If you’re looking to start a blog, have questions on how to get started, and with which platform, this is the guide for you. There are a lot of blogging platforms in 2022, and we’ve tested a lot of them to put this guide together.
Picking the right blogging platform is important. Once you start blogging and putting your content up, most blogging platforms won’t let you export your data, so your choice at the very beginning is a critical one.
Let’s go over the criteria we used when ranking each blogging platform.
What to look for when choosing the best blogging platform
If you’re just starting out, you’ll want a blogging platform that is easy to set up, use, and maintain. No coding skills required.
You’ll also need to think about what kind of blog you want. How will it look, do you plan on changing how it looks, or having a lot of control over the design?
Choosing the wrong blogging platform can be a really big mistake. Some blogging platforms are very easy to start, but make your data impossible to export to another platform later on. Proprietary software can be both a good and bad thing, and we’ll go over those options in this guide.
1 – WordPress.org
Self-hosted WordPress is the world’s most popular blogging platform. Open sourced, free to use, and powers over 42% of all websites on the internet. It’s by far the best blogging platform in 2022.
WordPress is open sourced and free. You can start your new blog within minutes, and get access to thousands of free themes to make your blog look the way you want. You also get thousands of plugins, which give you all the advanced features you’ll ever need for your blog.
WordPress needs to be hosted by a WordPress hosting company. In our research, we found WordPress is the best choice if you want to have full control over your blog.
Pros
- Access to thousands of free WordPress themes and designs
- 50,000+ free WordPress plugins to give you advanced features
- Self-hosted, full control over your blog, your content is yours
- Drag and drop website editor
- Get started in minutes, with WordPress hosting
Cons
- Small learning curve when starting
- Not all hosting companies have WordPress pre-installed
One additional point for WordPress is its ability to create full Ecommerce online stores, forums, discussion boards, membership sites and more. You can start off with a blog and quickly scale up to more interactive WordPress website functionality.
2 – Wix
Wix is the most popular drag and drop website builder for blogging. Known for its simplicity and ease of use, getting started on Wix is easy.
Founded in 2006, Wix was created so people could have websites without needing to know how to code. They now have over 125 million customers across the world.
Pros
- Easy to get started
- Access to dozens of beautiful designs
- Drag and drop functionality
Cons
- Changing your design will reset your content
- Can’t move your content to another provider
- Limited functionality, can’t get every feature you want
Wix has a free tier, which can be interesting, however it does come with ads and numerous upsells. Wix is great for someone who wants a simple blog or website, without needing any additional functionality.
3 – Blogger
Blogger is a popular blogging platform service, owned and operated by Google. Google bought Blogger way back in 2003 for an undisclosed sum. Since then, Google has been operating Blogger and it now has millions of active blogs.
The only thing you’ll need to get started on Blogger is a Google account. If you have a Gmail account, you’re already setup and ready to start on Blogger.
Pros
- Completely free
- Very easy to use, you don’t need any coding skills
- Google is a very large company, with the resources to match. They make sure Blogger works well
Cons
- Owned by Google, for the good and bad that means. Your data doesn’t belong to you
- The tools are easy, but basic. You’ll have a blog, nothing more, nothing less
- There are only a few designs to choose from
- While stable, Blogger doesn’t receive many updates from Google anymore
In terms of getting started, there is nothing easier than Blogger. It is also completely free, as are most Google services, so if you’re looking to get started and don’t need anything fancy, Blogger could be a good blogging service for you.
4 – Medium
Medium is a bit different, compared to the other blogging services on this list. Medium is a community of writers, leaders, and various industry experts, all sharing their thoughts and ideas on the platform.
Think of Medium as a blogging platform, with some social media networking added in. It’s an important distinction, as those added features help get your content seen by many more people.
Medium has a freemium model as well. Most of the features are available for free, and if you want to read or monetize your content, there is a small monthly fee.
Pros
- No setup required, you sign up and post right away
- You’re part of the Medium community
- No coding skills needed
Cons
- As with any third-party platform, Medium owns your audience and data
- If you want to switch to something else, you’re starting from scratch
- Monetization only happens if you pay Medium’s monthly fee
Overall, Medium offers a compelling blogging service. It’s free, it gives you an instant audience, and it’s very easy to use and get started on.
5 – Squarespace
Squarespace is a direct competitor to Wix and other drag-and-drop website builders. It comes with a blogging application built-in, so you can write and share your posts.
As with other website builders, you have access to various themes. However, just like other website builders with proprietary software, your content is locked to Squarespace. If you ever want to change, you will need to begin at the very beginning.
Pros
- Easy to use, just like all drag-and-drop website builders
- Some very nice designs available for your blog
- Get started in minutes
Cons
- Software is proprietary and locks your content in
- Few integrations that offer expanded functionality
- Can get expensive
Squarespace powers millions of websites, and they know their target market well. If you’re looking for something that is all about getting your website to look nice as quickly as possible, Squarespace is a solid option.
Summary
With all the research done, our conclusion is to build your blog on WordPress. It has the slightly higher learning curve, however, you gain access to thousands of free website designs, access to even more plugins that give you all the functionality you could ever want, and most importantly, your data and content remain yours.
Our list of top WordPress hosting companies can help you narrow down the choice of where to host your new WordPress blog.
We hope this guide helped you select the right blogging platform and service for you. If you have any suggestions, please let us know in the comments below!
