Best Blogging Platforms

Starting a blog and wondering what are the best blog sites?
It can be a tricky choice since it’s a big decision and there are a lot of unique options out there.
In this post, I’ve made it easy for you to pick what works best for you with a list of the best blogging platforms for beginners.

How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform

Before diving into my list of the best blog sites, it’s important to make sure you know what you’re looking for in a blogging platform.
Ask yourself these 3 questions about blogging platforms:

• Is it easy to set up?
  If you’re new to blogging or even just thinking about starting a blog, you may not be very technical yet (or may not ever be).
  So, you want to look for a blogging platform that’s super user-friendly.

• Does it have the option for me to earn money with my website?
  Even if it’s not something you want to do right now, you’ll want a platform that lets you make money off your site in case you want to do that in the future.

• Is it flexible so it can grow with my site?
  As your blog grows, you’ll want to change the look of your site and add new advanced features to support your growing audience.

So now that you have a better idea about exactly how to choose the best blogging platform to build your blog,
let’s take a look at my picks for the best blogging platforms for beginners.

Which Is the Best Blogging Platform for Beginners?

Here are the best blogging platforms for beginners:

WordPress.org

This is truly and universally the best free blogging platform.
Above all, the very best choice (and the most popular) for all bloggers is WordPress.org. It’s incredibly customizable and flexible, which explains why it powers over 30% of all the websites on the internet.
It’s the best of the free blog sites, as well as paid ones.

Many blogging newbies confuse WordPress.org with WordPress.com. Check out my post on WordPress.org vs WordPress.com for a great comparison on WordPress blogging.

This is the best choice if you want full control over the future of your blog and nearly limitless customization options.
WordPress.org is a self-hosted WordPress option, meaning you’ll need a WordPress hosting provider.

Cost:
Free.
You’ll need to pay to have a custom domain name for around $10 per year + hosting around $5 per month.

Pros:

• Full and complete control over your blog:
  Using this robust Content Management System lets you create any kind of site from a WordPress blog to an eCommerce store.

• Easy optimization for search:
  Just install the All in One SEO plugin to add tons of extra SEO features to WordPress.

• Easily customize the look of your website:
  You can use drag and drop website builder themes like Divi, Astra, or OceanWP to easily make your WordPress site look exactly the way you want it, and create a custom login form to improve your branding.

• Easily Integrate Analytics:
  You can use a plugin to set up Google Analytics on WordPress.

• Amazing options for functionality:
  Your WordPress website can be enhanced in a ton of different ways by using plugins.

Cons:

• Doesn’t handle security:
  You’ll need to manage your own backups and security (with a security plugin like Sucuri)

• Not always beginner-friendly: Can have a slight learning curve for non-technical people who don’t use helpful tutorial sites like shoaiyb sysa.

Blogger

Blogger is one of the oldest blog platforms around and requires a Google account to get started, but may have some major deal-breakers for some looking to grow their site.

Cost:
Free.

Pros:

• Simple to start:
  Easily set up and create a blog without paying for anything.

• Backed by Google:
  The technology giant owns the platform so it’s secure and reliable.

Cons:

• Design:
  The options for customization and design are extremely limited.

• Limited features:
  You can’t really grow your blog with the limited basic blogging tools that are provided.

• Dated:
  The platform doesn’t receive updates often

Tumblr

Tumblr is one of the most popular of all the microblogging platforms, and it’s also one of the easiest-to-use (but extremely limited) blogging sites in the world.

Cost:
Free.

Pros:

• Ease of use:
  Super simple to start and manage your blog with.

• Customization:
  Extensive ability to adjust your blog.

• Social media integration:
  Easily connect a social network to your blog.

Cons:

• Theme control: You can’t adjust the formatting of your site, similar to WordPress.com.

• Export issues:
  It’s incredibly hard to export your website to another platform if you choose to do so.

• Limited features:
  Very few options to add functions to your blog

Ghost

Ghost is a minimalist and open-source blogging platform for website building that’s easy to use but lacks the ability to use many 3rd-party plugins.

Cost:
Self-hosting requires a custom domain around $10 per year + web hosting for around $7 per month.

The hosted version starts at $29 per month for 2 users and up to 100,000 page views.

Pros:

• Simple to use:
  A clean and modern interface keeps things easy for users.

• No setup: If you opt for the hosted version, setup is instant.

• Built-in SEO:
  The platform comes with SEO tools to help you rank high in search engine results.

Cons:

• Limited customization: You can’t use most paid and free themes or plugins.

• Branded domain: Unless you buy a custom domain from a 3rd-party domain registrar, your personal blog will be a Ghost subdomain ending with ghost.io.

Medium

Medium is an online publishing platform that lets you import your content from anywhere on the web, but if you’re looking for the best blogging platform to make money, you’ll want to go with another one since you can’t monetize your blog.

Cost:
Free.

Pros:

• Ease of use:
  There’s barely any setup required.

• Focus on writing:
  It’s a content-first type of platform, so you can write and they handle the design.

• Reporting:
  Offers a powerful reporting tool so you can learn more about your readers and how they’re engaging with your posts.

Cons:

• No monetization:
  You can’t make money off of the Medium platform.

• Content control:
  You have limited control over your content.

• Limited features:
  Very few options to customize your site.

Final Thoughts

So which site is best for blogging?

Out of all the most popular blogging platforms, I strongly recommend using WordPress.org so you get complete control and flexibility over your blog and its future.

And that’s it! Hopefully, this list helped you decide which of the best blogging platforms is the right one for you and your blog.

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