The best free blogging sites allow you to broadcast your opinions online, whether about the latest hit TV show or the hottest trends in your industry. Blogging is one of the most effective ways to get your voice heard, and many of the best website builders will offer you a free blogging plan.
But which is the perfect blogging site for you or your business? You need to think about whether you want to use a website builder or content management system (CMS) like WordPress on top of the best web hosting services or if you want to be able to write a blog post through a platform like Medium.
The Best Free Blogging Sites Use Simple Interfaces
Website builders and blog sites often use the drag-and-drop interface which means that even if you need to be a more confident user of website mechanics or HTML, several platforms are available to suit absolute beginners. If you have more advanced skills and want a polished site, many free blogging platforms allow this extra customization.
While some platforms may not offer the features of competing services, the best free blogging sites can be more than capable when starting a new blog, whether personal or professional. We present our top picks below.
What are the Best Free Blogging Sites?
Wix
Regarding our top pick, Wix is the clear winner, suitable for new bloggers and web design pros alike. If you’re new to blogging, it’s rated highly for its easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface and wide selection of templates. Wix also has a lot to offer, allowing you to customize almost every aspect.
WordPress comes in second, offering a step-by-step setup to guide you through usage. While it takes more time and effort to get started, it allows for additional customization and plugins for complete customization. A veteran of the blogging industry, Blogger remains a solid choice with a vibrant online community, built-in analytics, Google integrations, and more.
For those without coding skills, we recommend Site123; the 24/7 live chat has proven invaluable. And if being part of a respected community of thought leaders is important to you, you may find Medium is the best home for your blog.
While you’ve probably heard that Wix is considered one of the best website builders, the free blogging element of the platform also has a lot to offer aspiring bloggers of all experience levels.
For those who need help getting started with their blog, a builder tool can give you a selection of potential blog names, while the platform also offers a large selection of ready-made design templates perfect for beginners.
Once you get a handle on the platform, you can unlock several more advanced features for adding videos, photos and photo galleries to your posts. Aspiring bloggers may also be impressed by the unlimited number of pages and the ability to submit Facebook posts automatically.
A big downside to the free plan is that your blog will automatically display Wix branding. You must upgrade to one of the paid plans to remove these ads.
WordPress
Even if you’re looking for the best free blogging sites, you’ve probably come across WordPress.com (opens in a new tab). And for many bloggers, it’s the primary platform for launching a new site.
It’s easy to see why. When you get down to publishing your first post, the WordPress setup wizard will walk you through the process step-by-step and help you make decisions like choosing a design theme. However, one point to remember for those new to blogging is that WordPress does not run on a drag-and-drop interface.
If you set up your blog through WordPress.com, you should avoid confusing the platform with WordPress.org (opens in a new tab): a free publishing platform that requires users to host their blogs through a third party.
Blogger
Launched on the eve of the millennium, Blogger for Google is one of the augurs of online publishing. It is nostalgic for anyone who started their blogging career in the 90s. But despite her advanced years, she’s still a solid proposition. And if you need help, the platform has an active online community.
One of the most important features is the built-in analytics functionality, and if you want a more in-depth view for your readers, you can link your blog directly to Google Analytics. Compatible with Google AdSense, Blogger can also be useful for those looking to earn money through classified help topics.
But any downsides? For one thing, Blogger doesn’t offer in-person customer support. While being limited to a Blogspot.com domain name might be fine for individuals, it may need more professionalism.
Medium
If you want to avoid some of the stress involved in launching and hosting your personal blog, Medium might be the right online publishing platform for your needs.
While other solutions discussed here allow you to build your own site from scratch, Medium is a blog posting space that gives you the opportunity to add voice to an already thriving online community. Simply put, you own your content on Medium, but not the platform you post it on.
It was launched by the co-creator of Twitter and has attracted more than 170 million readers worldwide, and many thought leaders and respected publications such as The Economist regularly publish content on the platform. So you will definitely be in good company if you publish your blog on Medium.
Under the Medium model, you won’t incur any of the operational hassles involved in running your own website, and you can avoid headaches like optimizing your SEO – a definite bonus for tech-haters.
However, you also give up a certain degree of autonomy. At worst, Medium moderators can suddenly remove your content if they find it inappropriate or offensive. According to the platform’s terms and conditions, all content must take into account factors such as newsworthiness. But crucially, your posts must comply with all relevant laws and not cause any potential harm. If your blog has been removed, there is not much you can do about it.
Deciding whether Medium is the best option for you ultimately comes down to whether or not you prefer to run your own website, or whether you’re happy to give up some control over the platform if it means promoting your brand to massive audiences of Medium. If it’s the latter, Medium could prove to be an attractive option.
Which platform do you choose?
The simplest content publishing platforms typically make the Best Free Blogging Sites.
These simple content publishing platforms can suffice if you want to do a smaller ad business or add a traffic source to your main website or online store.
The complete content management systems, such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal, are recommended for those who want to create a professional environment with resources for:
- Content monetization
- Advertise your content
- Analyze the data
- Capture potential clients
- Several other tools focus on digital marketing
- All the free blogging platforms we presented in this article are effective and have countless users from all over the world who post photos, videos, and articles daily. However, the choice will depend more on your specific needs and goals.
If you’ve made it this far, it’s because you’ve already realized the importance of creating and publishing relevant internet content. Now is the time to turn your company into a storyteller.
Our 3 top choices for hosting platforms are
- Hostinger is our pic for those who need the most economical solution.
- Dreamhost is our top pic for those wanting better cloud hosting solutions.
- BlueHost is our top pic for those needing dedicated servers.
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