The 10 Best Blogging Platforms

If you have a flair for words, interesting or valuable information you would like to share and have the desire and courage to speak to a worldwide audience online, you should consider blogging. A blog is an informational website or online journal where a writer can share their views, knowledge or unique stories with everyone who has a computer that is connected to the internet.

People use blogs to entertain, inform, promote businesses, causes and projects and make money. The better and more frequent your blog posts are, you increase the chances of your work being discovered, liked and regularly read by a growing number of people.

No blogging platform is the perfect choice for all bloggers. This list can help to make it easier for you to find the blogging platform that best suits your needs. It looks at the pros, cons, prices, and features of the blogging platforms commonly considered to be the easiest and best to use, especially for beginners.

Whether you have a lot of experience coding or none at all, are tech-savvy or a newbie, want to use your blog to make money or just want to share interesting and enlightening text and graphics, the following 10 blogging platforms are considered by many to be the best.

1. WordPress
2. Wix
3. Squarespace
4. Weebly
5. WordPress.com
6. Blogger
7. Tumblr
8. Strikingly
9. Site123
10. Godaddy

WordPress

WordPress is a great blogging platform. Not only is it really easy to start a WordPress blog but it also has powerful built-in blogging tools and is fully customizable. It’s a free, open-source platform that’s built for bogging.

It is the world’s most widely used platform for blogging. About 30% of all websites are powered by WordPress. Bloggers can choose from two versions of WordPress. There is WordPress.org which is free and WordPress.com which has a monthly fee. The free version of WordPress is easy to use but it limits your storage space, access to plugins as well as other customization features, ownership of your blog’s domain name, access to the premium theme and the ability to use ads to make money.

Pros

• A self-hosted blogging platform.
• It provides access to over 54,000 plugins and themes to customize your blog.
• Gives users more control over the design of their blog.
• As the blog grows, integrating it with most other software is very easy.
• Excellent customer support and access to countless articles about using the platform.
• Performs well when using search engine optimization.

Cons

• WordPress.org has a bit more challenging learning curve than other blogging platforms.
• It’s not beginner-friendly because users must be able to code.
• The blogger must handle their own security and backups.
• Users must manage plugins, hosting and domains themselves.

Cost

WordPress.org is available for as low as $2.75 a month depending on the blog host used for the blog. Most customizations like plugins, themes, and other software integrations are more affordable through WordPress. There are far more blogging tools from which to choose with WordPress. This includes adding social media buttons, email forms, contact forms and other types of customizations.

Wix

Wix is the perfect blogging platform for combining a blog and a website. A drag-and-drop website builder, Wix offers excellent value for your money.

It provides wonderful design flexibility, a large number of features, lots of help and support with set up and use and gets a high score from customers for being user-friendly. With over 100 million users, Wix is a top-rated blog building platform. It makes launching your blogging site a breeze. Plus, its features include a wide selection of the most stunning, cutting-edge templates. Its newly added content editor makes customizing your blog fast, easy and simple.

You can now insert YouTube videos, personalize your image galleries and add links and captions to your images.

Pros

• Very beginner-friendly.
• Excellent for long-term growth as well as integrating with a website.
• Has free and low-cost plans.
• Mobile updating of blog is fast and simple.
• Provides access to premium support via phone and email.
• Click button blog integration.
• Intuitive blog site builder.

Cons

• Not as many blogging features as other platforms.
• Lacks key features like creating an archive in the blogging tool.
• Updating content more difficult because an RSS feed cannot be added.
• Lacks storage space on lower plans.
• SEO is not great.

Cost

The platform has some free plans but they come with Wix ads. The 8 pricing plans offered by Wix range from as low as $13 to as high as $500 a month and are a really good value. To connect using only your domain name you have to sign up for at least the $13 a month Combo plan.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a design-oriented blog platform. It is moderately easy to use, has blog designs and images that are absolutely stunning and provides excellent design flexibility. Squarespace has a good number of quality features, great help, and support and gets a very high customer rating score.

It’s a great blogging platform for photographers, designers, and artists because it allows them to showcase their breathtaking images on their blogs with its innovative templates and polished feel. Plus, it gives bloggers tons of creative freedom. It’s also ideal for brick and mortar businesses trying to establish an online presence.

Pros

• A beginner-friendly, drag-and-drop software.
• Has a wide array of high-quality features and template designs.
• Provides users with lots of creative freedom.
• Squarespace’s grid layout, 3D scrolling and other features give blogs an amazingly unique look and feel.
• Can add an RSS Feed, display blogging categories and allow comments.
• The templates’ visual quality and aesthetics add real value.

Cons

• More difficult to use compared to other website builders.
• Squarespace offers far fewer themes and third-party plugin options.
• Has a lots less software integration than other blogging platforms.
• Plans are more expensive and less flexible with add-ons.
• Limited capabilities for adding e-commerce options makes monetizing blogs difficult.
• Customization is a little bit challenging.
• Adding editing possibilities require upgrading to the more expensive plans.

Costs

Squarespace plans cost significantly more than its competitors. Plans start at $12 a month and there are no free Squarespace plans. You must have the $18 a month Business plan in order to monetize your blog. Pricier plans are required for advanced editing upgrades.

Weebly

This is the number one platform for people who want to build blogs quickly and easily. It’s simple to use. You can add content to your blog by just pointing your mouse and clicking on it. You don’t need to know code.

Weebly handles the technical heavy lifting. Your blog loads quickly. Plus there are free Weebly themes available. There’s less customization potential, but you can add lots of features into your blog. They include an easy-access archive, detailed blog performance analytics, an RSS Feed, a Comments section, super easy scheduled publishing, as well as social bookmarking which can help make your blog go viral.

Pros

• Beginner-friendly, drag-and-drop software
• Relatively easy to use.
• Good value for the price.
• Offers great design flexibility.
• Includes several good features.
• Provide decent help and support for users.
• Earned an excellent customer rating score.

Cons

• Very few available software integrations.
• Significantly more expensive than the competition.
• Has fewer options than users find ideal.
• Less customization than other platforms.
• Only has very basic SEO features.
• Long-term growth of your blog may be limited unless you upgrade to the costlier plans.

Cost

Weebly’s pricing plans range from free up to the $38 a month Performance plan that can be used with online stores. To rid your blog of Weebly ads and create a more professional look, users need to at least purchase Weebly’s $8 a month Starter plan.

WordPress.com

Among the top blogging platforms available, WordPress.com is fully hosted and has all the blogging tools and features for creating a powerful blog built right in.

That includes an RSS feed and social bookmarking. It’s easier for people to use than WordPress.org and more advanced than many commonly known low price blogging platforms. On WordPress.com users can build their blog by simply selecting elements and moving them around on the screen.

They can then launch their blog on WordPress.com for free. However, to get their own domain name, storage, remove the WordPress.com logo from the blog and other features, users must select one of the paid plans that start at $4 a month. Customization options are limited.

Pros

• Fully hosted
• The platform is straightforward and you can set up blogs quickly.
• You can launch blogs for free.
• Sites load very quickly.
• Backed by powerful infrastructure.
• Modern site design.
• Strong Search Engine Optimization support.
• Themes mobile-optimized for great display quality on all devices.
• Hosting, domain registration, software updates and other technical upkeep managed.
• Its advanced analytics provide valuable insights about readers’ preferences.

Cons

• Not very beginner-friendly.
• Users need to have coding knowledge to get the most out of the platform.
• Provides fewer tools and customization options than WordPress.org.
• User cannot edit the code.
• WordPress.com maintains partial control of the blog.
• No phone access to the technical support team.

Cost

The cost of building a WordPress site ranges between $50 and $300. Other types of sites are hundreds or thousands of dollars more expensive. Paid plans start at $4 a month. Their most expensive eCommerce plan costs $45 a month.

Blogger

The Blogger platform is a great choice for people who want a very basic blog. It’s a quick and easy way for non-technical skilled users to share content.

The platform is free and easy to use. Plus, it is very reliable. It can handle any speed or hosting demands and Blogger even provides an SSL security certificate for free. Owned by Google, Blogger makes it easier for blogs to generate revenue and monetize their content through Google AdSense.

Blogger’s simplicity enables it to be among the best blogging platforms. It’s a great tool for users who are not tech-savvy can use to quickly create, publish and run an easy-to-use, eye-catching blog.

Pros

• It is free to use.
• Using Blogger is simple and easy.
• You don’t need a tech background to use it effectively.
• Allows bloggers to quickly share their content with readers around the world.
• Blogger makes it easy to go from writing content to publishing it.

Cons

• Its very basic tools limit the website’s growth and customization.
• There’s a cap on the character count.
• Bloggers are limited to only using very basic tech tools.
• It isn’t possible to add new features to blogs on the Blogger platform.
• Design options are restricted to only a handful of templates.
• Users are forced to use clumsy redirects in order to have a Blogger homepage.
• Little support is available outside the forum and the help center.
• The platform isn’t updated regularly.

Cost

Using Blogger is 100% free. There are no costs associated with using the platform.

Tumblr

Tumblr is ideal for bloggers who want to share clickable, short-form, content. Blogs on the platform tend to be sharable, playful and popular. A pure-play blogging tool, Tumblr hosts more than 400 million blogs. Tumblr focuses on sharing quizzes, polls, images, GIFs, and memes.

For people interested in using a blog to share this type of clickable, short-form content, this micro-blogging site will be perfect. Tumblr isn’t a platform for posting stylish, intricate, blogs with lots of text. The service makes it possible for users to post multimedia content. Bloggers on Tumblr can access many of its features using a ‘dashboard’ interface.

It’s also possible for bloggers on the platform to make their blogs private.

Pros

• Publishing blog posts is quick and easy.
• Uploading images, concise articles and other types of content on Tumblr hosted blogs is fast, easy and free.
• There are several available expansive paid templates.
• Many users find Tumblr’s scattergun approach very attractive.
• Simple to use requires minimal prep time, has premade customizable themes and there’s no need for tech or design help.
• Has a built-in community making growing an audience easier.

Cons

• Not suitable for publishing blogs with large amounts of content.
• Opportunities for growing blogs are very limited.
• Lacks the infrastructure for building advanced blogs and doing social media marketing.
• The ability to play around with layouts is limited.
• Backing up blogs on Tumblr can be challenging.
• Difficult to make blogs SEO-friendly on the platform.
• Not as easy to use as a drag-and-drop blog builder.

Cost

Bloggers can use the great Tumblr blog platform for free. However, premium versions that allow for further customization are offered at prices that range from $9 to $49 a month.

Strikingly

If you want to set up and run simple, stylish, one-page blogs, Strikingly may be the best blogging platform for you. It’s easy to use, has decent design flexibility, a fair number of features and offers excellent help and support.

Strikingly consistently receives a good customer rating score. The platform’s goal is to provide a place where anyone can share their ideas, whether or not they are tech-savvy. It’s perfect for people new to blogging. Adding Strikingly’s Simple Blog feature provides access to great blogging tools like an RSS feed, analytics, social bookmarking, categories, search function, subscription, and a Comments section.

Bloggers can build unlimited free sites, sell one product, get 5GB monthly bandwidth and 24/7 support on free plan.

Pros

• An ideal platform for new bloggers.
• Very easy to use.
• A great range of blogging tools
• No tech savvy needed.
• Uncluttered, easy to navigate, homepage
• Posts don’t bog down site.
• 5GB monthly bandwidth
• 24/7 support
• Integrating social media is easy.

Cons

• Only single page websites are available on the free plan.
• Limited creative freedom.
• Only very basic customization options.
• Not very scalable.
• Can’t support sites that are very complex.
• Lacks power and advanced features.
• Ecommerce is limited.
• Limited editing and aesthetics.
• Poor template usability.

Cost

In addition to the free plan, Strikingly has three paid plans. They are the Limited plan for $8 a month, the Pro plan for $16 a month and the VIP plan for $49 a month. Strikingly offers the best value for the money of any blog builder platform.

SITE123

For beginners who need help building a basic blog, SITE123 is a great choice. It offers some of the best help and support of any blogging platform. It’s very easy to use, offers some design flexibility and has several important features.

The help and support SITE123 offers is outstanding and it gets a very high customer rating score for its overall usability. The platform is intuitive and users quickly master its functions and features. The live chat feature is very helpful. Features include Blog specific templates, RSS feed, Comments system, comment auto-confirmation, comment reply tool, blog post scheduling, and social media integration.

Pros

• Excellent customer support
• Easy to use with the available design assistance
• The brilliant live chat feature
• It has lots of features.
• Fully responsive
• Templates optimized for excellent desktop and mobile device displays.
• Simple, clean designs.

Cons

• Lacks quality features
• Has restrictive design options
• Very basic features.
• Not a good choice for complex blogging sites.
• Only suitable for handling small, personal, blogs.
• It doesn’t offer much creative control.
• Once the blog is published, design templates can’t be changed.

Cost

SITE123 has four paid plan packages. They are Basic for $10.80 a month, Advanced for $16.80 a month, Professional for $22.80 a month and Gold for $28.80 a month. The paid plans provide a free domain, more advanced features, 10GB or more of storage, as well as ecommerce functionality.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is an excellent choice for people who want a blogging platform that’s quick and easy to set up, easy to use and offers good design flexibility but are not looking for the highest quality. GoDaddy consistently gets an overall customer rating score of 4 out of 5. This platform gets blogs live quickly and provide excellent support during the blog building process.

The blogs tend to be very basic, have all key necessities and allow for enabling comments, linking to social platforms and more. Plus, GoDaddy is the web hosting industry leader in domain hosting, page loads and affordability.

Pros

• Beginner-friendly blog builder.
• Set up is quick and easy.
• Step-by-step tutorials included simplifying blog building.
• Blogs go live very quickly.
• It has all the key features and necessities.
• Free to get started.
• Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface.
• Over 300 templates and themes.
• 24/7 support is available via live chat, phone or email.

Cons

• Blogs look very plain.
• Features are limited.
• Very limited SEO tool.
• It creates a very basic blog.
• Not much creative freedom.
• No eCommerce Tools.
• Blog loses content when switching between themes.
• No password protection.

Cost

An industry leader in very affordable plans, GoDaddy paid plans start at $5.99 a month for the Economy, $7.99 for the Deluxe plan, $12.99 for the Ultimate plan and $19.99 for the Maximum plan.

Choosing The Right Blogging Platform

If one or more of the blogging platforms presented above have grabbed your attention, there are several questions you can ask to hone in on the best one for your needs:

• Do you plan to monetize your blog?
• Are you very confident in your technical skills?
• Do you want a blog that can be set up quickly and easily?
• Is Search Engine Optimization, email marketing and social media integration important for reaching your target audience?
• Will your blog focus on lots of text or photographs, imagery, and graphics?

Answering these questions will make it easier to decide which of the top blogging platforms will best meet your needs.