Best blogging platform in 2024
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Blogging website builders simplify the process of sharing ideas and connecting with like-minded people. These platforms make it much easier to start a blog than to code a website from scratch or use complex content management systems like WordPress.org.
To help you reach your blogging goals, in this article, I documented my own personal experiences with several blogging website builders and platforms. You’ll find my top 7 blog website builders and info on various aspects such as prices, ease of use, templates, monetization possibilities, and ways to reach your audience.
7 best blog website builders in 2024
- Wix – best for blogs needing excellent SEO tools
- Hostinger – best for a wide range of AI tools
- SITE123 – best for small businesses
- WordPress.com – best all-around blogging platform
- Medium – best blogging website builder for a broad audience
- Blogger – best for free and simple blogging
- Ghost – best for professional publishing and blogging
Our in-house research team and expert writers work hand in hand to regularly test website builders and provide accurate and fact-checked information. Discover the ins and outs of how we test and evaluate website builders.
Best blog website builders – detailed reviews
Together with the cybernews team I compiled a rundown of the seven best blog builders to help you choose the optimal one for your needs. Compare the best web builders by reading my detailed reviews in terms of ease-of-use, features, pricing, and more.
1. Wix – website builder with excellent SEO tools for blogging
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | From $10.50/month to $172.00/month |
| SEO and marketing tools: | Yes |
| Best deal: | Get Wix with 50% OFF |
Wix is the best website builders that can help you create a blog and push it to the top in search engines. For instance, the Wix SEO tool provides most of the features that you might need – from writing the optimal SEO titles and descriptions to filling in the alt text in your images.
At Cybernews, we regularly test all the web builders on our list. We've also reviewed Wix's interface, ease of use, and features in a detailed article. Check it out here: FULL WIX WEB BUILDER REVIEW.
Pricing. Wix offers four plans for regular websites like blogs, starting at $10.50/month for the Light plan. There’s also a free plan available for testing, but it has limited design options and includes Wix ads. If you’re looking for a more feature-rich plan, there’s also the possibility to test Wix risk-free, as there is a 14-day money-back guarantee for new Premium or Studio site plans.
Using Wix
Since there are people from different experience backgrounds, Wix thought it would be a great idea to offer two editors. So, no matter your skill level, you’re covered. You can choose from Wix AI builder or the regular editor.
Getting started is pretty easy, and it depends on which editor you want to choose. For those of you who haven’t used a website builder before, the easiest option is Wix AI. You’ll be presented with this option when you decide to create your website.
You must answer a few questions, and Wix AI creates a beautiful blog for you. That’s it. You can then customize it as you see fit. Probably after you play around a little just to see what’s what.
The second option is to use Wix’s regular editor, meaning that you have to select a template for your blog. Wix has an extensive library of free blog templates – they all look professionally made and are mobile-friendly.
Once you choose a template, you’ll be taken to Wix’s drag-and-drop editor with over 1000 customizable elements. Just to paint a clearer picture, just take a look at how many things you can do with one image.
And if you end up monetizing your blog, you’ll be happy to learn that Wix is one of those website builders that fully understand the importance of search engine optimization. That is why you’re given access to advanced SEO and marketing tools that ensure organic search engine traffic.
In terms of SEO, Wix provides integrated SEO tools to help you rank better in search engines.
Okay, but what does that mean?
Basically, all Wix websites are given a set of features that help improve their position in search engines. For example, the Wix SEO tool offers many essential features, including writing optimal SEO titles and descriptions, as well as adding alt text to your images.
As a simple writer, I’m sure you don’t care about how stuff gets done as long as it gets done. Wix understands, which is why it chose to integrate all the technical stuff right from the start.
As for marketing, you know how it is – if a tree fell deep in the forest and nobody heard, did it really fall? It’s the same with your online presence. If you write a blog, but you don’t engage with your readers on social media or otherwise, you don’t exist. Fortunately, Wix knows what to do here too.
With Wix’s marketing tools, you can see how many visitors you have, which one of your blog posts is the most popular, and see how many shares you get on social media. Don’t forget to also improve your blog based on the analytics tool put at your disposal.
The Ascend tool, for example, allows you to share your posts on social media platforms, send emails to your subscribers, and, of course, bring more visitors to your blog.
Wix gives you all the necessary tools to improve your ranking in search engines. You can also promote your blog and engage with your followers using one of the several marketing tools put at your disposal.
Wix makes an excellent choice with its extensive tools for bloggers. The editors are easy to use, SEO and Marketing are covered, and you can monetize your website in just a few clicks. Lastly, Wix is not the cheapest blogging platform out there, but it sure offers great value for money.
2. Hostinger – blogging platform with AI-powered tools
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | From $1.66/month to $12.95/month |
| SEO and marketing tools: | Yes |
| Best deal: | Get Hostinger Website Builder, 87% OFF + free months |
Hostinger is a top blogging website builder among writers. It comes with a ton of blogging features and handy AI tools, from text creator to logo and image generator. While it could seem that Hostinger does not limit your imagination, keep in mind that many tools are hidden behind the paywall.
At Cybernews, we regularly test all the web builders on our list. We've also reviewed Hostinger's interface, ease of use, and features in a detailed article. Check it out here: FULL HOSTINGER WEB BUILDER REVIEW.
Pricing. Hostinger Website Builder offers two pricing tiers, with the starting price as low as $1.66/month. This includes unlimited storage, building up to 100 websites, and a free custom domain for a year. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee and a demo version to test before committing.
Using Hostinger
Hostinger is known for its simplicity, making it great for beginners. The drag-and-drop interface makes building and customizing websites easy. When you’re just starting up, you can let the AI create your website or choose a template. The builder first asks questions about the brand name, website type (like an online store, blog, or portfolio), and a brief description. You can also pick a style and color palette. But keep in mind, that you have to be specific, and provide a lot of details, if you want to get a decent result.
Another way to create a blog is to choose a desired template. Hostinger has over 100 pre-made templates to choose from. It doesn’t seem like a lot compared to Wix's 900+ template library; however, I think that Hostinger’s templates are modern and visually appealing to suit many different needs.
Once you select a theme, feel free to customize it. You can change the name of your blog or the color scheme, add menus, elements and widgets. You can even change the layout of your theme. All that can be accessed from the menu on the left.
What I found great, is that Hostinger Website Builder offers several AI tools, including an AI image generator, page generator, blog generator, writer, logo maker, and heatmap. I really liked the heatmap, which analyzes your site and suggests the best spots to place important information for maximum user engagement. The AI logo maker can create simple logos, but you also have the option to design your own.
Additionally, Hostinger provides basic marketing features, like SEO tools for optimizing pages, allowing users to manage meta titles and descriptions. However, for more advanced marketing tools, you'll need to integrate with third-party services.
Hostinger is great for blogging because it offers an easy-to-use interface, affordable pricing, and essential tools like SEO optimization to help your blog reach a wider audience. Its AI-driven features simplify content creation. Plus, the value it provides at such a low cost makes it an excellent choice for bloggers looking to start or expand their site.
3. SITE123 – effortless blogging platform for small business
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | Free to $45.00/month |
| SEO and marketing tools: | Yes |
| Best deal: | SITE123 coupon 40% OFF |
SITE123 is popular with small businesses because it's user-friendly, offers customizable templates, e-commerce features, and good customer support. However, due to its limitations, it might not be the best choice if you plan to expand your business significantly.
At Cybernews, we regularly test all the web builders on our list. We've also reviewed SITE123's interface, ease of use, and features in a detailed article. Check it out here: FULL SITE123 WEB BUILDER REVIEW.
Pricing. SITE123 lets you create a website for free, but the free version is quite limited. Paid plans start at $12.80/month for basic site editing and 10GB of storage. Luckily, there’s a 14-day money-back guarantee with premium plans if you’re unsatisfied with the service.
Using SITE123
The all-time selling point is the ease of use. SITE123 is one of the most accessible website builders out there. Sure, you don’t get as much customization freedom as from some other builders, but if you just want to focus more on writing and less on design, SITE123 is enough.
Unlike all the other website builders, SITE123 doesn’t give you that choose a template option when you get started. Instead, it asks some questions, and then you’re presented with what an AI came up with.
It’s a rather unusual approach, but it does make your website creation process a bit shorter.
Of course, once your website is ready, you are free to make the necessary changes. The editor allows you to play with the design options – add text, change the colors, add images, and pretty much what you need to do to make your blog look decent.
Since you are free to play with blocks, you can create a blog too. All you have to do is access the Pages menu and click on the Add New Page button – there is a Blog option on the left.
Once you choose a layout for your blog, you’ll see a random article you can edit. The text editor looks like this:
It’s all pretty straightforward from this point on. Write your article, select an image, hit Publish, and you’re done.
So, what makes SITE123 perfect for bloggers? It’s super easy to use, and you can create something appealing really fast.
SITE123 is a great blogging website builder, especially if you need simple, but quick and good-looking result for your site. It’s super easy to use, your blog can go live in just a few minutes, and you have the possibility of monetizing your blog. So, you can use your blog for a small business, especially if your needs aren't too complex.
4. WordPress.com – top all-in-one solution for blogging
| Rating: | 4.0 |
| Price range: | From $4.00/month to $45.00/month |
| SEO and marketing tools: | Yes |
| Best deal: | Get up to 43% OFF Wordpress! |
WordPress has excellent plugins and template libraries, as well as an incredible text editor and a reliable interface. WordPress.com takes all of that – and turns it into an intuitive website builder. No more worrying about web hosting and server management. It’s not as flexible as its open-source counterpart, but it is easier to use, and has the same great blogging editor.
At Cybernews, we regularly test all the web builders on our list. We've also reviewed Hostinger's interface, ease of use, and features in a detailed article. Check it out here: FULL WORDPRESS.COM WEB BUILDER REVIEW.
Pricing. WordPress.com offers a free plan and four premium options, starting with the Personal plan at $4.00/month. The more expensive plans, like Business at $25/month, include advanced features like plugins and SEO tools, but they can be pricey. WordPress.com offers refunds within 14 days for annual, two-year, and three-year plans, whether newly purchased or renewed.
Using WordPress.com
Getting started with WordPress.com is just as simple as providing your email address and a password as well as choosing a domain. The whole thing literally takes under a minute, and once that minute expires, you’re redirected to your dashboard.
Before starting to write, it may be a good idea to select a template. Fortunately, WordPress.com comes with an extensive theme library, and you don’t have to pay for one.
At first glance, the themes look professionally made. And yes, they’re mobile-friendly.
After you choose a theme, you can customize your pages, and the editor is very similar to the one you get for your text.
This is pretty much it. The rest is rather self-explanatory. Once you’re done customizing your pages, just launch your website, and ta-da!
About the plugins – if WordPress.org comes with plenty of SEO and Marketing tools, why wouldn’t WordPress.com come with the same benefits? Similarly to .org, you’ll have to pay a visit to the plugin library. The catch is that you need a premium plan to activate plugins.
Long story short, to take advantage of WordPress.com’s SEO and Marketing tools, you need to purchase a premium plan. Aaand to activate plugins, you have to buy at least the Business plan, which goes for $25/month. Even so, access to over 50k plugins sounds good.
Once you purchase the Business plan, you can install plugins that help you optimize and promote your website.
If you want to earn some ad revenue, you don’t necessarily need the Business plan. Premium allows it too. But you won’t get much without the SEO tools, which come with Business.
Overall, you need to break the piggy bank to optimize and promote your website. I’m afraid that the free part of WordPress.com ends there.
WordPress.com is the choice for you if you want to run a WordPress website but don’t want to overcomplicate your life. You don’t get as much design flexibility, but It’s a whole lot easier to use.
5. Medium – blogging platform for wide audiences
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | Free to $15/month |
| SEO and marketing tools: | No |
| Best deal: | - |
Medium is neither a CMS (Content Management System) nor a website builder. It’s a content website designed specifically for bloggers. It allows you to post blog posts for the entire world to see and is the perfect solution if you want to reach a broad audience on your first shot. However, keep in mind that you won't have your own website, so you can't display ads or sell products directly.
Using Medium
Getting started with Medium couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is create an account, and you’ll be welcomed to your dashboard. If you want to start writing, all you have to do is click on your icon (top right) and press the Write a Story button.
Medium’s text editor is pretty basic. It’s a blank page more than anything else.
However, if you press the + button on the left, you can add an image or a video, include an embed or a new part, or upload a stock image from Unsplash.
Once your story is written, you can select your text or parts of it and edit it. You can even add some private notes if you want.
One of the most appealing aspects of Medium is that you don’t have to handle the whole website creation part. All you have to do is come up with the words. However, there’s a downside to all that convenience – you cannot build your own brand. You won’t even have your own custom domain – you’ll always be x@Medium.
Another thing that I believe makes Medium an excellent place to get started is social networking. You can communicate with other bloggers – send messages or post responses to their posts.
So, there you have it, Medium is a great place to start blogging. You’ll have access to an insane audience, plus, it’s effortless to use. While displaying ads and selling is impossible with Medium, you can still make some cash by joining the Medium Partner Program.
6. Blogger – free and reliable web builder for simple blogging
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | Free |
| SEO and marketing tools: | Yes |
| Best deal: | - |
Blogger is a blogging platform designed specifically for, bloggers. Since it’s owned by Google, all you need is a Google account. Blogger lets you create a stand-alone website and offers basic marketing and monetization options. It even includes Google Analytics, a powerful tool to help you optimize your blog by tracking visitor behavior.
At Cybernews, we regularly test all the web builders on our list. We've also reviewed Hostinger's interface, ease of use, and features in a detailed article. Check it out here: FULL BLOGGER WEB BUILDER REVIEW.
Pricing. Blogger is completely free to use. There are no costs for hosting, domain registration (if you choose a blogspot.com domain), or the platform itself. You can create and manage your blog without any upfront fees.
Using Blogger
Blogger is a platform that allows you to create a blog in just a few effortless steps. Just sign in with your Google account, give your blog a name and choose an URL, and you’re done.
Once you’re finished with setting up, you’ll be taken to your dashboard. It’s easy to navigate. In the menu on the left, you have your posts and stats, pages, layout, and themes, as well as earnings and settings.
To create a new post, just access the text editor by pressing on the New Post button you see at the top left. The editor is just as basic as the dashboard, yet, it comes with plenty of options. It looks like a Google Docs page, doesn't it?
Adding media elements is easy. The options bar at the top of the text editor allows you to add images, links, and videos. You even have an icon for special characters. Playing with fonts and text styles is pretty much a given.
Another thing worth mentioning here is that your blog may end in .blogspot.com, but it will be very safe – remember, this is Google we’re talking about. Its servers are no one’s playground, which is why they’re reliable and secure. Your audience won’t get bored waiting for the page to load, no matter where they’re from.
Blogger may be a simple blogging platform, but unlike Medium, for instance, you have some wiggle room for design customization. For one thing, you can pick a theme. This is not a department Blogger excels at, but you can still have a lovely-looking blog.
To change the randomly assigned theme Blogger gives you, press the Themes button you see in your dashboard’s left menu. If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see that the library is neither small nor extensive. The perfect middle ground.
Not all themes are great, but surely you can find one that appeals to you.
Now, once you choose a theme, you’re allowed to customize it. Just make sure to adjust your expectations because there are not too many options. You can make some width adjustments, change the layout, and play with some colors, but that’s just about it.
Blogger lets you create a stand-alone website with basic marketing and monetization options. It includes Google Analytics for tracking visitor behavior and optimizing your blog. Unlike other platforms, Blogger doesn’t push its own ads on your site. Instead, ads are tailored to your audience, and you earn commissions through AdSense when they click. Though it lacks advanced SEO tools, Blogger is still a good option for reaching your audience and earning money.
7. Ghost – perfect publishing platform for bloggers
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | From $9/month to $199/month |
| SEO and marketing tools: | Yes |
| Best deal: | - |
Ghost is a blogging platform that offers impressive customization capabilities but none of the hassle. Think of it as a perfect combination between WordPress’s flexible customization and Wix’s ease of use. Ghost stands out with its unique paywall feature. While you can still earn from ads, affiliate links, and product promotions, the paywall lets you offer exclusive content to your followers through paid subscriptions. The best part? Ghost doesn’t take any of the proceeds, so all the revenue goes directly to you. This makes Ghost an excellent choice for bloggers with a dedicated audience looking to monetize their content.
Pricing. Ghost offers four premium plans, starting with the Starter plan at $9/month for up to 500 subscribers, built-in integrations, and official themes. While Ghost isn’t the cheapest option, it can handle up to 1 million views per month, making it a powerful platform for growing blogs that want to monetize their content. However, Ghost doesn’t provide a money-back guarantee for any of the plans.
Using Ghost
Ghost is a blog-specific CMS making it perfect for bloggers. With a minimalistic but highly functional interface and overall ease of use, Ghost is well-loved by both beginners and advanced users. It can help you create a modern-looking blog in no time, and the result is short of spectacular.
One of the things that make Ghost special is that it’s a fully hosted blogging platform and a stand-alone piece of software. Even if you purchase hosting from a different provider, you can install and run it. It’s pretty similar to WordPress in that sense.
Getting started with Ghost should be smooth sailing. Just provide an email address and create a password. You must also provide your credit card number, even if you go for the 14-day free trial, but it should not be a problem if you intend to use it.
As soon as your account is created, you can access your dashboard. It’s minimalistic but offers you all the necessary options to customize your website and start writing.
The menu on the left gives you access to your posts, published or not, pages, integrations, tags, and design options.
As for the blogging experience itself, I have the feeling you’re going to love it. It’s incredibly minimalistic, which allows a streamlined workflow, kinda reminding me of Medium. The fact that you don’t have all those icons all over the place is nice for a change.
But just because you don’t have editing icons all over the place doesn’t mean you cannot edit your text. All you have to do is select it, and you’ll get this:
Like any other self-respecting text editor, Ghost’s allows you to create engaging and modern content. You can add and edit images, use markdown or HTML, or you can embed links to several social media platforms and entertainment platforms. Ghost calls them Cards.
Another thing Ghost is good at is its themes. It provides an extensive library with hundreds of templates that look professionally made and modern. Some of them are downright gorgeous, in my opinion. Just keep in mind that not all of them are free.
If you visit Ghost’s theme library, you’ll notice that you have several categories covering magazines, photography, travel, podcasts, and so on. One of them is bound to catch your eye.
Nevertheless, while there are a few free options, the prices for Ghost themes can be a bit spicy. I haven’t seen anything cheaper than $24, and the most expensive ones are $149. Not too affordable.
At the same time, you can go for third-party themes. The ones I found have prices between $18 and $149, making them around the same as Ghost’s theme marketplace.
This seems to be pretty much it in this department. Ghost makes for an excellent blogging platform primarily because of its simplicity and ease of use, leading to a smooth streamlined experience.
What can I say? Ghost is not the cheapest blogging platform you’ll come across. Even so, you’re given access to many resources, and that alone should comfort you. All in all, Ghost is an excellent choice of a blogging platform. It’s super easy to use, and you have access to features that will help you create and run a successful blog.
Compare the best blog website builders and platforms
See how each blog website builder compares in terms of features and pricing:
| Provider | Rating | Pricing range | Blog features | Learn more |
| Wix | From $10.50/month to $172.00/month | Marketing and SEO tools, responsive templates, AI tools, dedicated blogging suite | Wix review | |
| Hostinger | From $1.66/month to $12.95/month | Visually apealing templates, SEO tools, various AI tools, dedicated blogging suite, blog post scheduling | Hostinger review | |
| SITE123 | Free to $45.00/month | SEO Adviser, customizable templates, e-commerce features | SITE123 review | |
| WordPress.com | From $4.00/month to $45.00/month | Extensive template library, many plugins, reliable text editor | WordPress.com review | |
| Medium | Free to $15/month | Medium Partner Program, suited to reach broad audiences | - | |
| Blogger | Free | Google Analytics, great themes and templates, monetization options | Blogger review | |
| Ghost | From $9/month to $199/month | Offer paid subscriptions, SEO tools, handles up to 1 million views per month | - |
How I tested and ranked blogging platforms
Testing website builders can be a pretty detailed process. For this article, I teamed up with our research team to check out 32 different website builders, focusing on which ones are best for blogging. We created sample sites, played around with the editors, and explored their features, especially the blogging tools. Here's a quick breakdown of how we did it:
- Setting up website builder. I started by creating a basic website using each builder's AI tools or by creating a website from scratch. Together with the research team, I checked how quickly and accurately each one could generate a complete site with good attention to detail.
- Customizing the editor. Once the site was set up, we tested how easy it was to customize and add new elements using the editor. I also looked at whether there are blogging tools that could help with things like text generation and content improvement after the site was created.
- Extra features. Beyond just building the site, I made sure important features like SSL certificates were easy to integrate, ensuring the website would be secure.
- Pricing. We reviewed the pricing plans of each website builder to see what you get for your money. This included comparing the costs of basic plans, premium upgrades, and any hidden fees or additional costs for essential features. We aimed to determine which builders offer the best value for different budgets.
Finally, we ranked each website builder based on features, pricing, ease of use, and other key factors. We wanted to give a balanced review that covers both budget-friendly and premium options.
How to choose the best blogging platform?
Choosing the best blogging platform for you can be a bit confusing, especially if you’re a beginner. However, there are a few factors that you should always consider before making a choice.
Here's how to choose the right blogging platform:
- Ease of use. If you're a beginner, you want a blogging platform that's easy to use, with no coding required and a simple interface. Try Wix, Medium, or Blogger—each offers a clean, straightforward dashboard that won't overwhelm you.
- Design flexibility. If you want a blog that truly reflects your personality, choose a platform that offers plenty of customization options. While templates are fine, platforms like Wix let you easily customize almost everything for a more unique look.
- Simple blog audience growth. To reach people with your writing, you need to be visible online, which won’t happen if you’re buried on page 9 of Google. That’s why choosing a blogging platform with strong SEO and marketing tools is crucial. By using plugins or apps to analyze and improve your site’s SEO, you'll gradually learn how to boost your visibility.
- Blog monetization. If you're good at what you do, don't give it all away for free—many blogging platforms allow you to monetize. You can earn through Google AdSense, affiliate marketing, or even by adding a paywall for subscriptions on platforms like Ghost, though you'll need to build a large audience first.
- The total cost of running a blog. Price is a key factor when choosing a platform, so it's important to set a budget first. Free options like Blogger exist, but they come with limitations. If you're aiming for growth and advanced features, be prepared to invest in a paid plan.
Best blogging platform – conclusion
Blogging website builders streamline the process of expressing your ideas and engaging with a community of similar interests. They provide a simpler way to launch a blog compared to coding a site from scratch or dealing with intricate content management systems like WordPress.org.
After all the findings, I think that Wix is the best blogging website builder. It’s simple to use and has many useful tools for writing, customization, and business growth. If you’re eager to try different providers yourself, I could recommend Medium and Blogger, as they’re completely free to try.
More website builders guides from Cybernews:
Best AI website builders: unleash your website's potential
Best WordPress plugins: boost your site with top plugins
Best WordPress Themes: discover top themes for success
Best free website builder: create for free with website builders
Best blogging platform – FAQ
What is the best platform to post blogs?
In my opinion, Wix is the best choice for a blogging website builder. It’s user-friendly and offers a range of helpful tools for writing, customization, and expanding your business. Wix appeals to its users because of the two editors it offers – Wix AI and the regular Editor, which are very customizable.
Which free blog platform is best?
If you're looking for the best free blogging platform, Medium is excellent for reaching a wide audience quickly, though monetization options are limited. Blogger is also a strong choice for beginners, offering ease of use, design flexibility, and monetization opportunities.
What is the best blogging platform for money?
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform because of its limitlessness. You can have a blog with all kinds of additional tools or design features. However, WordPress is a little hard to use, so if you are looking for an easier and quicker way to start a blogging website, Wix should be your choice. It is extremely flexible but comes with less hassle than WordPress.
Where do I start blogging?
To start blogging you just need to find where you’d like to publish your content. You can choose older and more reliable platforms such as WordPress, or go all out with a blogging site reminiscent of social media, for instance, Medium.
Do free blogs make money?
It is possible to make money with free blogs. Sites, such as Medium or Blogger, allow you to monetize your content, whether that is done through ads or paywalls.
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