17 Best Blogging Platforms to Make Money Online
Most bloggers find the best place to start a blog. Let’s see which one fits your need.
Best Free Blogging Platforms
1. Google Blogger
Blogger is a Google-owned platform designed especially for new writers and bloggers. Pyra Labs first launched it in 1999. Later in 2003, Google bought Blogger and redesigned it. It is the easiest and best free blog platform that provides user-friendly space with custom layouts, flexible templates, etc., for the users to create content and publish it without getting into the hassle of technical work. The user can also generate revenue using Google AdSense by displaying ads on their blog. These free blogging platforms give the user an insight into the audience. For example, where the traffic comes from and how to use this space for publishing content. This platform is the best choice for personal and hobby bloggers. But the user can’t create a full-fledged website or use it to build a brand. This platform also allows users to edit HTML and CSS code or add widgets to their blogs. In addition, the user can set up his blog within seconds by entering his Gmail ID and customizing it according to his preference. The user can also optimize the SEO settings and purchase a custom domain. But the user can’t use plug-ins to extend the functionality of his blog. Advantages
A blogger doesn’t need to have technical skills to run a blog. It comes with robustness and security from Google. Free and user-friendly interface A free SSL certificate and free domain mapping Integrated Ad campaigns
Disadvantages
Limited design options and blogging tools. It doesn’t get new or updated features regularly. The user can’t upgrade his blog, and it’s not ideal for generating long-term income. Google can suspend the user’s blog at any time (even without warning).
2. Medium
Medium is another free blogging platform that comes with a user-friendly interface. This blog platform was launched in 2013 by the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, Evans Williams. It is now home to over 60 million users who focus on creating the most thought-provoking content online. It is another easiest blogging platform that is popular among writers and publishers. It comes with a white WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. The editor gives a preview of what your article will look like once it gets published. This free blog site is the best platform for blogging new writers and bloggers, plus highly preferred by small business owners and freelance professionals. Medium also allows third-party embedding from sites like YouTube, Twitter, Vimeo, Instagram, etc. So the content creator can view where the traffic originates and how many views the post got. This blog platform also brings some benefits for the readers, like, as they can see how many minutes it will take to read the article. They can also comment or highlight their favorite part of the post. Advantages
It comes with a user-friendly interface. No coding skills or setup is required to use this platform. It gives exposure to a large community of people having similar interests. It provides insight into the total number of visitors and post views. It allows third-party embedding from different sites. You can make money with Medium.
Disadvantages
It provides limited options for users to customize the appearance of the post. The user will get little control over his content. It doesn’t offer a domain or website to its users.
3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the famous social networking sites designed especially for professionals. A decade ago, people knew this platform as a job-hunting or a resume-building space. It was common among people who wanted to hire and others looking for a job. But in the last few years, this platform has become more than that. Over 540 million users use this platform, out of which 154 million users belong solely to the USA. LinkedIn offers a great audience to its user looking to build a business profile on this platform. 45% of readership comes from people holding upper-level positions like directors, managers, VPs, etc. The platform also allows its users to grow their influence by creating more and deeper connections. The more you write, the higher chance you’ll get to increase your influencers. Advantages
The user can build his network plus business opportunities. Around half of the readers hold high-level positions. It provides an equal opportunity to grow influencers. It offers a professional platform.
Disadvantages
The user cannot build his website on this platform. Everything depends on the algorithm, so the user has no control over the traffic. Not for generating income
4. Tumblr
Tumblr makes it incredibly easy to set up a blog, but you won’t have the type of control over it that you would with WordPress or other options. This blogging platform is a run-off of a private site, and that means that the terms of service of that site will dictate how the content of your blog is handled, rather than putting you in complete control, as it would be if you had your domain. Security is essential no matter what type of blog platform you are using. Make sure that you use strong passwords, and if you want the utmost in security, you may use a VPN to encrypt your traffic when you hook up to your webserver to make administrative changes. It’s one of the easiest ways to assure that your traffic isn’t being spied upon and that you don’t unwittingly become a victim of hackers on the Internet. Advantages
This microblogging platform comes integrated with social networking features like re-blogging, following other blogs, sharing tools, etc. It is 100% free and easy to set up and use. It comes integrated with several designs. It includes hosting but provides the user with the only subdomain. The user can quickly publish images, audio, video, and other multimedia.
Disadvantages
It is challenging to backup content, photos, and files. It is also challenging to move your blog to other blog platforms. The user gets only limited features.
5. LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a free blogging platform developed in 1999 by American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick. Later in 2007, it was bought by a Russian media company called SUP Media, and in 2017, LiveJournal changed its terms of service according to Russian law. This easiest blog platform is best for hobby bloggers, not experts, as their templates and themes are not professional-looking. This platform is also not ideal for users looking to earn some income through blogging. Once, it was the most popular blogging website. But now its popularity has reduced to only Russia, where it is the 12th most visited site on the Web. Advantages
A user gets more options than just blogging, like sending and receiving messages or joining communities. The user can also use different social media tools. The platform is available in other languages, so the user can make his blog multilingual.
Disadvantages
A user won’t find any business template. It is not suitable for professional bloggers. A user using free services has to display LiveJournal Ads on his blog.
6. Bored Panda
Bored Panda is a Lithuanian blogging platform that publishes lightweight and inoffensive content. This blogging platform was developed in 2009 by Tomas Banisauskas, who boasts about his website getting around 100 million views every month. This self-funded site was also named a second-most engaged publisher on Facebook by Newswhip in October 2017. Bored Panda lets different artists and creators publish their stories using this platform. Advantages
Best platform for blogging artists and creators to publish their art Easy to use and free platform It provides an excellent opportunity for engaging the audience and creating a brand.
Disadvantages
Not for publishing long-form content
Best Freemium Blogging Platforms
1. WordPress.com
People often get confused between WordPress.org and WordPress.com and consider them the same. But the first one is blog software, whereas the other is a sister company that provides a blog hosting service. This basic hosting service is free for users, and an interested user can later purchase additional services like custom domain names, extra storage, and other premium services. These websites are best for a user looking to start his blogging journey. But Wordpress.com isn’t suitable for professional or business bloggers who need more control over their website. You must also know that WordPress can suspend your account without giving prior notice of any terms of service violation. Advantages
The installation is free and easy to set up. A user can easily use and manage the website. A user can purchase and customize the domain name. Hosting also comes free. The website provides dedicated support. A user doesn’t have to worry about site maintenance.
Disadvantages
The user gets limited options with a free version. After purchasing a business plan, the user can only access third-party plug-ins and themes. WordPress will show its Ads on a free website, but the user can’t offer his Ads. User doesn’t get complete control over their website.
2. Postach.io
Postach.io is another best platform for blogging powered by Evernote. This platform allows its users to convert their notes into blogs. The user can either use his existing Evernote account or register as a new account on this platform. Once the user installs Evernote, he can integrate it with Postach.io and start connecting his notes. It is a convenient way of customizing one’s blog and entering into this hobby. It also provides a dashboard where the user can personalize his blogging website according to his preference. The user can quickly build his free blog using this platform. But to get a custom domain name, the user needs to subscribe to the paid package. Advantages
Easy to use blogging platform An efficient way of blogging for someone who is regularly using Evernote Inexpensive It supports Markdown instead of HTML.
Disadvantages
A limited number of themes Customer service is a little slow.
3. Write.as
This platform is best for anyone looking to create simple blogs with minimalist designs. The users can write anything from long-form content to short posts on “Write.as” without building a website. This website will give you a feeling of writing in a virtual journal. This platform also needs its user to have a basic knowledge of Markdown, a syntax style like HTML for formatting text. This syntax isn’t challenging but will require the user to dedicate some time to practice it. Most services of this platform are free and easy to use. But the user needs to purchase an upgraded plan for using custom domain names and themes for his website. Advantages
Easy to use platform It is an ideal space for writers who want to post content anonymously. The user can focus entirely on blogging.
Disadvantages
It is not ideal for business or professional bloggers. It needs Markdown syntax for formatting text.
2. Wix
Wix is the most popular blogging website available in the market, with around 100 million users present worldwide. It is among the free blog sites. Another reason for its popularity is that Wix is one of the easiest free and paid blogging platforms. The user can use this platform to create a full-fledged website, including a blog. The Advanced Design Intelligence or ADI tool with this product makes it easy for the user to customize the design and get started with the blog within a few minutes. This platform provides premium blogging features like visitor analytics, industry-leading tools, other social media tools, etc. Advantages
The website setup is easy and quick. This platform gives access to thousands of third-party apps and templates. The user doesn’t need to be a proficient coder to create a blog and design his site using the simple drag and drop method.
Disadvantages
Free accounts and services are limited. The user can’t change the template selected at the beginning.
4. Strikingly
This hosted platform is best suited for someone looking to start their one-page blog with minimum fuss. Strikingly is an easy-to-use platform that will take a few minutes to set up and start working. It will also provide the user with unlimited websites and 5GB monthly bandwidth for free. In addition, the user also gets a domain name ending strikingly.com, social media tools, a search bar, a comment section, and an analytics section. Strikingly will also insert Ads on your blog in its free version that you can remove by purchasing its paid plan. Advantages
Easy to use interface It allows users to build a website from scratch without technical or programming skills. It provides the user with unlimited websites. It comes with limited customization.
Disadvantages
It comes with limited eCommerce features. It provides the user with only one-page sites.
5. Hubpages
Hubpages is the easiest blog platform where a user can share his content with an extensive community. This platform’s best quality exposes writers and bloggers to a large audience. Even a creative blogger can use this platform by adding his content to the Arts and Design Section. But Hubpages doesn’t offer much control and functions to its user, so you can’t design your website or page according to your choice. On the bright side, it is best for someone looking for a space to share his content and not interested in how it looks or in its design. Advantages
A user can start publishing articles without getting into the hassle of technical work. This platform offers a wide range of audiences for its users. The user can earn a side income by posting high-quality content regularly.
Disadvantages
The user won’t get a website or a domain name. The users don’t get control over how to customize the look of their posts.
Best Paid Blogging Platforms
1. WordPress.org
WordPress.org is open-source blog software that was launched in 2003. This platform boasts of powering more than 39% of the Internet and is one of the most widely used content management systems globally. It is also enormously easy to use, even for people who don’t have that much technical knowledge. The WordPress platform has the advantage of having many different WordPress themes created for it. Each of them allows you to alter your site’s appearance, alter some of the functionality, and do so without doing any behind-the-scenes technical work. Many of those themes are built with administrator panels, allowing you to change rather specific aspects of that theme – including elements such as stylesheets – without actually opening any text files. WordPress also has many different plug-ins that you can add to your website, and these give you quite a few functionalities. Widgets are used extensively on this platform, allowing you to include contact forms, social media feeds, and other content on your website. To sum up, the qualities mentioned above. We can say that Wordpress.org offers 100% control to its users over its website. Where ease-of-use is concerned, WordPress is generally the go-to option for bloggers. Advantages
A cost-effective way for a beginner to get started with his blog. This platform gives overall control to its users over every aspect of the website. It provides an excellent opportunity for the blog to grow and add extra features, including online stores, plug-ins, etc. It provides access to around 58,000 free plug-ins. Thousands of mobile responsive themes to choose from. It is an SEO-friendly platform, so the user can easily create search engine-friendly URLs, tags, etc. It comes with a large developer community, so the user can quickly get customer support whenever needed. It is the best blogging platform to make money.
Disadvantages
The user has to manage the security, backups, and performance of his website on his own. Despite being user-friendly, this platform comes with a learning curve.
2. Squarespace
Squarespace has similar functionality to Wix. However, this all-in-one website builder is famous for having a massive stock of pleasing templates. These templates are best for visual-based businesses like photographers, artists, and designers who focus on sharing images, videos, or portfolio pieces and small to medium posts. The drag and drop editor allows the user to create his website within a few minutes. Squarespace also includes paid blogging features like SEO tools, social media tools, in-depth visitor analytics, expert customer services, etc. But it is not as customizable as Wix or Wordpress.org. Advantages
The easy-to-use interface allows anyone to use Squarespace to build a blog, including non-tech savvy. The professionally designed templates are best for visual businesses such as designers, etc. The user gets hosting along with a custom domain name. This easiest blogging platform also offers a domain name with HTTPS/SSL plus eCommerce functionality. The user can optimize his content using blogging and SEO tools.
Disadvantages
Limited features with a limited number of templates. Limited third-party integrations.
3. Ghost
Ghost is an open-source paid blogging platform best for publishers, developers, and entrepreneurs. The users can easily publish content online and use the platform to monetize their blogs. One of the best features of using this platform is providing a live preview of your post while creating the content. This way, you can quickly change any writing or programming mistakes made along the way. Beginners can easily use this platform, but expert bloggers also favor it for its interface. This platform is available as hosted program and blog software that the user can install or host. Advantages
Clean and clutter-free user interface The user doesn’t need to install a setup for the hosted program. It works efficiently and quickly as written in JavaScript. The platform focuses mainly on writing and blogging. It comes with in-built social media and SEO functionalities.
Disadvantages
A limited number of themes and configuration options. It is somehow challenging to customize with apps. A self-hosted version is not easy to set up.
4. Drupal
Of all the open-source blogging platforms available there, Drupal is likely the most complex. However, this platform is a trendy blogging website among those with advanced programming skills who want the most control over their content management system. Drupal has its vocabulary and skills that you have to learn to use the program correctly. Still, it is enormously influential, and there is a dedicated community of developers who are constantly inventing new ways to improve this platform. But it can become confusing to manage and work upon if you don’t have programming skills or time to learn and understand each procedure. Drupal is a self-hosted platform perfect for any company looking for complex programming. Advantages
It comes with some powerful content management features. Best suited for technical users having good programming skills. It provides the user with complete control over his blog.
Disadvantages
Not suitable for beginners or non-tech savvy. It needs users to dedicate some time to learning.
5. Joomla!
Joomla! is a prevalent open-source content management system, though it tends to have more followers among business users than personal users. It is a bit more complicated than WordPress and requires more knowledge of web programming to utilize correctly. Just as is the case with WordPress, you can apply various looks to your Joomla! a site with templates, eliminating the need to do any programming to design your site. This self-hosted platform also has plenty of modules that you can install that allow you to add functionality to your blogging website without having a programmer create them for you from scratch. It also allows its users to publish their content in multiple languages. Advantages
It provides helpful customization features. It comes with an open-source CMS (content management system). It allows users to publish content in different languages.
Disadvantages
Limited themes and extensions It comes with a learning curve
