Free Blogging Platforms for Beginner Bloggers

Do you want to test out blogging, and see how it’s done? Well, when it comes to blogging, you can either join a free platform or pay for a full self-hosted setup. Free blogging platforms are great, because they offer interested writers a chance to experiment on their blogging capabilities without spending their hard-earned money. After establishing your abilities and interest in creating web content, you can then move on to buying your own domain for better earning chances.

Here, I’ll talk a look at two blogging platforms that are absolutely free and excellent starting places for beginner bloggers.

You might have already realized that this particular article is on the Hubpages platform. After using this site for some time now, I can say that it is an excellent starting place for enthusiastic bloggers.

Hubpages was started in 2006 as a revenue-share writing website, and it allows users to submit articles about any type of topic. Submitted articles go through an intensive review by a team of editors, and later become featured if they pass the quality test. Posts that do not meet the quality standards do not become featured and are hidden from Google.

I enjoy using Hubpages, because the overall layout of the site is very user-friendly. You can customize your hub seamlessly by adding links, pictures, videos, polls, slideshows and more. Additionally, you can rearrange your hub components through drag and drop features to make them appear better. Hubpages creative control is incredible, and I look forward to making hubs each day.

In this revenue-share site, you can also earn some money from your blog posts. All you need to do is to activate the Earnings programs, and start earning through ads and affiliate links. The Hubpages Ad Program is the primary way of making money on this platform for most users, but you can try out the Amazon Program too. The minimum payout threshold is $50, and payments are made to your PayPal account.

However, I would like to point out that Hubpages is not somewhere you can get rich overnight. You need to work hard and be extremely patient. It takes a while to reach the $50 payout depending on the quality of your articles, and the traffic you get. Generally, the platform is perfect for those who just like to compose web content, and are not necessarily doing it for the money, but appreciate a couple of dollars here and there.

However, some authors have been able to reach the minimum payout within months, and the most successful ones are able to rely on Hubpages as a primary income source. What I’m trying to say is that anything is possible. You can increase your earning potential by writing about topics web users want to read, producing high quality work, and never giving up. Additionally, Hubpages has a writing community where writers ask questions on how to improve their work or share exciting ideas. The community feel makes Hubpages all the more attractive.

If you just want to give blogging a test drive, and just learn about what it entails, Blogger is another nice place to start. I used Blogger back in 2019, and through it I learned a lot of useful things about developing online content.

Evan Williams founded Blogger back in the nineties, and later sold it to Google. After that, Williams went on to start Twitter and Medium, which are other incredible pillars of web publishing.

Blogger is a wonderful website builder that gives you everything you require to get started and develop your online site. It’s one of the best places to start if you’re looking to blog for free. If you have a Gmail account, you don’t need to sign up for Blogger. Just head on over to Blogger and login with the username and password you use for your Gmail account.

On this website builder, you can create one blog or run multiple blogs. The overall layout is self-explanatory, and you can publish a complete, content-rich piece within no time. Since Google handles the speed and security, you can fully focus on your content and promotion tactics. You can also monetize your blog, and earn some extra cash through AdSense ads, affiliate marketing, or building an email list.

While Blogger has very many advantages, it also comes with many drawbacks. For starters, Blogger doesn’t have a contact for customer support. If you face any problems, you’ll have to solve them though Google search, online support forums or DIY troubleshooting.

Another drawback is the poor ranking of Blogger articles on search engine results. Blogger offers you the option of using their free domains or purchasing a custom one. The free domains end in “blogspot.com”, and posts ending with that phrase barely make it to the top pages of Google search results. That’s why I left Blogger after just one year of use. If you Google anything right now, you’ll not see any website with a “blogspot.com” URL on the first, second or third page of the search results. If you do, it’s probably because no one else from other sites has written on that particular search topic.

In general, if you want to get good search engine rankings with Blogger, you will need to buy a custom domain. I find it ironic that Google doesn’t give preference to Blogger posts considering that the platform is one of its products. It’s disappointing if you ask me.

Nevertheless, Blogger is still a nice place to begin your blogging journey before making a decision to invest money on a self-hosted site.