10 Most Popular Blogging Platforms Compared - 2019 edition
What is a blogging platform?
Definition
A blogging platform is a type of software or service that you use to create a blog so that you can publish your content online. Creating a blog involves several steps, but the first one is choosing a system that will best fit your needs.
Without it, you cannot proceed to the other steps, and you cannot start your blogging adventure.
You can safely say that a blogging platform is a CMS (Content Management System) since it enables you to easily manage your content once you have your blog up and running.
How to choose a blogging platform
At this stage, you’ll need to determine the blog management platform/tool you want to use. Here are some important criteria to assess the available options:
- Pricing. One of the most common questions – “How much does it cost?”. It’s essential to know how much you will have to pay for a blogging platform and it’s also important to know what will you get for your money.
- Type. There are different types of solutions. They all designed for the end user to be able to create a blog, but it’s important for you to understand what’s available. They are: free (hosted), self-hosted, freemium, premium, blog website builders. We will describe the difference between them later.
- Ease of use. New bloggers need an easy to use solution that they can handle without any technical skills, learning web development or web design. Once the software is set up, it has to be easy to manage.
- Features. You need to make sure that the platform you pick is feature-rich. You might not need them at the beginning or not use them at all, but you have to make sure that platform gives you the ability to customize or change your blog completely if required.
- Administration. The back end or admin area is where you will do changes to your blog, write content, make design and layout changes. Make sure that the admin area is available, accessible and easy to navigate.
- Restrictions. Do your research, read the “Terms of use” or “Terms of services”. Make sure software doesn’t have any hidden rules that you must follow. Check if there are no restrictions when it comes to monetization practices, such as placing adds or partner links on your blog.
On this page here you’ll find some of the most popular blogging platforms and alternative options (with short descriptions, pros, and cons) available for new bloggers. With the help of this information, you will be able to find the best option for yourself.