You want to create a blog but do not know how to choose the best blogging platform? If you are a newbie, it is really hard to choose the best. In this article, I will be comparing the most popular free blogging platforms today. From there you can choose the best blogging platform for you.
The notes before choosing the blogging platform:
- Before you go into the search and choose the best blogging platform for yourself, you need to know the specific requirements that you need.
- If you are new, you will want the blogging platform you use to be easy to install, easy to use and does not require code skills.
- You will also need to navigate the type of blog you will be creating.
- As your blog grows, you’ll want to change the look and feel of the features to better serve your readers. This means choosing a powerful, flexible platform for the future of your blog will be very important.
- If you chose the wrong platform from the beginning, it will be difficult to switch to another platform.
- Finally, even if you do not intend to make money online with your blog, you also need to make your blog can do this in the future.
With all of that in mind, let’s learn to choose the best blogging platform that works best for you.
The best free blogging platforms in 2019
1. WORDPRESS
WordPress.org is the most popular blogging platform in the world today.
Note: You should not confuse WordPress.org and WordPress.com. These are two different platforms.
WordPress.org is an open source software that allows you to build websites or blogs quickly and easily. It is a self-hosted solution, meaning you need to sign up for a hosting account.
Advantages:
- With WordPress.org you can control everything on your website.
- You can add special features such as forums, online stores, member pages, etc.
- There are thousands of free and paid themes for WordPress. It helps you create a blog with a nice and different interface.
- You can also access over 45,000 free plugins. These plugins are like the applications for your WordPress blog. It allows you to add a lot of new features.
- WordPress is SEO friendly.
Disadvantages:
- You need to spend some time learning how to use and manage WordPress.
- You must back up and secure for blog/website by yourself.
- WordPress.org is free but you need to spend the money to buy the domain, hosting.
2. WIX
Wix is a hosting platform used to build websites. It is the simplest solution for small businesses. Wix provides tools that allow you to create websites just by dragging and dropping. You can also add a blog to your website using the Wix Blog app.
Advantages:
- You can customize your website using dozens of templates and third-party applications.
- Building a website with drag-and-drop tools does not require code skills.
- Installation is quick and easy.
Disadvantages:
- Free accounts are feature limited and display Wix brand as well as ads.
- Free 3rd party applications have many limitations.
- When you choose a template, you can not change it.
- E-commerce features are limited to certain paid packages.
Price:
Basically, Wix is free. You can add a custom domain for $4.50/month. Premium packages range from $8.5/month to $24.5/month.
3. WORDPRESS.COM
WordPress.com is a blog hosting service of the Automattic company. This is a company created by the co-founder of WordPress.org, Matt Mullenweg.
WordPress.com offers free blog hosting. You can purchase additional options such as domain names, additional storage, and additional services.
Advantages:
- No need to install
- Easy to use and manage.
Disadvantages:
- Limit your site extension options.
- You can not run ads on your blog.
- You can not decide the fate of your blog. If WordPress.com feels you are in violation of their terms, they may stop your blog.
Price
Basically, WordPress.com is free but it will be placing ads, branded by WordPress.com. You can upgrade to Personal Package for $2.99/month (paid per year) to remove the WordPress logo and ad on your site. And you can also buy a custom domain name (Example: www.yoursite.com).
With $8.25/month, you can expand your design tools and increase your storage capacity.
Because of the same name, newbies usually start with WordPress.com. However, they think they are using the powerful, popular platform of WordPress.org.
After looking at the limitations of this platform they often switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org to expand the features and control of everything on their website.
4. BLOGGER
Blogger is a free blog hosting service from Google. Purchased by Google in 2003, Blogger is a fast and easy way to create blogs for people who do not know much about technology.
Advantages:
- Blogger is a free blogging platform.
- Easy to use and manage without requiring technical skills.
- The advantage is Google’s strong and reliable platform.
Disadvantages:
- Blogging tools are limited and can not add new features as blogs grow.
- The design options are limited, there are very few templates available. 3rd party templates are often of low quality.
- Google may suspend or permanently cancel your blog service at any time. (In the past they have abandoned the project without warning like Feedburner)
5. TUMBLR
Tumblr is a bit different from other blogging platforms. It is a simple blogging platform with social networking features including other blogs, built-in sharing tools and much more.
Advantages:
Tumblr is free and very easy to use.
It integrates social media components.
As a basic blogging tool, it allows you to upload video, GIF, image, audio formats quickly and easily.
Disadvantages:
Tumblr comes with limited features, you can not expand the feature as your blog grows.
There are many themes available for Tumblr, but they can not provide extra features.
Backing up or moving data from Tumblr blogs to other platforms is very difficult.
Price
Tumblr is provided free of charge. You can use a custom domain (purchased by yourself) to use for your Tumblr blog. And you can also buy third-party themes and apps.
6. MEDIUM
Launched in 2012, Medium has quickly grown into a convergence of writers, bloggers, journalists and experts. It is a blogging platform that is easy to use but limited to social networking features.
Advantages:
- Easy to use medium does not require installation and code skills.
- It allows you to reach out to the community of people with similar interests online.
- You just need to focus on writing articles, no need to care about website design.
Disadvantages:
- The design and branding features are still very limited.
- Medium owns your readers, so losing a blog means losing all followers.
- You cannot run ads to earn money.
Price
You can use Medium for free. Although this platform initially looks very attractive, because of the lack of money and control features, people tend to switch from Medium to WordPress.
7. SQUARESPACE
Squarespace is a website building service that allows you to create beautiful websites using intuitive drag and drop tools.
It focuses on small businesses who are looking for simple solutions to create an online presence.
Advantages:
Squarespace is very simple and easy to use even for new people, not knowledgeable about technology.
It has beautiful, professional designs.
It provides separate domains with SSL/HTTPS certificates and e-commerce stores.
Disadvantages:
Squarespace limits features built on their proprietary platform.
Personal package is limited to 20 pages, 01 blog and 02 collaborators.
Limited integration of a number of tools and features.
Price
Personal package price is $16/month, if you prepay for the whole year the price will be $12/month. Business packages cost $26/month, or $18/month if you bill for 1 year.
Typically, users will switch from Squarespace to WordPress to save costs and expand features for their website.
8. JOOMLA!
Joomla! is an open source content management system (CMS) like WordPress.org. It is also a self-hosted solution. This means you need to have a domain name and web hosting to use it.
Advantages:
- Joomla! is extremely powerful and flexible, it helps you to create all kinds of websites and blogs.
- You can choose from hundreds of templates to customize the settings for your website.
- There are many Extensions (applications for Joomla sites) that help you expand features for the site.
Disadvantages:
- Joomla! user community is smaller than WordPress. Therefore template and extension quantity is not diverse, rich with WordPress theme and plugin.
- Support options are limited to the community. Difficult to find paid support and if possible, the cost is often very high.
- You must be solely responsible for backing up, updating and securing your website.
Price
Joomla is free but you need to buy a domain name and web hosting.
I hope after reading this article you will be able to choose the best blogging platform that best suits your needs.
Good luck!
