What is the Best Blogging Platform for You?

There are a lot of different blogging platforms available and many times people are asking which one is right for them. There are usually two deciding factors; one that fits into your budget and is most comfortable for you to use.

I personally love WordPress and have been using it forever, but what works for me may not be best for you. I hope this post will help you find something you like!

Choosing a Blogging Platform

This is where you’re probably going to make a decision about how much you’re willing to spend on your blog. If you’re not looking to invest quite yet, you’re going to choose a free platform. If you’re thinking ahead and focused on turning your blog into a business, a paid option is the best. They usually allow more control

Even if you’re not looking to monetize your blog, you may want to opt for a paid blog plan. They allow greater control over options and you’ll also be able to have more tools available for you to create a blog that you can grow into something big.

Choosing a free platform to start out with a good for new bloggers because it gives you a chance to see how everything works. Go through each free option before you decide on one to use for your blog.

If you’re thinking about going on self-hosted WordPress, I suggest you try the freely hosted WordPress first because they’re a little bit similar. If you’re comfortable with the WordPress.com interface, it won’t be so hard to get used to the WordPress that would be installed on your own host.

Popular Blogging Platforms

There’s a lot out there, but I’m going to talk about these few as they’re pretty popular and have a lot of resources available if you need help.

• WordPress.org, the self-hosted version of WordPress that you install on your own server
• WordPress.com, the free version of WordPress
• Squarespace, a subscription-based website and blog builder
• Blogger, a free blogging platform by Google
• Medium, a free blogging and social platform

WordPress

Self-Hosted, WordPress.org

This is what I believe to be the ultimate, best option for blogging if you want complete control over your blog. WordPress powers over 27% of all websites, so there’s plenty of support for it and it’s not going away anytime soon.

I think the biggest advantage to self-hosting is that you have control over your own content and no one can take that away from you. As long as you’re operating within the rules of your web host, anyway! But my point is that if you’re hosting your own content, you can present it in the way you want and you can monetize it if you wish.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is the free hosted version of WordPress. It’s a lot like the self-hosted WordPress platform, but you don’t have as much control over everything. If you want to get started with WordPress easily, this is your best bet. It’s also a great choice if you’re not sure about blogging, but you’d like to try it out to see if it’s something you’d like to do long term.

WordPress.com allows you to add your own domain, or you can use an address like yourbloghere.wordpress.com.

Squarespace

Self-hosted WordPress can be difficult for some of the less tech savvy and that’s perfectly okay! There’s still options for you to have a powerful blogging system Squarespace is a good option if you’re one of those people.

For about $12 a month, you can have a fully hosted blog with your own domain name on an easy-to-use platform. Squarespace also has a free trial, so if you try it out and decide you don’t like it, no worries!

Blogger

Blogger is a free blogging platform owned by Google. You’ve seen a Blogger blog if you ever visited a website with a URL like coolblog.blogspot.com.

A lot of people like Blogger because they find it to be the easiest to use. It also connects directly with AdSense since it’s a Google product, so it’s easy to add ads to your blog. You can also connect your own domain as well.

Remember, though, it may be difficult to make money with ads without tons of traffic, so don’t pick Blogger just for the ad integration.

Medium

Medium is a free blogging platform that is based around a huge community of other bloggers. The community is the biggest advantage here. Even if you choose one of the other blogging platforms, you may also want to cross post on Medium to take advantage of the community.

Medium offers a distraction-free reading experience, so the focus here is on your content rather than ads or a sidebar. Unfortunately, this means there’s not much room for monetization, so if that’s something you’re looking for, try something else.

Medium is a great choice if you like sharing your stories and since it also comes with its own built-in social platform, getting your blog read might be a little easier than with other blogging platforms.

Which Blogging Platform Will You Choose?

I’ve given you five options so now it’s up to you! I suggest trying out all the free ones first just to see how they work and which one you like best.

Keep in mind your goals for your blog. If you don’t have any yet, start with something free. Maybe you’re ready to go all in and you want to create with Squarespace or host your own WordPress blog.