Either you are choosing blogging as a hobby or for business, broadcasting blog content has various benefits. Blogging helps you to develop authority in the industry.
At the same time, it drives traffic to your site and provides you with an opportunity to convert that traffic into leads. It is believed by 72% of online marketers that content creation is one of the most effective and responsive SEO tactics.
To acquire the rewards of blogging, we’ll look deep into the entire process of opting for an appropriate platform for your needs and goals.
Here we’ll get deep insights into the best blogging platforms. We will study their pros and cons so that you can choose the appropriate platform for your custom CMS development.
These platforms can help you if you are looking out to add a blog for your business or build a stand-alone blog.
Things You Should Consider Before Choosing the Right Best Blogging Platform
It is significant to select an appropriate blogging platform for your custom CMS development. For that, you need to analyze how the capabilities get aligned with your goals and requirements.
For example, if you are looking to boost your visibility in SERPs, search for a platform with built-in SEO tools. And if your motive is to publish visual content, you should search for a platform supporting multi-media posts.
Now, let’s look at some significant features that you require to have for a blog. This list will also help you to evaluate the best blog platforms in the market.
☛ Content Editor
The content editor is the key element for every blogging platform. As a blogger, you might end up working with this editor regularly. Therefore make sure to choose a platform with a content editor you would prefer.
Also, make an entire list of must-have features and preferable features that can convince you to choose the particular platform. For instance, you must have a drag-drop feature, an autosave feature, and many more.
In addition, it is always amazing to have a feature preview as it helps you to have a look at what your post will look like on different devices.
☛ Themes And Templates
Themes and templates in blogging platforms allow you to modify a blog quickly and easily. While choosing among the best blogging platforms, don’t forget to check out various themes and templates.
Check out if they have various options for blogging? and do they provide you with a variety of free and premium options?
Consider the average price of their premium themes. And also, look if you can edit the themes and templates to create an entirely customized look for your site.
Before you choose one of the best blogging platforms, see to it that they have an option to start from scratch as some of you don’t want to work on a pre-designed theme and want to customize one for yourself.
These are some questions that can help you choose a platform with the customization and design options you require.
☛ SEO Features and Tools
Improvising the content for search is quite significant to drive traffic to your blog. It is believed by 34% of bloggers that updating the content brings effective results.
The Search Engine Journal states that sites listed on the first SERP in Google tend to get 91.5% of the traffic share for a keyword or a phrase.
Suppose you wish to get your blog displayed on the first page, then you ideally want a platform with built-in tools that would aid you in optimizing the content.
For instance, CMS Hub provides its users with SEO recommendations as you write your blog. If the free blog platforms do not provide you with these advanced functionalities, check if you can further install an SEO plugin or third-party tool.
A local SEO guide will enhance your local visibility. Or else you will require to get up to rush on SEO best practices and implement them on your blog.
As we have gone through some vital features, one needs to consider the selection process. So, let’s have a look at some of the best blogging platforms available in the market.
List of Best Blogging Platforms
1. WordPress.org
WordPress is one of the largest blogging communities on the web, with 60 million users. Are you familiar with 2 different versions of WordPress? One of them is WordPress.org, where you can get the content management system software for free.
Of course, you would need to put in a bit of upfront work to search for a hosting company and a domain name. Many WordPress plugins available in the market to make the whole blogging process easier.
However, once you get all of them in one place, you are all set to get complete control to customize your blog.
✍ Pros:
- It provides users with self-hosting.
- Allows users to use custom plugins and themes.
- It offers you the power for usability and customization.
- It provides great support to its users.
- Many host sites provide a free single-click install.
✍ Cons:
- One needs to perform routine backups.
- At first, you would also require to buy a domain name and web hosting.
- It may not be an easy platform for beginner bloggers.
- You need to constantly maintain the blog on your own.
✍ It is best known for:
- Great platform for serious bloggers of all genres.
- It is the best blogging platform for writers that want complete control over their customization.
- It is the best blogging platform for new and experienced bloggers looking to capitalize and maximize traffic on their sites.
✍ Pricing:
It is free to use, but you need to pay for the web hosting and domain name.
2. Squarespace
Squarespace is a platform where bloggers visit to develop simple but elegant websites. Without leaving the website, you can build your entire website and blog using their professional style editor and templates.
It is seamless about Squarespace that no programming knowledge is required to build a blog as it has all the necessary tools one would require to get more exposure for your work. Nowadays, people are keen to learn how to make money blogging for beginners.
✍ Pros:
- It does not require any coding knowledge to modify for basic setup.
- That has an easy-to-navigate interface.
- It provides its users with a drag and drops editor.
- It offers an effective e-commerce platform.
- You can easily add team members.
- It is a mobile-friendly platform.
- It allows third-party embedding for content.
✍ Cons:
- It might cost you extra to get access to eCommerce.
- That offers less customization.
- It has no free plans.
- If you are an experienced WordPress user, then it is quite hard for you to learn.
- It is only made available as a hosted offering.
- That only has Stripe, which is used for eCommerce (no PayPal integration).
✍ It is best known for:
- This is one of the best blogging platforms for bloggers who put high emphasis on image-based content.
- It is a great platform for business owners looking to create a website with a blog and eCommerce capabilities. This capability makes it the best blogging platform to make money.
- Bloggers who are new to the field do not have to tinker with a code to create customizations.
✍ Pricing:
It costs around $12 to $40 per month (if paid annually).
3. Medium
The medium was previously developed as a simple, alternative blogging platform for people who wish to express their thoughts online.
The average posts on this platform could be anything, starting from political soapbox to a personal essay of experiences or success.
Platforms like such exist because their developers believe that every human has a voice, and they all have the right to be heard.
However, the medium motivates readers to be a part of the conversations; companies have started to use a platform as an extension for their innovative marketing strategies.
So while you are looking at posts from your neighbor, you also get to see posts from companies like REI, BMW, Buffer, and many more.
✍ Pros:
- It has built-in audiences, and one can share their thoughts with medium readers.
- It allows third-party embeddings for video and other types of content.
- You can publish your content on a custom domain or as a subdomain of the medium.
- You can tag up to three categories per post.
- It ranks and promotes content based on the quality of the metrics.
✍ Cons:
- One needs to use the hosted medium site.
- It has a standardized template.
- It requires third-party opt-in forms.
- You tend to have limited control over branding.
✍ It is best known for:
- It is one of the best blogging platforms for beginners who don’t want to develop an actual website.
- Online marketers who are searching for new opportunities to create content.
- Bloggers who are not concerned about building an audience of their own. On the other hand, place a higher priority on getting their thoughts and opinions heard by the public.
✍ Pricing:
It is one of the best free blog platforms in the market.
4. Wix
Wix is a cloud-based website-building platform with a community of 90+ million users all over the world. Their user-friendly approach, drop and drag templates, are built with keeping some specific industries in mind.
These features and functionalities of such the best blogging platforms help you know which design works best for your online business.
✍ Pros:
- It serves with beautiful templates with distinct layouts for different industries.
- It has a flexible drag and drops editing functionalities.
- Also, it supports third-party integrations.
- It offers its users text and other element animations.
✍ Cons:
- It has a lack of customization.
- If you opt for basic plans, then you’ll get disturbed by ads.
- Once your template gets locked in, then you cannot make further modifications during the mid-project.
✍ It is best known for:
- This is one of the best blogging platforms for users with no design skills who wish to build their blog from scratch.
- It is also adopted by musicians, photographers, artists, creatives who want a blog and a site to display their work.
- Small business owners of online stores or restaurants who are looking for industry-specific website templates.
✍ Pricing:
The basic plan of Wix is free for use, and if someone wishes to experience advanced features, then it may cost about ₹185 to ₹325.
5. WordPress.com
WordPress.com acquires almost half the blogging features in comparison to the .org type. This best blog platform is much simpler with the no-hassle interface.
It has tools and features that can be used as basic and advanced however you want them to be. If you are a beginner in this field, you can start with .com and then switch to .org when you are ready to take on a more customized site.
If you are confused and don’t know which WordPress platform to choose, contact a WordPress development agency as their advice and help can solve your queries.
✍ Pros:
- It has multiple plan options to fit distinct budgets.
- It offers hosting and various custom domains.
- Also, it is equipped with plugins for polls, social media, and many more.
- It has 100+ themes.
- Mobile friendly.
- Paid upgrades are available for users.
- Great support and customer care.
- It provides simple blog creation.
✍ Cons:
- One needs to bear extra charges for a custom domain name, third-party embeds.
- It does not provide custom themes, plugins, or HTML editing.
- They are strict with their affiliate links policy.
- Your domain will include “.wordpress.com” unless you pay extra fees to get your name.
- Ads are a part of the basic plan, but they can be removed by paying a specific amount.
✍ It is best known for:
- It is the best blogging platform for bloggers who wish to build a simple portfolio site to support their work.
- Great platform for personal bloggers who are not aiming to build a business site.
- Beginners who only want a platform to showcase their basic information will eventually move to something with more control once they are comfortable using the basic type.
✍ Pricing:
It provides free basic plans. Further users can pay ₹1050 to experience advanced features.
Conclusion
This article has gone through the pros and cons and compared important features of the best blogging platforms. Did this help you to decide on an appropriate platform for you? Deciding on the platform is the first step to provide you with a bit of momentum to move forward on your blogging journey.
Let us know if this article helped you to decide which platform is best for your requirements. Still, if you face some issues deciding, contact a cms development company as they are advised and help you through this process.
