5 Free Blogging Sites for Beginners Who Just Can’t Wait
You’ve done your homework – you’ve come up with your content niche, researched SEO best practices, come up with a content strategy that works for you, and reserved your domain name…so what comes next? The fun part–building your site, a space on the internet to make entirely your own.
From color scheme to fonts, content categories to your author bio, building a website can be a lot of fun. But how do you know which platform to choose? To save you a lot of work and research, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite blogging platforms that won’t break the bank. Check ‘em out and get inspired.
If you’re an aspiring blogger, chances are you’ve heard of WordPress. The ultra-customizable platform is a fan-favorite in the blogging community, and it offers users analytics that other platforms simply don’t deliver on.
Although it takes a bit of playing around to get used to the platform’s widgets, WordPress is highly user-friendly and a great option for beginners.
C’mon – the name literally says it all!
Blogger is another great option for anyone looking to get into the blogging game, and unlike some competitors, offers great mobile-friendly layout options. It also has an extensive selection of templates you can use, so if you’re not web-building savvy just yet, this is a great choice for you.
Forget what you’ve heard – Tumblr isn’t a distant memory of early aughts tween angst.
This blogging platform doubles as a social network, meaning you can follow your fellow blogging pals and get inspired by the awesome content they create! You can also repost content from other blogs and be reposted by other blogs, meaning more eyes on your content all-around. Perfect for those of us looking into blogging as a pass-time and not necessarily as a living.
Wix offers a wide-range of possibilities not just for beginner bloggers, but advanced blogging vets as well.
Wix allows you to build unlimited site pages, and comes with a built-in post scheduling tool – great for if you’re going on vacation and want to leave your computer behind without sacrificing your traffic. Not to mention, Wix offers a couple of different subscription plans for users, so if you wind up finding yourself with some extra cash to fund your site, you can easily switch over!
When it comes to being user-friendly, beginner bloggers go nuts for Weebly’s drag-and-drop capabilities. The straightforward editor allows you to pick a basic template, then drag the types of content you want onto your page – anything from social links, text, images, maps, videos, and beyond are just a click away.
Important to note, however, is that Weebly will place an ad in your blog’s footer whether you like it or not – and you don’t have any say in what the image is! I had a Weebly site as my first website, and I once had an interviewer complain that when she went to look at my online portfolio, click-bait photos of bloated feet were all over the bottom (anti-heart disease ad – yikes), so beware!
Whatever platform you pick, the quality of your blog ultimately comes down to the quality of your content and the work you’re willing to put into it. The rest will follow!
Now that you’re ready to start your blog – learn how to start your Biz! Join us next month for a weekly virtual workshop series designed for bloggers and influencers who want to grow or start their own business. Learn more here.