So you’ve decided to start a blog and you’ve thought about your branding. Now it’s time to find your little area on the internet and I am here to tell you the pros and cons of all the places I know you can go to to start hosting a blog.
Blogger
Years ago pre-teen me decided that I wanted to start a blog. Of course back then I only really knew about blogspot (now known as blogger) and started a very small and not very good blog which I deleted after 6 months and only writing 6 posts.
Pros+ Easy to use + Quick set up + Free hosting | Cons– Blogspot.com domain – Limited options to customise – Sometimes lacks credibility – Blog is owned by Google and not you | |
WordPress.org
There’s a WordPress.com and a WordPress.org and it can get a little bit confusing at times. I personally use WordPress.org because of the following:
Pros+ Customisable and complete control + Thousands of plugins available + Thousands of themes available + SEO features available + Can add own code | Cons– Need to self-host through another site – Need to pay for self hosting | |
WordPress.com
The free version of WordPress is also a viable option, especially for those just starting out. It’s also so easy to migrate over to a WordPress.org site when you want to purchase a domain and self host.
Pros+ Easy to use + Quick set up + Free hosting + Easily upgrade-able to self hosted
| Cons– Can’t control ads – Limited themes – No plugins available – WordPress.com domain – WordPress owns the blog, not you | |
Squarespace
Squarespace is actually made to create websites and not just blogs. If you want a broader experience and want to create a website rather than a simple blogging platform, then Squarespace, Wix and Weebly are probably what you’re looking for.
Pros+ Easy to use + Good choice of themes + SEO help + E-commerce optimised + Free domain + Customer support | Cons– Expensive plans – Limited free account – Limited themes on free account – No back-up capability | |
Wix
I’m sure you’ve seen the adverts all over the TV and internet for Wix before. It’s been around for so long and hosts over 90million sites with its easy to use drag and drop tools. Again, this is a website creator with blog function capabilities.
Pros+ Can use templates and 3rd party apps + Easy to use + Quick set up | Cons– Limited free account with Wix branding – Limited 3rd party apps – Cant change template once chosen – Limited e-commerce to paid plans | |
Weebly
Similar to Wix, Weebly is a drag and drop website creator.
Pros+ Easy to Use + Up to date and on trend templates + Pre-designed page layouts | Cons– Limited customisation – Lacks updates and new innovations – Limited blog functions | |
Medium
Medium is a community of writers, bloggers, journalists and experts. It’s blogging platform has limited social networking features and is easy to use.
Pros+ Easy to use + Reach of similar audience + Focus is on writing and not design | Cons– Limited features for design and branding – Medium owns the audience – Can’t monetise | |
Tumblr
Tumblr is for microblogging and so many people have created accounts over the years. It’s also more like a social site than a website, but there’s many blogging features.
Pros+ Free + Easy to use + Integrated social media aspect + Accepts all content formats | Cons– Limited features – No additional features – Struggle to back up or import to other platforms – Lacks credibility – Use tumblr.com domain | |
View Comments (8)
Such a helpful post! Truthfully before I started my blog I had no idea so many platforms existed, and the only one I’d heard of was Wordpress, so I went for it. It would’ve been great to have someone explain to me all the different platforms so I could make an informed choice.
Suffering Wanderlust
Me too! I'd only really heard of Blogger and Wordpress (I didn't realise Tumblr was an actual option) - glad this is useful for old and (hopefully) new bloggers!
Wordpress self-hosted all the way 🙌🏼🙌🏼 X
Haha yes Jess! That's my plan! x
There's so much I haven't heard of here. When I think of blogs I always think or blogger and the two versions of wordpress and forget about the others. It's so overwhelming. Makes me so glad I went self hosted from day one so I didn't have to choose between them all x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
Yeah there were a couple that I had to fully research because they just weren't a thing when I started? Or really not well known? Either way it was strange realising there were so many options! x
Really thorough post! So good to know all the differences! I currently have wordpress.com but might want to use .org one day!
Ahh so glad it's helpful! Really hope when you come to moving it's easy going for you! x