few clicks.
- One of the more well-known free blogging sites; it has its own community and following. People turn to medium for personal and meaningful conversation starters.
5. Blogger.com
Consider using Blogger if you’re not inclined to develop your own website on WordPress and are skilled in utilizing Google.
If you possess a Google account, you may access this platform for free. You may set it up quickly within a few minutes! If time is of the essence and you need to start quickly, this is one of the top-notch free blogging platforms available.
Distinguishing characteristics:
- Access to both Google Adsense and Analytics
- Old-school with a proven track record. It launched in 1999!
- The free version includes basic blogging tools, drag and drop so you can start blogging asap.
6. Wix.com
Wix is a website builder that is ideal for novices with a creative mindset, but lacking in coding and advanced designing abilities. It is among the emerging platforms in the field of website building.
In case you’ve ever felt hindered in starting your own website, what would come in handy is a customizable drag and drop website.
Remarkable characteristics:
- Forever free blogging service (unless you want to customize your domain)
- Wix mobile app to manage blog posts, post and respond to comments
- Super helpful marketing tools like emails, logo maker and social media post design option which makes it stand out from other platforms and free blogs. Making your blog SEO-friendly doesn’t have to be stressful.
When it comes to selecting the most suitable blogging platform, two primary inquiries must be considered:
- What’s your niche, sector or industry? Is ecommerce functionality something you need, or are you writing a blogger blog aka, focused on writing, not selling? As we all know, personal blogs have a very different function.
- What’s your budget? Many free sites have limited features, others are more generous. Some have a free SSL certificate, WordPress plugins, a blog hosting service and SEO features, whereas others require more mixing and matching to get the right fit for your needs.
