For beginners starting a new blog, it can be challenging to decide on the top blogging platforms available in the market. The countless options available offer a range of features that are not significantly diverse.
What’s the process of selecting a platform that suits you perfectly according to your individual requirements?
Assistance will be provided to you at this location!
How to choose the best blog platform:
There are a few things to consider before providing your credit card details for a well-known paid blogging platform or creating an account on any of the free blogging platforms.
To select the appropriate blogging platform that suits your requirements and niche, you must consider the following queries:
- Is web hosting included? If not, do you know how to find a hosting provider?
- Will the blogging platform provide a custom domain name? If not, how can you go about getting your own domain name? If they do offer a free domain name, is it a limited time offer?
- Are there free SEO tools inside the blogging platform that will help your blog gain more visibility?
- What sorts of themes do they offer? Can you browse the free and premium themes before starting your blog? Free blog templates are useful if you’re unfamiliar with web design, so having a variety at your disposal is one less thing on your ever-growing to-do list.
- Is the blogging platform able to connect with Google analytics in a seamless way so that you may measure and track your progress and growth?
- Is their content management system, or CMS, easy to navigate from the user’s perspective?
The core difference between the best blogging platforms
Two categories can be used to categorize the blogging platforms previously featured here.
- Blog publishing services — a blog publishing service is a platform where you can sign up and create your blog; you do not need a server and can use an existing sub domain of the platform
- Content management systems (CMS) — a CMS is software that’s hosted on a server, and also needs to be hooked up to a domain name; then, you can take advantage of the CMS’s abilities and edit your blog posts and pages similarly to how you’d do it with Google Docs – via a nice UI
Blog publishing services are the most user-friendly when it comes to complexity, but they come with a limited capacity to personalize features. If you’re considering creating a blog at no cost, opting for one of these services is recommended.
Although a CMS offers endless possibilities, it requires upkeep of a server and the acquisition of a domain, which incurs a cost.
In general, blogging services are the best choice for those who prioritize simplicity, while choosing a CMS is more suitable for those who prioritize having complete control and freedom with their blog.
WordPress.com
Undoubtedly, if you have searched for “free blog sites” on Google, you may have stumbled upon WordPress. It serves as an excellent choice for novice bloggers who wish to test the waters before making a significant investment.
Unless you pay for it, the WordPress site only provides you with a sub-domain instead of a custom domain. (For instance, www.yourblogname.wordpress.com)
Distinguishing characteristics:
- Mobile-responsive, which we know is important as Google is mobile-first
- Data insights, for you to understand your reader’s behavior and find popular content
- Social integration, for easy sharing
WordPress.org
What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
The software called Org requires payment for both hosting the website and owning the domain. Due to its widespread use as a blogging platform, there is a multitude of tutorials, pre-designed plugins, and templates available for selection.
It boasts numerous functionalities among available free platforms, although it demands a bit more effort to grasp. Additionally, you must ensure competence in maintaining the website.
Distinguishing characteristics:
- Control, with this WordPress website, you’re hosting and you have more freedom as it’s your own site. Customization is next level!
- Lots of plugins and integrations
- The software is free!
Squarespace
Squarespace is renowned for its stylish design templates and popularity. Its drag and drop features are what sets it apart as a beginner’s blogging platform. Just choose an attractive template and begin without delay.
By using Squarespace, you can avoid investing in a website builder as you’ll have the ability to carry out all the challenging tasks. It’s quite user-friendly, however, it comes at a price for the convenience it offers. Also, one downside of Squarespace is that it’s not the most versatile or adaptable platform available.
Features worth noting:
- 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
Medium
Choosing the best blogging website is quite challenging given the multitude of considerations such as hosting, domain, security, integration with social media, availability of SEO tools and plugins.
The mere thought of it all is causing my head to spin!
On Medium, all you have to do is write your blog post – no other responsibilities. Once you’ve written and published it, you can share it. Furthermore, there exists a sizable and invested reader base on Medium, with a distinct “Medium style” that prioritizes thought-provoking, in-depth, and less embellished pieces.
Some have even gone so far as to claim Medium is the long-form Twitter, but I’l let you form your own opinion on that!
Significant 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.
Blogger.com
Consider using Blogger if you’re not inclined to create your own WordPress website and are a proficient user of Google.
Having a Google account grants you access to this entirely free platform that can be set up within minutes. If time is of the essence and you are eager to begin, this platform is one of the finest choices for blogging, absolutely free of charge.
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.
Wix
The main function of Wix is to facilitate the creation of a website by means of a user-friendly editor based on the drag-and-drop feature.
Their collection of over 500 templates gives you the freedom to pick one and then customize it to your liking, creating a site that perfectly reflects your vision.
With Wix, you can construct a functional blog in minutes, and it will also handle the blog-hosting duties for you.
Who should use Wix?
If your goal is to create a typical website, then Wix would be a better choice, as opposed to a traditional blog. Despite the existence of a blogging feature, it is not the main emphasis of the Wix platform.
What’s the pricing?
There is a free option, in addition to monthly plans starting at $5.00 and going up to $29.00 converted to your local currency, that Wix offers. These plans range from the basic package of simply connecting your domain, to the advanced option of creating a complete e-commerce store.
Can I use a custom domain?
It is only accessible on the paid packages.
What can you customize?
Even if you lack expertise in web technologies, using Wix enables you to personalize all components of your website, including text features (such as header, list, and description) as well as pictures, forms, and locations. Nonetheless, altering the codes of the pages can be somewhat challenging.
Can I monetize my blog?
It is possible to incorporate personalized advertisements using HTML elements on Wix, but the free plan will display branded Wix elements as well.
Ghost
Ghost is a platform for blogging that is built on JavaScript and was initiated by a previous WordPress developer.
Ghost was created with the exclusive intent of concentrating on blogging. This article solely refers to the software version of Ghost that can be utilized on your personal server, disregarding the commercially hosted option.
Who should use Ghost?
Although Ghost offers a seamless publishing experience and an intuitive interface, it demands substantial technical expertise to install and manage.
What’s the pricing?
Ghost, which is an open-source software, can be downloaded and used free of charge, although it may be difficult to find the direct download link as it is only available via GitHub and not the official Ghost website. Additionally, there are paid themes and plugins for Ghost, similar to WordPress. If you choose to use the commercially hosted version of Ghost, a monthly subscription fee of at least $29 will be required.
Can I use a custom domain?
It is possible to link your Ghost blog with a domain of your choice.
What can you customize?
Although there is the ability to customize nearly every aspect of your blog with Ghost, the availability of themes and plugins is inferior to that of WordPress.
Can I monetize my blog?
Ghost is capable of incorporating custom code on your website to feature advertisements.
