Blogs are not even close to their end days as some would believe. On the contrary, there are thousands of individuals that start new blogs each day or choose to move on to a better blogging platform. The best thing about creating a new blog is that it is an easy process and that you have dozens of blogging platforms to choose from.
Blogging platforms offer you the most important set of tools and functionalities which will allow you to publish your content online, with no need for coding skills. Depending on what platform you choose, you have a minimum, to a lot, of customization options to personalize your blog. This way, you will focus less on HTML/CSS or Javascript and more on your content, building a strong online brand and educating your audience.
Starting a blog
Starting a blog is no rocket science. You already know what you will write about, you already have its design in mind, and all you need is a platform. So, if you are a blogging beginner, you would want to know the top 10 best blogging platforms you can choose from (for free).
#1. WordPress
WordPress is one of the top online blogging platforms. It was released in 2003 and currently powers more than 60 million websites. WordPress can be installed for free on your online server, and you can download various widgets, plugins, themes and much more for a personalized experience. WordPress is perfect for both individual bloggers and professional mainstream media publications as well. You do not need much technical knowledge to run WordPress, and you can start immediately after a simple registration.
#2. Tumblr
This is another popular blogging platform that addresses younger users. It is extremely easy to use, and it offers a vast array of choices for reblogging and sharing content. The fact that Tumblr focuses on photos and GIFs and not on texts could be seen as a downside to blogging. Tumblr is loved by photographers and other visual bloggers while writers may opt for another service. This platform also has a decent mobile app and a strong social following to accompany it.
#3. Blogger
Blogger is, in fact, the former Blogspot, Google’s own publishing platform. You only need your Google account credentials to start your free online blog on Blogger. The scalability of the network, the easy integration of AdSense and the simplicity of the setup make Blogspot one of the top 5 blogging platforms.
Blogger is a suitable option for all online bloggers, but mostly to individual and lifestyle ones. The platform does not require coding knowledge, and the drag-and-drop functionality allows the user to customize the blog in the desired way.
#4. Squarespace
Squarespace offers a variety of customizable options. You can make whatever changes you want, without being a programmer or web designer. You have the option to develop your services and this is great news if you have a business and also want to open a blog for it. Unfortunately, you should have some coding knowledge if you want a better plugin support or another theme.
#5. Live Journal
Live Journal was started in 1999, and it became more like a community that offers you your own space, encouraging interaction, at the same time. Although you can fashion something more private, if you want to get the most out of LiveJournal, you should be open to discussion as much as you are to writing.
#6. Weebly
Although Weebly is more like a website-creation system, it can also be used for creating a blog. Being based on drag-and-drop components, it enables you to create new pages quickly, having access to lots of free themes and customizable layouts for the personalized blog you envision.
This platform is especially appealing to business owners as websites and blogs can be created separately. You might find it difficult to customize or change CSS or HTML on your blog because this platform has designed its services for people who are looking to create a blog and update it quickly and easily.
#7. Drupal
Drupal brings together blog and business creation, offering a thorough CMS. What does this mean? Besides your blog, you can also create websites and web pages that you need on a single platform. Because Drupal doesn’t also offer in-house hosting services, you will be obliged to host your blog somewhere else.
#8. Typepad
Typepad is a blogging platform that offers a user-friendly interface for both beginner and experienced bloggers. It offers a variety of themes and plugins to choose from, which will help you create the blog according to your vision. Because it is designed mostly for bloggers who are not confident in using code, Typepad makes editing code quite difficult.
#9. Svbtle
Svbtle is one of the easiest to use blogging platforms. It takes minutes to get set up, and you can start writing straight away. Svbtle wants to make the writing experience as easy as possible, with an interface that offers only what you need for writing and publishing a post. The customization options are limited to changing the accent color and logo, and it does not offer many options to arrange your text and images.
#10. Medium
Medium is quite new on the market, being only three years old. It does not provide many customizations, but users love Medium for its cleanliness and minimalism that makes the content readable and helps users focus on the text. Medium offers great
If you are one of those who have a thirst for more thoughtful writing than just tweets and Facebook comments, and also a desire to share your creations as widely as possible, then choose from this variety of blogging platforms. Now you can have your own space, free from the distractions of a million adverts and competing status updates. What’s even better is that anyone can start a blog for free.
Images “Author’s Own“
________________________________________________________________________________
Tweak Your Biz is a thought leader global publication and online business community. Today, it is part of the Small Biz Trends stable of websites and receives over 300,000 unique views per month. Would you like to write for us?
An outstanding title can increase tweets, Facebook Likes, and visitor traffic by 50% or more. Generate great titles for your articles and blog posts with the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator.
