Planning to start a blog?
It might be as a hobby or for the professional purpose of promoting your business, you essentially need a good blogging platform to kick off with blogging.
There are several blogging platforms but as a blogger, you may find it difficult to find the right one from so many options available.
Some blogs are for free while some offer paid services, some provide you with customization tools while some require strong coding knowledge.
It all depends on how you are going to use your blog and you may have to make a lot of decisions.
Not every blogging platform is equal and each one has its own pros and cons.
However, in this article, we have put together all the best blogging platforms we know that can suit most of your needs.
We’re not just listed, we’ve also compared them so that you can make the best decision and choose wisely:
WordPress.org
When it comes to a blog, WordPress can never be ignored.
The most popular blogging software around the globe, WordPress.org is free, self-hosted, and comes with great customization options.
This open-source blogging platform is an ideal pick for those who are just starting their blogging journey.
Pros
- User-friendly, search engine-friendly and social media-friendly
- Over 54,000 free plugins and 15,000 free themes can be accessed
- A cost-effective way to start making money
- Easily add extra features
- Full customization options are available
Cons
- Need slight learning and technical knowledge
- Vulnerable to security issues
- Technical knowledge required for third-party hosting
Medium
With an in-house audience of bloggers, journalists, publishers, and writers, Medium is a blogging platform that rightly works for a wide number of users.
You need to just create an account and start publishing your articles (just like any social media account).
Medium is a terrific platform to start blogging.
Pros
- Completely dedicated to blogging and creating content
- Easy-to-use interface
- Gets embedded with social media channels like Twitter, YouTube, etc.
- Easily reach the targeted audience
Cons
- Limited customization options
- Site migrations are not possible
Tumblr
Another much-heard-about blogging platform, Tumblr is simple, free, and available with the best features.
It was developed as a microblogging platform so it is more likely suitable for reblogging or sharing.
Hence if you are looking for long-form content, Tumblr should not be your pick.
Pros
- Available for free and includes hosting
- Unlimited storage
- Easy for customization
- Easy to post multimedia like images, videos, audio, etc.
Cons
- Limited plugin options
- Limited features
- Backup or importing to other platforms is a bit complicated
Blogger
A free blogging website presented by Google, Blogger is not that flexible but quite easy for beginners. With this blogging platform, even non-techies can easily blog, edit HTML, and also add widgets. Since it is acquired by Google, you can easily integrate the blog with most of the Google products. Blogger is mostly suitable for hobbyist bloggers.
Pros
- Completely free to use
- Hosting, maintenance and managing blog is easy too
- Access to Google Drive and Google’s robust security is an added advantage
- Mobile responsive templates available
Cons
- Less storage space and limited themes
- Unnecessary display of ads on blogs
- Less frequency of updates or new features
Wix
Primarily known as a website builder but the blogging capabilities of Wix has made it a popular blogging platform too. If you create a blog using Wix, users can easily read your article on any digital screen as the content gets effortlessly displayed on smartphones and tablets. You can start a blog even without any coding skills.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Quick set up of hosting
- Drag and drop options available
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage space up to 20 GB
Cons
- Limited customization options
- Template once chosen cannot be changed
- eCommerce functionality not up to the mark
- Cannot migrate to another host
Squarespace
Squarespace and customization go hand in hand. With the drag and drop tools, creating a blog is as simple as ABC. Though it is a web building platform, blogging is also a great option with Squarespace. You can effectively and beautifully build your online presence with this platform.
Pros
- Suitable for beginners who do not have any technical knowledge
- Includes custom domain and hosting
- A plethora of template design options available
- SSL encryption available
Cons
- Limited third-party integrations
- Limited access to services and tools
- A limited number of pages and contributors
Gator
The top-notch web hosting service provider, Hostgator also offers a top-notch blogging platform – Gator. Not just a website or eCommerce store, Gator easily helps in building a blog too with its drag and drop tool. Gator is the best choice if you are looking for a blog cum hosting service provider.
Pros
- Easily customize blog
- Easy to set up without technical knowledge
- Free domain and SSL certificate included
- Easily add eCommerce functionality
Cons
- Limited extensions and apps available
- All eCommerce features cannot be accessed
- Money-back policy but no free account
Drupal
Just like WordPress, even Drupal is a popular Content Management System and hence it works best for business blogging. You can effectively create and organize blogs on this platform. Though it is not beginner-friendly, a little prior blogging knowledge will do. As Drupal does not offer web hosting, you need to pick some third-party web hosting services.
Pros
- Best blogging option for feature-rich business website
- A plethora of free features and modules available
- Custom flexibility available
- Multilingual support
Cons
- Not as easy as WordPress or Joomla blogging platform
- Technical skills required for installation
- Specific modules needed
Weebly
With myriads of user-friendly features, drag-and-drop options, and minimum coding skills, Weebly has also hit the list of best blogging platforms. Weebly is good for businesses that need blogging capabilities and is also suitable for portfolio websites.
Pros
- Good options for mobile apps
- Robust SEO features
- Include Google analytics
Cons
- Limited features integrated
- Limited third-party integrations
- Exporting sites complex process
- Limited storage space
So, we’ve put together a good comparison of blogging platforms, you can go through it and pick the best blogging platform that suits your needs.
