Blogging is a great way to communicate. It allows you to express yourself, tell people about a cause you are passionate about, and you can even use it to promote a business. Starting a blog today is easier than ever.
But if you’re short on money, you’re probably wondering if there are any money-saving tips for starting a blog. In this guide, we’ll take a look at how to start a blog for free, the best free blogging sites, and the pros and cons of starting a free blog. (Note: all prices and features in this article are correct at the time of publication.)
How to start a blog for free
How to start a blog for free is surprisingly easy. All you need is an idea, an email address, and choosing which free blogging platform you want to use. Oh, and you’ll also need to decide on a name for your blog.
Once you’ve signed up for the platform of your choice, you can start writing right away.
Here’s a quick tour of some of the most popular free blogging sites.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is one of the leading free blogging platforms. . It has been around for 13 years and has a significant user base.
WordPress.com provides an easy-to-use blogging interface and also allows you to change the look and feel of your free WordPress.com blog.
It is important not to confuse WordPress.com with WordPress.org. WordPress.org is a content management system (CMS) that requires web hosting and a domain name to function. So while the CMS itself is free, you still need to pay for web hosting and buy a domain name.
If you decide to set up a free WordPress blog, you can connect it to a domain name, but you’ll have to to pay for a domain name.
Blogger
The Blogger service launched in 1999, before being acquired by Google in 2003. It is one of the platforms that helped popularize blogging and retains a dedicated user base to this day.
Like WordPress.com, it offers a simple interface and the look and feel of the blog can be customized.
There isn’t much difference between Blogger and a free WordPress blog in terms of writing and publishing posts, but a free WordPress blog may generally offer more features.
Medium
Medium is a newcomer to the blogging scene, having launched in 2012. The company has tried to bring something different to the blogging scene. ndo of the blogs, but trying to do so has had several changes. direction in its short life.
But at its core, Medium is still a blogging platform with a simple interface. On the downside, it offers little ability to customize the look of your blog.
Medium is more strongly associated with the digital marketing and technology niches, though there’s nothing to stop you from using it to blog about other topics .
One of the benefits of Medium as a blogging platform is that you can use it to make money. You can learn more about Medium’s payment policies here.
Tumblr
Tumblr is a hybrid between a blogging platform and a social network. It’s not the best for long-form writing, but it’s good if you want to include prominent visuals.
The fact that they also have some sort of community built into their platform is also another cool feature, as they it can make it easier to build an audience.
Why shouldn’t you use a free blogging platform?
Benefits of using a free blogging platform they’re pretty straightforward: they cost nothing and are easy to use.
But the drawbacks of free blogging platforms outweigh their benefits in almost every case. Here’s why.
You can’t monetize a free blog
Do you want to use your blog to earn money through advertising? You can’t do that with a free blog. Although ads can be found on some free blogging sites, they will generate income for the owner of the blogging platform, not the blogger.
They are bad for business blogs
Professionalism is key in business, and using a free blogging platform doesn’t seem professional. On top of that, if you use a free blogging platform to create a business blog that is separate from your main website, you will miss out on the main benefits of business blogging. Your articles will not drive more traffic to your website and will not help your site rank higher in search engines. Simply put, free blogging sites are not suitable for professional use.
You risk losing everything
If you are using a blogging platform The simple fact is that you do not have full control over your blog. And if you don’t have full control over your blog, you could be in for a nasty surprise.
While all of the blogging platforms we’ve discussed here are well established, others have come and gone. .
That means people have put time and effort into blogging on one platform, only to have that platform disappear.
If the platform you’re using shuts down, you might You can back up your posts, but you’ll still face the prospect of building a new audience from scratch.
Alternatives to Free Blogging Platforms
Free blogging platforms are great for small blogs, but if you’re serious, you should always spend a little money to set up your own blog on your own domain.
One of the easiest ways One way to do this is through GoDaddy WordPress hosting. With prices starting at £4.99 per month, with a free domain and free email for a year, it’s very affordable. Do you need more than one domain name? We offer a selection of affordable domain names to choose from, so you can choose.
Only a basic WordPress starter plan will allow you to unleash the full power of modern WordPress, which surpasses even the best free blogs. platform. You’ll be able to monetize your WordPress site, connect it to a custom domain name, and add all the extra features and functionality you need.
There are also free how-to videos and step-by-step guides to help you. get started.
If you’re looking to add a WordPress blog to an existing website, then it’s possible to install WordPress in a subdirectory, but it does require some technical knowledge, so you may want to talk to your designer web about this.
If you’re worried that even a WordPress starter plan will push your technical skills to the limit, you can move your website to GoDaddy’s Website Builder, which allows you to create a mobile website . blog-friendly business site through a user-friendly interface.
Once you’ve got your blog set up, check out this list of 50 blog post ideas for inspiration.
Summarizing
Opting for a paid blogging platform won’t break the bank. It will also give you the power and flexibility to make your blog a success.
As with most things in life, free doesn’t always mean good. And that is true for free blogging platforms.
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