In a world where everything is heavily dependent on the internet, blogging is one of the best ways to bring organic traffic to your business.
In addition to bringing you SEO (search engine optimization) benefits such as better SERP (search engine results page) ranking, blogging can also help establish your authority in an industry.
It also serves as a platform for interacting with customers and keeping them posted about news and updates. These advantages can be reflected in your sales.
Websites that focus on publishing written or visual blog regularly is called blogging websites. Building a blogging website from the ground up can be a challenge for many, especially if they are not from an IT background. This is where blogging platforms come in handy. Blogging platforms are software that gives all the necessary tools for publishing a blog.
There are plenty of blogging platforms in the world. But before choosing one, you need to evaluate your needs and select one that can fulfill them. In this article, we will discuss how you can select the best blogging platform for you, you will also find 15 best blogging platforms. So, if you aspire to be a blogger, read on.
What are Blogging Platforms?
A blogging platform is software that allows users to create, manage, and publish digital content in the form of blogs. They work as a content management system (CMS) that provides a set of tools and services for setting up and running a blog.
In addition to facilitating the publishing of a blog, they will also allow users to provide the date of publishing, the author’s name, etc. Users can also add specific tags, making the blogs easier to appear on search results.
While the basic, features would remain similar, the tools and abilities offered can vary from platform to platform. If you are just starting, it is best to stick with platforms that can be set up easily. But you should also make sure that the platform you choose is equipped with all the tools and features you need for your specific blog.
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How to Choose a Blogging Platform?
Choosing the right blogging platform that can make your blogging easier but at the same time can provide the scalability features you may need in the future is extremely important because once you have built your blog, you may not be able to switch to another blogging platform easily. So, before choosing a platform consider your needs such as:
- Would you like to monetize your content?
- Do you want to use a lot of photos and videos in your blogs?
- Is bringing traffic to your business your primary goal?
- What type of blogs are you looking to publish?
Ask these questions yourself and make up your mind on what you need and what you don’t. Once you are clear on the objectives, the next major thing to consider is cost. While there are free blogging platforms such as WordPress, Medium, and Blogger, the free version provides limited features.
For advanced features, you may have to switch to any of the paid tiers. Start by comparing the unique features of each platform and compare them to choose a more affordable one. While comparing the cost, you should also look at the cost of add-ons.
But affordability shouldn’t alone be the deciding factor, before choosing a blogging platform, you should also consider:
- Themes and templates offered: you can check through the catalog of blogging platforms to explore what they offer.
- Ease of use: make sure that the blogging platform you use makes it easy to upload, edit, and publish content.
- Alignment with your goals: Select a blogging platform that aligns with your long-term goal, be it monetization or SEO benefits.
- Availability of extensions and integrations: with time, your needs and goals may alter either for implementing better strategies or for improving the reader’s experience. So, it is best to choose platforms that support a wide range of extensions and integration of third-party tools.
Now that you know how to select a blogging platform that would be perfect for your needs, let’s see some of the best platforms in the industry.
15 Best Blogging Platforms
You can find a vast number of blogging platforms on the internet. We have selected out 15 best ones you can use for building your blogging website. They are:
| Sl | Blogging Platform | Free Version | Paid Version | Best for |
| 1 | WordPress | Basic features | Starting from: $4/month | All types of blogs |
| 2 | Squarespace | 14-day free trial | Starting from: $16/month | Visually appealing blogs and portfolios |
| 3 | Wix | Basic features | Starting from: $16/month | For beginners |
| 4 | Pixpa | 15-day free trial | Starting from: $6/month | Small businesses |
| 5 | Craft CMS | Basic features | One-time fee starting at $399 | Developers and businesses |
| 6 | Contently | For freelancers | Varies based on features and services | Content marketing |
| 7 | Joomla | Only pay for hosting | Hosting fee varies according to the provider | Experts who need advanced customization |
| 8 | Hostinger | Limited features | Starting from: $1.99/month | Beginners |
| 9 | btw | Free on btw subdomain | $99/year (not open to the public) | Freelancers and personal blogging |
| 10 | Drupal | Only pay for hosting | Varies by provider | Advanced users and developers |
| 11 | Basic features | Starting from: $29.99/month | Business oriented blogs | |
| 12 | Write.as | Basic features | Starting from: $6/month | For personal blogging |
| 13 | Blogger | Free with Google ads and limited customization | Purchase custom domain | For beginners and personal bloggers |
| 14 | Medium | Basic features | Starting from: $5/month | Long-form content |
| 15 | Tumblr | Basic features with Tumblr branding | Starting from: $5/month | Short-form content, multimedia, and social interactions |
1. WordPress
Launched in 2003, WordPress is one of the most popular website creation and blogging platforms today. The platform offers extensive content management features that can be helpful for those who are looking to create blogs with complex functionalities.
Key Features:
- Highly flexible and customizable.
- Extensive plugin ecosystem.
- Strong SEO capabilities.
- Ideal for bloggers and developers.
2. Squarespace
If you are looking to create blogs that require extensive usage of multimedia such as photos and videos, then Squarespace might be the right place for you. The platform offers more than 140 mobile-optimized blog templates and fully customizable options to help with your SEO needs.
Key Features:
- Visually appealing templates.
- Integrated blogging and SEO tools.
- Social media integrations.
- Analytics and insights.
3. Wix
With more than 800 pre-designed templates and easy-to-use hosting tools, Wix is one of the best blogging platforms for beginners. The platform prioritizes speed and design over functionality, so you might not be completely customize your blog the way you want. Still, it provides a lot of SEO configurations to help boost your online presence.
Key Features:
- Beginner-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
- Hundreds of designer-made templates.
- Limited customization options compared to WordPress.
4. Pixpa
Pixpa is a platform for people who are creative professionals or who need to create advanced portfolios to showcase their talent. Using Pixpa, you can build attractive highly customizable, and scalable websites. However, the advanced features can be overwhelming for beginners.
Key Features:
- Integrated blogging with customizable templates.
- SEO optimization and social sharing tools.
- E-commerce integration and built-in apps.
- Responsive design for mobile devices.
5. Craft CMS
Craft CMS is a content management system (CMS) that offers flexible solutions for building and managing your blog from the ground up. The platform provides personalized content-management tools, a range of SEO-friendly templates, and advanced options for editing the source code.
Key Features:
- Advanced content modeling features.
- Powerful mobile-optimized templates.
- Might need some web development experience.
6. Contently
Contently is a blogging platform that offers robust blogging support for enterprise companies that have high requirements and high customization. In addition to providing sophisticated content management, and organizing tools, the platform also offers content review tools to ensure the content’s alignment with the brand.
Key Features:
- Focus on content marketing and brand storytelling.
- Collaboration tools for teams.
- Analytics and performance tracking.
7. Joomla
Joomla is an open-source free CMS platform that features built-in advanced tools for developing and managing blogs. The platform makes it easy to build community-centric blogs. The functionalities of Joomla include creating custom post types, managing a high number of users, and publishing content in multiple languages without the need for any add-ons.
Key features:
- Flexible and powerful CMS.
- Extensive extensions and templates.
- Strong community support.
8. Hostinger Website Builder
Hostinger Website Builder is a platform that makes it possible to build highly customized websites without needing to have web development knowledge, however, if you have prior knowledge, it will help here. On the platform, you can build websites by just dragging and dropping elements in the layout you want.
Key Features:
- Affordable hosting solutions.
- User-friendly website builder.
- 24/7 customer support.
9. btw
btw is a platform that can provide decent tools and templates needed for building a blogging website for free. The website supports publishing unlimited notes but in the platform’s own subdomain. The pro version of the platform is announced to provide custom domain options but it is not available to the public yet.
Key Features:
- Free blogging platform with unlimited notes
- Ad-free experience
- Doesn’t support custom domain
10. Drupal
With complex blogging tools and advanced features, Drupal is ideal for users who have experience in blogging or web development. This open-source platform is mostly utilized by enterprise companies or independent tech heads. If you know how to use offered advanced features and functionalities effectively, Drupal can be the best blogging platform to use.
Key Features:
- Highly customizable and scalable.
- Strong security features.
- Ideal for complex websites and applications.
11. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is best known for helping users to build professional networks in the industry they work in. The same social networking site is also one of the best blogging platforms available today. Blogging with LinkedIn can increase your brand visibility and awareness, and help you become one among the leaders in your industry.
Key Features:
- One of the best platforms for business-oriented blogs
- May help reach potential customers faster
- Free and easy-to-use platform
12. Write.as
Write.as is a lightweight content publishing platform for spreading your written blogs with people quickly. The platform offers a great place for writing personal blogs in the most minimalistic but shareable format. The best part is that the platform is free to use and it doesn’t contain annoying ads.
Key Features:
- Minimalist blogging experience.
- Focus on writing without distractions.
- Privacy-focused platform.
13. Blogger
Blogger is another blogging platform that offers all of its features for free. The platform is great for beginners or for those who take blogging as a way of expressing themselves rather than thinking of the financial/SEO benefits they can bring. Blogger is considered one of the best free blogging platforms.
Key Features:
- Easy integration with Google services.
- Simple interface for beginners.
- Limited design options.
14. Medium
Medium is a social networking platform that makes blogging easier. If you are running a business and need to speak with your target audience through blogs, Medium is the best place. The platform assesses what readers are interested in, and gives them recommendations, helping you find new audiences that are interested in the topic you are discussing.
Key Features:
- Focus on quality writing and storytelling.
- Built-in audience and community.
- Clean, minimalist design.
15. Tumblr
Tumblr is another social media platform that allows blogging. Tumblr is a user-friendly and easily accessible blogging platform, that can be utilized for both personal blogging and enterprise-oriented blogging. The platform can help you build visually appealing blogs by offering an array of free blogging templates and customization tools.
Key Features:
- Social media and blogging hybrid.
- Multimedia content support (images, GIFs, videos).
- Strong community engagement features.
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Conclusion
Blogging is a way to express yourself and share your knowledge with the public. Additionally, blogging has several advantages including SEO benefits, monetization opportunities, etc. Blogging platforms offer individuals or enterprises to build their blogging websites.
In this article, we have seen 15 top blogging platforms including WordPress, WIX, Squarespace, and free blogging platforms like Blogger. But before selecting a blogging platform for you, you should consider your objectives, future goals, scalability, and budget.
