.jpg "Halek Hossain")
Free blogging sites have come a long way in recent years, and it's easier than ever to create a professional-looking blog to share a hobby with like-minded people, express your opinion, and establish an online presence.
These free blogging sites target hobby bloggers – blogs are created and managed online and hosted on the blogging platform's own servers. If you want to create a self-hosted blog, the downloadable version of WordPress (opens in new tab) is an excellent option, with full flexibility, support for third-party plugins (opens in new tab) and as much storage (opens in new tab) as your hosting plan allows. allows
If you're interested in creating a static website rather than an online journal, check out our guide to the best free website builder (opens in new tab) services.
Our advice would be to avoid free blogging sites if you can, as this is not always a good option for the majority. However, if you still want to go ahead, we have checked and compiled a list of the best blogging sites out there
These are the best blogging sites of 2022: The best blogging sites of 2022 in full:
Wix makes it easy to design and realize your blog, and you can do a lot more besides (Image credit: Wix) (Opens in new tab) Get powerful blog building functionality, and more to boot Today's best deals
Wix Pro
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) + reason to buy Very intuitive editor + Flexibility in spades + You get a lot more than building a blog Reasons to Avoid-
Templates cannot be modified without starting from scratch - Transferring data isn't the easiest
Wix has a range of paid plans for subscriptions, but also has a free offering, although it's worth mentioning upfront that it has some caveats. With the free product, your site will have Wix branding and you'll be limited to 500MB of data transfer per month, so it's not for heavily-trafficked sites. Also you only get 500MB of storage, so keep that in mind.
These limits aside, you can create a blog with an unlimited number of pages, and where Wix really sets itself apart is its powerful blog functionality. The editor may be simple, but you get access to all the content you need – from image galleries to videos and music – and there are tons of ways to customize a post.
There's also a lot of flexibility in how you can schedule posts, and neat touches like being able to set things up so that posts are automatically pushed to Facebook after they're published. For example, Wix has a feature called Booking that allows customers to schedule appointments and classes directly on your website.
And what makes Wix really attractive is that on top of that, you get the rest of what this website builder has to offer except blog support. This includes using Wix's ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) editor, which will ask you some basic information about the type of site you want to build and the features you want, and quickly create something along those lines for you. This is definitely an impressive feature for beginners.
There's also admirably diverse support for different types of media, and quality customer support to boot (yes, even on the free plan). The Wix Turbo feature is also on hand and it significantly increases the speed and performance of websites.
When you consider what you're getting for nothing, bandwidth and data limits don't seem like such heavy shackles. And if you want to get rid of them in the long term, you can always upgrade at a later date.
You can host a WordPress blog yourself, or create one online and host it on WordPress.com (Image credit: WordPress)
Advanced features, plugins and a generous storage allowance + Reason to buy Powerful customization options + useful analysis + Active support community Reasons to Avoid- Some ads included - Customizing pages can be difficult
Powerful and highly customizable, WordPress is a brilliant platform for blogs of any size and bloggers of all levels of experience.
Creating your first blog is very easy, with a simple wizard that guides you through the process of choosing a name and a suitable theme. You can leave it there and start writing posts right away, but the real fun is in the more advanced editor, which lets you customize virtually every aspect of your blog's appearance.
Unlike some blogging sites, WordPress is not a drag-and-drop affair and you will need to familiarize yourself with its system of menus. It's worth the effort though, and enables you to create something truly personal. The editor allows you to create static pages - like an author biography, for example.
The Post-Writing interface is much like a typical desktop word processor (although some options are presented in a toolbar at the top, others in a side menu, which can be a little confusing at first). Again, time spent getting to know the interface is rewarded with advanced features like customizable social media sharing buttons, geotagging, and the ability to pick a custom style for individual posts.
Sometimes you might want to create a photo gallery, for example, and other times a more text-centric style would be more appropriate. You can view and edit the HTML source.
As your blog grows, WordPress lets you track its statistics, including page views, visitors, likes, and comments over time. You can also see how readers arrive at your site, what content they've viewed, and where they are in the world, all of which are very useful in being able to tailor your content accordingly.
Your site is hosted on a WordPress server, with your address in the format yoursite.wordpress.com. Users of the free service don't get email or live chat support, but the WordPress community forums are very active and questions are usually answered within minutes. Additionally, privacy protection is free for domains registered at WordPress.com.
WordPress displays ads on free blogs, but if you can live with that, it's a top-notch solution for a free blogging site.
Blogger has been around for years, but has kept up with current trends and technology with responsive blog templates (Image credit: Future)
3. Blogger
Boasting mobile-friendly features and Google app integration + Reason to buy Very accessible for beginners + Impressive selection of templates + Easy to set up and get started Reasons to Avoid- Not as powerful as WordPress - No plugin access
Blogger is another excellent blogging platform. It is not as powerful as WordPress, but on the other hand, it is more accessible to new users, which is not surprising when you know that it is owned by Google.
Blogger offers an excellent selection of templates, all of which have mobile versions optimized for small screens – a very smart addition since many people are accessing online content via smartphones these days. Blogger is also web responsive.
Blogger's post-editing tools are similar to WordPress, but offer fewer options. As a result, its toolbars are less confusing - a trade-off between power and usability.
One of Blogger's best features is its integration with other Google apps and services For example, it uses your Google Drive account to store images and other files for your blog Google Drive gives you 15GB of space for free, so Blogger is a good choice if you plan to share a lot of high-resolution photos.
Spam comments are a big problem on blogs, so Blogger's automatic spam filter can help save your sanity. You can monitor comments through Blogger's dashboard, which allows you to see visitor statistics. Here are some handy views with a world map to show your readers the global distribution
Your blog will have an address in the format yoursite.blogger.com, and like all Google services, will include ads Support is available through the Blogger user forum, which is very active but has an odd layout that can be a bit off-putting.
In all other respects, Blogger is brilliant - in short, it's a great free blogging site if you prioritize ease of use over flexibility, especially if you're a fan of the Google ecosystem.
(Image credit: Squarespace) (Opens in new tab) Wide range of blog templates Today's best deals personal
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) business (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) trade (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) + reason to buy Group templates for different types of blogs + Schedule post feature + Live chat support Reasons to Avoid- The interface isn't the easiest to navigate - Limited SEO customization
Squarespace lets bloggers get creative with its wide selection of templates, encouraging all types of bloggers to express themselves, their brand or company online. They offer 100+ flexible templates that fully adapt to mobile devices.
With Squarespace, you can build your blog with a specific group of templates, or if you already have a Squarespace website, you can simply add a blog page.
You also have the flexibility to post to your blog monthly, weekly or daily, as Squarespace offers a scheduling feature for you to choose the time and date you want your content to go live. You can add other contributors to your blog so that contributors add their own posts.
If you run into any issues while building your blogging site on Squarespace, you'll have access to personalized support via email or live chat from Squarespace's customer care team—along with designers and engineers in Squarespace's New York, Dublin, and Portland offices. works
To get started, you'll need to answer a few questions about the type of blog you'll be creating for Squarespace to deliver the right product for you.
Weebly's blogs are built from a combination of content blocks (Image credit: Weebly) (Opens in new tab)
Drag your way to a smart looking blog + Reason to buy
Simple but powerful blog building + A neat extra like previewing posts + Stylish template Reasons to Avoid- 500MB storage limited - No media library
Webly takes a modular approach to blog building with a drag-and-drop editor that lets you choose which elements to add to your site and where.
Choose a basic template, then plan different types of content on the page, including social media links, text, images, maps, and sections of code. It's a refreshingly easy way to create a blog that feels unique to you, but doesn't require fussing with menus
It is worth noting that some content blocks can only be positioned in certain areas; It's not a free-for-all. This makes sense – forcing you to stick within the confines of your chosen template prevents the page from looking cluttered – but you can find it limiting.
Blog posts are created the same way: drag text boxes, picture frames, buttons, and pages into position, then click to edit them. A particularly nice feature is the 'Secret Draft Link', which lets you preview your unpublished post, or even share it with others via email before releasing it into the wild.
Webly has some other interesting tricks, including an area to paste in Google Analytics tracking code (although it doesn't offer analytics itself).
You're only given 500MB for uploaded content, so photographers may want to look elsewhere. Weebly places an ad in the footer of your site, but it doesn't obscure any of your content.
Penzu is a personal blogging tool that lets you create your own personal diary (Image credit: Future)
6. Penzu
A safe journal for your personal thoughts + Reason to buy Emphasis on privacy and security + Free mobile apps + Great for recoding personal thoughts Reasons to Avoid- Some pressure to upgrade to a given version
Whereas the other free blogging sites we've looked at here are designed to draw as much attention to your posts as possible, Penzu takes the opposite philosophy, and is the equivalent of a locked diary tucked away in a safe.
Penzu is a journal platform that makes your posts private by default and locks them down with at least one password (even after you log in, you need a second one to read or edit your posts). Because it is designed for personal thinking and personal reflection. There are free apps for iOS and Android that enable you to update your Penju diary anywhere, but the contents are for your eyes only.
Penzu is not a tool for self-promotion, so while it's far from ugly, it understandably focuses on function rather than looks. Custom colors and backgrounds come at a price.
It's a shame that 128-bit AES encryption is also limited to the paid version and there's considerable pressure to upgrade as applied by Penzu. Additional options are often dangled under your nose, then whisked away, but the core offering is a good one, and if you want a place to record your thoughts and practice writing, Penzu might be just the ticket.
Best Blogging Site FAQs How we test and select the best blogging site for you
With blogging platforms, decisions are made based on the features that each provider offers
We test blogging platforms' SEO tools (opens in new tab) and features, themes and templates, as well as extension and integration capabilities.
Since blogs are usually updated regularly, it is important to choose a platform that is fast, reliable and secure We test the ease of use of each blogging platform to determine which one is best for bloggers.
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