Top 10 Best Free Blogging Platforms To Start A Blog

Looking for some free blogging sites to help you start sharing your writing with the world? Whether you just want to share updates with your family and friends or you want to start a blog and build a broader audience, we’ve put together nine great sites where you can start a blog for free. We’ll also try to steer you towards the specific platform that’s best for you, so that you can get started on the right foot.Here’s what you need to know:

1.) WordPress (www.wordpress.org)

WordPress.org is the king of free blogging sites. It is a free platform and can be downloaded, but you need to build the site mostly by yourself afterward. While you can find some free WordPress hosting, a better long-term strategy is to pay a moderate amount for standard WordPress hosting. On the opposite side, there’s WordPress.com, which is the other face of WordPress – a platform used mostly for personal blogs because it’s easy to set up and free (if you’re okay not having a custom domain name). However, you’re also quite limited in the way you can customize the site.

2.) Wix (www.wix.com)

Best for…non-techies who want some “regular website” functionality along with a blog. Wix is a free website builder that can be totally managed from the front-end. The main characteristic of this platform is that it comes with drag-and-drop options, so you don’t have to handle anything in the back-end. The design is very intuitive and modern, which can be used by both beginners and advanced. The nice thing about Wix is that it has free hosting included, so you just need to arrange the layouts, pick a template, and you’re all set. It provides a nice collection of free and premium themes and templates for different purposes, including blogging.

3.) Medium (www.medium.com)

Best for…people who just want to write, are looking for access to a built-in audience, and don’t care about having their “own site”. Medium is a multipurpose platform tackling diverse topics, where anyone with an account can write. Unlike most other free blogging sites, the big advantage of Medium is that your articles will be exposed to a wide audience since the platform is visited by 60 million readers per month (and the number increases every year).

4.) Ghost (www.ghost.org)

Best for…people who need something simple (simpler than WordPress, for instance) but offering a modern vibe at the same time. This is another WordPress-like blogging platform. While the Ghost software can be downloaded for free, you need paid hosting for fuel. DigitalOcean is a great service that supports Ghost: it is cheap and comes with a bunch of nice features to get you started.

5.) Blogger (www.blogger.com)

Best for…people who want to write and aren’t concerned about owning their own site…but also wouldn’t mind making a little pocket money! Blogger is one of the oldest free blogging sites, though its popularity has dipped in recent years. It’s a solid solution for personal blogs, but it’s not the best resource for professional use. It works just like the other hosted platforms: you need to create an account first in order to use it. After you create it (which is simple), you have to pick one of the default themes and you can start writing your thoughts down. This platform has an interface similar to a Google+ profile and the editor looks like a Word page.

6.) Tumblr (www.tumblr.com)

Best for…people who are into more short-form, image-focused content and don’t need any “regular website” functionality. Tumblr is one of the original free blogging sites on the web. It’s just a bit ‘milder’ than the others on the list. Unlike the rest of the platforms that are mostly created for publishing purposes, this one here is more oriented to multimedia or social media-like content. The interface of Tumblr is more playful and is easy to get started with – you can simply sign up and then you’re allowed to start posting.

7.) Weebly (www.weebly.com)

Best for…non-techies who want some “regular website” functionality along with a blog (yes – just like Wix!) Weebly is another website builder that you can use not only to blog but also to sell products or showcase your portfolio. It is somewhat similar to Wix to the extent that it provides a WYSIWYG editor with drag-and-drop elements. If you want to add a certain button, you can simply drag it to the page and customize it. The same happens with photo galleries, slideshows, and any other multimedia element.

8.) Joomla (www.joomla.org)

Best for…people who want to launch a simple personal blog, but care about details such as having a custom domain and being supported by a host. Moreover, if you’re more into old-school, basic website designs, Joomla will offer you that. Joomla is similar to WordPress.org but not as obvious when considering the free blogging sites available out there. Just like WordPress, the software is free but needs hosting and a domain.

9.) Jimdo (www.jimdo.com)

Best for…people who are more comfortable editing the content directly on the front-end of the site. That, plus: you do not need a blog of a high complexity. Jimdo is more than just an example of free blogging sites. However, in its free version, blogs are the most recommended, given Jimdo’s basic features. So you can quickly create a website with Jimdo by going through a few items (you take a basic questionnaire about your site’s purpose). After you check these options, your site is automatically created based on your picks. The downside of Jimdo is that you can’t have a custom domain (at least not for free) and you can’t remove the ads unless you upgrade.

10.) Squarespace (www.squarespace.com)

Squarespace is a website building service that allows you to create beautiful websites using easy drag and drop tools. It focuses on small business owners who are looking for an easy way to create an online presence. Squarespace is simple and easy to use for beginners who aren’t very tech-savvy. It has beautiful professionally designed templates. It separately offers domain name with SSL/HTTPs and eCommerce stores.

Our Pick:

We believe that WordPress outperforms all other platforms. It is powerful, easy to use, affordable, and the most flexible of all available blogging platforms. Here are all the reasons why you should use WordPress.