Best blogging platforms

Blogging is more than a trend and many people are sharing their ideas, experiences and knowledge through their own blogs. Anyone can start a blog and find an audience and although many people prefer Facebook or Twitter as a platform to expose their opinions, blogging is still a popular activity. There are many different types of blogs available and they provide a convenient way of communication. Before unveiling the best blogging platforms available, we’ll take a look at blogging platforms and their rise to popularity.

What is blogging?

If you want to start a blog from scratch, some knowledge of HTML/CSS, Javascript and more would be required. Thankfully, there are blogging platforms that make things easier since they give you all the features and tools needed to publish a blog, even if you don’t have strong technical knowledge. The level of customization options available varied between platforms, so you can find different options to suit your specific needs. With a blogging platform, you can focus on the content of your blog instead of the coding aspects involved.

Many online users and even companies rely on blogging platforms to expose their ideas and services to a larger audience. When you have your own blog, you can share the content that you want with people from around the world. Internet provides an environment in which you can get exposure for your skills and a blog is a great way to take advantage of this. Small businesses can benefit greatly from the creation of a blog, but many individuals use them to share their own cooking tips, political opinions and anything else. A blogging platform will save you time and hassle, allowing you to write the content without worrying too much about the website layout and other details.

The popularity of blogging platforms

WordPress, Blogger ( formerly Blogspot) and Tumblr are major players in the world of blogging platforms. Although Tumblr’s popularity has slightly decreased over the last few years, it is still used by many as it offers a simple solution to share ideas, images and discuss different topics with the online community. There are different reasons why you may want to start a blog and with a blogging platform, you can make the process simple and fast. Below you will find a list of the best blogging platforms to choose from.

Blogger

Previously known as Blogspot, Blogger is Google’s publishing platform and it is a well-known blogging platform that has gained popularity thanks to its ease of use. You can use your Google account login details to start your online blog without any cost. The blogs are hosted on the blogspot.com domain and you will enjoy ease of use, flexibility and scalability. AdSense can be easily integrated into your account and you can monetize your blog. It is the most convenient solution for individual bloggers and those focused on cooking, lifestyle, fashion and other categories. Cording skills are not required and the drag and drop functionality allows you to customize your blog in whichever way you prefer, without worrying about the code of the website. Although it may be too simple for those looking to create a complete website with advanced options, with Blogger, you can enjoy Google’s practical features including AdSense and Analytics.

WordPress

For many people, WordPress is the first name that comes to mind when thinking about blogging platforms. It was originally released in 2003 and since then, it has been trusted by millions of users and a high percentage of the best blogs available are supported by WordPress. There is a free script available that you can install on your online server, but the majority of the web hosting providers have a version of WordPress already installed. WordPress offers a clean interface and a web-based network, with a large selection of developers and designers working on the platform. It is one of the most comprehensive solutions for online blogging.

The original installation gives you the core features needed, but you can customize the platform to match your preferences, with the help of multiple plugins, widgets, themes and more. With WordPress, you get a reliable solution that can be expanded and that provides solid performance. It is ideal for individual bloggers and also for businesses and media companies that have a large number of users. If you want to reach an online audience and make your brand known, or simply share your ideas with more people, WordPress is an excellent choice and it can be used for free.

While WordPress is widely used and it doesn’t require significant technical knowledge, you will need some understanding about web servers and the installation process. It is possible to set a self-hosted blog in a few minutes, but you need to know how to upload files to a web server using FTP. WordPress is generally easy to use (although it can be more complex once it is scaled) and you can get started right after the registration. It can be customized to suit your personal requirements. There is a large community support available and many plugins and themes to choose from.

Tumblr

Tumblr is mainly popular among young bloggers and it is estimated that there are over 200 million blogs powered by this platform. The main advantage of Tumblr is that it is very easy to use and it only takes a few minutes to get started. Tumblr is a combination of a fully-functional blog and a social platforms like Twitter. It focuses on micro-blogging and short updates. If you want to try blogging, but only want to do it occasionally and don’t want to commit to a larger platform, Tumblr would be an ideal choice. In Tumblr, you can add notes, gifs, images and more, and the mobile app offers good performance. It is practical and simple, but if you need to publish long articles, a different option is needed.

Medium

Medium is another blogging platform that deserves to be considered. It was established in 2012 and although it doesn’t offer much in terms of customization options, it is an ideal platform for social journalism. Its fully-featured WYSIWYG text editor allows you to write content and to post it online easily. In a similar way as Digg and Reddit, Medium lets you up-vote content or select your favorite options. Medium stands out from other options due to its simplicity and clean interface that allows users to enjoy the content without unnecessary distractions. This blogging platform also provides fantastic SEO, stunning layouts and it includes analytics. The active community interaction is another highlight of Medium. If you need to write long articles and don’t want a platform that requires any technical skills, Medium is the right solution.