Are you looking to start your own blog, but can’t figure out how to choose the best blogging platform? It’s a tough choice, since there are several different blogging platforms out there. How do you find out which one is right for you? In this article, we’ll help you choose the best blogging platform by going over the pros and cons of the most popular options.
Here are the blogging platforms we’ll be comparing in this article. If you’re interested in a particular platform, you can click the link to skip ahead in the article.
Choosing The Best Blogging Platform – What to Look for?
Before diving in the list, it helps to know what kind of platform you’re looking for.
As a beginner, you’ll want a blogging platform that’s easy to set up, and doesn’t require any coding skills.
You’ll also need to think about what kind of blog you want to create, now and in the future.
As your blog grows, you may want to change the look of your site and add more features for your growing audience. That means it’s important to choose a blogging platform that’s flexible, with room to grow.
Starting off with the wrong platform can make it very difficult to switch later on.
Lastly, even if you don’t have plans to make money yet, it’s smart to make sure you have the option to do so in the future.
With all that in mind, let’s compare the best blogging platforms for beginners.
1. WordPress.org
WordPress.org is the world’s most popular blogging software.
(Note: It’s easy to confuse WordPress.org with WordPress.com, which is a blog hosting service next on this list. See our guide on the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.)
WordPress.org is an open source software platform which allows you to build your website or blog on your own. It is a self-hosted solution, which means you will need to sign up with a WordPress hosting provider.
Pros
- WordPress.org gives you control over every aspect of your website.
- You can grow your blog and add extra features like forums, online store, and membership options to it.
- There are thousands of free and premium themes available for WordPress. This allows you to create a beautiful website that stands apart from the crowd.
- You also get access to more than 45,000 free plugins. These plugins are like apps for your WordPress blog, allowing you to add all kinds of new features.
- WordPress is search engine friendly.
Cons
- Managing your own website comes with a bit of a learning curve.
- You will have to manage your own backups and security.
Price:
WordPress.org software is free, but you’ll need to buy a domain name (about $14.99/year) and hosting (usually starting from $7.99/month). However, WPBeginner users can get started for only $2.75 per month with Bluehost, an official WordPress recommended hosting provider. They are offering our users 60% off on hosting and a FREE domain name.
See our guide on how to start a WordPress blog for complete step by step instructions.
2. Wix
Wix is a hosted platform to build websites. It offers an easy way for small businesses to build a website using drag and drop tools. You can also add a blog to your website by adding the Wix Blog app.
Pros
- You can customize your site using dozens of templates and third party apps.
- Build your site with easy drag and drop tools; no coding skills required.
- Setup is quick and easy.
Cons
- The free account is limited and shows Wix branding and ads on your site.
- Free third party apps are limited.
- Once you choose a template you cannot change it.
- Ecommerce features are limited to paid plans, and even those features are limited.
See our article on Wix vs WordPress for a detailed comparison of the two platforms.
Pricing
The basic Wix website builder is free. You can add a custom domain for $4.50/month. Their premium plans start from $8.50/month and go up to $24.50/month.
3. WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a blog hosting service offered by Automattic, a company created by WordPress.org cofounder Matt Mullenweg.
WordPress.com offers a basic blog hosting service for free. You can purchase additional options like a custom domain name, additional storage, and other premium services.
Pros:
- No setup required.
- Easy to use and manage.
Cons:
- Limited options to extend your site.
- You cannot run advertisements on your blog.
- You do not own your blog and WordPress.com can suspend your account if they find you are violating their terms of service.
Price:
The basic WordPress.com account is free, but it will have WordPress.com ads and branding. You can upgrade to their Personal plan for $2.99/month (billed yearly) to remove WordPress.com logo and advertising from your website, and get a custom domain (such as www.yoursite.com).
For $8.25/month (billed yearly) you can get additional design tools and extra storage.
Because of the similarity in names, beginners often start with WordPress.com thinking they are getting the powerful WordPress.org software. After seeing the limitations, users often end up switching from WordPress.com to WordPress.org to have more features and control over their website.
4. Blogger
Blogger is a free blog hosting service. Acquired by Google in 2003, it offers a quick and easy way to create a blog for non-tech-savvy users.
Pros:
- Blogger is free.
- It’s easy to use and manage without any technical skills.
- Has the added advantage of Google’s robust secure platform and reliability.
Cons:
- You’re limited to basic blogging tools, and can’t add new features as your blog grows in popularity.
- Design options are limited, with fewer templates available. Third party templates for Blogger are often low quality.
- Blogger does not receive frequent updates or new features.
- Google can suspend your blog at any time, or even cancel the Blogger service altogether. (They have a history of abandoning projects without warning, such as Feedburner.)
For more pros and cons of Blogger, see our comparison of WordPress vs Blogger (Pros and cons).
Eventually as their blog grows, users end up switching from Blogger to WordPress to get more features and control over their website.
5. Tumblr
Tumblr is a little different than other blogging platforms. It is a microblogging platform with social networking features including following other blogs, reblogging, built-in sharing tools, and more.
Pros:
- Tumblr is free and very easy to use.
- It has an integrated social media component.
- As a microblogging tool, Tumblr makes it easy to quickly blog videos, GIFs, images, and audio formats.
Cons:
- Tumblr comes with a limited set of features that you cannot extend as your blog grows.
- There are many themes available for Tumblr, but they can’t offer additional features.
- Backing up your Tumblr blog or importing it to other platforms is difficult (see our guide on how to move from Tumblr to WordPress).
Pricing:
Tumblr is free to use. You can use a custom domain (purchased separately) for your Tumblr blog, and there are also third party themes and apps available to purchase.
6. Medium
Launched in 2012, Medium has grown into a community of writers, bloggers, journalists, and experts. It is an easy-to-use blogging platform with limited social networking features.
Pros:
- Medium is easy to use, with no setup required and no coding skills needed.
- It allows you to reach an existing online community of people of similar interests.
- You can focus solely on writing, instead of designing a website.
Cons:
- Features are very limited in terms of design or building a brand.
- Medium owns your audience, so losing your blog means losing all your followers.
- You cannot run your own ads to make money.
For more detailed comparison, see our guide on WordPress vs Medium – which one is better?.
Pricing:
Medium is free to use.
While the platform looks attractive at first, the lack of monetization and control leads to most people switching from Medium to WordPress.
7. Squarespace
Squarespace is a website building service that allows you to create beautiful websites using easy drag and drop tools.
It focuses on small business owners who are looking for an easy way to create an online presence.
Pros
- Squarespace is simple and easy to use for beginners who aren’t very tech-savvy.
- It has beautiful professionally designed templates.
- It separately offers domain name with SSL/HTTPs and eCommerce stores.
Cons
- Squarespace is limited to the features built into their proprietary platform.
- The Personal plan limits you to 20 pages, a blog, and 2 contributors.
- Integrations are limited to a select few services and tools.
See our guide on WordPress vs Squarespace for a more detailed comparison.
Pricing:
Pricing for their Personal plan starts at $16/month, or $12/month if you pay for the year in advance. For the Business plan, pricing starts at $26/month, or $18/month billed annually.
Often users end up switching from Squarespace to WordPress to minimize their expenses and add more features on their websites.
8. Joomla
Joomla is an open source software content management system, just like WordPress.org. It’s also a self-hosted solution, which means you will need a domain name and web hosting to use it.
Pros
- Joomla is extremely powerful and flexible, and can be used to build any kind of website or blog.
- You can choose from hundreds of templates to customize your site’s design.
- Extensions (apps for your Joomla site) are available to add more features.
Cons
- The Joomla community is much smaller than WordPress community, so there are fewer themes and addons than for WordPress.
- Support options are limited to community support. Paid support is hard to find and can be costly.
- You will be responsible for managing your backups, updates, and security.
For more on this topic you may want to read our comparison of WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal.
Pricing
Joomla is free but you will need domain (about $14.99/year) and hosting (usually starting from $7.99/month) to use it. If you use SiteGround, then you can get started for $3.95 per month, and you will get a free domain.
9. Ghost
Ghost is a minimalist blogging platform with limited features focused on writing blog posts. It’s available as a hosted platform, and also as a software that you can install and host yourself. We’ll take a look at both options.
Pros
- Focused on blogging and writing.
- Clean, clutter-free, and intuitive user interface.
- Written in JavaScript, so it’s super fast.
- No setup required for the hosted version.
Cons
- Not easy to customize with apps.
- The simplified user interface means options are very limited.
- Not enough themes to change appearance of your site.
- Complicated setup if you install it yourself.
Take a look at our comparison of WordPress vs Ghost for more details on the topic.
Pricing
The self-hosted version needs a custom domain (about $14.99/year) and web hosting (starting from about $7.99/month). Pricing for the hosted version starts at $19/month for 1 blog with a 25000 page view limit.
10. Weebly
Weebly is a hosted platform that allows you to build your website using drag and drop tools. It comes with dozens of ready-to-use themes that you can customize using their web-based interface.
Pros
- Easy-to-use drag and drop website builder with no technical skills required.
- Quick and easy setup, since Weebly will host your site for you.
- Weebly’s free plan allows you to try out the service before buying.
Cons
- Built-in features are limited, and you can’t add new features.
- Limited integration with third party platforms.
- Exporting your site from Weebly to another platform is difficult.
For more details on this topic see our comparison of WordPress vs Weebly.
Pricing
Weebly’s paid plans start from $8.00/month, and include limited features. To unlock all the available features, you could pay up to $49.00/month.
Our Pick
We believe that WordPress outperforms all other platforms. It is powerful, easy to use, affordable, and the most flexible of all available blogging platforms. Here are all the reasons why you should use WordPress.
We hope this article helped you choose the best blogging platform for your next blog. If you’re ready to get started blogging with WordPress, then head over to our step by step guide on how to start a WordPress blog.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
My friends and I wanted to start a blog just to see if we like it. The problem is the money, after reading the article it seems as though the free websites have major setbacks. Would it be worth the setbacks just to try it or should we just pay the money?
Hi Giaa,
If you and your friends are serious about the project, then it is worth spending money on. You can start with free platforms but later it would be a headache to move your site to a self-hosted platform.
Hello, Shalom: I want to cancel my subscription with Weebly. It is to difficult even at the start to use the system for blogging. I am a university student and our teacher wanted us to use Weebly in the free ad. Help. Could you give me a phone number or address were I can cancel. Today at 1:150PM on 11/7/2018 I signed up. Thank you, Gary.
Hi Gary,
Please contact Weebly to cancel your subscription.
Thank you so much for providing this information.
Choosing a Blogging Platform that is suitable for my blog is quite difficult. And I’m looking for it. Glad you share it. Thanks for the recommendations. This will also help others.
wordpress is NOT easy!! If you understand computers and can set up a web page, it might be easy. For those of us who have NO concept of these platforms, it is beyond difficult. I spent hours on WordPress and was never able to successfully able to set up the website. The learning curve is VERY high!
Hi Kyrie,
We understand. It can be frustrating for a beginner to try for the first time and fail. However, there is plenty of help available online and learning curve is becoming significantly lower as more web hosts now install WordPress automatically.
HI
wordpress is the best platform for blogging in my opinion not only fr blogging wordpress i getting improved day by day i was reading on wordpress offical webste that wordpress can handle easly more than 1 Lac products for online store. this is something impresses me alot.
Hey Guys, I disagree with your summary of Joomla….I have been working with Joomla from the beginning, it is extremely flexible, there are many free extensions available and as long as you work with developers/extensions from the JED (Joomla Extension Directory) the support is normally pretty good. Of course, there are some developers that do not respond, but I have found the same with WP. The possibilities with Joomla are far less restricted and it is much more easily customised if you are looking to personalise your site.
Hello!
I’m a student and I’m having passion towards writing. I can’t pay to the sites.so,can I get any suggestion to get a free of cost site? I wanted to exhibit my skill of writing stories!!!!!
Hi Pavani,
You can get started with platforms like Blogger or WordPress.com. However, as your writings become popular you will soon feel the need for more features. This is why we recommend starting with WordPress.org. You will have to pay for hosting and a domain name (which is quite low cost for a starter blog) but you will have the freedom to do whatever you want.
Hi, i am going to start my health and fitness blog website, which plartform will be good for me?
Medium is no longer “free” and so this part of your article very badly needs an update.
I recently wasted quite a lot of time buidling a blog on Medium, with the intention of “blogging my book.”
Belatedly discovered that my readers can only access three articles per month for free. After that it’s a $5 per month “membership” subscription. That would make the total cost of reading my book in blog form far, far in excess of the cost of an ordinary book. My intent was to put my book out there completely for free. So it’s a no go, and I’ve wasted tons of time for nothing.
On the upside, Medium looks completely amazing on a smartphone. My old reliable, Typepad, looks like crap on a smartphone. Sigh.
Still searching for “true blogging love” for free…
Sir how can I start a website that I can upload music and videos for download and also have blog on it tell me the website that can host that type of site
This Article is very useful for Beginner who want to start blogging .Thanks for Sharing.
I am sorry to say this but wordrpress is rubbish, 98% of all the templates do not work, the previews show a nice theme but once you install it, it is very uncustomisable.
Weebly is the best.
I want to start a blog that will later on have the capability of advertising and sponsorship later down the track. I wont be selling anything so no eCommerce requirement – what do you recommend?
Money is tight and monthly hosting costs isnt an option
Hi Jay,
We will recommend self-hosted WordPress.org site as mentioned in the article.
Thanks For getting me inform as there are diffrent types of plate from each other easy to decide what i am looking for
It was really very useful blog and my hearty thanks to u
hello! thank you for this article. I want to set up an e-commerce website, would you recommend WordPress or Magento?
thank you!
Hi Andrew,
We will recommend WordPress and WooCommerce. For more details, please see our article on how to start an online store.
i want to start a blog & earn money . the blog is related with educations. i make notes so suggest me which platform is best for me. i have no coding skills.
Hello there!
I found all the discusions really useful in terms of applications for blogging that I haven’t really ever considered!
However I’m looking to set up a blog for my own ‘satisfaction’ and don’t believe it’s the kind of site that people are going to find interesting/ I don’t expect any traffic and has no sales element! I guess what I’m looking for is also a diary that people are welcome to read (and make comments if they wish) so I really want something that’s free (or costs less than the price of a paper journal)
Admittedly there always word, but I’m keen to engage in media like blogging and understand it more !
Please could anyone recommend a free & easy site to use?
I already tried ( only very briefly) but I couldn’t see anything obvious for blogging
Hope some one can help!, if not thank you for reading anyway!
I’d go with a free hosted blog on WordPress.com.
WordPress is the biggest blogging platform for a reason. They’ve been at it for a while, and they do a great job.
And an upside, if you decide to pay a bit of money, it’d be a seamless transition into a paid WordPress site which would allow you more freedoms to customize, monetize, and more.
i am a student. i have a passion for writing . but the problem is that i cannott pay money for these sites. what is a way to start blogging for free? does wordpress helps if i want to blog for free on a domain?
Hi Amna,
You can create a free account on WordPress.com or Blogger. However, if you want to take blogging seriously then you need to start with a self hosted WordPress.org website.
“a blog for my own ‘satisfaction’ and don’t believe it’s the kind of site that people are going to find interesting/ I don’t expect any traffic and has no sales element! ”
…..HA HA SAME HERE!!!!
hello! thank you for this article. I want to set up an astrology blog to gain an audience and clients for astrology readings. Which blog host do you recommend?
thank you!
Hi Alejandra,
Please take a look at our guide on how to choose the best WordPress hosting.
Hello
I want to create a website for blogging and selling art works. What platform you can recommend for this?
Hi Towhid,
We recommend using WordPress. It allows you to easily create a blog and you can also add an online store to sell your artwork.
May i know why wordpress is so famous
Hi there, and thank you for a great review of blogging options.
After careful reading, I like the idea of MEDIUM but when I tried to sign up all they offered was Google or Facebook. I wish to use my own domain based email as noted here and not the awful gmail option, which is all that seems to be available at MEDIUM. I would welcome your advice.
BTW, since MEDIUM uses Google or FB, clearly there is some kind of link and perhaps modfications will be made in future to monetize content and no doubt enable Google or FB to utilise all the blogg data thus compromising authors.
Hi there,
Thank you for the great post.
As this is my initial phase to enter in blogging field, do you think it’s better to start off with google free blogger and then change to wordpress once i have enough post in my blog?
Hi Sumi,
We will recommend against it. It is time consuming to move your website, you can miss some traffic and followers, and starting it with the right platform is crucial to give you a solid foundation to begin with.
Thanks bro I choose wordpress because it is easy to opreate.
I agree that wordpress is an awesome site, However I have been working with it and find that there is a serious limit to what you can do with it if you’re not going to pay the 300 dollar fee for the business platform. Which most people can’t just throw out. You can not USE ANY PLUGINS OR VERY LIMITED PLUGINS ( the ones that matter) without the business platform. So here I am finding that after all I did last night to get my review blog up and running was worthless. I am angry! Excuse my ENGLISH!
Hi Beckie,
There are two types of WordPress websites. Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
can i pay monthly charges for domain name?
Hi Mathew,
While you can pay for website hosting on a monthly basis, domain registrations are on yearly basis and cannot be paid monthly.
Blogger is the best and it’s getting regular updates now. It’s a Google Product hence you can rank high in search.
I am completely new to blogging world. I want to start a blogging site for sharing competion exam preparation strategy and study material. Which blogging platform I should opt ?
Hello
I want to create a website for blogging and selling art works. What platform you can recommend for this?
Hi,
I have a blog that uses a wordpress theme, and blue host hosts my domain name. However, I don’t really understand what a platform is and I don’t know what my platform is. I am planning to start a new food blog with a different focus and use wordpress.org (whatever that actually means.) Does wordpress.org help you with setting up and explaining whether or not they are your platform? I am a granny (79 to be exact.) I have a three year old cooking blog that never gets visitors except for family and friends. I would like to do better with my blog, but I don’t even understand the idea of platform. Can you give me some advice as to how to proceed?
Hi Joan,
A platform is a software or service you are using to run your blog. In your case, you are already using self-hosted WordPress.org blog. If you want to get more traffic to your blog, then a good place to start would be our WordPress SEO Guide for beginners.
I am wanting to start a blog focusing on writing and craft/art, and photography, perhaps with reader story submissions. Is this a good platform? I know that is a lot of stuff. And what if i want affiliate links? Would this support that?
Hi Kathi,
You can create arts, crafts, and photography website with WordPress. You can also accept user submissions and add affiliate links.
Can I use my smart phone for blogging.
Will WordPress features work well using phone or I need a laptop.
How do I pay and get started with the WordPress. Org.
Hi,
You can manage a WordPress blog from mobile browser. However, this will be difficult as many features on your screen would appear different or may not be visible. Plugins will be unable to adjust their settings page to your device size. In short, it is not practical in the long run.
Please see our guide on how to start a WordPress blog for step by step instructions.
I would like to create a tech blog but also would like to be able to develop web apps and tools for the users at the same time, to show case my project and skills, so along with the blog I would need to run code and have access to database. Any host option ?
I just want to set up a website where I can put pictures, poems, articles, maybe rants. Mainly poems though. What would you recommend?
Hi Alex,
We will recommend self hosted WordPress.org website.
Hei There,
Thanks for the nice article. Actually, this post is really helpful for the newcomer in the world of blogging. I will try to follow this post on my next journey to choosing the best blogging platform.
Another important thing to point out, which should be a bullet point for each of these, is social network integration. Blogger, for instance, is what I have been using for years and am now looking to move away from it because it has never done a good job of integrating with various social networks. Like, when sharing to Twitter it doesn’t even use a Twitter “card” so the only thing you see is an anonymous URL. Not very helpful when getting the word out about your latest blog post. Thanks for the great comparison, though. This has given me some good ideas on what to move to.
I choose wordpress cause is easy to operate
It was really very useful blog and my hearty thanks to u ….
Hi I want to be a blogger and also join a platform how do I start?Please contact ASAP I really need help
Hi Hildah,
Please take a look at our step by step guide on how to start a WordPress blog.
Is there a hosting service where you can actually pay BY THE MONTH? I get that you have a money back guarantee, but that’s still a lot of money for me to shell out for something that I’m just starting out. If you are looking to blog to hopefully help generate income, then it seems natural to me for a host to let someone start out slowly.
Hi,
You can pay on a monthly basis. Most WordPress hosting companies have monthly plans too. However, monthly plans cost more than annual plans, in the end you’ll end up paying more for the same service.
Hey nice article….can you add joomla template along with wordpress in a hosting account so that both will merge as one website….maybe you can click a link from wordpress theme into joomla theme…..
The reason is just to get both best features of each theme combined together like linking a joomla ecommerce theme with wordpress blog theme
I find this website useful however, I also find it bias towards WordPress. Like at the top of the page list the blogging pros for each then the cons NOT WORDPRESS so they suck. Am I the only one who got that vibe? Guess I will keep poking around. Thank you xx
WPBeginner is a very big and popular site which focuses on WordPress more than anything, so this article is on the bias. I would also hope that the author actually used each platform to get a fair accessment too. However, I will give my two cents into this WP vs all others….
WordPress was built to be a blogging platform and will always be a blogging platform. It does it well and perfect for blog only sites. However, once you start incorporating other functionality into your site such as membership based concepts, e-commerce, basically more complex website structure and content, my choice would go to Joomla! hands down. I’ve got over 10 years of Joomla experience and 7 for WP, so it’s a bit easier for me to make that statement.
I’m about to build another theme site/shop and was going to use WP, but based on past experiences, I am going to use Joomla because I know the capabilities and flexibility will make managing a site like this (which will have a blog in it), go much smoother, and then there’s security.
I would love to write a comparison between WP and Joomla and detail why it depends on the kind of website you plan to build, but I would end up with a long article length comment
Hi Andre!
Would you recommend wordpress for a travel blog?
Can I post same contents on more than one website? Is there anything wrong in doing so?
It would be duplicate content and Google will penalize your site for that.
Can you send me more tools and info for beginner
blogger
Please follow Facebook or Facebook for more WordPress tips and tutorials. You can also signup for our mailing list.
Can I post many pictures on blog
How to build a wordpress.org website for realtor
There are multiple ways to do that. First you would need to start a WordPress blog and then you can install a real estate theme.
Anyone wanting to create a blog dedicated to blogging, Medium is the way to go. I’ve maintained a WordPress blog for ten years now and the only thing stopping me from migrating everything over is that you can’t migrate comments.
Thanks Rick
Why do you find that you now’d prefer Medium over WordPress? (If you don’t mind sharing.) Thank you!
Hi Dana
I think it all depends on your needs,plans and vision for running your blog.Some people enjoy blogging as it is and for this reason they prefer ready simple solutions such as Medium,Ghost,Blogr,Svtble,etc. while other prefer to spend more time and efforts on building beautiful sites.