Blogging Platforms

What Are Blogging Platforms?

Blogging platforms are a type of web CMS designed to simplify the creation and maintenance of blogs. Blogs are text and image-heavy websites that get updated over time with new content; updates are called blog posts.

Blogging platforms are popular among freelancers and individuals looking to set up their own website blog. Many free blogging platforms provide individual users with all the functionality they need. However, for business users or more advanced individual users, paid platforms offer more functionality. For example, a paid blogging platform subscription will likely offer:

• more storage space

• better access to customer support

• a larger number of user seats/licenses

• more integrations with other software platforms

This type of software is closely related to CMS systems and headless CMS platforms.

Blogging Platforms Features & Capabilities

• WYSIWYG Editor

• Administration and User Management

• Publishing Tools for Managing Content

• Commenting System

• Sharing and Distribution

• Multilingual Support

• Video uploading

• Media Management (Videos and Images)

• Performance Tracking

• Templates & themes

• Custom Content Types

• Content storage/repository

• APIs to Create Plugins

Hosted vs. Self-Hosted Blogs

Blogs can be either hosted by a third-party service or self-hosted. A hosted blog is a good option for beginners and users with less technical knowledge. This type is also good for users who do not wish to manage the back-end technical aspects of the blog. The content of a hosted blog will live in a dedicated sub-domain within the blog hosting site’s own domain.

Users who plan to self-host will need to rent a server, download blogging software, set up a database, and obtain a custom domain name. This approach grants users much more freedom for deep customization. However, it also requires coding skills and will be more work to set up and maintain.

Key Selection Considerations

Many popular blogging tools are fairly similar and fairly flexible—by design, they can be used for a variety of projects. According to users some of the most important distinctions are the following:

• Technical knowledge requirements

• Cost

• Domain name availability

• Depth of customization

• Scope of blog/website

Before you choose, determine your skill level, your goals, and your timeline.

Pricing Information

There are many open-source and free blog platforms to choose from. However, blogging platforms with more features or designed for corporate use usually charge a modest monthly fee. You may also need to pay for the domain and hosting.