How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform in 2022 (Compared)
Starting a new blog is a great way to connect with the world. If you are probably about to start a blog, and indeed there are plenty of best blogging platforms to get started!
But, how to choose the best blogging platform that is right for you?
The quick answer is, it depends on what you’re going to blog about, and your future plans. You should write good useful content to attract many blog readers to grow up your blog.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
In this article, I’ll walk through the best blogging platforms based on popularity and my personal experience.
Let’s dive in!
The Best Blogging Platforms for 2022
Each blogging platform has pros and cons and free and premium tools. But I’m not going to list them as best to worst. You can try any of these depending on your requirements by clicking the list below.
- Bluehost — perfect to build up an own branded, fully customizable self-hosted blog. (recommended)
- WordPress.com — easy to use built-in blogging tools.
- Squarespace.com — Start a blog with a stunning template.
- Wix.com — best for combining a blog and website.
- Blogger.com — perfect for a very basic blog.
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1. WordPress.org (Self-Hosted With Bluehost)
WordPress.org is the best and the most popular one among famous bloggers. It has awesome customizations and flexibility. As a huge preference, 35% of the web uses WordPress, from hobby blogs to popular websites worldwide.
WordPress.org is a self-hosted WordPress option, which means WordPress is web software that you’ll need a hosting provider in order to start your blog.
If you’re a non-techie person, Bluehost helps you get started with WordPress.org seamlessly.
WordPress comes with over 50,000 plugins to help build your blog or website more functionality. You can add an online store, galleries, forums, analytics, and much more. However, you have to follow a slight learning curve to start your site.
It’s totally free to use. But you need to pay for the hosting service for around $2.95 per month.
Surprisingly, Bluehost offers a free domain for the first year and hosting for reasonable prices for a month and they bill that amount annually. If you can pay for 12 or more months upfront, your monthly cost will be discounted for the first period.
Start your blog with Bluehost →
2. WordPress.com
WordPress.com is easy to use, and it offers blog services for free, but it gives you minimal control and features to build to your blog.
If you’re confused with WordPress.org and WordPress.com, there is something to clarify first.
WordPress hosts WordPress.com blogs. You don’t need any other hosting service outside of WordPress.com.
WordPress.org, called self-hosted WordPress, provides you an open-source software that you can install on your own web host to create a website that’s 100% your own.
That’s all!
In fact, this is a great platform to start a blog as a beginner. Its free plan doest costs you. But if you need some premium features, you have to go with their paid plans.
Paid plans start at $4 per month for personal use to $45 per month for online store features. However, If you’re on a free plan they display ads on them. That means your site visitors see these ads and you also don’t make money and you’re not allowed to have a custom domain name. To get rid of them, you need to go through a paid plan.
3. Squarespace.com
Squarespace is a drag-and-drop website builder, you can be used to start your blog. It offers a range of stunning and professionally designed templates to create your blog or website look perfect without much work from your end.
Squarespace also offers the ability to add an online store to your website. But it’s limited to allowing 3rd party apps and marketing tools much.
If you’re happy to go with Squarespace, their plans are billed annually starting at $12 per month for personal sites to $26 per month for eCommerce sites.
4. Wix.com
If you’re thinking of setting up a blog in a few clicks, Wix is the most common answer. You can pick a template and customize anything. The best part is, once you answered a few questions and you’ll get a free website designed just for you.
However, to connect your domain name you’ll need to sign up for the $12.50/month Unlimited plan. This will also enable you to get rid of Wix ads.
5. Blogger.com
If you lack on trying all of the above blogging platforms or you just need a very basic blog, Blogger is perfect for you. You can easily set up and create a blog without paying for anything in a few minutes.
Blogger makes blogging free, easy to use, and, it’s owned by Google. Your Blogger account comes with your Google account and you can access it easily with your other Google products.
However, the options for customization and design are extremely limited. In fact, those features are not enough to grow your blog with the ones that are provided. But, if you’re thinking about a small place to show your writing skills to the world, the blogger is still worth it!
Final Thoughts
So, which one is the best blogging platform right for you?
Comparing all the most popular blogging platforms above, I strongly recommend using WordPress with Bluehost to get full control and flexibility over your blog.
It can even help you to combine your Blog+eCommerce store together and much more by using WordPress plugins.
But, depending on your requirements, your selection can be different. Whatever platform, you need to have great content to get more visitors even to making money as a passive or full-time income.
And you’re good to go!
Hopefully, if this list helped you decide which of the best blogging platforms is the right one for you, don’t forget to share this with your Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter friends!
Happy blogging!
