29.09.2022
426

6 Best Wordpress Alternatives for Blog

Andrii Mazur
Author at ApiX-Drive
Reading time: ~9 min

WordPress content management system has become the most popular representative of this type of software. On the basis of this CMS, the websites of many famous companies work.

Content:
1. Why is WordPress so popular
2. How to Choose a WordPress Alternative
3. Wix - Lego for website builders
4. Squarespace - creativity costs money
5. Blogger is a publishing platform from Google
6. Medium - home for text people
7. Tumblr - for short format
8. Final thoughts
***

Due to its versatility, WordPress is popular not only in business, but also among bloggers. Which is not surprising. After all, the system was originally created as a platform for personal blogs. CMS in its modern form has a powerful toolkit to attract and entertain the readership.

However, there are situations when you have to look for WordPress alternatives.

We tell you why bloggers choose other tools and what Wordpress alternatives for blog exist. We think that the further story will be of most interest to a novice blogger. It is the beginner who is most often faced with the choice of alternatives to Wordpress for blogging.

Why is WordPress so popular

Popularity is promoted by a number of features of this CMS. Among them:

  • CMS WordPress is free;
  • intuitive interface;
  • relative ease of management;
  • a huge set of plug-ins that expand the user's capabilities and simplify work;
  • a wide range of topics;
  • good SEO by default and convenient tools for further promotion;
  • developed user community;
  • reliability;
  • WordPress hosting is cheaper than other CMS. Because a WordPress site requires less storage space and less bandwidth.
Wordpress Blogging


However, in addition to the arguments "for" it is necessary to consider the arguments "against". Otherwise, it is not clear why bloggers are thinking about abandoning WordPress. The factors below are essential for beginner bloggers with zero or minimal experience.

  • this CMS is still difficult for beginners;
  • minor glitches happen when updating WordPress or plugins. Although they are neutralized by rolling back to an older version, they are still unpleasant.
  • CMS vulnerability. This argument "against" is often mentioned. Theoretically, it is. After all, CMS is open source software. So, there is always a temptation for intruders. On the other hand, if WordPress were so vulnerable, it would hardly be trusted by so many users. However, if a person is used to playing it safe, then perhaps he should choose another platform. What can be considered a real vulnerability is the presence of plug-ins, including those of dubious quality, in a huge list of these types of software. It all depends on the user. Don't bother installing plugins. Evaluate their reputation before installing in the CMS. And 99% of the problems will not affect you.
New post WordPress


However, I'm not going to talk about how to deal with the imaginary and real shortcomings of WordPress. Let's get back to what Wordpress blog alternatives are .

How to Choose a WordPress Alternative

If you decide to choose blog alternatives to Wordpress, then there are three options:

  • other CMS;
  • website builder;
  • publishing platform (blog hosting).

Let me dwell briefly on each of these options.

I'll start with the most difficult and time-consuming option to master. If we talk about blogging based on CMS, then most often they choose between WordPress and Joomla. Both systems are universal and deserve the attention of a blogger. If we talk about the differences, then Joomla requires certain skills in site administration, while WordPress is more friendly to beginners. But if the user has already started to master some CMS, then there is no point in retraining for another. It is more reasonable to make efforts to master the system that he already knows at least a little. In a word, a blog can be created on any CMS that the user likes or can afford.

At the same time, website builders can be called a real alternative to WordPress. Especially in a situation where a blogger has little experience in creating and managing a website. Yes, website builder tools are more modest than in CMS. But it still covers all the main needs of a blogger. Therefore, a website builder is a very reasonable choice for beginners. In passing, I note that the website builder is also convenient for solving simple tasks. For example, if you need to create, for example, a landing page in addition to the blog. Popular website builders are Wix, Squarespace, Weebly.

If a blogger has no desire to deal with site settings, then his choice is a publishing platform (blog hosting). This tool allows you to start a blog as quickly as possible. And then deal only with content, minimally distracting you with site settings, design, etc.

To post on the publishing platform, you just need to register, select one of the proposed design themes, and set up basic functions. If everything is done correctly, your resource is already ready for content placement.

However, there is a price for such simplicity - the user of the platform is obliged to unquestioningly obey its rules. Also, the blogger is limited, for example, in design. You can only choose from what the platform offers.

Finally, publishing platforms do not have tools to attract or convert visitors.

Examples of popular blog hosting sites are Medium, Tumblr, Ghost, Blogger.

I believe that the services mentioned in this chapter are better blog alternatives to Wordpress.

Wix - Lego for website builders

The first participant in the Wordpress vs alternatives tournament is Wix website builder.

Indeed, it fully deserves the analogy with the famous children's toy. In Wix, the user can fold the site from standard elements. They are enough to make the site different from thousands of others like it.

The free set of services from Wix, in addition to tools for creating and editing website design and content, includes hosting, a set of security features, and SEO tools.

However, the free package has some important limitations:

  • the domain name will look like accountname.wixsite.com/siteaddress;
  • Wix ads appear on every page;
  • limited space on the server. However, a blogger needs a little of it. But who knows what will happen in the future…;
  • such a common tool as Google Analytics is not supported.

I do not think that these restrictions are critical for most bloggers. You can easily put up with them for the sake of saving money. Therefore, Wix can rightly be called a good free alternatives to wordpress blog.

Squarespace - creativity costs money

This website builder is suitable for bloggers who claim to be a creative person. Squarespace comes in handy when the design of the future resource is important. Indeed, in the arsenal of Squarespace there is a fairly large list of design themes for just such cases.

Otherwise, the options and tools of Squarespace and Wix are very similar. Except that Squarespace is a little more difficult to master than Wix.

There are also differences between these website builders. For example, for the post-Soviet space, the absence of a Russian-language version may become an inconvenience. In Wix, it is written with high quality.

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Blogger is a publishing platform from Google

Let's move on from website builders to another kind of WordPress alternatives. Let's talk about publishing platforms (blog hosting).

I'll start with Blogger, a free platform from Google. Bought by the IT giant twenty years ago, the Blogger platform has since been carefully integrated with other Google technologies (Google Adsense, Google Docs, etc.). User blogs are hosted on the blogspot.com domain. Opportunities for optimization on the platform are not inferior to competitors.

The platform also has a set of options that are not typical for other platforms. But talking about them would turn this post into a user guide. And this is not included in the plans of the author.

Post in Blogger


There are no plans in Blogger that differ in price and options. The platform is completely free. Therefore, the platform can be attributed to the list of better blog alternatives to Wordpress.

However, this advantage has a downside. The design will have to choose from a dozen templates. Only 1 GB is allocated for content storage, there are no automatic backups, only reference materials from technical support.

Finally, a blog can be blocked if its author begins to disregard the rules adopted on the platform. But despite all these restrictions, for a novice blogger with a minimal budget, the conditions are quite tolerable.

Medium - home for text people

The Medium publishing platform is interesting not so much for its capabilities as for the aura of its own elitism it creates. On the one hand, statements are made mandatory for any blog resource: "Everyone can register to write and publish." On the other hand, Medium positions itself as a "community of journalists, bloggers and readers", as a place where quality journalism lives. For some reason, the fact that politician Barack Obama, businessmen Elon Musk and Pavel Durov, writer and journalist Emily Gould were published as a weighty argument for this is for some reason given.

Another, more interesting feature of the platform is positioning itself as the opposite of Twitter-style microblogging. Preference in Medium is given to the genre of long reads.

About reading-oriented platform as well One of Medium's ways to show that it is reader-oriented is to indicate in the interface the time it takes to read the material. The 100 most popular texts require approximately 7.3 minutes to read.

In a word, this platform is a haven for those who still have not forgotten how to read and write more than a couple of sentences in the comments.

Apparently, in order not to distract users from writing, reading and discussing what they read, the design of Medium is ascetic, full of "air" (empty space between design elements). Opportunities to change the design - minimal. But you can insert a YouTube video, image or other story from Medium with one click.

Registration is standard. And if you register through accounts on Google and social networks, then your Medium account will automatically receive your own subscribers from social networks.

As with all publishing platforms, Medium has quite a few rules that limit what users can do:

  • you can't change the design of the blog;
  • Medium does not support custom domain names for different authors or publications. Your URL will look like https://medium.com/yourname;
  • limited opportunities to attract readers, other than manually posting posts on social networks;
  • support only by e-mail;
  • all blogger posts become the property of Medium.

There are also restrictions for readers. To get access to read any publication, you need to pay $5 per month. Otherwise, reading is limited to only what is included in the free content.

Tumblr - for short format

To begin with, the creator of WordPress Matt Mullenwega once noted that Tumblr is the strongest competitor for his offspring. And soon Mullenweg's company Automattic bought Tumblr.

What is the main rival of the super popular WordPress? After all, for a long time Tumblr was considered completely forgotten.

The Tumblr platform largely duplicates the features of Medium. Both beneficial for the blogger and not so much. But there are also important differences.

First of all, unlike Medium, the Tumblr platform focuses on the short format. For example, pictures, links, jokes, short tracks and videos.

Then, in Tumblr, unlike Medium, you can choose your blog design from a wide range of free and premium themes. Moreover, those who know how to work with HTML can customize their own blog.

Tumblr allows you to use your own domain name and replace the default colorless yourusername.tumblr.com.

Finally, this platform is free.

Webflow - a robust website builder

Webflow is yet another popular WordPress alternative for bloggers looking for a more streamlined and intuitive website builder. Unlike WordPress, Webflow is a visual website design platform that allows users to build dynamic, responsive websites without writing a single line of code. This makes it a perfect choice for bloggers who want to focus on creating useful and engaging content rather than getting bogged down by technical details.

Webflow offers a wide range of design tools and features, including pre-designed templates, inbuilt SEO tools, and integrations with popular marketing and analytics tools. Overall, Webflow is a powerful alternative to WordPress that can help bloggers create professional and high-performing blogs.

If you're interested in using Webflow for your blog but don't have the time or expertise to do it yourself, consider approaching a top-tier Webflow agency like Seattle New Media that can help you create a world-class blog that stands out from the rest.

Final thoughts

With all the benefits of WordPress, there are always those who will look for a replacement for it. If the reader decides to take such a step, then you only need to take into account some of the nuances. Including:

  • does it make sense to spend resources and time to switch from one CMS to another?
  • how critical are the restrictions for the user, of which there are quite a lot in platforms for bloggers;
  • Is the intended WordPress alternative really worth it financially?
  • Is the blogger audience the same as the blog platform audience? Often the platform is focused mainly on the English-speaking audience. And it is difficult (if not impossible) for a blogger writing in the national language to gain a large audience.

We hope that this review will help you make the right decisions, develop and improve your blog.

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