The 6 Best Blogging Platforms for 2023 (& How to Pick One)

Businesses that blog experience an increase of 55% in visitors compared to those that do not. However, in order to achieve this boost in traffic, selecting the optimal blogging platform to suit your requirements and objectives is crucial.

There are various advantages of publishing blog content. Blogging enables you to establish your expertise in a certain field, increase brand recognition, disseminate company updates, and enhance your website traffic to lead conversion.

Your returns can also suffer from using an unsuitable platform, as it may impede your capacity to generate leads, enhance SEO, monetize your blog, and other important factors.

Numerous excellent blog options are available without any or minimal charges, offering numerous beneficial features that can yield positive outcomes. Whether you continue reading or navigate to the targeted division, you can discover the supreme platform for your newly created blog.

What is the best blogging platform for you?

Developing a blog necessitates both dedication and time commitment. It is a lasting investment, which encompasses the tool employed for its creation.

Regardless of the excellence of a blogging platform, it is essential to ensure that it suits your requirements. Moving a blog to another site becomes difficult once it establishes a following; hence, it is imperative to optimize your preparations before commencing the actual blogging process to ensure longevity in outcomes.

So, before we cover the most popular choices, let’s talk about what you need in a platform for your blog.

For beginners, an easy-to-use platform is recommended. If you lack coding skills, it’s crucial to opt for a blog platform that doesn’t require coding. Creating a blog is a complicated task, and acquiring additional skills shouldn’t be on your agenda.

Afterward, it’s recommended that you engage in extensive brainstorming with regards to the kind of blog you would like to create, taking cues from blogs that you find inspiring. It would be beneficial to compile a roster of designs and functionalities that appeal to you, and to make a mental record of any blog-related instruments that you may require in the future as your blog expands.

To get ready, consider asking yourself the following queries:

Do you plan to monetize your blog with a newsletter now or in the future?
Is a multimedia experience with lots of images and videos your goal?
Are you starting a blog to build SEO for your small business site?
Or are you hoping it can build your reputation as a thought leader?
What skills do you need to learn to build your blog?
How many of those skills can a blogging platform help with?

When you have a definite strategy for your blog, it’s time to select the optimal platform for it.

How to Choose a Blogging Platform

Cost is often the initial consideration when selecting a blog platform. The top-rated blog software is available for free, which is something to keep in mind when analyzing the different options and tiers offered by the providers. Explore their distinct features, taking note of the inherent value provided by the built-in features compared to the add-ons.

However, the amount you are capable and inclined to spend is only the initial among numerous crucial choices. Let us analyze some additional aspects which may be necessary for your blog, in order to facilitate the comparison of various blogging platforms.

Themes and Templates

If you want to customize your blog in a fast and effortless manner, take advantage of themes and templates. When exploring various blogging platforms, make sure to examine their assortment of themes and templates.

Take a moment to question yourself:

Do they have a lot of templates for blogging specifically?
Do they have a variety of free and premium templates and themes?
Can you edit the themes and templates to create a truly customized look for your site?
Do you want to create your blog from scratch instead of a predesigned theme?

Here are some inquiries that may assist you in selecting a platform that fulfills your design and customization requirements.

You may also be highly likely to become infatuated with a blog theme and desire to begin creating your blog immediately. Nonetheless, if your objective is to blog for your enterprise, it’s more about substance than appearance.

Content Editor

Every blogging platform revolves around its content editor. Hence, if you are a blogger, you must choose a platform that comes with an editor that you are comfortable working with as you would be using it regularly.

Consider the user-friendliness of the tool. You should be able to swiftly establish a blog and begin incorporating content without difficulty. Additionally, you should be able to gauge the tool’s versatility and capabilities.

To verify this, you might consider producing an elaborate preliminary version of your blog. Ensure that you insert internal hyperlinks, videos, and an assortment of images. Have everything that you plan to incorporate in your ultimate blog prepared for testing on all platforms.

When you begin to compare platforms, you may find yourself fixating on particular details. Categorizing your list of wanted features into essential and non-essential items can be beneficial.

As an illustration, your editor is required to possess the drag-and-drop capability and an automatic saving attribute. Nonetheless, it would be pleasant to have a choice to view a preview of your post on various devices.

Finding the Best Blogging Platform for SEO

It is crucial to consider whether a blogging platform’s features match your objectives and requirements. In case you aim to enhance your search engine rankings, you must opt for a platform that provides integrated SEO utilities.

It is crucial to optimize your blog content for search in order to attract visitors. Research from Backlinko indicates that websites ranked on the first page of Google search results receive 27% of total clicks for a particular keyword or phrase.

If your aim is to enhance SEO through blogging, it’s crucial that your content is beneficial to your target audience. However, starting from scratch in content marketing requires a considerable amount of time to grasp the intricacies of SEO.

It takes time and effort to learn the important strategies of on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.

The Top 6 Best Blogging Website Builders

1. Squarespace

Stunning designs suitable for a blog that focuses on images.

Ideal for: Blogs focused on photography and content-rich websites Cost: Starting at $14 per month Free option: Not available

Squarespace differentiates itself in the website builder industry with its contemporary templates, as well as top-notch SEO features and a manageable learning curve.

One of the reasons why Squarespace is a top website builder is due to its exceptional blogging capabilities, including the ability to categorize posts, enable comments, offer RSS feeds, facilitate social sharing, and schedule posts. Consequently, Squarespace is deemed as one of the finest platforms for bloggers.

Our decision to use Squarespace was based on the fact that they provide an extensive selection of expertly designed templates that are both visually appealing and responsive on mobile devices. Additionally, these templates can be personalized, providing bloggers with the ability to craft a one-of-a-kind and visually breathtaking blog.

Advantages:

Professional designs that leave a lasting impression.
Excellent tools for editing blogs.
Excellent incorporation of Ecommerce and marketing tools.

Drawbacks:

Does not have in-built website analytics features.
There are restrictions on how much you can customize.

2. Wix

The website editor with the highest level of flexibility.

Suitable for: Bloggers who prefer extensive customization options Cost: Starting at $4.50/month Free option available: Yes

With exceptional blogging capabilities and top-notch design tools, Wix is the most dominant website builder listed. The website editor is superb, and you have a wide selection of almost 1,000 templates to choose from for creating a sleek and professional website.

If you desire more authority over the appearance of your blog, then opting for Wix is recommended. With the Wix editor, you can move the various components of your website to any location you prefer by simply dragging and dropping. Although it may require some time to become accustomed to Wix’s user interface, it can generate a professional and swift blog that is worth the effort.

The reason for selecting Wix is due to the extensive range of themes available, which includes a built-in blog component. Numerous themes are created with blogging as the main purpose, allowing for easy creation and publication of blog content.

Advantages:

Extensive repository of templates.
Mobile sites are highly functional.
The embedded analytics tool is exceptional.

Drawbacks:

Expensive pricing plans are of high-tier.
The learning curve for the user interface is higher compared to most.

3. WordPress.com

The blogging tool that has gained the most popularity globally.

Suitable for websites focused on traditional blogging. Starting price is $15/month. Free version available.

With an abundance of plugins and templates designed specifically for blogging, WordPress.com stands out on this list as the most blog-centric website builder, and consequently the most widely-used blogging tool in the world.

Despite offering a drag-and-drop site design feature similar to Wix and Squarespace, as well as an Ecommerce solution known as WooCommerce, WordPress.com still primarily functions as a conventional blogging tool. Its blog editor boasts all the necessary functions to generate quality blog posts that can be compared to the best online publications.

The reason for our selection of WordPress stems from its capability to support bloggers who are serious about their work and seek the ability to work on it from any location. The Jetpack mobile app offered by WordPress.com is exemplary with its streamlined features and functional aspects, enabling bloggers to create drafts on-the-go, publish from any of their devices, and schedule posts for automatic social media updates.

Advantages:

There are numerous plugins and widgets available.
Excellent or impressive performance.
Tools for blogging at an advanced level.

Negatives:

Customer support is limited.
Relatively steep learning curve

4. Weebly

An online platform for creating websites that provides a perfect blend of functionality and ease of use.

Ideal for: Individual bloggers who aren’t bothered by limited customization options. Cost: Beginning at $5 per month. Free plan available: Yes.

Weebly is a commonly used tool for building personal websites because of its free plan that displays ads and reasonable pricing. The platform offers exceptional blogging functions, including the ability to have various user profiles, social bookmarking, integrated search, as well as viewer comments.

Weebly faces a limitation in terms of website customization. Altering the templates provided is not a straightforward process. Nonetheless, if the default appearance of your site suffices, then Weebly’s reasonable prices can compensate for this shortcoming.

The reason behind selecting Weebly is because its free blogging templates offer novice bloggers an uncomplicated platform to express their creativity through written content without any commitments.

Advantages:

Affordable pricing options
An editor that is simple to operate by dragging and dropping.
Capabilities for effective blogging such as an integrated search functionality.

Downsides:

Has limited options for customization.
Customer analytics is limited.

5. Zyro

Create a blog utilizing a basic grid structure.

Ideal for: Straightforward and traditional blogs. Starting price at $8.99 per month. No free version available.

Zyro, a more recent website builder, offers a straightforward alternative among available options and does not have the same level of design customizations found in products like Wix. However, it features a dependable ADI builder that will generate a website based on your responses to a handful of inquiries, and the drag-and-drop editor is highly user-friendly.

Zyro offers social sharing and SEO features as well as the ability to have multiple writer profiles for blogging. However, the absence of blog search and visitor comment capabilities constrains Zyro’s suitability if your blog is pivotal to your website.

Why we chose Zyro: Zyro’s website builder primarily caters to users seeking simple portfolio or eCommerce site builders, with ongoing development of blogging capabilities. However, their blog offers valuable insights, inspiration, and business ideas, enabling you to enhance your blogging skills and create an outstanding website.

Pros:

Easy to use
Templates that are fashionable in appearance.
The introductory pricing is commendable.

Drawbacks:

Searching for blogs is not possible.
Commenting by users is not allowed.

6. Web.com

This web design tool is uncomplicated and can be set up quickly and effortlessly.

Ideal for bloggers who prioritize customer service, with pricing starting at $14.95 per month. No free version is available.

Web.com offers an affordable and user-friendly website builder with built-in blogging capabilities. While it may not be as advanced as established platforms like WordPress, some may prefer its simplistic approach. Additionally, Web.com provides round-the-clock technical support via phone, email, and live chat, making it a suitable choice for those who desire assistance in their website building journey. Try Web.com for a hassle-free website building experience.

The reason for our selection of Web.com is that while it may not be the most advanced in terms of blogging abilities, it allows for a website to be created and launched within a few minutes by selecting an appropriate template.

Benefits: