Best Blogging Platforms Of 2024

Contributor,  Editor

Published: Aug 17, 2023, 4:23pm

Johanna Leggatt
editor

Edited By

Editorial note: Forbes Advisor Australia may earn revenue from this story in the manner disclosed here. Read our advice disclaimer here.

Blogging platforms make it easy for people to share their thoughts and ideas with the world, connect with others who share similar interests, and promote an open dialogue and exchange of ideas. These platforms can also be  useful tools for marketing and branding, as successful blogs can reach a large audience and build a loyal following.

Here is our pick of the best blogging platforms available for Australians today.

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The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content and guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey.

We reviewed 11 systems to help you find the best blogging platform for your blog or small business. Our ratings looked at factors that included the platform’s starting price (including whether it offered a free trial or free version); useful general features, such as drag-and-drop functionality and search engine optimisation (SEO) tools; unique features; how well the blogging platform fared on third-party review sites and a final review by our experts. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.


The Best Blogging Platforms Of 2024


WordPress

WordPress
4.4
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Free Trial

N/A

(Product is free)

Starting Price

Free

Mobile App

Yes

WordPress

Free Trial

N/A

(Product is free)

Starting Price

Free

Mobile App

Yes

Why We Picked It

WordPress is the best platform for bloggers who want to have complete control over their websites. It’s an open-source platform you can use to create a website or blog for free using WordPress.org, or you can pay for a hosted WordPress.com site. If you want to make money as a traditional blogger, you must have a self-hosted WordPress.org site, as most brands won’t work with a blogger using a platform, such as Wix or Squarespace.

WordPress is also a very popular platform, so there are thousands of resources available online to help you set up and use your blog. With its endless customisation options comes the requirement for some level of coding knowledge, or the ability to follow a technical tutorial. This is because WordPress operates on a codebase that you can manipulate to make your blog look and work the way you want.

If you’re not comfortable editing code or don’t have the time to learn, you can find a developer or designer on Upwork or Fiverr to help you out. Some web hosts provide WordPress help, depending on the plan level you pay for.

Who should use it:

WordPress is best for bloggers who want complete control over their website, want to customise it heavily and are comfortable using code.

Pros & Cons
  • It’s free to use (although you must pay a web host for self-hosted sites)
  • Highly customisable
  • There are thousands of tutorials and resources for using WordPress
  • Drag-and-drop functionality
  • Great for search engine optimisation (SEO)
  • Not the most beginner-friendly
  • Some plugins and themes cost money

Wix

Wix
4.3
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Free Trial

No, but offers a free plan

Starting Price

Free; $15 AUD per month

(paid annually)

Mobile App

Yes

Wix
Learn More

On Wix's Website

Free Trial

No, but offers a free plan

Starting Price

Free; $15 AUD per month

(paid annually)

Mobile App

Yes

Why We Picked It

Wix is a great platform for bloggers who want a simple, easy-to-use platform with drag-and-drop functionality. It’s perfect for beginners, and you can create a website or blog for free with Wix.com. There are also many paid plans available if you want to add more features to your website. It also has a mobile app, so you can easily update your blog on the go.

Its free plan is pretty limited and isn’t well suited for blogging. For example, Wix ads show on every page as well as the favicon in your URL. You can’t have a custom domain, your storage is limited to 500 MB and you can’t have Google Analytics. For bloggers, consider investing in the Unlimited plan or higher.

With the Unlimited plan, pay $179 AUD per month and get a custom domain (free for the first year), no Wix ads, a free SSL certificate and 24/7 customer support.

Who should use it:

Wix is best for bloggers who want a simple platform with drag-and-drop functionality and don’t need a lot of customisation options.

Read more:

Read our full Wix review of the wbsite builder

Pros & Cons
  • Industry-leading drag-and-drop editor
  • Over 900 free templates available
  • Zero coding required
  • Free domain name with paid plans
  • Free SSL certificate with paid plans
  • Its free option isn’t ideal for professional bloggers
  • Free plan has ads and you can’t set up Google Analytics

Weebly

Weebly
4.3
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Free Trial

No, but offers a free plan

Starting Price

Free; $7 AUD per month for Personal plan

(paid annually)

Mobile App

Yes

Weebly

Free Trial

No, but offers a free plan

Starting Price

Free; $7 AUD per month for Personal plan

(paid annually)

Mobile App

Yes

Why We Picked It

Weebly is a great platform for bloggers who want to start an online store along with their blogs. It’s powered by Square, is easy to use and has a mobile app. You can create a website or blog for free with Weebly.com, and there are also paid plans available.

For a custom domain, you must use a paid plan. However, all plans—even the free one—include e-commerce features such as a shopping cart, unlimited items, Quick Shop, inventory management, coupons and in-store pickup.

Who should use it:

Weebly is best for bloggers who want to start a blog alongside their e-commerce store.

Pros & Cons
  • Its Free plan includes a free SSL certificate
  • Sell online with any plan
  • Its Professional and Performance plans include a free domain
  • No phone support for the Free or Personal plans
  • You’ll have Square ads on the Free and Personal plans

Drupal

Drupal
4.3
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Free Trial

N/A

Starting Price

Free

Mobile App

No

Drupal

Free Trial

N/A

Starting Price

Free

Mobile App

No

Why We Picked It

Drupal is a content management system that enables you to create and manage your website with endless possibilities; it’s a developer’s playground. It uses open-source software, so it is free to download and use. Drupal is released under the GNU General Public License, which provides individuals and organisations with the freedom to modify and redistribute the software.

It is a community-driven project, and there is a thriving ecosystem of developers who contribute to it. With modules, which are plugins that add new features or functionality to Drupal, you can do just about anything you want with your blog.

Who should use it:

Drupal is best for developers who want to create a custom blog or website, want complete control over the functionality and want to use open-source software.

Pros & Cons
  • Free, open-source software
  • Clean interface
  • Translate your blog into multiple languages seamlessly
  • Steep learning curve
  • No plug-and-play options—it’ll take time to get started

Squarespace

Squarespace
4.0
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Free Trial

14 days

Starting Price

$16 AUD per month

(paid annually)

Mobile App

Yes

Squarespace
Learn More

On Squarespace's Website

Free Trial

14 days

Starting Price

$16 AUD per month

(paid annually)

Mobile App

Yes

Why We Picked It

Squarespace is a website builder and hosting platform that allows users to create and edit websites. Users get a drag-and-drop interface, predesigned templates and 24/7 customer support. It’s known for its sleek designs and easy-to-use platform. Choose from a variety of templates and then customise the design with your own content.

Squarespace also offers e-commerce features, such as an integrated shopping cart, product pages and payment processing. In addition, Squarespace provides users with access to 24/7 customer support. It’s a great option for those looking for an easy-to-use website builder with robust features.

Who should use it:

Squarespace is best for users who want an easy-to-use platform with a wide range of features.

Read more:

Read our full Squarespace review.

Pros & Cons
  • Free 14-day trial
  • Award-winning templates for free
  • Easy-to-use site builder
  • Annual plans include a free domain
  • Unlimited bandwidth on all plans
  • Built-in marketing tools
  • Not the best for SEO
  • Not as customisable as other options

CMS Hub

CMS Hub
3.8
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Free Trial

No, but offers a free plan

Starting Price

$20 AUD per month

Mobile App

No

CMS Hub

Free Trial

No, but offers a free plan

Starting Price

$20 AUD per month

Mobile App

No

Why We Picked It

CMS Hub is a content management system created by HubSpot. It helps businesses easily create, publish and manage their website content. CMS Hub includes a drag-and-drop editor that makes it easy to create and update web pages, as well as a variety of tools for managing website content.

It also offers integration with other HubSpot products, such as Sales Hub and Service Hub, which can help businesses streamline their sales and customer service processes. Plans start at $20 AUD per month and include additional features, such as dynamic themes, memberships and personalised pages for each visitor.

Who should use it:

CMS Hub is best for marketers because of its adaptive testing, where you can create up to five variations of a page before HubSpot will deliver the best-performing page.

Pros & Cons
  • Advanced insights and analytics to help you optimise content
  • HubSpot CRM integration
  • Offers a free plan
  • It’s more expensive than its competitors
  • Not the most user-friendly
  • No mobile app

Medium

Medium
3.1
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Free Trial

N/A

Starting Price

Free

Mobile App

Yes

Medium

Free Trial

N/A

Starting Price

Free

Mobile App

Yes

Why We Picked It

Anyone can use Medium to share their stories and ideas with the world. Medium uses an algorithm to surface the most interesting and insightful content from a variety of sources and also allows readers to follow specific topics or writers that they’re interested in.

Medium also provides tools for writers to help them format their articles and get discovered by new readers. Articles on Medium can be any length and can be published anonymously or with a byline. Medium has recently switched from a like-based payment model for writers to one that gives readers money based on total read time for articles.

Who should use it:

Medium is best for individuals or businesses that want to share their stories and ideas with a wider audience.

Pros & Cons
  • It’s free
  • Beginner-friendly
  • Enormous database of readers
  • Earn money directly on the platform
  • You don’t keep the traffic and authority—Medium does
  • There’s a lot of competition

Methodology

Forbes Advisor’s team of experts has rated and reviewed the best blogging platforms to help you choose the right one for your needs. To compile our pick of the best, we looked at 17 data points that include ease of use, costs, customer support, reviews, features and functionality.

We then assign each platform a score out of five in each category, with five being the highest. In addition, we also took into account the needs of different types of users such as bloggers, businesses and marketers. Here are some of the categories we used to rank the providers that made the top of the list.

Pricing

For pricing, we considered whether a blogging platform offered a free version or a free trial. For those that charge fees, we looked at what the starting price was, what the range of prices was between the various tiers available and whether each higher tier offered valuable add-ons that benefit users. Pricing totalled 20% of our weighted scoring.

General Features

Features were broken down into two categories: general features and additional features. For general features, we were looking for factors that each platform should have and whether it was available automatically or as a paid add-on. These general features include multimedia support, drag-and-drop functionality, SEO tools, analytics and third-party integrations. We weighted general features at 25% of our total score.

Additional Features

Then we looked for features that we considered to be more unique offerings in the field. Again, we used the same criteria, meaning whether the feature was included automatically with the platform or whether it was necessary to purchase it for an additional price. These unique features included offering free domain names and e-commerce functionality. Additional features accounted for 20% of the total score.

Third-party reviews

We turned to popular third-party review websites, including G2, Capterra and Trustpilot, to find out what real users of these blogging platforms thought about them. To score these, we looked for reviews on each site that scored at least 3.5 out of 5 points and rated the companies on how many reviews were left in that range for each blogging platform. These customer reviews accounted for 5% of the total score.

Expert analysis

Using all of the Australian market research and the categories listed above, we also ranked additional criteria from customer reviews, such as popularity, value for the money, ease of use and stand-out features. This final section accounted for 30% of the total score.

Relevance to Australian Market

Finally our Australian-based team conducted an additional layer of research and due diligence to ensure relevance to local readers.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the best blogging platform for beginners?

If you’re just starting out, we recommend using a platform that is intuitive, such as Wix or Squarespace. Neither requires any coding knowledge and each provides a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to create a website.

How often should I post a blog on my site?

The frequency of blog posts is not as important as the consistency of making the posts. It’s fine to make a post to your blog once a week or every few days as long as you are consistent about how frequently you make your posts. If you start by posting several times per week, then start posting randomly, you will lose your audience quickly and, if you are posting blogs to make money, you will also lose your source of revenue. Before beginning a blog, make sure that you are prepared to post to it consistently.

What are some security measures to take for an online blog?

The most important step you can take to protect your blogging website is to have a secure, unique password―one that is only known to you and those whom you trust. You should also change the password frequently. You also want to site to be backed up frequently, which should be done by your web host. Consider using a domain privacy protection service, which protects your personal information. Another way to protect your personal information is to get a post office box instead of using your home mailing address and get an internet-based phone number instead of using your personal number.

How do I post a blog for free?

You have a few options for posting a blog for free. You can set up a blog under a free subdomain such as those offered in free Wix, Weebly or WordPress.com plans. You can also open an account on a social media platform such as LinkedIn or Medium, set up a profile, then publish your blog post using its publishing tools.

Is there a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

Yes, there are several differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. The main difference is that WordPress.com is fully hosted while WordPress.org is self-hosted.


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