The best platforms for blogging help novice and experienced bloggers to quickly launch platforms for interacting with the audience. You don’t need programming knowledge in 2024 to start a blog or add an online merch store to it.

There are many services and content management systems for bloggers on the Internet. Most of them are free or available for trial. The open source code of their templates makes it possible to change the design according to your objectives.  

1. What Is a Blogging Platform?

A blogging platform is a service or CMS that allows you to quickly launch content distribution platforms. These can be both small blogs and web portals with the possibility of publishing UGC. 

Competition in the blogging niche is high, but it does not prevent beginners from creating content, investing in advertising, and finding new channels to attract the target audience.

Search engines remain the main source of traffic in 2024, but most bloggers rely on social media. The problem with Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms is the high cost of advertising.

You’ll need a lot of money at the initial stages of developing a social media profile. And the cost of advertisements in some niches is higher than the average figure for the market. This applies to specific fields with few opinion leaders, who can charge high fees for their services.

The best blogging sites solve the main task — content posting. These services offer different tools and interface quality. Some platforms boast hundreds of free themes, while others have a built-in donation mechanism. 

It is very important to pick the right platform at the beginning of blog development. If you will need to transfer the content to another CMS in six months or a year, you risk encountering problems and losing your audience.  

1.1. How does it work?

When creating a blog based on a popular service, the author gets the opportunity to publish content and use all the available tools. For example, you can create a blog on the basis of Medium and assign your domain to it, but your website will not differ much from similar projects. 

Some services offer subscription plans, which can be tested through a trial version. Using the trial version does not affect the speed of attracting an audience, but the functionality may be limited.

Marketing strongly affects loyal audience generation; therefore, it is important to pick a platform that simply provides tools to bloggers and does not control their work. Some platforms have very strict policies, and if you violate them, your website can be blocked.

The main disadvantage of using popular blogging platforms is the risk of getting penalized. For example, website builders strive to make customers pay a subscription fee and limit the opportunities available to them. 

And you can lose an entire business if there is an eCommerce website working together with the blog. In this case, all the metrics will become useless instantly because you will have to urgently transfer to another platform.

The best blogging platforms are different for every content creator, but there are many good services on the market to use as the core for launching a content platform. However, they all have flaws, and you should be aware of them before you start actively developing a blog. 

2. Different Types of Top Blogging Platforms

All blogging platforms can be conventionally categorized into two formats tied to hosting. Website builders like Wix allow you to launch a blog without buying hosting services. And the second type of platform implies access to the source code and independent hosting with service providers. 

Users who do not want to buy a host and pay for programmer services usually opt for website builders and blogging platforms. They register with a popular service, pick a ready-made template, and start publishing content.

The problem with this approach is that not all platforms for launching blogs provide complete freedom of action. The source code on some of them is hidden, and it can be very difficult to connect Google Analytics or a sharing service. 

Therefore, it is better to opt for an alternative in the form of a content management system. It is not necessary to use WordPress or Joomla; there are more specific CMSs for bloggers, but it is important to check them thoroughly before proceeding. You may encounter problems with security or difficulty in finding developers. 

2.1. Free and paid

Paid platforms have many advantages, but you don’t have to pick the first builder from search results and pay $200 per month to build a website. It can have an awkward user interface, and poor UX will affect the speed of publishing content.

Some free platforms offer maximum benefits:

• a large number of integrations;
• high performance;
• flexible settings;
• a huge selection of templates;
• tools for content optimization;
• open source code.

WordPress, Drupal, and other popular CMSs offer all the above advantages. The engine is free, but there are many paid themes and plugins from third-party developers in the public domain.

Builders and blogging platforms also provide many advantages, but in the long term, you should develop a content platform based on a CMS and your domain. In this case, you won’t have to adhere to the terms and restrict your activity.

The best blogging platforms offer a wide range of features and give users freedom of action. You can move to another engine at any time, suspend the website, or add an online store with a payment gateway to your blog. 

2.2. Hosted and self-hosted

It’s impossible to say exactly which hosting service is better, but blogging platform hosting plans are typically based on the number of websites, and you’ll have to pay a monthly fee for every project. 

If you have your own hosting solution, you can connect an unlimited number of domains to it and buy additional resources if necessary. And you will get even more opportunities than with shared hosting if you rent a virtual server. 

The best sites for blogging can be hosted on the cheapest server, but it is better to host the project with an external hosting provider. Then, you can be confident of stable performance and daily backups. 

If a blogging platform has problems with content loading, all the websites will stop working. A resource hosted externally will not be affected by this issue in any way and will work steadily. 

3. Comparison of the Best Blogging Platforms

The best blogging sites are usually compared on a standard set of parameters, but you should keep in mind the goals and needs of the site owner. For example, if the latter wants to focus on merch promotion, e-commerce tools will come first.

You should make a list of the main requirements and check how a particular service copes with them to make the best choice. In the case of CMS, you’d better pick engines with a well-developed ecosystem and a large community.

While developing a content platform, you will probably need the services of a programmer. It can be difficult to find a developer for a CMS that hasn’t been updated for a few years. 

It is useful to compare blogging platforms, but you should check every service yourself to find the best option for your tasks. 

If traffic is generated by social media and search engines, you need to add SEO tools to your list of criteria. CMSs easily cope with the task, which is usually not the case with blogging platforms. 

4. Platforms for Beginners

There are simple services in the blogging platforms market, which can be used even by beginners with a basic level of knowledge. Using them is as easy as uploading content to social media.

Platforms for beginners are worse than popular CMSs in terms of available features. For example, Medium has problems with search engine optimization, but articles published on resources based on the engine often get to the top of search results thanks to the trustworthiness of the main domain. 

With simple blogging platforms, you can forget about structured data, SSL encryption, Accelerated Mobile Pages, and the possibility to insert your JavaScript code. Content platform owners usually don’t pay attention to these factors and focus on content creation. 

4.1. Wix

One of the most popular website builders offers a wide range of blogging features. You can launch a resource for content sharing in just a few minutes. 

Among the advantages are a simple interface and multiple templates for blog design. It is a versatile blogging platform that will suit beginners and experienced users alike. 

Wix offers built-in monetization capabilities and powerful statistics to get information about user activity. Traffic reports are essential for identifying effective content formats and refining a promotion strategy.

4.2. Medium

The platform regularly ranks among the best blogging sites. It features a minimum entry threshold and a simple interface. You can link your domain to the created blog, but the recognizable design will still be maintained.

One of the main drawbacks of Medium is limited SEO opportunities. You can expect search traffic, but other platforms provide more features. 

Medium is often compared to the Blogger service now owned by Google. This is caused by the fact that both platforms are backed by the same developers. But Medium has gained momentum, and it is in demand among bloggers of different levels. 

4.3. Squarespace

Squarespace does not always get on the list of the most popular blogging platforms, but it is one of the best website builders. You can launch a project of any scale on its basis and be sure of its stable work.

Squarespace offers plenty of tools for quick launching and active blogging. All the templates available in the library were created by professionals, which is noticeable in every block.

The platform’s built-in marketing capabilities ensure fast content promotion. Among Squarespace’s advantages is powerful analytics. Thanks to that, bloggers can find out which publications are most viewed and shared in a few clicks.

5. Platforms for Making Money

All blog owners expect to monetize their blogs when they manage to attract an active audience. This process is sometimes time-consuming because niche competition is high, and it becomes increasingly difficult to generate traffic. 

Some blogging platforms have several options for content monetization. You can distribute articles among users who have paid membership fees or collect donations. 

You can implement a donation system using third-party services like Patreon, but a blogging platform should have standard integrations with such services. In this case, you can save time on searching for a developer and money on paying for the services. 

The point of built-in monetization is that users willingly donate to bloggers they follow on a regular basis. It’s a great option for building a personal brand that doesn’t depend on advertiser contributions. 

5.1. WordPress.org

WordPress is the best CMS for creating content projects of any level. Developers built it for solving blogger problems, but it can now meet the needs of even the most demanding users.

You can create a content project, add an online store to it, set up a payment gateway for processing payments, include the option to buy memberships, and implement any other functions within this CMS. 

WordPress and other most popular platforms for blogging are ideal for launching blogs that may become independent media in the future. Any blogger can build a website with a unique design using multiple themes and plugins. 

5.2. WordPress.com

WordPress is promoted as a CMS and a blogging platform. If a webmaster does not want to buy hosting services and configure a site manually, one can buy a paid subscription and launch the website in just a few hours.

One of the main advantages of the blogging platform is that it retains all the tools of the shrink-wrapped version of WordPress. A large selection of themes and plugins allows you to solve any design-related tasks. 

WordPress.com is positioned as a fast and secure hosting service for any website. The cost of subscription plans is relatively low, and owners of the most expensive subscription receive a free domain for a year. 

5.2. Gator

Hostgator is a well-known hosting provider that offers quality website hosting services. It has shared hosting and a special deal aimed at projects based on WordPress.

The service also offers a handy website builder. You can use it to create a blog for content distribution. Gator is sometimes put on the list of good blogging platforms, but it is inferior to competitors in many aspects. 

The advantages include a quick launch, a free domain if you pay for a year, an SSL certificate, and top-priority support. All created websites are displayed correctly on different devices and have high performance.

5.3. Jekyll

The CMS is suitable for those who want to learn HTML/JavaScript and create a unique website style by themselves. The engine has no GUI; all operations are performed in the command bar. 

Jekyll attracts many bloggers with a handy tool for transferring content from other platforms. You can migrate from Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, or WordPress.com and quickly launch a website based on the new CMS. 

Those who at least occasionally work with a console and use Linux will consider Jekyll a handy tool for building websites. However, even experienced users will find a GUI very useful. 

5.4. Contently

This is a content creation and distribution platform, which is considered a universal tool for bloggers and writers. 

The service is suitable for those who want to delegate content creation tasks or build a team of experienced writers. Contently has a patented algorithm for selecting specialists based on a blogger’s content strategy and previously published content. 

Access to the platform starts at $500. If you need to launch a new website with minimal investment, Contently is not the right option for a startup. But you can begin using the service after gaining the first audience and advertisers. 

5.5. Weebly

Weebly is among the best free website builders. You can use it to launch a content project of any scale. You don’t need to understand the code or find a developer to this end.

Customers often mention a low entry threshold and a quick start among Weebly’s main advantages. It takes a minimum time to proceed from registration in the system to site launching. The user-friendly interface ensures maximum immersion into the product. 

Weebly often has accessibility issues; so, don’t rush with hosting a blog on the platform. You should learn the features of alternative platforms and pay special attention to the operation stability.

5.6. Postach

When comparing blogging platforms, few people pay attention to the tools created to distribute minor content. Some users like to read notes rather than longreads.

Postach is great for users who take notes in Evernote and want to share the content with an audience. The service allows you to create a blog with minimal features and connect Google Analytics.

The platform even has a paid subscription with access to a set of themes and the possibility to connect your domain. Postach synchronizes with Evernote; so, you will first have to create an account with the note-taking service. 

6. Platforms for SEO

Popular CMSs offer the broadest SEO opportunities. They have been developing for many years and can cover all the common needs of bloggers. 

To get stable traffic from social media, you need to publish content regularly, and Google, Bing, and other search engines provide targeted visitors on a regular basis. If you manage to get a page to the top for relevant queries, the traffic will keep flowing as long as its ranking remains unchanged.

Thanks to simultaneous work with search engines and social media, you will be able to attract more targeted visitors and advertisers. A long-term blog promotion strategy should be based on at least two sources of traffic. 

6.1. Drupal

Users love Drupal for extensive features and a minimum entry threshold. You can even run a blog with the option of buying a membership on this CMS, but you can’t do without third-party plugins. 

One of the main disadvantages of the engine is security problems. Researchers often find vulnerabilities in the core and plugins. Therefore, it is important to protect the blog as much as possible and find a specialist who will monitor the state of the website. 

Drupal is not inferior to WordPress and other developed content management systems in terms of popularity and community size. Still, there are not as many ready-made free themes to run a blog as other engines boast. 

6.2. Joomla

Joomla is considered the main alternative to WordPress, but the CMS is more suitable for corporate portals and commercial projects than blogs. However, it can often be found on lists of blogging platforms. 

There are plenty of themes for Joomla, which will be no less beneficial for a blog. An advantage of the engine is good protection, although you still have to take additional steps to cover vulnerabilities. 

The CMS is free, but you will probably need to purchase a theme and a set of plugins to create a full-fledged blog. For example, the basic capabilities of content optimization are limited.  

6.3. Constant Contact Web Builder

This is a well-known website builder, which allows you to create projects of any format and use built-in marketing tools. The main advantages include a trial version of the service, an intuitive interface of the control panel, and a built-in module for newsletters.

The service is suitable for launching a website and newsletters. Email marketing helps get users involved in the life of a project and increase their engagement.

The service has only two subscription plans — for $20 and $45. Every plan allows you to manage multiple sites, launch a blog, and connect your domain. The more expensive subscription provides more email marketing benefits. 

6.4. Ghost

Ghost has gained a strong foothold among the most popular engines designed for creating content projects in recent years. It features a convenient visual content editor and a large number of ready-to-use themes.

Most quality templates are available on a paid basis, but their cost does not exceed $100. Users often praise the CMS for its powerful analytics and the possibility to create a membership fee system. 

We can say that Ghost is a light version of WordPress, which possesses many advantages of the «big brother.» Its multiple integrations with popular services allow you to save on the fees of programmers. 

6.5. HubSpot CMS

HubSpot has been successfully operating in digital marketing for many years, distributing quality tools for marketing specialists and entrepreneurs. They include the HubSpot CMS for content management.

New blogging platforms feature the most user-friendly interface and a minimal entry threshold. HubSpot’s advantages are SEO tools, a built-in CRM, and a large selection of themes. 

HubSpot has more than 2,000 partners and service providers who help migrate from other CMSs and blogging platforms. You can use the help of qualified integrators and developers if you need it.

6.6. Craft CMS

This is a platform for launching content websites, which is distinguished by the availability of a free plan. If a blogger works alone and does not need team access, one can use the service without paying subscription fees.

One of the main advantages is a convenient form builder, which allows you to add fields of different formats and flexibly customize the design. Users also like the platform for the possibility to preview content in real-time.

The subscription plan costs $299 per project. For this money, customers get an unlimited number of user accounts, branding opportunities, and access to API.

7. Platforms for Writers

Writers also use platforms to create and run content websites. They are more interested in tools for quick publishing and user-friendly design than in SEO. However, it is important that contributors can interact with content and the front-end theme looks up-to-date. If a writer creates content for distribution, it should be available via a user-friendly interface. 

Specialized services for writers can’t offer all the features of first-tier CMSs, but top platforms for blogging do provide basic features:

• HTML5 video support;
• drag-and-drop editor;
• form creation;
• image editing;
• SEO tools.

Platforms for writers do not look like what users who have not encountered such services before think them to be. For example, Blogger by Google is not much different from Ghost. It solves a similar task but in a different way. 

7.1. Strikingly

It is a website builder that was launched in 2013. It is most often used to create single-page websites with multiple categories. Customers of the platform often combine a blog and a marketplace on one website. 

Users of free features can run a site on the service’s hosting servers and use the platform’s domain. Access to the code and the possibility to insert custom scripts is available only on a paid basis. 

One of the main advantages of Strikingly is adaptive templates with the content correctly displayed on different devices. The subscription cost starts at $16 for a year. 

7.2. Blogger

Although many bloggers consider this service outdated, it is still in demand and deserves a place among the best platforms for blogging. Websites built with Blogger rank well and hold top positions for highly competitive queries because the service is trusted. 

Built-in monetization is implemented via the Google AdSense affiliate network. Get more information about your visitors with Google Analytics. 

The service has an API for creating non-standard integrations. But the platform still lags far behind competitors. Even Ghost and other relatively young blogging platforms offer many more features. 

7.3. Tumblr

Tumblr cannot be considered a full-fledged platform for writers. It is better suited for people who create media content and publish GIFs, videos, and music. 

You can use Tumblr to share comics, images, and other visual content formats with brief notes. It is profitable to develop a community in the service only because of the large audience.

7.4. Typepad

The service was listed among the best platforms for blogging 15 years ago. Over 40 million blogs were hosted on it in 2006. Typepad is used by many popular DIY bloggers who write about crafts, food, style, and other topics. 

The platform no longer enables the creation of new accounts. It promotes BlueHost as an alternative for its hosting service and recommends choosing WordPress as the core of a website. 

The selection in the market of blogging services is wide, but problems arise when you need to find a perfect solution. So, you should try out a few options and define the best one. 

8. Things to Consider When Choosing

Even the best online blogging platforms have disadvantages, and you should learn about them before investing in a project. Otherwise, it may turn out that you cannot accomplish migration using regular means.

You should keep your objectives in mind when choosing a service, and you should not expect an easy solution to problems. The result of content website promotion depends on your approach to finding the best service. 

8.1. Ease of use

Platforms like Jekyll, where interaction is based on constant work with the command line, are of little interest to novice bloggers. Website builders and blog startup services have created a strong demand for quality interfaces.

Services without a clear and convenient UX make users look for alternatives. Not all bloggers want to study CSS, HTML, and PHP, in particular. 

8.2. Monetization opportunities

Built-in monetization is important for content creators who can maintain activity only through donations. There are many services for accepting donations, but not all of them are integrated with the best platforms for blogging.

For example, WordPress easily covers this task and helps you set up different forms of payments collected from users. You can create a private section and publish content for members with a membership card or sell access to certain posts for money. 

8.3. Scalability

A CMS or blogging platform should be stress-resistant and fast. If pages load longer than two or three seconds, some users may close the browser tab before the website pops up. 

Scalability is important for bloggers who intend to expand their ecosystem over time. For example, they can add an online store or collective blogs to the content section. 

If there are problems with scalability, you should better find a solution that can cope with the task easily. For example, WordPress can handle a load of 10,000 unique users on a typical shared web hosting service. 

8.4. Price

Any good product comes at a price. This does not apply to popular CMSs, which are available for free in shrink-wrapped versions. But they require themes and plugins sold by developers for a minimum of $30-50. 

The best platforms for blogging, such as Ghost, provide access to basic features for free, and you can get advanced tools for an additional fee. It is a good practice that many reputable services use. 

8.5. Customization without coding

Management based on a visual interface has been trending in all niches of the digital world for many years. And when you face the task of building a blog, you should do basic customization without coding. 

You can always use the services of a developer to create a unique theme, but basic features like color schemes and header fonts should be available in a visual editor. 

9. Purposes of Using the Best Blogging Sites

Every content-maker has specific objectives and an approach to creating content, but all share the global goal of promoting a personal brand. If you manage to turn a name or nickname into a brand, you will achieve the goal. 

Blog owners find customers, advertisers, a regular audience, and loyal fans through their websites. If you manage to create a recognizable style and arrange content distribution, you are bound to succeed.

9.1. Approaching your leads and customers

You shouldn’t expect a steady flow of customers after publishing two pieces of content. Even the best blogging platforms to make money don’t guarantee quick audience acquisition.

The most expensive subscription plan with a service will only give you access to the full list of tools. Getting closer to your target audience also means nothing without systematic hard work.

9.2. Increasing activity on the website

The hardest aspect is growing a loyal audience rather than just creating content on a regular basis. Users are used to a large flow of content on different topics, and they do not follow all authors. 

You can increase activity on the website with the help of elements with added value. If exclusive content is available in a section with limited access, many visitors will spend time registering and learning more about the content. 

9.3. Boosting awareness

You can increase awareness with a single newsbreak, but it’s hard to maintain it all the time. Unique content with a recognizable style that can’t be copied works fine towards this goal. 

If you have a content plan and time for hypothesis testing, you can choose the simplest blogging platform and start actively promoting your website. The value of your personal brand will increase along with awareness. 

9.4. Creating new ideas and solutions

If an author regularly creates content and brainstorms to come up with a new section or excite readers somehow, he or she may have new ideas. Not all of them will be successful, but some can be used in practice. 

For example, if your niche competitors don’t create podcasts, you can start developing the media and use an additional channel to interact with the audience. 

9.5. Establishing a brand identity

Hundreds of new bloggers appear on social media every day, talking about food, traveling, and cars. You need a recognizable brand to stand out from the crowd. 

The best option is to create an identity at the start of content platform development and adhere to the selected strategy. You can engage experienced marketing specialists who have built successful brands on the Internet to solve the problem. 

10. Essential Features

Blogging platforms and content management systems address the same main task, but they have different features and working conditions. You should select a service that cares about customers and does not prioritize commercial metrics. 

A blog is a specific website format based on interaction with visitors. If a service or CMS does not allow users to rate posts or add comments, few people will want to waste time registering a profile. 

You can order the creation of non-standard modules from developers, but the cost of every plugin will be at least several hundred dollars. Therefore, it is better to pick a platform equipped with all the important tools by default. 

10.1. WYSIWYG Editor

Writers spend a lot of time in the text editor interface. They write a piece of content in Google Docs or Word, and then they edit it using built-in tools or HTML.

The main feature of the WYSIWYG editor is that the content displayed on the front-end and in the admin control panel is as similar as possible. As a result, you can control the design of the user part of the website and spend less time on editing. 

10.2. Unique templates

If a blogging platform offers outdated themes, you will eventually have to find a developer who will create a design from scratch following a custom TOR.

The problem with many services is that they have closed source codes, and you will not be able to create a theme. You have to either buy one of the paid templates or use a free default design. 

CMSs are unrivaled in this regard. There are hundreds of beautiful blogging themes for WordPress with a unique comment structure, author cards, and other useful features. 

10.3. Admin and user control

Several authors may write for a blog, and users may start signing up even a couple of weeks after the website is launched. It all depends on the approach to content distribution. 

A website administrator should be able to flexibly manage user groups and their rights. For example, readers may want to change their profiles or write several comments. 

10.4. Commenting system

Comments are the core of any blog. They affect page ranking and improve behavioral factors. You should make the form as user-friendly as possible if comments are regularly posted on your website.

Many services and CMSs have outdated comment forms, which were relevant 10 years ago when there were no ratings, signups via social media, and attachable images.

It is not necessary to invest in custom plugins. You can use Disqus or install any other alternative service. Or at least change the design of fields in the standard form of a CMS. 

10.5. Sharing & distribution

Group blogs are different from platforms where one author publishes content. Sharing should be structured so that users with equal rights have access to all the tools they need. 

The necessity of using team access usually emerges over a certain period of active website development. However, blogs are often run by teams, including for corporate purposes. 

10.6. Performance tracking

In 2024, users expect pages to load quickly and respond to actions instantly. Few people will hold a browser tab open if a page loads for 15 seconds or longer. 

Performance is not only about fast-loading content but also about resistance to high loads. A service or CMS should work steadily even in the case of a sudden increase in traffic. 

If your blog is hosted externally, you should reserve resources in advance or migrate from a shared hosting service to a VPS. Virtual servers with limited resources cost a little more than shared hosting. 

10.7. Customer assistance

One of the main criteria of a quality blogging platform is technical support. You can expect only basic help from the community with free CMSs, but things work differently with services.

When you pay a subscription fee, you can contact a support team and ask for help in resolving problems. Specialists process requests round the clock on some platforms, which ensures maximum customer loyalty. 

11. How to Start Using a Blogging Platform?

When beginner authors ask what the best site for blogging is, it is impossible to answer the question unambiguously. You need to take into account the goal and requirements for a blogging platform in every case. 

If you need independence, you should choose a popular CMS and start publishing content. And when the blog starts gaining a loyal audience, invest in creating a unique theme and plugins to expand the website’s features. 

11.1. Determine the type of blog

You can publish text content, images, podcasts, or videos on a blog. The requirements for the site’s core will be different in every case. For example, standard WordPress is not suitable for creating a website with video content. 

If you can’t determine the type of blog at the beginning, you can pick a versatile platform and get started. Over time, you can adjust your development strategy and migrate to another service if necessary. 

11.2. Choose a name for a blog

To promote a unique brand, you’ll need a name that fits the subject matter and evokes the right associations. Bloggers rarely do rebranding because it is costly. 

In addition to a concise name, you’ll need a catchy domain. It should have a clean history. If the domain was previously registered, Web Archive should indicate this. Make sure to check the URL in the service. 

11.3. Register on a blogging platform

There is no need to purchase a subscription plan a few minutes after registration on a platform. You should rather pay attention to an in-depth analysis of the service. For example, authors may refuse Medium because of limited SEO opportunities. 

Many blogging platforms offer account creation through social media. It speeds up the process of registering a profile greatly. 

11.4. Customize the offered design

Not all website builders and blogging platforms offer a large selection of ready-made themes. Some services offer two or three templates that are not quite suitable for running a blog in 2024. 

One of the main advantages of free themes for a CMS is flexible customization. You can change colors, add background images, or customize the font family. 

Even a free theme can be customized to look as good as a $50 premium template. Take your time and focus on making the theme user-friendly. 

11.5. Complete basic setup

A basic website setup implies polishing the project until it is worthy of being shown to users. Pages should load quickly, content should be correctly displayed on different devices, and meta tags must be filled out. 

You should open the website for visitors upon finishing basic optimization. Otherwise, it will be difficult to gain a regular audience because of problems with usability. 

11.6. Write & publish posts

The effectiveness of a content project in any niche depends on the quality of publications. If you release short posts several times a month, they are unlikely to get great coverage. Quality and consistency of content are crucial. 

Many authors search for an ideal format by experimenting, which can take some time. Now and then, content that was released solely for testing works best.  

11.7. Promote your content

Quality content is worth nothing without proper distribution. You should use multiple channels for distributing the content you create from the very beginning.

You should definitely generate a database of e-mail subscribers, send push notifications, and run channels in messengers and communities on social media to get better coverage. Some users interact with content only on certain platforms and do not read blogs.  

12. How to Get the Best Results from Your Blog?

The most effective way to get the most out of your blog is to pick the right strategy for interacting with your target audience from the get-go. It will be difficult to increase your audience if you don’t pay attention to feedback.

A comparison of blogging platforms provides a lot of useful information, but the quality of content should come first. If an author spends much time crafting a page layout but does not check texts for errors, few people will want to read such content. 

You should also keep in mind the importance of SEO. Users enter different queries into Google and want to get relevant answers. If you optimize your content for keywords, you can get free traffic.

The problem with focusing on search engines is that the figures can be fickle. Today, things may look good with 500 visitors to the website, but tomorrow, the position will decline, and the traffic will drop to 100 unique users. 

But it is profitable to invest in SEO because attracting traffic from ad networks is much more costly. And search engines can steadily bring in interested visitors if you regularly update the website and solve your audience’s problems. 

12.1. Do keyword research to find new topics

When bloggers want to attract keyword traffic, they use ready-made articles and insert search queries into them.  

You can take an alternative approach and search for relevant, low-competitive keywords. As a result, you can generate traffic faster without competing with multiple websites. 

12.2. Use images and videos

The value of content lies not only in the text but also in the elements surrounding it. If a page has no images, tables, widgets, or videos, users will not stay there for long

Users are more likely to interact with content if they can click on a picture, scroll through a table, or watch a video. A blogger can write as nicely as Hemingway did, but few people will want to read texts without images and other media content.

12.3. Develop your content strategy

If an author publishes posts randomly and does not monitor the effectiveness of different formats, he/she will make no headway for a long time. So, you should keep track of your audience’s behavior and find the most effective approaches. 

You should not just create a content strategy but improve it regularly. This is the only way to keep the audience’s attention and always stay up to date. For example, many bloggers use newsbreaks to generate news traffic. 

12.4. Measure and adjust performance

Google Analytics has a lot of useful information about user interaction with content, but not all blogging platforms are integrated with the analytics system. 

The service has no counterparts in terms of available features. You can install an additional analytics system to get extensive data, but you should not over-focus on this task.

If your blog eventually becomes a group media, you can add more useful metrics to Google Analytics using custom settings provided by Google Tag Manager. For example, you can collect data on the number of reactions, comments, and most-read categories. 

12.5. Social media promotion

Social media allows you to attract significant traffic to a website. You just need to find a niche and build a strong personal brand. The number of subscribers will grow over time along with awareness. 

Social media promotion can be combined with search engine optimization of your blog to get more targeted traffic. Social media users do not like to read long posts; so, you can make a summary for them and publish the full version on the website.

One of the main advantages of Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms is organic reach. Even users not subscribed to a community can see posts. They can become followers if they are interested in the content.  

13. When Does It Make Sense to Invest in a Blog?

If you have free time and knowledge in a certain niche, you can invest some money in creating a CMS-based website or buy a subscription plan on a blogging platform. 

The money spent can pay off in a few years and bring high income. It is impossible to predict the result in advance, but advertisers often cooperate even with micro-influencers having 5-10 thousand followers.

Competition among bloggers is very tough, but if you manage to occupy a certain segment and develop steadily within it, you can forget about figures. Even a small audience can be very active, and if there are advertisers in the niche, they will notice an interesting blog.

The entry threshold to blogging is very low, but if you focus on website development rather than social media, you will need from a few hundred to 2-3 thousand dollars to get a return on investment quicker. 

14. Alternatives to the Best Blogging Sites

Blogging platforms provide a convenient environment for creating and publishing content, although authors entirely depend on service stability. Users cannot read articles during technical failures, and the blogger automatically loses some audience.

Many blogging platforms do everything to make customers pay a subscription fee. They close off the source code and don’t allow users to download page content. 

The best blogging sites have several alternatives that you can choose as your primary tool for communicating with the audience or use as an additional channel of interaction. 

14.1. Building your website

Building a website based on a popular CMS is the best option for developing a blog. The author will not depend on services, constant changes of subscription plans, and problems with searching for developers specialized in a particular platform. 

For example, many programmers work with Wix, but it is much easier to find a specialist for WordPress and cooperate with the latter on a permanent basis. And the cost of services in the second case may be much lower.

If you do not want to learn WordPress features, you can choose a blogging platform with beneficial terms, for example, Ghost or Teletype. They do not have unnecessary features but offer useful tools for working with content. 

14.2. Work with social media

The fastest way to create a blog is to register a profile on social media, but the competition in the niche is very high. You’ll have to work on attracting an audience and use paid advertising channels during the first six months to a year. 

When the number of followers begins to grow without advertising, you can focus on content creation, but it is sometimes difficult to get even 10-15 thousand followers. You will need a big budget for advertising in expensive niches like finance, investments, and real estate. 

You should not refuse social media completely. It is better to develop profiles along with a blog on your hosting server and get more traffic. Thousands of new users register on social media every day, and the volume of the active audience grows accordingly. 

You need to get as many links as possible from relevant projects during the first few months after launching your blog. It is essential for search algorithms to notice the website and start trusting it.

The PRPosting platform helps to regularly build up link mass. More than 44,000 websites of different subjects for all countries are available in the interface of a personal account. All advertisers are guaranteed that links will be posted.

15. Final Thoughts

A blog can be very profitable, but you should not expect a quick return on investment. Novice content-makers often publish materials for several months and then stop developing the project.

Investments in a blog imply a long-term investment strategy. You can gain followers on social media through advertising, but it is better to have a profile that develops due to organic reach. 

The best site to use for blogging should be based on a CMS or specialized service. Its author can add a donation form to the content, make a private section with paid access, or create a system of membership fees and obtain steady income. 

FAQ

What are the best blogging platforms in 2024?

Popular content management systems and blogging platforms are Ghost, Postach, Strikingly.

How should I decide which blogging platform to use?

You should keep your goals in mind and make your choice only after you’ve built your blogging strategy. For example, if you want to focus on built-in monetization, not all of the website builders will suit you. 

Which blogging platform is best for SEO?

WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and other CMSs with the possibility of testing and installing multiple SEO modules. 

Which blogging platform is best for beginners?

Medium and Squarespace. They have a minimum entry threshold and ample opportunities for content distribution. 

What is the best blogging site for making money?

There are many plugins for WordPress, which allow you to set up different ways of monetization. Wix also offers built-in tools for making money.