How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform in 2024: The Ultimate Guide

So you finally want to start sharing your ideas and thoughts with the world. Or maybe you’ve been posting snippets online just to test out blogging as a hobby. Either way, it’s time to get serious and choose the right blogging platform for your needs in 2024.

With over 512 million blogs online today and over 6 million new blog posts published daily, the competition is fierce. Choosing the best platform from the start will set you up for long-term success.

In this comprehensive we’ll compare the 15 top blogging platforms based on key factors like ease of use, features, pricing, and more. By the end, you’ll know exactly which option is right for you as a beginner looking to start blogging in 2024.

Why Choose the Right Blogging Platform?

The platform you publish on plays a major role in shaping your online presence. Even if you create amazing content, choosing the wrong site can limit your reach and earnings potential.

Here are some key reasons why your blogging platform matters:

• Community size: The number of bloggers influences opportunities for networking, guest posting, partnerships, etc. Larger platforms have bigger built-in audiences.
• Monetization options: Can you run ads or sell products directly on the site? What percentage does the platform take? These questions impact potential income.
• Customization: Will you be able to make the site look and feel how you want? Or will you be restricted to premade templates?
• Ease of use: A platform that’s needlessly complex will only slow down your productivity. Look for intuitive interfaces.
• Mobility: Can readers access your content easily from phones or tablets? Mobile-friendly and mobile-responsive platforms are a must these days.
• SEO capabilities: Optimizing for search helps more people discover your writing. Some platforms have better built-in SEO tools.

Getting these elements right from the start prevents headaches down the road. Keep reading to see how the top options stack up across all of these criteria.

Top 15 Blogging Platforms for 2024 Compared

Here is an overview of 15 of the best and most popular blogging platforms available right now in 2024:

Now let’s explore each top blogging platform option in 2024 more in depth.

WordPress

WordPress has earned its status as the world’s most popular blogging platform. Powering over 35% of all sites on the web, it sets the standard that others aim to meet.

The self-hosted, open source WordPress.org allows extreme levels of customization. At the same time, its intuitive dashboard makes publishing content simple even for total beginners.

With an expansive theme marketplace and plugin ecosystem, you can add whatever specialized functionality your blog needs. Robust SEO tools also help your writing get discovered in search engines.

For monetization, WordPress supports multiple ad networks, affiliate marketing, paid subscription services, and online stores. The options are virtually limitless.

The one downside of self-hosted WordPress is the manual site maintenance required. However handling updates and security yourself gives you more control though. With the right hosting plan, it’s easy for anyone to manage.

Best for: Bloggers who want endless customization options and monetization potential.

Blogger

Blogger was one of the very first blogging platforms back in the 1990s. Now owned by Google, it remains a top choice—especially for brand new bloggers in 2024.

Setting up a blog on Blogger takes just a few minutes. Their choice of free templates offers decent customization without demanding design skills. You can be writing your first post almost instantly.

Since it’s owned by Google, Blogger plays nicely with other Google services. Adding Google AdSense to start earning money with ads is a breeze.

On the downside, Blogger lacks some of the more sophisticated features and support structure of paid competitors. But for launching a basic blog and testing the waters, it’s hard to beat.

Best for: First-time bloggers just getting started.

Tumblr

Positioning itself more as a social network than a traditional blogging platform, Tumblr has captured a huge audience—especially among younger demographics.

The Tumblr aesthetic tends to emphasize visuals like photos, GIFs, and multimedia over text. Short-form, viral, and often conversational content thrives here. Reblogging other people’s posts is also hugely popular.

For bloggers with a more visual style, Tumblr offers an incredibly engaged built-in community with over 475 million blogs on the platform. Just don’t expect the depth of features tailored to long-form writing like on WordPress.

Best for: Microblogging, sharing inspiration and media, tapping into online communities.

Joomla

Developed specifically as a content management system (CMS), Joomla gives advanced users tons of control over website building. But that power comes at the cost of a steeper learning curve.

While feature-packed, Joomla may prove overly complex for blogging needs alone. Its real strength comes from developers using it to create more complex sites and web apps.

However, bloggers who have outgrown beginner platforms can benefit from Joomla’s extreme flexibility, expansive plugin library, and excellent performance capabilities. Just be prepared to climb the learning curve first.

Best for: Technical bloggers seeking advanced website-building capabilities.

WordPress.com

Run by the same core team, WordPress.com shares DNA with its self-hosted sibling but also differs in key ways.

Choosing WordPress.com means they handle hosting, updates, backups, and security for you. This greatly simplifies management for less technical users.

The tradeoff comes in customization options. WordPress.com limits things like plugins, themes, and monetization features. Self-hosted WordPress gives you full control instead.

For bloggers who want to minimize headaches, WordPress.com strikes an excellent balance. Just be aware that transitioning to a self-hosted site later can prove challenging.

Best for: Quick setup and simplicity…at the cost of customization potential.

Wix

With a drag-and-drop site builder that needs no coding knowledge, Wix makes creating beautiful websites seem almost effortless.

While often positioned more for creating full websites over blogs alone, Wix still suits blogging nicely. Choices for layouts, color schemes, animations, and visual effects let you realize almost any visual design imaginable.

Behind the user-friendly interface, Wix also packs some serious SEO-focused tools to improve blog discoverability. Performance metrics and visitor insights offer great analytics too.

The few downsides—like mandatory ads on free plans—stem mostly from Wix being a closed system. Migrating to or from other platforms can also prove tricky compared to more portable sites.

Best for: Anyone who values strong visual design and presentation for their writing.

Drupal

Like Joomla, Drupal positions itself chiefly as an advanced content management system and less an outright blogging platform. It consolidates tons of site building functionality under one hood.

The level of flexibility can seem almost overwhelming. But for developers and bloggers comfortable diving into code, Drupal removes virtually all limits on what you can create.

Robust content modeling tools allow tackling complex digital projects at scale. For simpler blogs though, Drupal may still strike many users as overly complex overkill.

Best for: Technically skilled bloggers running bigger websites and applications.

Medium

Medium flips the traditional blog model on its head in some clever ways. Instead of hosting sites for individual bloggers, all writers publish on the same central platform.

Readers then follow specific authors, topics, or publications rather than personal sites. This allows great writers to easily build large audiences no matter their background.

With a clean, distraction-free reader interface, Medium puts all the focus on quality content. Statistical performance metrics also help writers track what resonates.

The one catch? You give up ownership over your audience and content. If you later want to transition readers elsewhere, that proves challenging. But for launching a writing career and benefiting from Medium’s built-in reach, it’s a great starting point.

Best for: Writers focused on maximizing the readership of their content above all else.

Weebly

Weebly stands out for helping non-technical users easily build not only blogs but entire websites and ecommerce stores to sell products directly.

Intuitive drag-and-drop tools require zero coding know-how. But the end results look clean, professional, and are also optimized for search engine visibility.

Weebly feels snappier and newer than competitors like WordPress or Wix. Performance metrics give great insight into site effectiveness too.

The few downsides focus mostly on lock-in effects that can limit portability later. But with email and live chat support, Weebly delights users needing a quick and hassle-free publish solution.

Best for: Anyone seeking an integrated blog/ecommerce solution, especially with minimal technical skills.

Ghost

As an open source blogging-focused platform, Ghost offers an interesting alternative to WordPress’s dominance.

It delivers beautifully designed themes focused on showcasing writing front and center. Streamlined admin interfaces also simplify workflow for single or multi-author sites alike.

Visual issue previewing allows making changes before going public live. Website management feels fast and fluid across devices. SEO and analytics tools provide actionable performance insights too.

The biggest drawbacks center around hosting requirements and the relative lack of plugins compared to established players like WordPress or Joomla. But for building blogs, Ghost keeps proving itself a more than capable option each year.

Best for: Bloggers who want a platform tailored specifically to blogging (without other CMS bloat).

Squarespace

Squarespace won its reputation by enabling creatives with minimal technical expertise to produce professional-grade websites.

The platform shines especially bright for visual portfolios. Features like gallery templates, photo albums, HD video support, and slick animations help showcase artistic talent online. Squarespace also seamlessly integrates ecommerce for selling works.

While completely capable of handling blogs too, Squarespace seems better optimized for sites where imagery and visual design take the spotlight over text content. The customizable templates appeal especially to photographers, designers, and other creative fields.

Best for: Visual creators like photographers, illustrators, and artists.

Webnode

Webnode makes it effortless for first-time bloggers to create simple yet quality sites in minutes with no coding skills required.

The easy drag-and-drop builder includes dozens of mobile-friendly themes spanning categories like small business, portfolio, online store, and more—including optimizing specifically to power blogs.

Helpful prompts guide you through crucial steps like choosing a domain name. Useful blogging-focused features even auto-post published content to Facebook. The free forever tier provides enough functionality for basic needs.

If desiring to scale up capabilities down the road, Webnode offers affordable paid upgrades too. But for launching an initial personal or hobby blog, the free version often proves sufficient.

Best for: First-time bloggers who want a super quick, coding-free blog launch.

Jimdo

Jimdo strikes an excellent balance between simplicity for beginners and powerful ecommerce features for monetizing sites long-term.

It allows creating both desktop-focused and mobile-friendly site variations. Simple menus, calls-to-action, and SEO help encourage readership and conversions.

For bloggers also selling their own products or services, built-in features like an online store with shopping cart, multiple payment options, shipping, and tax handling simplify logistics tremendously.

While supporting blog functionality, Jimdo seems better suited for full-fledged small business websites—especially those combining writing content with ecommerce income streams together under one roof.

Best for: Small business owners and entrepreneurs seeking integrated blogs and stores.

Key Takeaways: Choosing the Best Blogging Platform

With so many platforms competing for your attention, determining the right blogging site for your needs can feel overwhelming at first. But by focusing on a few key decision criteria tailored to you as a beginner blogger in 2024, the best choice will become clear.

Consider what types of writing or content you want to publish. Certain platforms cater better to long-form blogs, others to micro-posting or visual media. Match the strengths to your goals.

Determine the technical skills you can bring (or want to learn). Options like WordPress and Ghost offer tons of freedom—if you can handle the responsibility. For minimal hassle, WordPress.com and Medium are simpler.

Decide how much time you’re willing to invest. A self-hosted WordPress blog gives unlimited capabilities but demands more maintenance. Consider how much effort you want to spend beyond the writing itself.

Know what customization and monetization matter most. Can you compromise on design for ease of use? Do you one day hope to earn income from the site? These impact satisfaction later.

Consider visual style and presentation. Photographer blogs need different features than financial blogs, for example. Identify must-have functionality based on content type.

Taking this strategic approach ensures the hours invested go smoothly into what matters most—the writing itself. The right platform removes roadblocks rather than introduces new ones.

So which calling stands out as the best fit for you: greatest creative control, quickest shortcut to publishing, maximum built-in audience size? Identifying top priorities makes finding the ideal platform much, much easier.

The 15 options compared above arm you to find just the right blogging home for your needs. Feel free to explore their official websites for any remaining questions.

Now…what amazing ideas do you want to start sharing with the world?