How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform

Which Blog Site Should You Use? How to Decide
There are a lot of factors that you need to take into consideration before making your decision. It’s important to choose the right platform that’s right for you and your needs, not just the one everyone says is the best.

So, what do you look for? How do you pick the best places to blog?

Here are a few factors to look for:

Ease of use – If you’re a newbie, you’ll want to look for a platform that is easy to set up, has a low learning curve and doesn’t require any coding skills.
Monetization options – Wondering which blogging platform is best for making money? If you want to monetize your blog, you would want to choose the one that offers customization, supports third-party plugins, and allows you to create your own ads to generate income.
Scalability – Another important factor you need to consider is to see whether the platform you have chosen is flexible enough to help you scale your blog and add more features as you grow.
Price – When you’re just getting started creating a blog, the cost is an important factor to consider. There are free platforms to consider, but you often get what you pay for.
Switching to a new blogging site can be a very daunting task. This makes its important that you choose the right one from the get go.

Now that you know how to choose a blogging platform, we will now list down and analyze the best blogging sites for you to choose from.

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Best Blogging Platforms Compared
Here are the best blogging platforms:

WordPress.org – the best self hosted blog platform that’s awesome for those who want complete control
Web.com – the easiest website builder at a very affordable price
Constant Contact – a free and easy website builder and blogging platform for beginners
WordPress.com – a free blog site that’s perfect for those who want to test things out
Gator Website Builder – a good blogging platform for writers who don’t want the hassle of website management
Medium – one of the best free blogging platforms for writers who just want to write without making money or getting into customization
Blogger – old school simple blogging platform for those who just want to start a basic blog
Tumblr – micro blogging platform for bloggers who are targeting a younger audience
Squarespace – a simple website builder for bloggers who prefer the hands-off approach
Ghost – a JavaScript based blogging platform for writers who like to tinker around with their websites
Weebly – an eCommerce website builder for people who want a professionally designed blog to go along with their store
Wix – a simple website builder with limited features
Let’s take a look at each of these in detail, including the pros and cons of each blogging site.

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1.WordPress.org
WordPress.org – Best Blogging Platform
WordPress.org is a self hosted blogging platform and content management system (CMS), and it’s number 1 on our list of blog sites for a number of reasons. Ever since it was created in 2003, WordPress has gone on to power 33.4% of the internet! WordPress is used by big brands like BBC, Wired, Time Magazine, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Rolling Stones, Harvard University and New York Post.

WordPress is so popular because it’s 100% free and open source, and easy to use. It’s also highly customizable, and fast and good for SEO (search engine optimization).

Not sure if WordPress is the best blog platform for you? Let’s talk a little more about the pros and cons of using WordPress for your blogging platform.

Pros
It’s easy to install.
You have complete control over customizing your website’s features with their various design options.
You can grow your blog by adding features like paid membership, forums, or even an online store. This makes WordPress.org the best blogging platform to make money.
There are thousands of premium and free themes available which can help you create a professional blog without the need of a designer.
There are over 54,000 plugins available which can help you customize your blog. You can use plugins to add tons of features including galleries, contact forms, Google Analytics, or make your blog available in different languages.
WordPress.org is 100% search engine friendly. This makes it easy to rank your blog posts in Google with search engine optimization (SEO), especially if you use some of the best SEO plugins for WordPress.
Cons
Basic customization is easy, but if you want to add more complicated customizations, there can be a bit of a learning curve.
Since it is self-hosted you will need to take responsibility for hosting and any technical issues that may arise, unless you get managed WordPress hosting.
Who Should Use WordPress.org?
WordPress is a great choice for anyone and everyone who wants to start a blog. As for the people who ask “is WordPress relevant?”. Yes, it’s more relevant now than ever.

It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out as a blogger or if you’re an experienced blogger. You can create, design and customize blogs on any topic you want. Whether you are food blogger, tech blogger or are just looking to make money online, WordPress is the best choice for you.

WordPress.org Price
The WordPress software is free, but you will still need a web hosting plan and domain. These can start at about $7.99 per month for hosting, and $14.99 per year for a domain.

That can be a lot of money for beginners who are just starting out. Which is why we have partnered up with Bluehost to get our readers an awesome deal. With Bluehost, you can get started with WordPress.org in a matter of minutes.

You can follow along with our guide on how to start a blog.

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2.Web.com
web.com website builder
Web.com is one of the original and most popular website builders on the market. Since 1999, 3 million happy customers have used Web.com to build a website.

The drag and drop builder is super easy to use so you don’t need any technical knowledge to build a great blog. Plus, Web.com offers very affordable plans that work with every budget.

Pros
User-friendly drag and drop website builder to create layouts
Ability to add features like photo galleries, videos, contact forms, social sharing buttons, and much more
Professionally designed website templates you can customize by pointing and clicking
eCommerce tools to add an online store to your blog
Access to unlimited chat and phone support
Comes with a free domain name, business email address, website analytics, and other powerful tools
Cons
Blogging functionality is not as robust as other platforms like WordPress.org
The eCommerce plan limits you to 50 products
Switching to another platform is difficult since Web.com is a proprietary site builder
Who Should Use Web.com?
Web.com is best for beginners that want to start a simple blog for an affordable price. You don’t need to be tech-savvy to use this website builder; simply choose a domain name and drag and drop your blog design.

Web.com comes with all of the basic features you need. But, as we mentioned earlier, the blogging functionality is limited compared to some other platforms. So, if you want to create a more robust blog, you might want to go with WordPress.org.

How Much Does Web.com Cost?
The starter website plan starts at only $1.95 per month!

You can also upgrade to the marketing plan to get more powerful SEO features starting at $2.95 per month. And if you want to add an online store to your blog, the eCommerce plan starts at $3.95 per month.

Get Started with Web.com
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3.Constant Contact
Constant Contact Website Builder
Constant Contact is one of the best email marketing services thanks to their reliable, user-friendly platform and world-class customer support. After listening to a lot of small business owners, they decided to launch their own blog platform. The goal is to make it quick and easy to create a professional website, even without any coding or design experience.

You can get started with Constant Contact’s website builder for free. The website builder is powered by artificial intelligence, so it can quickly build a website for you in minutes.

Pros
Unlike other website builders, you can get started with Constant Contact for free!
It’s A.I. powered so you can build your blog within minutes.
They have a free library of 550,000 images for you to choose from.
All of their templates are mobile friendly.
You don’t have to worry about hosting or any other technical details.
They have 24/7 support via email, phone, or live chat.
You can easily add an online store to your blog with their ecommerce builder.
To unlock more advanced features, their affordable plans start at $10.
Cons
No third party apps are allowed, so Constant Contact’s website builder is best for simple business websites and blogs.
Who Should Use Constant Contact?
Constant Contact website builder is best for small business owners who want to quickly create a beautiful blog with no hassle.

That’s because its A.I. builder makes it easy for even beginners to create a professional website in minutes.

But powerful as it may be, Constant Contact does not support any third party apps or plugins which makes customization a bit limited.

How Much Does Constant Contact Cost?
Constant Contact is free to get started!

If you want to get a custom domain name (such as www.example.com) and remove any ads, you can invest in their starter plan which costs $10. When compared with other website builders, Constant Contact is by far the cheapest in our list!

Get Started with Constant Contact
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4.WordPress.com
WordPress.com – Free Website Builder
Just to be clear, WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two different blogging platforms. We have already talked about WordPress.org which is a blogging software that you need your own domain and hosting for. WordPress.com, on the other hand, is a blog hosting service. You can read more about their differences in this WordPress.com vs WordPress.org comparison.

WordPress.com was founded in 2004 and is owned by Automattic, which is the same company behind WordPress.org.

You can create a basic WordPress blog on for free with WordPress.com. It is fully hosted, which means that you don’t have to worry about the technical side of hosting your blog.

If you want to unlock more features, you’ll have to go with the premium plan. With their paid plans, you can remove WordPress ads, get your own domain, and get access to some of their premium themes and plugins.

Pros
Easy to use
Doesn’t require any installations
Free to start
Tech issues are handled by their support team
Cons
Their free plan has ads, so you will have to subscribe to their premium plans if you want your website to look professional.
You won’t get access to the premium plugins and themes if you use the free version.
Who Should Use WordPress.com?
WordPress.com can be a good choice for new bloggers who want to try out some of the features of WordPress, without having to spend any money on domain names and hosting yet.

Once your blog starts to grow you can then move on to WordPress.org and enjoy complete freedom. The process is fairly simple. You can read this guide to find out how to migrate from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.

How Much Does WordPress.com Cost?
WordPress.com is free as long as you are okay with the ads and the lack of options available for themes and plugins.

If you want to make the switch to the premium version you will have to pay $4 for the Personal Plan, $8 per month for the Premium Plan and $25 per month for the Business Plan.

Get Started with WordPress.com
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5.Gator Website Builder
Gator Website Builder
Gator Website Builder is a blogging platform that was created by HostGator, which is one of the biggest hosting provider in the world. Their website builder is easy to use, which makes it great for first time bloggers. Gator Website Builder has an amazing drag and drop builder you can use to create any kind of blog or website you like.

Gator may not have a free plan, but they make up for it by offering free hosting, free SSL certificate and a domain name for just $3.84 per month.

Pros
Easy to set up with their drag and drop builder
All the server side management and troubleshooting are handled by HostGator
Free hosting, domain name and SSL Certificate
Cons
Limited number of apps
No free account
Who Should Use Gator Website Builder?
Gator Website Builder is great for first time bloggers who don’t want to deal with hosting issues or website management. They have an awesome user interface which makes life easier for bloggers who just want to write without worrying about anything else.

HostGator has an excellent support team that’s available 24/7, and they’ll help you with any technical issues that may come up.

Apart from having an awesome user interface and support team, Gator website builder is powered by HostGator, which has a 99.9% uptime. Simply put, this basically means that you won’t have to worry about your blog going down.

The only downside is that Gator Website Builder doesn’t have a lot of plugins and themes, so if you are looking for customizations you might want to switch to WordPress.org.

How much does Gator Website Builder cost?
The Starter plan costs $3.84 per month which includes free hosting, domain name and free SSL certificate. The Premium plan costs $5.99 per month and the ecommerce plan costs $9.22 per month.

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6.Medium
Medium free blogging platform
Medium is a free publishing platform which was founded in 2012 and quickly became popular for its minimalist style. It’s completely free, easy to use and has a community that you can promote your articles to.

Medium is not a platform for running full websites or a store. They host all of your articles on their servers so that you don’t have to worry about hosting costs or running into any technical issues. It’s been designed as social media platform for blogging and has an ever-growing audience you can connect with on their social network.

They also have a partner program that pays you for writing, based on how much engagement your articles get from paying members.

The biggest downside is that if you lose your Medium account, you will lose all of your audience. It’s best to follow their terms and conditions if you want to keep your account, or you could always move to a platform over which you have complete control.

Pros
100% free to use
Has its own audience to which you can promote your work
You can monetize your blog
Cons
Zero customization options
Only one way to earn money
If you lose your account, you will also lose all of your audience
Not suitable for professional websites
Who Should Use Medium?
Medium is best for casual bloggers that want to get their voice heard without spending any money on hosting and domain names.

If you want to become a professional blogger then Medium isn’t for you. It looks very unprofessional for a blogger to not own a website. Your readers just won’t take you seriously.

If Medium’s simple user interface attracts you, then the best alternative option would be Constant Contact.

How Much Does Medium Cost?
Blogging on Medium is 100% free, and you won’t even have to worry about the hosting costs. But because you don’t own the content you wrote, it can be taken down without any notice. It’s best to stick with a platform you have control over so that you don’t lose your content or your audience.