We focus on a lot of different website tools, everything from Wix and Squarespace like professional website builders to WordPress, Blogger, etc. Because we know that one size doesn’t fit all.  We all have different wants, needs, and specific use cases.

Sometimes one platform may be better than another so in this article I would specifically want to narrow in and focus on blogging. What are the best blogging platforms? what are the different use cases, why should you use this platform over this platform, etc?

So let’s get to it –

1:  WordPress.com

What wordpress.com is? is just full access to WordPress but, you’re on their own specific shared servers.

It is a combination of a web host and a domain name register content management system. It has everything built into one thing. It’s a website builder, it’s a good starting point for folks.

In this you can use Gutenberg block editor, you can kind of get a feel for WordPress, you have to pay $25 a month for one website.

Whereas right now you can just jump over to something like Bluehost or Siteground and pay a much lower fee, have multiple websites and use WordPress, and have full-featured full access to it.

It’s totally up to you. If you just want something really simple, easy to use, not technical where you don’t have to set anything.

Then using wordpress.com is pretty good, this is a deal-breaker because the main plugin is  Yoast SEO. Which gives you a little bit more control over the on-page SEO of your website. So this platform is good if you’re just looking to have a casual blog.

2: WordPress.org

This is the open-source software that you install on a shared host and You have your server and then you can install WordPress.

This is enough to allow you to grow and scale your website. Setting up WordPress is easy, The SSL certificate is automatically done for you. It’s functionally the same as wordpress.com, so you get access to the Gutenberg editor multiple websites and most importantly you can install whatever theme you want.

So you can install any type of theme, any type of plugin you’re not limited to in any way.

3:  Blogger.com

A Blogger website is not going to rank as well as a WordPress website, so if you want to build an income-generating web asset then you should turn to Bluehost and install WordPress.

But if you are looking to set up some sort of a casual personal blog that just wants to make a little money on the backend then just a creative outlet blogger is great and it is really easy to get started.

In this you have to sign in with a Gmail account and then once you are signed in, you have to buy a domain name from Namecheap and then set it up.

It has no limits, it’s not like wordpress.com. You will have to pay around $4 annually to set up a custom domain name in it. You can also do it for free with just Blogger and you can engage in various monetization strategies.

This is for those who just want a casual blogging outlet and who don’t want to build a huge huge website, it’s just great because all you have to do is pay for the domain name and you get free web hosting.

The only issue is that blogger blogs don’t rank as well as WordPress websites. That’s the main drawback, but otherwise, it’s a full website ideal for casual use.

4: Wix

They have vastly improved the blogging aspect of their website builder to rival WordPress.

At this time  ​you can create a title paragraph,  easy to add in galleries, videos, gifs images. Just drag and drop into place. But also you have granular control over your SEO.

In Wix, you can change page titles, URL slugs, SEO titles, all the necessary little things you need to do, and what you can do within WordPress.

But, Wix doesn’t have any kind of redirect functionality built-in, so you can’t have something like the mywebsite.com product name.

Wix cannot set up any kind of URL redirect for links that manage your affiliate links. Otherwise, it is a great blogging platform and something you should be aware of if you are considering going with Wix to build any kind of blogging website.

5:  Squarespace.com

Squarespace is a bit more focused on changing templates and elements, in that changing colors within templates is kind of simple, Squarespace is effective and good for a beginner.

It is a very simple blogging experience but it is very effective.

6:  Tumblr.com

Tumblr is like an alternative to Blogger. It is a free blogging platform in which you can set up a website. In this, you can set a custom domain name and it is easy to publish content in it.

It’s not that hard and there are tons of accessories that make everything easier. You can put whatever you want.

It’s like Blogger if you just want a casual little creative outlet where you’re not trying to make money from it. You just want to share something with others or maybe you want to build your audience with some kind of blogging platform.

7:  Ghost.org

Unsurprising as it is, it was launched on Kickstarter in 2013 and was designed primarily to focus on building a platform for journalists.

It’s made for independent creators and writers only. Ghost.org allows you to build your own small publishing company with a primary focus on one subscription.

These have a bunch of popular integrations with multiple companies very easily, with their starter plan for just $9 per month. It’s for one website at a time, so it’s not like a shared host. You can start a 14-day free trial to see if Ghost.org is for you.

It is a unique alternative blogging platform with a high focus on the subscription revenue model for publishers.

8:  Medium.com

Many of you will be familiar with this website as it integrates well with Twitter and it has always been like a subdomain.

It is a great medium to share your thoughts, but the medium has changed over time.

They have one type of membership, you can upgrade the membership for $5 per month or $50 per year. Here you can sign up and become a real content creator and you can earn money for your writing.

You can set your ideas in motion, boom, you can start writing, you can create free accounts and go ahead and apply to the partner program and so you get paid. How many people read your content?

If a paying member over here is reading your content that’s how you get paid and last you can set custom names. So this is great because you can use this sort of blogging platform, you have that back-end ability to earn money from your writing through the partner program and you can set a custom domain name.

Anyone who wants to just blog, you’re a writer and you’re not don’t want to get into design. Medium is an interesting website to look at and it may be the right blogging platform for you.