Blogging Platforms. How to Choose the Best One
If you want to make a blog, you should decide on which platform it will be hosted. The main thing is to choose it correctly and not make a mistake. There are different blogging platforms and to choose a specific one is quite difficult initially. How do you know which one is the right one?
This article will help you to make the right choice and pick out the best platform for posting, considering the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular options.
Successful software: main criteria
Before immersing yourself in a search, you should ask yourself: what exactly are you looking for? Will it be simply a hobby or you would you like to earn money from the blog?
As a beginner, you need to find a platform for running your blog,; one which can be configured easily and which does not require any coding skills. You also need to think about which type of blog you want to create now, and how you see it in the future. If the popularity of the website grows, you can change its look and add additional convenient functions and services to appeal to your growing audience. The most convenient choice will be a flexible platform with the possibility of further growth.
Most popular platforms for creating a blog
In order to make a successful website, select well-tried software. Below is a list of the most popular blogging platforms, which will be described further:
- WordPress.org
- WordPress.com
- Wix
- Blogger
- Tumblr
- Medium
- Squarespace
- Ghost
- Weebly
- Joomla (CMS)
Some of these sources can help bloggers to make not only a site for a hobby, but also to make money online.
WordPress.org
This is the most popular and the best blogging platform in the world and practically all new bloggers start with it (it can easily be confused with WordPress.com, which is the hosting service of one of the blogs on the list above).
WordPress.org is a functional open source software that allows you to create a future website and blog on your own. If you make a choice in favor of this platform, you have to register with the hosting provider WordPress.
Usage of WP.org provides the opportunity to control every nuance of the work of your site. You can develop the blog and add additional functions to it, such as forums or, for example, an online store. Thousands of free or premium themes become available to you, which will help you to create a beautiful resource that stands out from the rest. A blogger will also have access to more than 45,000 free plugins. They are similar to applications for WP blog and allow you to add more features. It is a friendly platform for many search engines.
This software is free, but you need to buy a domain name (about 14.99 USD per year) and hosting (starting around $ 7.99 per month).
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a blog hosting service offered by Automattic Company, which was created by the co-founder of WP.org Matt Mullenweg. It offers convenient free hosting for blogs. Additional options are available for purchasing, such as a custom domain name, additional storage, and other related services.
Pros of using:
- non-complicated installation
- easy to use and manage
Cons of using:
- limited opportunities to expand the site
- impossible to run advertisements on the blog
- blocking of your account if they find that you ignore terms of service
The main WordPress.com account is free, but it will contain ads and branding. You can upgrade to a personal tariff for $ 2.99 per month, in order to remove the WP.com logo and ads from your blog and get your own domain. For $ 8.25 monthly, you can get more design tools, as well as additional storage.
Wix
Wix is a popular platform, especially for small businesses. You can create a resource with convenient drag and drop tools and add a blog to it by using the Wix Blog application.
Pros of using:
- installation is quick and easy
- the service does not require coding skills
- customization of the site with dozens of templates and applications
Cons of using:
- free account is limited in its functionality
- advertising and Wix branding
- no possibility to change a template in the future
- limited electronic trading functions
The service is free. You can add your own domain for $ 4.50 per month. Their bonus plans start at $ 8.50 and top out at $ 24.50 per month.
Blogger
Blogger is a free hosting for blogs, acquired by Google in 2003. This resource offers a quick and easy way to create a blog for newcomers, who do not know all the principles of how it works. It does not require any complex technical skills. Moreover, Blogger has the additional advantages of a secure and reliable Google.
Cons of the Blogger: limitation in basic blogging tools and no ability to add new features even if your blog grows in popularity; design options are also limited and fewer templates are available; it does not receive frequent updates or new features. The main point is that Google can suspend your blog at any time or even completely cancel the functionality of the Blogger service without any warning.
As the popularity of blogs grows, users often switch from Blogger to WordPress to get more features and greater control over their website.
Tumblr
It is a little different from others. This microblogging platform performs the function of social networks, including built-in tools for sharing and much more. Tumblr is very easy to use and has an integrated component for social networks. As a microblogging tool, you can quickly publish videos, GIFs, images and audio formats. However, it is very difficult to perform a backup of your Tumblr blog or import it to other platforms.
This resource is free. You can use your own domain, which is bought separately, and themes or applications, which are also available for purchase.
Medium
This service was created in 2012 and has turned into a community of writers, bloggers, journalists, and experts. This is an easy platform with limited interaction with social networks. Medium allows you to connect with an existing online community of people with similar interests. If you want to make money by creating your own ads, this software is not for you, as there is no such function.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a reliable site creation service, which makes it possible to design beautiful platforms using simple drag and drop tools. Most of all it is a good fit for small business owners, who are looking for an easy way to create an online presence.
Pros of using:
- simple and convenient for beginners who are not strong in technology
- beautiful professionally designed templates
- offers a domain name with SSL / HTTP and e-commerce shops
Cons of using:
- the personal plan limits you to 20 pages of the blog and two participants
- The cost of Squarespace runs from $ 16 to $ 26 monthly.
Ghost
Ghost is a minimalistic platform for blogging with limited functions, which are designed to write blog posts. It is available as a hosted platform, as well as software that can be installed and hosted by yourself. In addition, it has a clean, colorful and intuitive user interface. The service is written in JavaScript, so it functions very quickly. If you decide to customize the blog by yourself, it will be complicated.
The service needs its own domain, which costs about $ 14.99 yearly and web hosting, starting at about $7.99 per month.
Weebly
Weebly is a hosted platform that allows you to create your site using drag and drop tools. It comes with dozens of ready-to-use themes that you can customize, while using your web interface. You do not need special technical skills, as Weebly will independently deal with the site for you. A free Weebly plan gives you the ability to try the service before you buy it. After the trial version, you will pay $ 8.00 monthly, but there are some limited opportunities. To unlock all available functions, you can pay up to $ 49 per month.
Joomla
Joomla is an open source content management system, like WordPress.org. It is extremely powerful, flexible and can be used to create any kind of blog. You need a domain name and web hosting for its usage. Hundreds of Joomla templates are available to customize the design of your site. This community is much smaller than WordPress, so there are fewer themes and you will be responsible for managing your backups, updates, and security.
Blog lovers have a huge choice of different platforms, which will help them to implement any ideas and even to make some money. Make the right choice and go for it!
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