These are the most popular 8th blogging platforms that we will be comparing in this article. Click the link to jump ahead if you are interested in that platform.
You may wish to update the design of your blog as your blog grows and add new features to appeal to your expanding audience. It’s crucial to find a platform that is flexible and allows you to grow.
To help you find the right fit, I reviewed eight of the most popular blogging platforms today and created a list of criteria that you can use to narrow down your search.
Blogging is great for both hobbyists and business owners. Blogging is a great way to increase traffic to your site, establish authority, and express yourself.
A blogging platform is necessary to allow you to blog. It will format your content as text and images and provide a framework for putting it on a website. A blogging platform makes it easy for search engines to classify blog entries and allows them to make use of advertising and marketing opportunities.
Are you unsure how to start a blog? You can find our guide on how to start your blog here. Or, you can simply continue reading to see our list of top free blogging platforms.
1. Blogger (Blogger.com)
Blogger is the easiest platform for beginners. Blogger is the best free platform for blogging that anyone can use to start a blog. This platform allows users to simply type in their content, upload photos, and then publish. Blogger.com allows users to edit HTML and add widgets, something that many beginner blogging sites don’t offer.
Blogger is a Google service. Users will need a Google account to use the add-ons. Blogger is one of the most popular blogging platforms, and many people find it useful once they have learned more about blogging.
It is a Google product, so it can be integrated with other Google products like Google Analytics, which can provide information about visitors to your website that can be used to grow traffic. Your blog can also be integrated with Google Adsense. This will analyze your content and show you relevant ads to monetize it.
Is there any reason to not use Blogger with all of that? The problem is that bloggers can become too simple as you grow your blog. It can also be difficult to move from Blogger to another platform.
Blogger is a popular blogging platform that has existed for a long time. While it doesn’t have the same functionality or design options as WordPress, it’s free to use.
A Blogger blog will cost you nothing other than a custom domain. However, you can choose to go this route. A domain registrar is required to purchase a custom domain. If you do not purchase a custom domain, you will be given a free subdomain for Blogger like https://example.blogspot.com.
2. WordPress (WordPress.com)
WordPress.com is my favorite free blogging website. WordPress.com is a great choice for beginners to blogging. This is a great option for people who don’t need the more advanced features of WordPress.org. It’s a simple, easy-to-use blogging platform.
WordPress.org and WordPress.com are well-known for their extensive support. These sites offer the basic tutorials you need to get started with building on these platforms. However, WordPress has a large user community that is more than willing and able to assist another user with any questions or concerns they may have about blogging on WordPress.
It is easy to quickly learn WordPress and start customizing your website with the help of all the available information. WordPress is a favorite of mine and I recommend it to all my clients. Check out my tutorial for how to get started with WordPress.
WordPress is the most widely used free blogging platform on the Internet. Millions of WordPress users love the ease-of-use and free maintenance options that WordPress offers. It is completely free and provides services like hosting, custom domain names, integration with social media, and popular features such as comments and polls. There are also paid upgrades. This version of WordPress does not offer custom themes, plugins, or HTML editing. WordPress.com has a sister website, WordPress.org, which offers many more customization options.
Pricing starts at $4 (EUR3.6, PS3.1) per month, which is billed annually. This removes all WordPress advertising. A free tier is also available. This is for non-commercial blogs that do not have WordPress advertising.
This entry in the top free blogging platforms is geared towards hobbyists, beginners, and enthusiasts, not business people or designers. It’s also much simpler than WordPress.org. However, you will have far fewer options to customize how your website looks and functions.
You get 3GB of storage, free hosting, and a domain name with branding (ending in.wordpress.com). WordPress may insert third-party advertisements into your website that you do not control. You will not be able to add eCommerce features to your site or run your ads. WordPress.com is a great option for casual bloggers or beginners who want to quickly get a website up and running.
3. Wix Website Builder (Wix.com)
Although Wix is heavily template-driven there are a lot of options. It’s easy to find the right fit for your brand. It’s as easy as using the drag and drop editor to create your website. No code is required.
Blog manager is easy to use and has SEO and analytics built-in. It is easy to add basic features to your blogs such as social tools, comments, hashtags, and categories.
You can access all the SEO features that you require, including alt tags for images and internal links, SEO titles, and descriptions, and to nofollow tags external links.
Their automatic email subscription feature is a standout feature. This allows you to collect leads directly from your website, with minimal effort. Wix also offers a social media bar underneath each article that allows you to share it on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms.
Wix is a popular platform for building websites. The drag-and-drop website builder is a great solution for small businesses looking to build websites. The Wix Blog app allows you to add a blog directly to your website.
Wix.com was created in 2006 to allow anyone to create their own website without any coding skills. Wix.com currently has more than 110 million users around the world.
You will notice that a Wix-free website will have an ad for Wix embedded into it. You can remove this ad and get other features like your own domain, online shop, and Google Analytics. However, Wix’s paid plans are available. You can keep your free website up to the end if you don’t want it.
Wix.com, a website building platform, can be used to create websites. However, it can also be used for starting a blog. Wix’s key feature is its support for mobile devices. This means that your web pages and blogs created with the platform can be viewed on your smartphone or tablet by your readers.
Wix offers a lot of information and support to its users. This includes email and phone support that can be customized for your specific questions. Wix is easy to use, but it does have some negative SEO aspects.
4. Weebly Blogging Platform (Weebly.com)
Square’s payment platform owns Weebly, a well-known website building platform. They provide easy-to-use website-building tools for eCommerce websites and business websites.
Weebly is similar to Wix and they are very close competitors. Weebly is more limited in features than Wix and offers fewer customization options for your blog’s look and feel. It is also easier to use and set up, so it may be a better choice for someone who’s new to blogging.
Wix is similar to Weebly. It uses drag-and-drop elements that allow you to quickly build a website. Hosting is included in all plans, even the free ones. To help you spread your blog posts across the globe, you get access to customizable layouts and a variety of themes for free.
Weebly is another great blogging platform for small businesses that want to have a blog. Weebly offers a variety of features that are easy to use, including drag-and-drop options for those who don’t want to learn programming to make simple changes.
Weebly is a platform that can be used to build websites and blogs. This makes it easier for business owners than other platforms that require separate web pages and blogs. You can start by signing up for their free plan, which will allow you to practice writing and building blog posts without having to spend any money.
You can get a limited-time free version with Weebly branding, ads, and a limited number of other features. The paid plans start at $8 per month and are billed annually. Their pro plan is $12 per month and their business plan is $25 per month.
5. Medium (Medium.com)
Medium, the brainchild of Twitter founders, aims to be a long-form article platform that does what Twitter did for short, snappy sentences. Medium is socially oriented and emphasizes writing within a very locked-down environment. It feels like a magazine website with a clean layout, lots of white space, and a lot of freedom, where everyone can publish their articles.
A medium is a place where tech CEOs and other thought leaders share their thoughts. It’s the best place to blog if your words are taken seriously and offer a clean, simple experience. You don’t have your own website, so if customization and control are important to you, you should look elsewhere.
You can start your blog using many different publishing platforms. These sites offer customizable HTML and CSS for advanced users. Medium.com allows you to share your thoughts with a large audience. Medium, unlike other platforms for blogging, has an audience. This makes it difficult to decide if Medium is a publisher or platform.
Readers have the ability to comment on others’ posts, suggest posts, and share and like their favorite posts. Medium’s commenting process is similar to other blogging platforms, but Medium adds a twist. Readers have the option to highlight or focus specific parts of the text, and then make comments in the margins.
Readers can see how long it takes to read each post. The readers will immediately see if they have the time or not to read the entire story. A feature that viewers can see on the front page is the number of views it has received on the platform is also visible. Creators can also access recommendations and reads. Creators can also see the origin of traffic using the dashboard.
This platform is an excellent starting point for newbies to blogging. It is easy to use and does not require any coding knowledge. Brands can also use it to reuse their content on another platform in order to increase their reach and gain new readers. This blog is a great resource for freelancers and small business owners.
6. Tumblr (Tumblr.com)
Tumblr, which is forever associated with youth culture and pop culture, is our pick for the best free blog platforms. It is kind of a middle ground between Twitter and WordPress. Tumblr has the same followers as social media but is perfect for long-form blogging. However, it is not considered a “serious and grown-up” platform for blogging.
This could be either a problem or a feature, depending on who you are targeting. It’s easy to upload content to your Tumblr blog via mobile apps, and you can easily customize your theme to make it yours.
Some blogs are very well-developed and blur the lines between a blog and a website. But, Tumblr is at the opposite end. It appears to be doing something right, with 500+ million blogs.
This focus is on the concise end of the spectrum. It emphasizes shorter content like images or links that can be used as an alternative social media platform. The content is shorter-form. Posts can include photos, jokes, and Spotify tracks. You can follow other blogs and republish any posts to your blog, just like a social media platform.
Tumblr’s pros include its simplicity, cost-free, and mobile compatibility. This isn’t ideal for more advanced blogs, since the content is still in the Tumblr ecosystem and it is impossible to monetize.
Tumblr, a popular blogging platform for younger people, is extremely popular. Although originally designed for microblogging, the platform is easy to use and allows users to get a free website. However, you won’t own the domain or content. Tumblr’s best feature is its focus on bloggers. It offers many options for sharing and reblogging.
Tumblr.com’s downside is that it doesn’t focus on text content but on photos and GIFs. It’s great for visual bloggers, but it may not be the best platform for writers. Bloggers may not like the idea of reblogging content, especially if they are blogging material you want complete control over the copyright.
7. Typepad Premium Blogging Platform (Typepad.com)
Typepad is a blogging platform that provides an intuitive interface for both novice and experienced bloggers. Typepad offers a variety of themes and plugins to make your blog unique. Typepad has one major drawback: all blogs are hosted by Typepad on their servers. This means that you cannot use the platform with your blog host. Typepad is not designed for bloggers who aren’t as proficient in HTML code editing.
Typepad is a professionally developed blogging platform that’s made for professional bloggers. Typepad offers tons of flexibility. You can publish from your email, web browser, or mobile. It integrates easily with Google Analytics and offers its own affiliate program.
Typepad allows you to customize your design with the Theme Builder. This gives you the ability to create your own template or modify a theme using custom CSS. Typepad is fully hosted and offers support. Plans start at $8.95 per month (PS8) for up to 4 blogs and unlimited storage.
8. Squarespace premium blogging platform (Squarespace.com)
Squarespace allows you to build beautiful websites with simple drag and drop tools. This service is for small businesses that want to establish an online presence. Squarespace was founded in 2003 and powers thousands of websites online.
The all-in-one website builder is available, which can be especially useful if you are starting a blog and a webshop simultaneously. Squarespace’s easy-to-use eCommerce site builders make it simple to create product pages and embed products into your blog posts.
You can create great content that piques the interest of your visitors while also making it easy for them to buy a product or a service from your blog.
Have a website already up and running? It’s possible. Shopify makes it easy to link products from Shopify to Squarespace blogs. For platforms such as WooCommerce and BigCommerce, there are fewer direct integrations through Zapier or Automate.io.
Although it might seem redundant to use Squarespace with another eCommerce platform as well, you can still use the Squarespace free version to host your blog and make use of these integrations to show off your products.
Because Squarespace’s visual editor makes it easy to create a visually appealing blog, this alone is worth the effort.
Squarespace is a great platform for creating a blog and an online store. It’s easy to sell products and services through Squarespace without having to link to your blog.
It is easy to create your website. Squarespace’s visual drag and drop editor makes it simple to create vibrant pages and build an attractive online store.
Once your online shop is set up with product pages, you can use Product Blocks for embedding them in your blog posts. It’s as easy as that.
Squarespace offers many customization options. Squarespace allows you to customize your blog without having to know how to code.
You can also expand your services through the platform, which is great if your blog is being used for business purposes. You can also see the analytics dashboard to track where traffic is coming in, which pages visitors are visiting, and how they interact with your content.