7 Blogger Alternatives That Are Better to Start a New Blog in 2020

Blogger has always been a popular choice for creating a blog for decades. It’s free, easy to set up, and you feel like one of the cool kids with that Blogspot domain.

However, from my experience, Blogger might not be the most effective and efficient platform for turning blogging into a career. That’s because it doesn’t have the ability and versatility to scale.

First and foremost, Blogger was made solely for writing and blogging. It uses a fixed layout to showcase the most recent blog posts as your homepage.

If you want to turn it into a proper website with different types of pages, you’ll need to understand HTML and CSS. In other words, you’ll either need to program it yourself or hire an expensive professional.

Blogger also has fewer options when it comes to extending your blog’s features. It doesn’t have many third-party app integrations, other than Google services.

Plus, there’s no customer support to help you if a problem arises.

The solution? Look for other blogging platforms.

Make sure it not only fulfills your direct needs, but also has decent support, is easy to use, and allows for monetization.

Here, I’m going to show you seven alternatives that are better than Blogger.

Let’s get started!

So, what are the best alternatives to Blogger?

Here’s my list of Blogger alternatives that you can try:

1. WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a hosted and free blogging platform.

Here, you won’t be starting from zero either as it offers dozens of themes you can personalize. Other people can also access your blog on their mobile devices as its themes have responsive layouts.

You can use a custom domain by transferring an existing one to WordPress.com or registering a new one through the platform. The subdomain .wordpress.com is also available to use if you don’t have a budget to buy one yet.

If you’re new to WordPress, you might find the dashboard a bit confusing at first. However, it shouldn’t take you long to get the hang of it. Setting up your blog and uploading posts won’t be a hassle.

You don’t need to have any technical knowledge to customize the pages of your blog as WordPress.com uses a block editor. Simply add blocks of elements, change the elements’ colors or fonts, and edit the layout to your liking.

Even if you’re on the go, you can still edit your blog and publish posts through the WordPress mobile app.

There’s also a community forum where solutions to issues are discussed and answered by other users.

To get live support, extra storage, and the option to monetize your blog, you will need to register for one of its paid plans. The Personal and Premium package costs $4 and $8 per month, respectively.

If you want to add custom plugins and themes, or access the 24/7 live chat feature, the $25 per month Business plan is your best choice.

2. WordPress (Self Hosted)

This platform is the self-hosted version of WordPress. You will have to sign up for WordPress hosting to use it. Plus, it requires you to have a registered custom domain.

The platform is an open-source content management system, so you can build your blog and manage it however you want. It’s perfect for those who want creative freedom and a challenge too.

If you have web design and coding skills, you can build your blog from scratch. Or, choose a theme from the vast pool of free and paid themes to customize with the block editor.

Extending WordPress’ functionality and adding extra features to your blog is also possible thanks to the wide selection of plugins. You can install different tools to accelerate your blog’s growth and track its performance.

You can monetize your blog right away since you have full ownership over it. Despite this, keep in mind that you’ll need to be hands-on when managing it — backing up data, checking for updates, and optimizing security, just to mention a few.

Besides relying on your hosting provider’s support team, you can refer to WordPress forums and knowledge base articles for assistance.

3. Zyro

Nowadays, blogs have evolved into regularly updated websites with a proper homepage and different features. Zyro is a platform that lets you create not only a blog but also a full-fledged website.

It’s also easy to use. From signing up for an account and building your site to launching it, the process only takes a few minutes to complete.

You don’t have to design your blog from scratch as you can use one of the pre-made templates and customize it however you like.

What’s more, they’re all adaptable to any screen size. So, your blog will look just as good when accessed on mobile devices.

The drag-and-drop feature, plus the grid system, also makes it easy to move elements around and align them right. A vast library of free high-quality images is also available to make your blog look great.

Not only will your blog be aesthetically pleasing, but it will also be SEO optimized and load fast, with 99.9% uptime. Ranking high on search engines and building an audience won’t be a problem.

Should you want to create blog titles for a specific subject, take advantage of its AI Blog Title Generator. This feature ensures your blog won’t run out of topics.

Other than that, Zyro provides additional tools such as the AI Writer that can generate content based on your niche or a couple of sentences. It can be helpful if you need ideas for blog posts.

Should you want to start a blog with Zyro, you must opt for one of its plans that start as low as $1.99 per month.

4. Medium

If you’re not into the designing aspect and want to only focus on writing, then you can try Medium.

It’s a free blogging platform, so you can upload posts without having to pay a subscription fee.

Medium’s interface is clean and straightforward: you can start creating content and publish it in no time. You don’t have to worry about layout and web design as well.

Medium also takes care of your SEO as it has a domain authority of 96. Therefore, it’ll be easier for your posts to rank high in search engines.

Another great thing about Medium is that it has a community of established writers and nearly 100 million monthly readers. Presenting your work in front of a large audience allows you to get exposure and attract traffic to your blog posts much faster.

You can also see real engagements generated by your articles on the statistics page. You can track your posts’ performance based on the number of views, reads, fans, and responses. If you have high stats, there’s a chance one of your posts can get featured by the platform.

Medium also helps you reach out to new audiences. You might even get discovered by publishers looking for authors or regular contributors. In a way, you’ll be able to make money from writing.

Another way to get income is by joining the Medium Partner Program. If you write high-quality content, Medium’s editorial team will recommend it to all subscribed members.

You’ll be paid monthly based on the number of reads your post generates.

5. Ghost

Ghost is another open-source content management system that requires hosting and a custom domain name. Since it’s coded in Node.js, you need to make sure your hosting provider supports it.

You can sign up for one of Ghost’s paid plans to obtain hosting and a free .ghost.io subdomain for a quick solution. Keep in mind that the Basic plan costs you $29 per month, so beginners may want to really think about their budget first.

The platform’s primary focus is on content creation and online publishing. You will find that the editor has a clean, distraction-free interface, making the navigation seamless. Even your blog will come out clean and elegant.

You can replace the default theme with a different one from the marketplace, which offers both free and premium designs. Editing them is a few clicks away. You’ll have full control over the structure of your content and the blog in general.

It also has built-in SEO and social-sharing features, but you still have the option to integrate your blog with third-party apps. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are supported as well.

With Ghost, a team can collaborate on a blog. Each person will have a dedicated user profile, and you can assign different roles to them.

6. Tumblr

When we were younger, I’m sure we used Tumblr at least once in our lives. Yes, it’s a blogging platform where 69% of its users are millennials.

It’s a perfect fit for expressive bloggers who like to post interactive content. Experts can also use this platform to showcase their best work and turn their blog into a portfolio.

Sign up for free and get a .tumblr.com subdomain. Alternatively, use a custom domain that you have if you’re planning on creating a professional blog.

Tumblr works a little differently than the other platforms on this list. You can follow blogs based on topics you’re interested in and gain followers if other users find yours interesting. By joining various communities, you can quickly build an audience.

The dashboard consists of features for uploading different types of content — texts, photos, quotes, links, chats, audios, and videos. It also serves as a feed where you can see the latest content from blogs you follow.

Similar to social media platforms, Tumblr posts are highly engaging thanks to the in-built comment, share, like, and reblog features. You can even include hashtags on your posts.

The appearance of your blog is also customizable. Simply choose a free or paid theme from the library and personalize it to your liking. Keep in mind that there might be limitations on how much you can edit depending on the theme.

If you have HTML and CSS skills, feel free to create your own design. There’s a developer center and forum pages where you can access the platform’s documentation and join discussions.

7. Jekyll

If you’re looking for a more technical solution, then Jekyll might be right up your alley. It’s where the magical transformation of plain text files in Markdown syntaxes to blog posts happens.

You can host your blog on GitHub pages for free with a free your_username.github.io subdomain. It’s also possible to point a custom domain name to your blog.

To use Jekyll, you have to install it locally by running command lines on macOS’ Terminal or Windows’ Ruby. The same process applies for creating, running, and pushing your blog to Git.

You can manually configure your blog’s design, pages, and posts or visit the theme directory and pick a free or premium theme.

The advantage of using this platform is that it’s simple, lightweight, and secure. Despite this, beginners will need to put effort and time into learning how to use it.

My pick for the best blogging platform

To be honest, it wasn’t easy to pick the best one out of the seven Blogger alternatives. After giving every platform a try, I personally chose Zyro for its smooth and effortless blog creation process.

The customization options might not be much compared to WordPress, but I still get the creative freedom and the ability to make a professional-looking blog without having to spend a dime.

Not only that, but Zyro can even be a great WordPress alternative. It’s perfect for those who are into design and blogging but have limited time and technical knowledge — like myself.

Does it sound like you too? Give Zyro a try.

Happy blogging!