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Want to get right to the point? Our top pick for the best blogging platform is definitely Wix.
Whether you’re blogging as a hobby or starting a blog for your business, the benefits of blogging are endless. It’s an excellent way to drive traffic to your website, build authority, and express yourself.
However, it all starts with a blogging platform.
There are plenty of free and paid tools on the market for various purposes, depending on what you want to do with your blog.
And you’ll find a wide range of platforms for beginners, solutions for advanced bloggers, microblogging platforms, anonymous platforms, and everything in between.
So, choosing the right one isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds.
We’ve managed hundreds of blogs over the years on every platform you can imagine. So, we created this guide to help you choose the best blogging platform to meet your needs.
Wix
Best Blogging Website Builder
A truly drag-and-drop website builder built specifically for beginners. Adding a blog is easy and it’s free to start. Plus, enjoy a free domain for the first year when you upgrade to a paid plan. Includes hundreds of professional design templates, an ADI tool that does the work for you, and an intuitive mobile app.
The 7 Best Blogging Platforms to Consider:
- Wix – Best intuitive drag and drop website builder
- WordPress with Bluehost – Most popular blogging platform
- Tumblr – Best blogging platform for microblogging
- Ghost – Best blogging platform for publications
- Blogger – Best free blogging platform
- Strikingly – Best for simple blogs
- Write.as – Best for anonymous blogging
When Does It Make Sense to Invest in a Blogging Platform?
Anyone looking to publish content on the web can invest in a blogging platform. Depending on your situation and the purpose of your blog, the investment won’t be anything more than time and a few dollars a month.
Or you can start a blog for free. But if you want to make money with your blog, I don’t recommend a free blogging platform.
They’re severely limiting and many don’t allow you to monetize, either.
However, blogging can help you establish your voice online—whether you’re blogging for your business or for personal use.
If you’re an expert in a particular field or run a business, you can share your knowledge and build a following of loyal readers. From there, you can work on turning those readers into revenue.
Even if you’ve never written a blog post before, you can still invest in a blogging platform. It’s never too early or too late to get started.
#1 – Wix Review — The Best Blogging Website Builder
Wix
Best Blogging Website Builder
A truly drag-and-drop website builder built specifically for beginners. Adding a blog is easy and it’s free to start. Plus, enjoy a free domain for the first year when you upgrade to a paid plan. Includes hundreds of professional design templates, an ADI tool that does the work for you, and an intuitive mobile app.
For beginners that want to start a blog and build a website from scratch, Wix is a top choice to consider. It’s an excellent solution for personal blogs and small businesses alike because it’s affordable and easy to use.
Wix is also an incredibly popular choice for beginners because of its simplicity.
With its drag-and-drop interface, you can quickly and easily create beautiful websites with no coding or design knowledge.
In fact, creating a professional website takes as little as five minutes with their artificial design intelligence tool. From there, you can add a blog to your new website and start writing away.
Furthermore, you can choose from 500+ templates to get started. Then you can customize everything to your heart’s content with Wix’s intuitive drag and drop page builder.
On top of that, it’s easy to:
- Create new posts
- Edit post content
- Manage your comments
- Share your posts on social media
You can also use the Wix mobile app to manage everything on the go.
Furthermore, you can also add new contributors and have multiple writers on your blog without forking over any additional fees.
Wix offers a free-forever plan. However, the free plan comes with a Wix subdomain, which isn’t ideal for business users. To connect a custom domain name, you have to upgrade to a paid plan.
However, Wix’s paid plans are affordable for most businesses.
They start at just $13 per month. And you can also get a free domain name for the first year.
#2 – WordPress with Bluehost Review — The Most Popular Blogging Platform
WordPress with Bluehost
Most Popular Blogging Platform
WordPress is the world’s most popular blogging platform with more than 60+ million users. It's free, open source, incredibly flexible, and you get complete design freedom.
Our #1 recommendation for WordPress hosting is Bluehost. It starts at just $2.95 per month.
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS). In fact, it controls more than one-third of the market share and is trusted by more than 60+ million users.
At its core, it’s a blogging tool for content creators. Even with all of the extra features, benefits, and flexible use cases today, it’s still the most popular option for bloggers of all shapes and sizes.
We use WordPress here to power the blog you’re reading right now.
WordPress.org (what we recommend and use on a daily basis) is 100% free to download and install because it’s an open-source solution.
It’s also self-hosted which means you have to purchase web hosting and a domain name before you can install WordPress and start using it. It sounds complicated since there’s an extra step involved, but it’s a lot easier than you think.
To get started, head over to Bluehost.com. It’s is our #1 recommendation for WordPress web hosting services because it’s affordable, beginner-friendly, and trusted by the creators of WordPress.
Bluehost’s streamlined signup process and one-click WordPress installer make getting started as easy as possible.
It’s a simple step-by-step process that includes in-depth instructions every step of the way so you’re not stuck navigating the process alone. And you can always reach out to the 24/7 support team if you get stuck with anything along the way.
You also get a free domain name when you sign up, so you can easily get everything you need to launch your WordPress blog under one roof.
Plus, you can install the WordPress platform in one click.
All you have to do is sign up for the Basic Plan, starting at $2.95 per month and follow the instructions for WordPress.
From there, you’ll be well on your way to building and customizing your brand new blog!
Note: WordPress.org has a bit of a learning curve to it because of its expansive flexibility and customization capabilities. However, if you’re up to learning something new, you’ll get it down in no time and have 100% control over your entire blog. In our opinion, it’s well worth it.
#3 – Tumblr Review — The Best For Microblogs
Tumblr
Best For Microblogs
Tumblr is a microblogging and social media platform that's incredibly easy to use. With it, you can create seven different types of blog posts, reshare content from other users, and create new relationships for free.
If you’re looking for an easy and quick way to express your thoughts, but don’t want to manage a full website, Tumblr is an excellent option. And… it’s 100% free to use.
The platform powers more than 500+ million blogs. And you can fill your posts with stories, links, music, art, fashion, jokes, GIFs, or whatever you want.
Plus, you can easily share other users’ content as well.
Tumblr is essentially a social media platform with microblogging capabilities. Once you share your content on Tumblr, people can follow you and see your content on their feed whenever you post something new.
So, it’s a great choice if you love the simplicity of social media.
Furthermore, this social structure makes it easy to get new eyes on your content. And rather than trying to drive traffic to your website, you can build a following within the Tumblr network.
You can also utilize your own feed to re-share useful content posted by others with your readers.
And the best part? Tumblr is 100% free. Forever. There are no paid plans or pricing tiers, so you don’t have to worry about missing essential features as a free user.
To get started, all you need an email address, password, and username. So, you can sign up now and start blogging in a matter of minutes.
While the platform is great for quick thoughts and microblogs, it’s not viable for business use or long-form content. So, if you want something a bit more professional, go with something else.
#4 – Ghost Review — The Best Blogging Platform For Publications
Ghost
Best Blogging Platform For Publishers
Monetize your blogs with premium memberships. Built-in newsletters and SEO tools. Try Ghost free for 14 days.
Ghost is a blogging platform for publishers, entrepreneurs, and developers. The platform makes it easy to publish content online and monetize your blogs.
With Ghost, you benefit from a simple yet powerful content editor. The platform has email newsletters built-in, and posts are automatically optimized for SEO.
I like Ghost because it’s so easy to generate revenue from your content. Plus, you can create memberships and subscriptions for readers to access your premium content.
While Ghost may not be the most well-recognized name in the blogging industry, it has more than two million installations.
It’s a great solution for anyone looking to make money blogging. And you can create a digital magazine or online publication with ease using Ghost.
Pricing for Ghost is primarily based on views per month, members, and staff users. Their plans include:
- Basic — $29 per month
- Standard — $79 per month
- Business — $199 per month
So whether you’re a blogger just getting started or an existing publisher that needs a better solution for managing digital content, Ghost can accommodate your needs.
Try Ghost free for 14 days to access all of its premium features.
#5 – Blogger Review — The Best Free Blogging Platform
Blogger
Best Free Blogging Platform
Start a free blog with a blogspot.com subdomain. You can earn extra cash by monetizing your blog with Google AdSense. Blogger has built-in audience insights.
Blogger is a pioneer in the blogging space. Most old-school bloggers started using this platform 20+ years ago when it launched in 1999.
Google owns and manages the Blogger platform. So, you can use it for free and let Google host your blog with a blogspot.com subdomain. Alternatively, you can buy your own custom domain with just a few clicks.
Furthermore, Blogger is easy to use. You can customize your blog with flexible templates, custom layouts, and more.
Since Google owns Blogger, it’s easy to generate revenue using Google AdSense by displaying targeted ads on your blog.
Additionally, Google gives you in-depth insights into your audience. You can learn exactly who your audience is and where your traffic comes from.
And you don’t even need to connect Google Analytics for a basic overview of this information.
If you want to start blogging for free and earn some extra cash with Google AdSense, Blogger is an excellent choice to consider.
#6 – Strikingly Review — The Best For Simple Blogs
Strikingly
Best For Simple Blogs
Strikingly is a free website builder with built-in simple blogging capabilities. Fully managed web hosting is included. Paid plans start at $8 per month.
Millions of entrepreneurs and creative professionals use Strikingly to create a website for free. The platform allows you to build a brand and create a website from scratch without any coding or design skills.
To start blogging with Strikingly, just build your website and add a new section for your blog. From there, it’s easy to write new posts and manage your blogs.
The content editor isn’t as advanced as some of the other platforms on our list. But it’s still a viable option if you want to create simple blog posts.
But if you’re looking for complete customization and lots of extras with your posts, this probably isn’t the best platform for you.
Like most free website builders, your free Strikingly blog has a strikingly.com subdomain. To get rid of that subdomain, you need to upgrade to a paid plan.
These plans include:
- Limited — $8 per month
- Pro — $16 per month
- VIP — $49 per month
All Strikingly plans are fully managed, so you won’t need to worry about hosting. When you take that into consideration, these plans are extremely affordable.
#7 – Write.as Review — The Best For Anonymous Blogging
Write.as
Best For Anonymous Blogging.
Minimalist blogging platform. Start writing immediately without having to build or manage a website. Starts at $6 per month.
Write.as is a great way to get your thoughts published on the web without building a website. You can write short posts, long-form content, and everything in between.
This platform gives you a frictionless blogging experience. It’s easy to get started, and you can publish your content quickly without having to jump through any hoops.
The minimalist concept to Write.as ensures that your creative juices aren’t interrupted. And there’s nothing to customize or build—it’s just blogging.
Overall, the solution is ideal for writing blog posts, journals, or newsletters.
Write.as has a cool feature if you want to remain anonymous or write under a different identity. This is perfect for bloggers who plan to discuss controversial topics and share opinions without affecting their personal life or reputation.
The anonymity feature makes it a popular platform for students, teachers, activists, and writers who want to express themselves freely online.
Write.as costs just $6 per month. You can sign up for annual billing and pay $60 per year or $180 every five years. Try it free for 14 days.
Methodology For Choosing The Best Blogging Platform
What’s the best blogging platform for you? It depends on various factors.
So, let’s walk through each of those factors in greater detail so you can make the best decision based on your needs.
Do You Want to Build an Audience or Blog for Fun?
Starting a blog to actually make money is a lot different than starting one as a personal diary. There’s nothing wrong with either route, but the one you choose plays a massive role in which blogging platform you should choose.
If you’re interested in building an audience and making money as a blogger, you have two options:
- Use Wix‘s drag-and-drop builder
- Use WordPress with Bluehost hosting
Both options give you complete ownership of your entire website without being at the mercy of the blogging platform. Which… is crucial. They also give you the freedom to design your blog how you’d like so you don’t get lost in the shuffle of other writers and creators.
In other words, it’s your blogging platform and you don’t have to share real-estate with anyone else.
If you’ve never built a website before or are looking for the quickest way to build a profitable blog, go with Wix.
It’s a one-stop-shop for everything you need to get started.
Wix
Best Blogging Website Builder
A truly drag-and-drop website builder built specifically for beginners. Adding a blog is easy and it’s free to start. Plus, enjoy a free domain for the first year when you upgrade to a paid plan. Includes hundreds of professional design templates, an ADI tool that does the work for you, and an intuitive mobile app.
It’s our top recommendation for beginners and includes all of the marketing, SEO, and content creation tools you need.
However, if you’re comfortable building websites or are interested in something with more flexibility and customization capabilities, WordPress with Bluehost is the way to go.
It’s harder to learn than Wix, but the learning curve is well worth it if you value versatility and want to be more hands-on.
WordPress with Bluehost
Most Popular Blogging Platform
WordPress is the world’s most popular blogging platform with more than 60+ million users. It's free, open source, incredibly flexible, and you get complete design freedom.
Our #1 recommendation for WordPress hosting is Bluehost. It starts at just $2.95 per month.
With that said, you can use the other options on this list to help build your audience but you shouldn’t rely on them as your only strategy.
If you’re interested in blogging for fun, we’ll talk about how to decide on a blogging platform in the next step.
What Type of Writer Are You?
When you’re blogging for fun or as an extension of your website, ease of use, the writing experience, and your writing style are the most important factors to consider.
First and foremost, you should have no problems navigating the platform or posting articles.
It should be extremely easy to use and deliver an enjoyable writing experience as well. If it’s not enjoyable, it kind of defeats the purpose.
Different blogging platforms offer different native content editors with varying levels of customization.
Some platforms, like Strikingly, and Blogger, are extremely basic and minimal, while Tumblr and Ghost are much more flexible in terms of how you can customize your articles and the layout of your content feed.
Your writing style is also an important consideration. If you want to write short posts, Tumblr is probably your best bet. And Write.as is excellent for anonymous publishing.
The good news is you can start with most of these platforms for free to try them out and see which experience you prefer.
Wix
Best Blogging Website Builder
A truly drag-and-drop website builder built specifically for beginners. Adding a blog is easy and it’s free to start. Plus, enjoy a free domain for the first year when you upgrade to a paid plan. Includes hundreds of professional design templates, an ADI tool that does the work for you, and an intuitive mobile app.
Summary
What’s the best blogging platform?
It depends on what you’re looking for. Wix and WordPress are our top overall recommendations, but they are not for everyone.
The easiest way to find the best blogging platform for you is by trying different options. Use the methodology that we outline in this guide to help you evaluate prospective platforms.
And whether you’re a solo blogger writing for fun, trying to monetize your blog, or managing a large-scale publication business, there’s an option for everyone on our list.
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