So, do you have something you want to write about and share with the world? Starting out as a blogger is a daunting thought but it doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might fear right now.

There are lots of different reasons why people choose to blog. Maybe you have a passion for a certain subject or want to share your knowledge on something. Or perhaps you just want to make money doing something enjoyable.

In truth, a lot of bloggers start off with a mixture of these and other reasons. No matter what your motivation is, it is vital that you choose the right blogging platform at the beginning of your blogging adventure. This is the tool that you will use every day, and it could make the difference between success and failure for your site.

The right platform will make life simpler for you. However, picking the wrong one could turn out to be an expensive mistake.

Don’t worry if this sounds like it’s going to be a big hassle or a huge expense. The best blogging platforms are there to make life easier for you rather than complicate matters. Also, many of them are completely free to use.

What Is a Blogging Platform?

A blogging platform is simply a piece of software that lets you publish your posts without having to set up a website on your own. It is a kind of content management system that lets you take control of what you publish.

One of the key points here is that you don’t need to be a technical expert to use a platform like this. There is no need to be able to write code or design web pages. The setup is easy and intuitive to carry out.

You will typically be able to add content to your blog in a word processor typesetting. Adding images and videos is also very easy to do. So, how does a blogging platform differ from a traditional website? The truth is that the differences between websites and blogs have narrowed a lot in recent years.

It is no longer the case that websites are formal, static sites compared to informal, constantly changing blogs. However, there are still some powerful reasons for using a specific blogging platform to get your blog off the ground rather than using a more traditional website.

We will look a bit more at the basics behind these platforms and then at a few of the best options around now.

Why Use Blogging Platform?

Can you start blogging without using a blogging platform? Yes, but you should take the following points into account before making your decision:

Cost. Setting up a website and getting it hosted can be an expensive business, especially if you lack the technical skills to do the work yourself. Many of the best blogging platforms are free to use or only charge a relatively small amount.
Ease of use. Anyone can use a blogging platform and start publishing content in no time at all. If you can use a word processor like Microsoft Word then you will be able to use a blogging platform. This means that you can concentrate on what you write rather than worrying about technical matters.
Presentation. It is worth pointing out that blogs are usually presented in a way that makes sense to the reader. This is because the latest posts appear first. It is also easy for you to divide your individual articles into categories to make it easier for readers to find exactly what they are after.
Lots of help and support. When you build your own website you will either be on your own or relying on the people who did the work for you. On the other hand, with a blogging platform, you get a lot of help and support to make life easier. The most popular platforms have a strong online community as well as their own support teams.
Range of add-ons and plugins. Many bloggers are perfectly happy with the basic package offered on their chosen platform. However, there is also the option of using add-ons for a more personalized experience. This includes the likes of anti-spam, SEO optimization, and password plugins to increase security.

What to Look For

The features covered in the last points give us a good idea of what to look for in a blogging platform. If you find a platform with good support and lots of useful plugins then you will feel happier giving it a go.

What other issues should you look out for as well? The following are a few of the things that will help you to make a sound decision:

A good blogging platform won’t let you down. Few things are worse for a busy blogger than finding that their blog is down for hours a time. Check what other users say about its reliability before you take the plunge and start using one of these platforms.
Nice designs. You will want an attractive, welcoming blog that encourages people to explore it. The top blogging platforms offer a range of designs for you to choose from.
Cost. As mentioned previously, you can choose from both free and paid platforms. The cost is, therefore, likely to be a factor in your decision. Will you find a platform that is good enough for you to consider paying extra to use it?
Hosting. Do you want a hosted platform that makes your life easier or would you prefer to self-host to get more control? Some platforms offer both options, while others only give you one possibility.
Can you grow your blog on here? Most bloggers start off modestly but have big dreams for the future. If your site gains popularity and is a real success then you need a platform that can help you to grow. Moving to a different solution in the future is a messy business if you don’t make the right decision at the start.
Overall, it’s a good idea to go through a few other people’s blogs to see which ones catch your eye. Are there certain designs that appeal to you and that you think would be right for your own blog?

If so, then check what platform they are using.

The Best Blogging Platforms – WordPress

There’s no doubt that WordPress is the world’s favorite blogging platform. This is a free, open-source content management system and the latest figures show that it is used by close to 30% of the planet’s top 10 million sites.

It has been around since 2003 and is now said to support over 60 million sites in total. Why is WordPress so popular? The fact that you can set up a site for free and get it hosted for free is definitely a great starting point.

It is also incredibly easy to use from the very first minute you open it. If you want to get your blog up and running right away then you can’t go wrong with this platform.

You also get a lot of flexibility when you use WordPress. There are currently over 50,000 different plugins to choose from, offering a vast number of ways to tailor your blog to suit your needs.

Another nice touch is the way that you can switch between different themes without it affecting your content in any way. Blog owners can also use their mobile devices to add new posts and controls the comments section, among other things.

Another point to remember is that you might want to give access to your blog to other people at some point. Perhaps you will ask a friend to write some articles or else hire a freelance writer to keep things ticking over on your behalf.

The fact that so many people are familiar with WordPress means that you can give them access without worrying too much about training them. If you add the right plugins then the system will also guide them in matters such as optimizing posts for SEO purposes.

Growing your blog over the coming months and years won’t be a problem on this platform. It is easy to build up a powerful brand by adding a store, membership options and other features that you might be interested in.

If you try WordPress then you’ll almost certainly agree that it offers an incredibly easy way to write and publish your blogs.

WordPress Pros

Easy to use
Highly flexible
Free
Search engine friendly
Easy to find users who are already comfortable with the system

WordPress Cons

Risk of hacking and other security threats
Updates can be a hassle.

The Best Blogging Platforms – Blogger

The next option offers another way of starting a blog for free. Blogger shares a lot of the same benefits and disadvantages WordPress has.

Each user can register up to 100 blogs here, so it’s suitable for someone who wants to try their hand with a few different blogs. One advantage over WordPress is that you can use your own custom domain name for free, which is something that WordPress charges for.

This is one of the longest-running blogging platforms, as it has been around since 1999. Google bought out the company behind it (Pyra Labs) in 2003. Since being bought by Google it has had both Picasa and Hello integrated into it, making it easier to add photos.

The fact that Blogger is part of Google brings some other benefits too. For example, it is possible to earn money more easily on here because it supports Google’s AdSense.

An opinion held by some bloggers is that this is a good platform for getting started with. However, as a blog grows it may make sense to switch to WordPress.

Blogger Pros

Free to use and to set up a custom domain
Good integration with AdSense and other Google products
Easy to use
High levels of security

Blogger Commons

A fairly limited number of designs
Not updated very regularly with new features

Best Blogging Platforms – Wix

The next platform for us to look at is Wix. This is a way of building a website with a blog using a very simple approach.

Wix was founded in 2006. The company said that it had 50 million users in 2014, having risen from 3.5 million in 2010 and 34 million in 2013.

The drag-and-drop approach adopted here means that anyone can use it without any difficulties. It is another hosted platform, so you don’t need to set up your domain and hosting before you get started.

Users can choose from a decent selection of templates as well as third-party apps. This content management system is free to use, although you need to pay if you want to use a custom domain.

Their app market allows you to add useful features such as music playlists, email marketing and file management. It is worth mentioning that once you choose a template on Wix you need to stick with it, as you can’t then change it later on.

Wix Pros

Free to use unless you want a custom domain
Simple to use with drag-and-drop controls

Wix Cons

You can’t change the template after choosing it
Relatively limited amount of choice with designs and apps

Best Blogging Platforms – Weebly

The hosted blogging platform from Weebly allows you to build your blog using a range of themes and a selection of drag-and-drop tools. Getting set up is a breeze with this software, as it is designed so that anyone can use it easily.

It is estimated that up to 20 million sites have used this platform, although hard figures aren’t easy to come by. Weebly was created in 2006 and compatibility with the likes of Google AdSense, Chrome and Safari has been added since those early days.

Your blog will be hosted by Weebly if you choose this option, so there is no need to worry about domains, hosting or any other issues that you might be concerned about. This is a paid platform but it is nice to see that you can try it out with the free plan offer before you pay for the service.

There are a number of built-in features you can use but these are relatively limited in number. You can’t add in extra features and it can difficult to migrate your blog elsewhere if you decide to do so in the future.

You can pay a monthly fee for the basic service and optionally pay extra for additional features.

Weebly Pros

No hassle in setting up
Free plan to try before you buy
Hosted platform means no delay in getting started

Weebly Cons

Limited features
Not free

Best Blogging Platforms – Ghost

The next option on our list is called Ghost. This is a fairly basic blogging platform that puts the emphasis firmly on writing blog posts rather than on lots of features and extensions.

This platform was brought out in 2013, following on from a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds that raised the initial target amount in just 11 hours.

You can choose to put your blog onto their hosted platform or else just use the software for a self-hosted option. Either way, you will find a fast and uncluttered writing experience that is aimed at letting you achieve a high level of productivity with your writing.

If you choose the hosted version of Ghost then you will be ready to start writing your first blog posts in no time at all. There is virtually nothing you need to learn first of all, as it is an intuitive and well thought out setup. Self-hosting is a good deal more complicated though.

Perhaps the biggest drawback with Ghost is that it is too simple for some bloggers. There isn’t a lot you can do to make it stand out from the crowd due to the limited number of themes and customization tools.

This is another paid blogging platform. Whether you go for the hosted option of self-hosting, you will need to pay for it monthly.

Ghost Pros

Very fast
Simple setup for the hosted option
Clean and user-friendly interface lets you concentrate solely on writing

Ghost Cons

Not easy to customize
Self-hosting can be awkward, as the software needs to be installed
Not free

What Is the Best Blogging Platform for You?

Having looked at the main options in the market, it is should be clear which platforms appear to be best suited to your needs.

Do you want ease of use more than anything else or do you value flexibility and customization options more highly than this? Is connecting to social media important for you?

Will you be just writing blogs or will you want post multimedia content? Are you planning to make money from your blog or is it simply a passion for the subject that drives you?

It’s only by understanding your own needs that you can expect to make the right decision. Choose your blogging platform wisely at the start and you can then simply use it from then onwards without any worries.

By looking at the pros and cons it is clear why WordPress is such a popular choice, as it gives bloggers many of the tools that they most look for. However, you shouldn’t simply choose this software on the basis that many other people already use it.

Instead, you should look up the advantages and disadvantages of each of these platforms before deciding how to proceed.

Big thanks for visiting here