If you’re thinking about blogging, the first (and most important) choice is which of the best blogging platforms you’ll use to create it. And it is that not all blogging platforms are the same, and the one you choose should have all the features you need to be successful.
The good news is that we’ve done all the hard work to help you find the best blogging platforms. In this article, we will cover:
- What features should you look for in the best blogging platforms.
- A detailed breakdown of the top nine blogging platforms, including , , , , , , , , and .
And if you are willing to try any of them, has your back. Get one and install the blogging platform you want with just one click!
We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get started.
What you should look for in the best blogging platform
There are a plethora of platforms you can use to set up a fully functional blog, and even publish your first post in a matter of hours. In most cases, these blog tools fall under the category of . That is, they are platforms created to help you publish content on the web.
When you’re looking for the best blogging platform, you’ll want a CMS that offers several key features:
- Built-in text editing options. Blogs are mostly text, so it stands to reason that the major platforms give you plenty of formatting options.
- Comment functionality. One of the best ways to grow your blog is through a comments section. As such, your blogging platform should give you a way to easily enable and manage comments.
- Personalization. Nowadays, many CMS allow you to change the style and functionality of your site using extensions. This is important even for a simple blog, as it gives you the option to add new features whenever you want.
- Scalability. Ideally, you should choose a platform that can handle a large amount of content without slowing down, so your blog can grow to its full potential.
- Easy to use. Creating a blog doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t have to be a developer to get the job done. The best blogging platform should be easy to learn and use.
That is a long list of criteria that you should take into account when looking for the best blogging platform that meets your needs. Fortunately, there are currently many amazing platforms to choose from. Now let’s see what we have chosen!
Comparison of the 9 best blogging platforms
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to understand that all of the platforms on this list are ‘self-hosted’ CMSs. In other words, they are all free to use, but you will need to have your own hosting.
Which provider you choose is up to you, but if you don’t know where to start, you can look at some of our basic hosting plans. After that, what remains is to find the best blogging platform.
1.
If you are a frequent reader of our blog, then you already know that we are big fans of WordPress. This CMS is used by more than 30% of the web, which makes it a giant. However, that doesn’t mean it’s immediately the best blogging platform for you.
What sets WordPress apart is its ease of use and extensibility. These days, most blog hosting providers let you do it with just a few clicks. Then you can easily find themes and plugins that help you implement almost any function you can imagine:
In addition to its huge library of plugins, WordPress has the benefit of a thriving community. If you have any problems with the platform, finding tutorials or any other type of help is simple. In short, WordPress is a safe option that gives you unlimited potential for growth, even if you are completely new to blogging.
Pros:
- Many blog hosting providers offer WordPress-specific plans.
- You have access to thousands of additions in the form of themes and plugins (both free and paid).
- The platform has a low learning curve, and it’s easy to find help if you run into any issues.
- In addition to blogs, you can use it to create almost any type of website you want.
Cons:
- Customizing the style of your blog can be difficult without a page builder plugin, especially if you are new to the platform.
- There are many low-quality themes and plugins that you should avoid.
two.
When people discuss the , Joomla! is one of the names that tends to appear alongside WordPress. These platforms have a lot in common. For example, both are open source and offer amazing extensibility.
Having said that, Joomla! offers a unique experience. Out of the box, it gives you a wider range of settings to work with than WordPress, which you can see by taking a look at the dashboard:
While it’s helpful to have more settings to explore, it also means the learning curve with this platform is a bit steeper. On the positive side, however, Joomla! makes your website very easy to maintain. In our experience, it is not common to encounter problems after upgrading Joomla! or any of its extensions.
Ultimately, many people choose WordPress or Drupal because both platforms offer more extensions. However, Joomla! it sits somewhere in between those two platforms. It’s easier to maintain, doesn’t require you to be a developer to create a website, and offers enough options out of the box that using extensions can be skipped.
Pros:
- It offers more built-in settings than WordPress.
- Websites created with Joomla! they tend to be easier to maintain, due to their easier upgrade process.
- It’s relatively easy to learn, even if you’re new to website building.
- The platform offers a fantastic help portal with comprehensive documentation.
Cons:
- It does not offer as many themes or extensions as its main competitors.
3.
Drupal is another name that gets a lot of attention during CMS discussions, along with WordPress and Joomla! This particular platform is popular with enterprise level websites as it tends to offer superior performance.
When it comes to blogging, Drupal provides all the features you’ll need to create a fantastic website. It includes built-in content creation features, editing features, and much more. However, the platform really starts to shine once you move beyond blogging.
Another reason why Drupal is one of the best platforms for large blogs is that it is incredibly secure and is generally more powerful than Joomla! or WordPress! Nevertheless, there are an inconvenience. Drupal is difficult to learn if you have no experience as a developer. Also, it can be too much if you just want to set up a simple blog.
With this in mind, using Drupal makes sense if you want to start a blog for your business and are willing to invest in a developer (or you are one!). Otherwise, you’ll have to do a lot of tinkering to get things to work the way you want them to.
Pros:
- You get access to enterprise-grade security and performance.
- Choose from thousands of free plugins and templates to customize your website.
- Seamlessly scale your website, thanks to the platform’s powerful architecture.
- Use custom Drupal distributions to set up specific types of websites.
Cons:
- The learning curve is very steep, unless you have experience in web development.
- He can facilitate your experience, but you will still need some technical knowledge.
Four.
We have already talked about some of the best popular blogging platforms that you can choose from. Now, let’s take a look at some options that you may not be so familiar with.
Pyro is a CMS, which prides itself on being a great platform for developers. When it comes to blogging, Pyro offers an out-of-the-box grid-based layout system, which means you have full control over how your posts look. On top of that, this platform makes it easy to edit all your content.
When you start Pyro, the first thing you’ll notice is that its dashboard looks modern and organized:
Overall, Pyro is a great option for simple blogs. Y more complex websites. However, when you go beyond a basic blog, things start to get complicated as you will need to customize your website code to make any major changes. Similarly, many Pyro extensions are quite expensive, so costs can add up quickly for feature-rich blogs.
Pros:
- Use a built-in grid system to get full control over your page layouts.
- Maintain your blog using a modern control panel with many options.
Cons:
- Implementing advanced features often requires you to have experience using PHP.
- Many Pyro modules are quite expensive, so costs can add up quickly.
5.
If you are looking for the best blogging platform that offers a combination of ease of use and power, SilverStripe is a great choice. At first glance, it doesn’t seem as flashy as some of the other blogging platforms we’ve seen so far:
However, there are many things that you will like when you take a closer look at SilverStripe. For example, the platform’s editor allows you to preview your blog posts as you write them, and provides built-in options to help you improve your content’s ranking. Additionally, the platform also has built-in error reporting, allowing you to monitor issues with your site right from your dashboard.
In our experience, the only area where SilverStripe disappoints is when it comes to templates. There are only a few dozen options to choose from, and not all of them are good. You can always customize pages using HTML and CSS, but that can be quite a bit of work if you’re new to website creation.
Pros:
- Get access to powerful content management features.
- It tackles SEO using built-in features.
- Control page errors from your control panel.
- Extend your website using plugins and themes.
Cons:
- The themes available for the platform are not up to par, and editing pages on your own requires basic coding skills.
6.
If you’ve taken a look at all-terrain CMSes like WordPress and Joomla! and thought “I don’t need all this,” Textpattern might be the best blogging platform for you.
Of all the blogging platforms we’ve seen so far, Textpattern is the simplest. Your dashboard is a reflection of that fact:
Textpattern doesn’t even include a visual editor. Instead, it works with the Textile and Markdown languages, which…
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