It can be challenging for beginners to select one of the top blogging platforms available in the market. The vast array of alternatives, which offer a comparable range of features, can make the decision-making process difficult.
What is the process of choosing a platform that suits your individual requirements and feels custom-designed for you?
Assistance with that will be provided here!
Presented below is a compilation of the finest blogging platforms currently in existence, along with their unique features that set them apart from each other.
The 6 Best Blogging Platforms
When establishing your blog, it’s crucial to examine the leading blogging platforms to consider.
1. WordPress
The WordPress platform, which is open-source and used as a content management system (CMS), runs more than 42% of websites. It is also known as the second most popular platform for blogging, having hosted over 77.8 million blogs.
The vast array of themes and plugins available for WordPress is the reason behind its widespread use for creating diverse blogs. Additionally, users can exercise complete authority over content creation and customization with the assistance of WordPress plugins.
Furthermore, when a WordPress blog grows its audience, there are increased possibilities for users to expand its functionality, for instance, transforming the blog into an ecommerce platform or a corporate website.
Firstly, to establish a website with the self-hosted version of WordPress, it is necessary to install the WordPress software. Next, acquire a domain name and web hosting. Hostinger is a frequently used blog hosting provider. Finally, choose an appropriate WordPress blog theme to complete the process.
Once you have installed the theme, you can personalize your blog’s layout by customizing it.
By default, WordPress displays blog content on its homepage, but there’s an option to produce a distinct page.
- Publish a new empty Page entitled Blog.
- Head to Settings -> Readings and select A static page next to the Your homepage displays section.
- Select the Blog Page on the Post page section and click Save Changes.
Once you have established your blog page, commence generating material by incorporating fresh posts. There exists an infinite capacity for the quantity of blog posts that you can release on your personal WordPress website.
Pricing
To utilize self-hosted WordPress, you must acquire your own domain name. Another option is to use a WordPress hosting service like Hostinger. Although we do not offer lifetime access to free domains, we do provide a free one-year domain with our hosting packages.
- WordPress Starter costs $2.99/month – best for blogs with fewer than 25,000 monthly visits.
- Business WordPress costs $3.99/month – suited for blogs with around 100,000 monthly visits.
- WordPress Pro costs $9.99/month – perfect for blogs with around 300,000 monthly visits.
It should be noted that high-quality themes and plugins may have a monthly expense of up to $250.
2. Blogger
With over 617,000 blogs under its belt, Blogger is a top-notch blogging platform that comes at no cost. Its expansive community is highly beneficial as it facilitates quicker exposure by linking your blog site to other Blogger websites, specifically those that focus on related themes.
Because Google owns this blogging platform, all you need is an email address to set up an account. You can construct up to 100 blog sites for free and have 100 writers via one Google account. While there isn’t a cap on the number of published blog posts, you may only have a maximum of 20 static pages.
Blogger is easier to set up for beginners compared to WordPress. It is tailored to meet the requirements of bloggers and comes equipped with necessary blogging widgets and functions by default.
These are the instructions for building a blog site using this complimentary blogging platform:
- Choose a blog title and author display name.
- Select a domain name for your blog. Blogger provides a free subdomain using blogspot.com.
- Head to Dashboard -> New Post to create content.
After creating your blog, customize the Theme and layout to make it more distinctive. Blogger provides 12 personalized themes with alterable layouts, but proficiency in HTML and CSS is essential for making complex alterations.
Pricing
By using Blogger, users can access the internet for free, although there will be an extra fee if they opt for a custom domain name. As Blogger doesn’t provide custom domains, one can obtain them from other sources. The price of a domain may fluctuate, but on average, it ranges from $10-15 annually.
3. Joomla
Joomla is a renowned open-source CMS, widely used as a free blogging platform just like WordPress, that is well-known for its adaptability. While it can be employed for a variety of purposes, Joomla’s user management and multilingual assistance features make it ideal for enhancing any kind of blogging site.
With Joomla, you can utilize a sturdy PHP framework for constructing applications and other digital entities from a blog as it presents a strong base for scaling. Additionally, the integrated cache management attribute has the ability to enhance the speed and effectiveness of the blog by caching static pages.
To make your personal blog with Joomla, adhere to these given instructions:
- Get web hosting, a domain name, and install Joomla.
- Create a new category by heading to Content -> Categories to organize your content better.
- Once you have created a new Blog category, head to Menus -> Main Menu and add a New blog menu.
- Click the blue Select button for the Menu Item Type and choose the Blog category.
- Head to the Blog Layout tab to select how many articles to show on a full-size display.
After completing the setup of your blog, opt for a theme and personalize it to give your webpage an individual touch.
Pricing
Joomla is a platform that is hosted on its own, which implies that the software is free of charge. Nevertheless, individuals have to obtain their domain name and web hosting services. We offer several Joomla hosting packages that include both facilities.
- Premium Shared Hosting costs $2.99/month – for 100 GB SSD storage.
- Business Shared Hosting costs $4.99/month – for 200 GB SSD storage.
Even though a number of Joomla extensions are available at no cost, some of the premium extensions offer enhanced features and functionality for a one-time payment of up to $200.
4. Medium
Medium is a blogging platform that emphasizes the reading experience. Its co-founder Evan Williams also happened to co-found Blogger, which was later bought by Google.
Medium offers two options for creating content: either writing posts linked to your user account or establishing a publication with a personalized design. What sets Medium apart is its user-friendly blogging platform that places emphasis on your written material.
What’s the pricing?
Medium is free for publishers, but readers have the option to access the most personalized content by subscribing to a paid service.
Can I use a custom domain?
Sorry, but this feature was no longer available since November 2017. Your article is restricted to be hosted only on medium.com/publication-slug.
What can you customize?
If you aren’t affiliated with a publication, you must stick with the default theme, whereas for publications, you have the option of personalizing post headers, favicons, and layout. Nevertheless, it’s not possible to edit specific items in the HTML code. This works well for individuals who lack web technology know-how, but may not suffice for others.
Can I monetize my blog?
However, the available choices are restricted and subject to frequent modifications. At present, the sole method of earning is by participating in the Partner Program which pays authors based on their audience’s level of interaction.
5. Wix
With a convenient drag-and-drop editor, Wix is essentially a website builder that empowers you to fabricate your own website.
Their collection comprises of over 500 templates, which you have the option to choose from and further customize it according to your preferences.
With Wix, you can create a functional blog in just a matter of minutes and have the blog hosted for you as well.
What’s the pricing?
Wix offers a free option, as well as monthly plans that start at $5.00 and go up to $29.00 (converted to local currency). These plans offer a variety of features that range from connecting your domain to building a full e-commerce store.
Can I use a custom domain?
Unfortunately, it’s solely accessible if you subscribe to the premium packages.
What can you customize?
Customizing all elements within a website is possible with Wix, even without any knowledge of web technologies. This includes text elements like headers, descriptions, and lists, as well as images, locations, and forms. Nevertheless, editing the pages’ code can be a challenging process.
Can I monetize my blog?
Although branded Wix elements will be displayed in the free plan, it is possible to incorporate custom ads using HTML elements on the Wix platform.
6. Ghost
Ghost is a blogging platform that uses JavaScript and was created by a developer who had previously worked on WordPress.
The main objective behind the development of Ghost was to concentrate on blogging. While there is a commercially hosted version of Ghost available, this article solely discusses the software that can be installed on your own server.
What’s the pricing?
Ghost is a freely available open source software, although it may be difficult to obtain the direct download link. GitHub appears to be the only viable option without using the official Ghost website. Nonetheless, Ghost offers some themes and plugins that require payment just like WordPress. Additionally, choosing the commercially hosted version of Ghost entails a monthly subscription fee starting at $29.
Can I use a custom domain?
It is possible to link your Ghost blog with a personalized domain.
What can you customize?
While it is possible to personalize nearly every aspect of your blog, Ghost’s themes and plugins support is inferior to that of WordPress.
Can I monetize my blog?
Ghost is capable of incorporating personalized code onto your website specifically for advertising purposes.
