Starting a blog is not as difficult as it seems. A lot of people who think they can’t write a blog, actually do quite well with the help of blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger. However, you will need to choose a platform that suits your style and offers the features you need for your blog.
What’s the difference between a blog and a website?
Before choosing your blogging platform, you need to understand the differences between these two.
Blogs are self-hosted websites where people post their own content. Blogs can be hosted on your web server or with third-party services like WordPress.com. The latter is the most popular and recommended blogging platform for beginners.
The main difference between blogs and websites is that a blog is a content-focused website. You can have your own blog where you write posts or comment on other people’s blogs. The posts in a blog are not supposed to be news articles, but rather they should focus on sharing information and writing personal thoughts about the topic of interest. A website is a more comprehensive site that contains news articles, images, videos, and other media files. This is the type of site you would see in Google or Yahoo search results. You can have a blog on your website, but most blogs are focused on individual posts only.
Choosing a blogging platform
There are multiple factors and considerations in choosing the right blogging platform, this includes:
1. Cost
The pricing factor is a huge deciding factor when choosing a blogging platform. Blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger are free to use for up to 10 blogs. If you want more than that, then you will have to purchase the hosting services of these blogging platforms. You can pay per month or year depending on your needs.
WordPress.com offers hosting for free if you are using it on your own website, but WordPress.org has paid plans as well where the prices vary depending on what plan you choose.
While site builder like Wix is generally more costly, but it is a one-stop solution that helps you build your website in minutes. It contains a drag and drop editor, a theme designer, unlimited layouts, and hosting included with lifetime updates. For beginners who just want to get their site done fast, a site builder would be a good choice.
2. Ease of use
Another factor to consider is the ease of use for both beginners and advanced users. If you are a beginner, then you will have to spend time learning how things work before getting into it yourself. This would be better if there was a step-by-step guide that walks you through the process.
Another factor to consider is whether or not there are limitations on what can be done with the platform. Blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger don’t have a limitation of what can be done, but for other blogging platforms, you might have to create a paid account or pay for upgrades in order to do certain things.
For example, with Wix, you can build your website using the drag and drop editor. However, if you want more features like widgets and customizations then there are premium plans that will allow you to do that. You can also pay for a theme designer or hire someone else who specializes in designing themes for your site.
3. Speed
The speed of the platform is also an important factor to consider. While Wix and WordPress both provide great speed, there are other platforms that will provide you with much faster loading times. This would be a good thing if you want your site to load quickly and be ready for visitors as soon as they come. WordPress does have an advantage over site builder, as they come with plugins to fine tuning your site speed and a lot more control over the way your site is setup.
Wix, on the other hand, doesn’t have that much of an advantage over WordPress when it comes to speed. It has great speeds but they are nothing compared to what WordPress can do with their caching plugins and optimizations for both mobile and desktop.
4. Customization
Another factor to consider is the customization of the platform you’re using. This would be an important factor if you want your site to look exactly how you envisioned it when creating it or if you wanted a specific layout that can’t be done with WordPress and Wix.
Site builder and WordPress both have a lot of customization options, but some might find it hard to make your site look exactly how you want. Site builder has a design editor that allows you to change the background color or the text color as well as more advanced features like adding borders and shadows. However, wordpress offers much more customization options, from more options of themes, page SEO customization, and plugins that can help you fine-tune your site to what you want.
WordPress is the more advanced platform and has a lot of customization options, but Site builder doesn’t fall short in this area either.
5. Support
Support is something that should be considered before choosing a platform. When you’re deciding on what blog platform to use, make sure you consider how easy it will be for you to contact the support team and get your questions answered if there are any problems with your site. Both WordPress and Wix have very good support teams.
WordPress has a forum where you can get answers to any questions you might have, while Wix does not offer such an option. If you do find that there are some unanswered questions or your site is not working properly, you can contact the support team through their email.
Best Blogging Platform
1. Wix – Best For Beginners Blogging Platform
Starting your first blog, but don’t know where to start, Wix would be the answer. Mainly because it is beginner-friendly, comes with an easy-to-use drag and drop editor, and is a complete package. It’s ideal for anyone looking to start their first blog, whether it be your personal or business one. Wix has everything you need to get started with blogging in just minutes.
It is straightforward to start a blog with Wix, within 5 minutes you can get the blog ready, plus the extensive customization option allows you to change it to your liking. It is a complete solution that saves you from all the technical hassle but only focuses on what matters – your blog content. Great choice to be!
Wix also contains hundreds of templates to choose from. Ranging from different templates from restaurants, travel blogs, fashion, etc. This makes it easy for you to choose the right template that suits your blog content. Their designs are exceptional and user-friendly.
It has amazing customer service which is available 24/7 and they are always willing to help out whenever you need them. So if you are looking to get your first website up and running quickly then Wix is the best option. it also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. So if you don’t like it, you can always ask for your money back!
Highlights
– Drag and drop editor
– Hundreds of templates to choose from
– Comes with SEO features
– Easy to use and customize
2. WordPress – Best For Every Customizable Need
WordPress is one of the most popular blog software available on the internet today and it has more than 20 million blogs using it. It can be used by everyone from your friend who just wants to start a blog, to someone who wants their own business website. It is a platform that is versatile and can be used for anything.
It has a number of tools that make it easier to build your blog, including an easy-to-use drag and drop editor. The WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing gives you complete control over how your blog looks and feels. Best of all it has 8000+ free themes and a total of 58000+ free plugins from wordpress.org. If that’s not enough ThemeForest has 11000+ premium WordPress themes (paid) for you to choose from. The possibilities are endless with this one, from a simple blog to a full-blown business website including forum, membership, eCommerce site is all possible.
The main reason people choose WordPress is because of its versatility. It can be used for many different purposes, from blogging to selling products on the internet. It has great community support and it’s also very affordable.
If you are looking for a more affordable solution, and willing to spend time to learn about it, WordPress is a great option for you. Especially, if you plan to grow your site to be more than a blog and turn it into a full blown business, it’s a good choice.
Highlights
– More customization options
– Lots of plugins & templates
– Huge community support
3. Squarespace – Best For Small Businesses & Creatives
Squarespace is one of the best websites builders on the market today, and it is also relatively new to the game. They started out as a blogging platform but have since expanded into website creation.
Squarespace has a very modern and clean design that is easy to use. The platform is easy to navigate and has a ton of features that allow you to create beautiful websites. One standout point for Squarespace would be their themes looks really nice, blog owners like photographers, interior designer, designers will definitely appreciate the quality of the themes. Their prices range from $12 to $54 per month, depending on how many sites you want.
Squarespace also offers a variety of great tools that help you create your website, including custom email templates, responsive layouts, and social media integration. Their website builder is very easy to use and doesn’t require any coding knowledge to set up. You can have a fully functional website up and running in no time.
Squarespace has one of the best customer support teams in the industry. The company has been around since 2004 and they have over 200 employees that are ready to help you out with any issues they have a blog and forum that is filled with articles and advice for you to learn from.
Squarespace is fully integrated with all major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can also integrate it with your email address to make sure that all of your contacts will be able to find you easily on the internet.
Highlights
– Create beautiful websites in no time with the drag and drop site builder
– Choose from hundreds of themes to fit your brand, niche or location
– Easily update pages by adding photos, video, text or links
– Easy updates without having to worry about coding skills
4. Medium – Best For Content Creators
Medium is a website that allows you to create beautiful content for your readers. It has the look and feels of a blog but it is actually an online publishing platform where you can publish long-form articles, videos, podcasts, etc. It is best for bloggers who want to get their site up and running with minimal effort, and it is free to create a new account. You can start your blog on Medium by visiting their website and filling out the form.
Medium is best for people who want to publish content that has a very high-quality standard because it is a professional platform designed to be used by professionals. It doesn’t have any advertisements or banners, and it only has the content that you want to publish. You can create a new blog on Medium with just your name and email address for now.
However, there’s limited customization available to Medium, the noticeable is you can’t change the default theme, you can’t customize the URL structure, and you can’t make it your own by using your domain name.
If you are looking for a free platform to start with, Medium is the best place to go, unless you need to use a custom domain name, you will need to join the paid membership.
Highlights
– Free to create a new blog on Medium.com and start publishing content today!
– Unlimited storage for your posts, photos, and videos.
– A growing community of over 20 million people.
5. Tumblr – Best For Bloggers With An Image-Based Content
Tumblr is best for bloggers with image-based content. If you are looking for a platform to share your thoughts, ideas, and images in the form of blog posts or photos, Tumblr might be the place for you. The website allows users to create blogs around various interests, hobbies, and topics.
Tumblr is a free blogging platform that allows you to publish any type of content, from text posts to images and videos. You can create a new blog on Tumblr by going to their website and filling out the form, or if you already have an account then log in with your username and password. Additionally, you can also use Tumblr to create a Tumblr blog using your own domain name.
Highlights
– Create a new blog on Tumblr.com with just your name and email address for now.
– Free to use
– Share images, text posts, videos, quotes, and links from other websites easily using
6. Ghost CMS – Best For Advanced User
Ghost CMS is a content management system similar to WordPress that gives you the power to create, edit and publish your own website. It’s an open-source platform built on Node.js and MySQL, making it easy for developers and designers to create websites of any size. Furthermore, Ghost CMS is a flexible and extensible platform that allows you to easily customize the site’s appearance.
Ghost CMS is a blogging platform that can be used for blogs, websites, and more. It’s also easy to use and gives you the power to create your own website or blog with it. Ghost CMS is a free and open-source content management system that can be used to create websites.
In contrast with WordPress, ghost CMS contains a lot of features like native SEO, membership, paid subscription built-in by default. You do not need a lot of plugins for this CMS. It is a full-featured and flexible content management system that allows you to create websites, blogs, and applications without any knowledge of coding. The best thing of all it is really fast and will load your website almost immediately.
Highlights
– Free to use
– Extensible and customizable content management system
– Quick and fast loading sites
– Easy installation and customization
Conclusion
Here’s the best blogging platform up to now, depends on your use case and goal you could pick the one that fits you the best.
If you looking start blogging as soon as possible and not worry about the customization. Go for medium.com.
If you looking for a personal blog with some good customization, or you are a small business owner. Not to worry about the technical side. Go for wix.com.
If you like to be in control and like to do things yourself. Go for WordPress, it is good for the long run as you can fully own the infrastructure.