10 Best Free Blogging Sites & Platforms
The Best Blogging Sites, That are Actually Free
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On the lookout for free blog sites to share your writing with the world?
Whether you’re just eager to keep your loved ones updated or yearning to grow your audience through blogging, we’ve got you covered with a list of amazing sites where you can launch your blog for free.
Now here’s the catch, because unless you are just planning on writing a non-monitized personal blog you are going to need to pay for blogging.
But we are here to help you keep that cost as low as humanly possible.
We’ll also guide you towards the ideal platform that suits your requirements, making it effortless for you to create a blog without any hassle. We’ve listed the
- Best Blogging Sites for Professionals
- Best Blogging Sites for Personal Use
Here’s what you need to know.
How did we choose?
Instead of overwhelming you with a bunch of options we decided to test several tools and only review the ones we thought were the absolutely best for both professional and personal use.
So, how did we choose the free blogging sites:
- Non of the providers will ask you for credit card info
- All the providers have the Free Plan available forever
- All the providers have generous features in their Free Plans
- All the providers have fairly priced plans for when your blog grows
Now let’s see how you can start sharing your knowledge or personal life with a free blogging site.
Like with anything else, don’t overthink blogging.
Nothing is ever perfect in the beginning, or ever, so you might as well just start!
…the Secret lies in SEO tho.
Blogging Sites for Professionals
WordPress.org is our #1 Favorite!
Not to be confused with WordPress.com!
When it comes to free blogging sites, WordPress.org takes the cake.
It’s great for people who want 100% control of their blog and plan on monetizing it, applying SEO, and work on it long-term.
Although the platform is free, you’ll need to do most of the site-building yourself. Which is honestly not a problem with all the user friendly themes, templates and page builders. You’ll also need to host the software on your own. While there are some free WordPress hosting options available, it’s wise to invest a modest amount in a reliable WordPress host for a better long-term strategy.
On the other hand, there’s WordPress.com, which serves as the other side of WordPress – a platform primarily utilized for personal blogs because of its easy setup and free accessibility. As long as you’re okay with not having a custom domain name, limited customization options, and don’t plan on monetizing your blog in any way.
Included in the Free Plan:
- Thousands Free Themes
- Thousands Free Templates
- Thousands Free Plugins
- Complete control & customization
Pay for:
- Domain
- Web Hosting
- Paid services you feel are necessary
Wix represents a free website builder that offers a front-end focused management system. Its main selling point is the drag-and-drop feature that enables users to easily arrange their layouts without having to fiddle with the back-end. The interface is both intuitive and modern, making it ideal for both novice and experienced users alike.
One of the standout features of Wix is its inclusive free hosting, so once you select your template and layout, you’re ready to go. Wix boasts a wide range of free and premium themes and templates tailored to various uses, including blogging.
To launch your Wix blog, simply register and choose your preferred method: let Wix ADI create a site for you based on a questionnaire or build it yourself by selecting a template and customizing the layouts through the WYSIWYG editor. If you opt for the latter, all you need to do is pick an appealing template and customize everything in real-time through the front-end live preview mode.
The platform offers a plethora of multimedia widgets, backgrounds, menus, typography, forms, video boxes, and more that you can add to your pages. Once you’re satisfied with the look of your site, hit the Publish button and start sharing your stories. You can always return and edit the content blocks at any time after publication.
We especially love WIX for their determination of improving their platform for SEO.
Included in the Free Plan:
- Wix Web Hosting
- Wix Branded Subdomain
- Display Google Ads to Monitize
Pay for:
- Custom Domain
- Ecommerce plans to sell products
- Extra Storage
- Remove Wix ads
Need More Free Tools?
Social Media Management Tools
Email Marketing Software
Screen Recording Tools
Love aesthetics? Look no further than Squarespace, the ultimate solution for bloggers that don’t want to compromise on looks.
One of the key selling points of Squarespace is its stunning collection of templates, each designed with a keen eye for detail and user experience. These templates are not only visually appealing but also optimized for different types of content, making it easier to showcase your work and engage with your audience. Making it perfect for bloggers looking to share ideas with the world.
But that’s not all – Squarespace also offers a variety of graphic designs and Typekit fonts to take your website to the next level. These design elements have been curated to ensure a cohesive and professional look throughout your website, so you don’t have to worry about mismatched fonts or graphics.
Squarespace’s intuitive interface makes it easy to customize your website to your liking, without needing to have any coding experience. You can easily add and arrange elements like text, images, videos, and more, with just a few clicks.
Squarespace is the ultimate website builder for those who want a free, high-quality website that is both visually stunning and user-friendly.
Included in the Free Plan:
- Squarespace Web Hosting
- Squarespace Branded Subdomain
- Display Google Ads to Monitize
Pay for:
- Custom Domain
- Ecommerce plans to sell products
- Extra Storage
- Remove Squarespace ads
Weebly presents itself as an all-in-one website builder that caters not just to blogging but also to e-commerce and portfolio showcasing. In many ways, it is akin to Wix as it offers a WYSIWYG editor equipped with drag-and-drop elements, making it a breeze to add buttons, photo galleries, slideshows, and other multimedia features to your site.
The platform boasts an array of features including sidebars, media boxes, forms, ad spaces, social media icons, newsletter subscription, and much more. Additionally, Weebly provides built-in analytics and allows users to leverage their own customized domain (which requires payment).
On the free plan, you receive five custom pages, a Weebly subdomain, 500MB storage, and ad spaces.
Free Plan Includes:
- 5 Custom Pages
- Weebly Branded Subdomain
- 500MB Storage
- Weebly Web Hosting
Pay for:
- Custom Domain
- Extra Storage
- Remove Weebly Ads
Need More Free Tools?
Jimdo is much more than just a run-of-the-mill free blogging site. While its basic features make it an ideal choice for creating blogs, the platform offers much more than that. You can quickly set up a website with Jimdo by answering a few simple questions about your site’s purpose, and the platform takes care of the rest by creating a site based on your choices. However, it’s worth noting that Jimdo’s free version has its limitations, such as the inability to use a custom domain and the presence of ads that cannot be removed without upgrading to a premium plan.
One of the standout features of Jimdo is its intuitive page builder, which allows you to create blog posts directly on the front-end of your site, rather than using a separate editor like other blogging platforms. This means that you can edit each content box on the live page without being redirected to a different page, including the footer and logo. There are also several content elements available, such as simple text, text with images, photo galleries, columns, buttons, and more.
Using the left sidebar, you can fine-tune your posts by adding details like the date, title, category, status (published or draft), summary, and image preview. In essence, your article is constructed from individual elements that you can edit separately, such as text, images, and buttons. The order of these elements is entirely up to you, allowing for a personalized touch to your content.
Free Plan Includes:
- Weebly Branded Subdomain
- 500 MB storage
- Jimdo Web Hosting
Pay for:
- Custom domain
- SEO
- Remove Jimdo ads
- Ecommerce plans to sell products
Built for professionals, but when it comes to free blogging sites, LinkedIn might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, it’s definitely worth considering due to two important factors:
- User-friendly tools
- Pre-existing audience
Speaking of the audience, the beauty of LinkedIn’s user base lies in the fact that they are a highly focused group of professionals and business owners. Over 30 million businesses are active on LinkedIn, and they’re not just there for show. In fact, studies show that 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn as one of their primary lead sources.
In essence, LinkedIn is a platform that just works. It provides ample exposure for your content, making it one of the best free blogging sites out there.
From a technical standpoint, publishing on LinkedIn is a breeze. Simply head over to your LinkedIn feed and use the “Start a post” feature located at the top of the page. To transform your post into a full-fledged article, click on “Write an article on LinkedIn” to access the full-screen editing window.
Here, you’ll have access to all the editing tools you’re familiar with, including text formatting and the ability to add images, and more.
Linkedin is not ideal if you plan on monetizing your blog in the traditional sense, meaning: displaying ads in your content, or selling products.
Free Plan Includes:
- Unlimited posts and articles
- Create Newsletter
Pay for:
- Linkedin Ads
Need More Free Resources?
Online Communities for Women Entrepreneurs
Free Project Management Software
Invoicing Software
Blogging Sites for Personal Use
Medium is a versatile platform that covers a wide range of topics and allows anyone with an account to write. What sets it apart from other free blogging sites is the significant advantage of exposure to a broad audience. With 60 million monthly readers visiting the platform, this number continues to increase each year.
The platform’s ease of use is remarkable, as you can simply sign up and start writing without any hassle. However, it’s worth noting that all your content will be on Medium, meaning that you won’t be creating your own “space” like you would with WordPress or similar website platforms.
Which makes it impossible to monitize with ads, affiliate links, or products.
Medium does however pay it’s writers for referrals and views. Before you think “woohoo great I’ll sign up” we looked at the numbers and out of the ca. 200.000 writers, only 9% make over 100USD per month.
Signing up includes:
- Unlimited articles
- Create Newsletter Subscription
Limitations:
- Built in audience
- Readers pay subscription fee for reading
- Not your own space
- No Monetization
Livejournal is a freemium blogging site that was popular in the 2000’s. A bit less now if we’re being honest. If you do not want to get advertisements then you must get the paid version.
It’s a user friendly platform and easy to get started. Just login and start writing.
Since it’s not an owned platform it’s not meant for monetizing your work and best suited for people just looking to blog for their own pleasure.
The free blogging platform has a lot of social media features that make it exclusive and different from other free blogging sites.
Signing up includes:
- Unlimited articles
Limitations:
- Built in audience
- Not your own space
- No Monetization
Tumblr is one of the OG blogging sites that you can use for free on the web. It’s a little less hardcore than some of the other options out there, but it has its own unique charm. Unlike other platforms that prioritize publishing, Tumblr leans more towards multimedia and social media-style content.
The interface is playful and easy to navigate, so you can jump right in and start posting. Just like any other blogging platform, there are multiple post formats available for different types of content.
However, it’s worth noting that Tumblr is strictly for personal use and may not be the best choice if you’re looking to build a business-oriented site. It’s a simple platform with basic customization options, and it definitely has more of a social media vibe.
Nevertheless, it does offer a few monetization options, such as allowing you to display ads on your page, use affiliate links, and even integrate your blog with Google Analytics.
Signing up includes:
- Unlimited articles
- Create Newsletter Subscription
- Display Google Ads to Monitize
Limitations:
- Built in audience
- Not your own space
Blogger, one of the oldest free blogging sites, has seen a slight dip in popularity over the years. It remains a dependable choice for personal blogs, although it’s not the most optimal resource for professional use. Like other hosted platforms, you’ll need to create an account to get started.
Fortunately, the process is straightforward, and once you’ve signed up, you can choose from a variety of default themes to begin writing your thoughts.
Blogger provides a plethora of themes to select from, each offering a unique skin, advanced color filtering, and minimalist gadgets, or widgets. While there’s no fancy or advanced design customization available, the platform’s simplistic appearance options keep the focus on the writing aspect.
A particularly notable feature of this site is the ability to add ad spaces within your content, providing an additional revenue stream for your blog.
Its interface resembles a Google+ profile, and the editor is akin to a Word document, making it a breeze to use.
Signing up includes:
- Unlimited articles
- Create Newsletter Subscription
- Display Google Ads to Monitize
Limitations:
- Built in audience
- Not your own space
Although there are plenty of bloggins sites out there we didn’t include all of them because they didn’t align with the objectives for this particular article in terms of price, ease of use and along with suitability for growing an Online Businesses in particular.
Tools like Drupal, Ghost, and Craft CMS were a few of the ones we tested by we considered either too pricey, required too much technical knowledge or both.
We wanted to bring you affordable option that are good to start and grow your audience with. That’s why we selected these free bloggins sites.
We’d love to hear your opinion.
Did we miss anything?
Tell us what blogging sites you use or have used to grow your business in the comments
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