When it comes to digital marketing, high-quality content is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website.
Fortunately, starting a blog for your business has never been easier, regardless of your industry or experience level. With one of the top eight blogging platforms, generating and publishing content is super convenient, and you don’t need any programming or web development knowledge.
But is a blog really necessary for your business? The short answer is yes, but the long answer is that a well-managed blog can strengthen your bottom line with:
- More web traffic
- Higher conversion rates
- Better brand recognition
So, with that in mind, let’s break down the top eight blogging platforms and how they can work for your brand.
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WordPress – Most Popular
Did you know that over 40 percent of all websites are powered by WordPress?
Two of every five sites use this blogging platform, illustrating its versatility and reliability. In fact, it’s likely that you’re already (considering) using WordPress to build your site and connect to customers.
Fortunately, if your site is already on WordPress, adding a blog is remarkably easy. Even if you’re using a different web builder, you can incorporate a WordPress blog without disrupting your current site layout.
A big reason why WordPress is so popular is that it works well for both beginners and experienced web developers. Also, because it uses open-source software, tons of templates, plugins, and tools are available.
Finally, it’s easy to find information and learn how to make changes to your site or blog. Thousands of forums discuss every aspect of running a blog, so you should be able to troubleshoot any issue you encounter.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Tons of tools available
- A wealth of information and resources are at your fingertips
Cons
- Can be a bit overwhelming for new users
Gator – Intuitive Site Builder
If you don’t have a website yet, you need to find a web host to put your site online. HostGator is one of the most reliable (and affordable) web hosting services out there, and it offers a website-building tool called Gator.
If you’re trying to create an entire business site from scratch, Gator’s tools are relatively limited, but quickly getting something up and running is easy.
Gator is an excellent choice as long as you don’t need to incorporate many unique tools or plugins. Plus, with affordable hosting rates, businesses of all sizes can afford to put their brand online.
Pros
- Affordable rates
- Build a website and get a web host in one
- Simple and intuitive interface
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Rates will increase sharply after the initial setup trial
- Not ideal for complex websites with lots of pages and tools
Wix – Best for Beginners
While Gator is easy to use, the platform can feel limited, particularly if you’re trying to showcase your creative marketing endeavors.
Wix is better suited for visually-friendly blogs, such as those within the retail or beauty industries. Wix offers many free templates that can make the site look stunning and professional, even if you’re new to the world of blogging.
Another advantage of using Wix is that it comes with SEO tools to ensure that all your content is as optimized as possible.
Because SEO is crucial for generating more traffic to your blog, having these tools on hand makes it easier to build an audience from scratch. Best of all, you can test the waters by starting a free blog and later upgrade to a paid plan once you get the hang of the software.
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- Free to get started
- SEO tools incorporated
- Stunning visual templates provided
Cons
- Not ideal for complex blogs
Joomla – Best Open-Source CMS
If you want more control over your website, Joomla is an excellent resource. As an open-source content management system (CMS), Joomla gives you all the tools and plugins necessary to make a world-class blog.
This option is perfect for those with more experience in web development and who want to incorporate tons of unique content features into their blog.
That said, you don’t need programming or developer knowledge to build a website with this software. Joomla is still relatively intuitive, so you can quickly pick it up.
Plus, there are many online forums and tutorials to help you launch your blog sooner without any major issues or obstacles.
Overall, while Joomla isn’t ideal for beginners or tech-averse business owners, it works well for businesses with an in-house marketing or development team.
As open-source software, there’s little you can’t do with Joomla, so it’s a powerful foundation to create something truly amazing.
Pros
- Tons of tools available
- Can build any website or blog
- Perfect for multimedia blogging and marketing
- Intuitive user interface
Cons
- Not recommended for beginners
- There’s a bit of a learning curve if you haven’t used CMS software before
HubSpot – Leading Resource for All Things Blog-Related
If you know anything about digital marketing, you should be familiar with HubSpot. This website is a valuable resource for everything related to blogging and SEO, so building a blog using HubSpot software makes sense.
This option is appealing because you can connect with tons of analytical and SEO tools to manage your audience as efficiently as possible.
This platform also works well for other digital marketing channels like email, social media, and PPC ads. So, you can incorporate your entire digital marketing strategy into a single site rather than building a piecemeal solution.
Pros
- Access to tons of analytical tools
- Additional marketing tools available
- Expert recommendations for optimized content
- Easy-to-use blogging controls
Cons
- Can be expensive for smaller businesses
- May require a dedicated marketing team to operate effectively
Medium – Social Networking + Blogging
For most businesses, a blog is part of a bigger website. However, the blog can be the business with Medium, thanks to its built-in social network and earnings program.
So, if you’re trying to monetize your blog as quickly as possible, Medium may be a good option. You have to host the blog through Medium’s site, but you can also create your own URL for better autonomy.
Medium is straightforward and only focuses on blog posts compared to other blogging platforms. So, if you want to incorporate other elements like e-commerce or landing pages, you need to branch out and use other platforms.
But, Medium is very affordable and can work well as a beginner blogging platform until you can transfer your audience to a different site.
Pros
- Affordable rates
- Built-in social networking
- Can monetize your blog quickly
- Easy to use
Cons
- Only designed for blogging
- Not suitable for other business or marketing applications
Ghost – Perfect for Content Creators
Like Medium, Ghost is a blogging platform centered around creators wanting to monetize their content. However, Ghost also offers business solutions so you can incorporate a blog into your existing company structure.
What makes Ghost so appealing is its many analytical tools to help you understand your audience traffic and where it originates. You can also pay attention to the type of content that gets the most engagement so you can focus your resources on that and cut anything that isn’t moving the needle.
Pros
- Access to tons of analytical tools
- Ideal for businesses with a lot of content
- Easy to monetize your audience
Cons
- Not ideal for companies that want to only blog
- The interface may be a bit overwhelming at first
Contently – Best for Enterprise-Level Companies
As your business grows, your need for higher-quality content will too. Fortunately, Contently caters to enterprise-level companies, so once you reach the upper echelon, you can manage all your content in one place.
Best of all, even if you have a content development team, executives and managers can see behind the scenes to ensure the company’s marketing strategy works correctly.
Contently uses data-driven insights to ensure you’re using your resources as efficiently as possible, helping you get the best ROI for your investment.
Plus, managing various types of content is easy with the software, so you can take a more holistic approach to each marketing campaign.
Pros
- Ideal for large businesses with lots of content
- Data-driven insights and tools
- Manage multimedia content with ease
Cons
- Not suitable for smaller organizations
- Back-end software can be overwhelming for beginners
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