5 Beginner-Friendly Blogging Platforms That Are Also Free
The prep work is complete. You’ve settled on a content niche, researched SEO best practices, developed a content strategy, and reserved a kickass domain name…so what comes next? The fun part, of course! We’re talking about the process of building a website, also known as that bit of Internet space to make entirely your own.
From color schemes to fonts, content categories to your author bio, the website building process includes a lot of moving parts but that doesn’t mean it has to overwhelm you. One make-or-break factor is the hosting platform. It has the power to make the beginnings of your blogging career seamless or tiresome. 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 are already creator-approved, best suited for newbies, and won’t break the bank.
Ahead, the best free blog sites for easy building, so you can spend more time creating.
WordPress
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.
Blogger
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 pastime and not necessarily as a career.
Wix
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 when you’re going on vacation and want to leave your computer behind without sacrificing page views. 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.
Weebly
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!
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