WordPress is the most widely used CMS (content management system) for creating and managing blogs online. But what many are not aware of is that it isn’t the only content management system that you can use for your blogs.
There are actually other alternatives that work quite fine for blogging, with some of them having special features that are not present in WordPress. This post offers you details on our top 6 picks of WordPress alternatives for blogging.
1 – Blogger
Blogger is probably the best alternative blogging platform to WordPress platform. The second most popular blogging platform was founded by Pyra Labs though acquired in 2003 by Google.
Blogger is so versatile that you can use it to create any kind of website from blogs, business websites to online stores.
Reasons for Choosing Blogger Instead of WordPress
As popular as WordPress is, there are lots of people who prefer to use Blogger instead.
I – Ease of use – Blogger offers a very easy way for users to set up and start using their blogs. You do not need to install any scripts or plugins before you start using it.
You are not required to configure any server as all of that will be handled for you by Blogger. Also, Blogger offers a very lightweight platform that loads very fast on browsers.
II – Very Cheap – Blogger can be used for free, depending on how you want your blog set up.
If you are fine with having your domain set up as a subdomain of Blogger (for instance www.yourdomain.blogger.com), it will cost you nothing to use Blogger.
III – Works fine with Google AdSense – You will find it very easy to get your Google AdSense account approved and set up if you’re using Blogger to host your blog.
There are also basic features that can be found with every blog or site that you set up on Blogger.
- Blogger gives you access to thousands of sleek-looking templates to use for free
- The updates on Blogger are done automatically without your getting involved
- Track the performance of your site with the built-in analytics that comes with Blogger. You can also find such details as demographics of site visitors, best performing content, and bounce rate
- There is no storage limit when using Blogger to host your blog or website
- There are other third-party scripts that you can include on your blog.
Blogger Disadvantages
- There is a limit to how much you can customize your blog on Blogger. As a blog owner, you will not have total control over what to install on your blog
- There is also a limit to the number of tools you can use for extending Blogger functions or features. Unlike WordPress that gives you access to thousands of plugins and themes to customize and extend your blog functions
- There is also one other limit with using Blogger – you are allowed to create a maximum of 10 pages.
2 – Drupal
Drupal, very much like WordPress, it is a free content management system that you can use to build any kind of website. Drupal is open-source, meaning that you can use it to modify the code to suit your purpose.
Drupal can be used to build robust web applications such as online stores, e-learning platforms, news websites, and blogs.
Reasons for Choosing Drupal Instead of WordPress
There are reasons for opting for Drupal instead of WordPress, which are:
I – High level of security – Drupal is one content management system that takes its security very seriously. It is recognized by both users and developers as one of the most secure sites to build your site on.
Each element on a Drupal site is considered an object with each object having its own security algorithm. That’s why it is almost impossible for a Drupal site to be hacked.
If you consider security as your priority then Drupal would be a great option for you.
II – Drupal integrates nicely with lots of well-known tools that you need.
Some of these tools that easily integrate with Drupal are MailChimp, Salesforce, Google Analytics, and Yoast.
Drupal Features
- It is distributed under the General Public License which means that you can use it for free
- Drupal has the largest community of developers that create and maintain different tools for the platform
- There are over 30,000 free Drupal add-ons that you can use for free. These tools are created by members of the developer community and given out mostly for free
- You also have access to thousands of free Drupal themes that you can use for any kind of site.
Drupal Advantages
- You can use Drupal for creating any kind of website, including robust web applications
- It is one of the best content management systems in terms of security that it offers your website.
Drupal Disadvantages
- Drupal is much tougher to use except you are an advanced web developer with technical skills
- Drupal user interface is much more complex and difficult to use than WordPress.
3 – Squarespace
Squarespace offers users the opportunity to build and host beautiful-looking websites with lots of customization.
Reasons for Choosing Squarespace Instead of WordPress
- Squarespace offers you hundreds of great options for managing your blog content blocks
- It is an SEO-friendly platform that takes care of the technical stuff for you
- Squarespace saves you time that would have been spent setting up and managing technical aspects of your blog.
Squarespace Features
- You will find it very easy to integrate Squarespace with lots of other apps and services
- You can access different types of customizable templates that can be used for a wide range of web applications
- The templates offered by Squarespace are all mobile optimized and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) enabled
- Squarespace offers this cool feature called template switching which allows you to install multiple templates on one site.
Squarespace Advantages
- Squarespace gives you a wide range of tools to use for e-commerce business
- Images used on Squarespace are hosted using CDN (content delivery network) to ensure fast loading time.
Squarespace Disadvantages
- The cost of using Squarespace for hosting your site is much higher than using WordPress
- Online stores and e-commerce websites are subject to transaction fees.
Top 15 eCommerce Tools to Start and Grow Your Online Business
4 – Wix
Wix is a website builder that enables users to build highly-customized websites and blogs with ease. It is a cloud-based solution that offers a drag-and-drop interface for building websites in minutes.
Reasons for Choosing Wix Instead of WordPress
- Wix is a website building solution that lets you build professional-looking websites and blogs without coding. Users do not need to have programming skills before they can use Wix
- With Wix, you will have access to tools for your business websites such as domains, secure hosting, online bookings, and easy invoicing.
Wix Features
- You can use any of the Wix apps (both free and premium) to build great-looking websites
- Wix offers users access to hundreds of templates that have been designed for building different kinds of websites
- If you want, you could create your own custom domain name and use it with Wix
- Users can readily access Weebly analytics from which website performance can be obtained.
Wix Advantages
- Wix templates are fully optimized for mobile devices and other devices with smaller screens
- Users without any technical skills or knowledge of coding can use Wix with ease
- You can use the Wix chat feature to set up live chat sessions with your web visitors.
Wix Disadvantages
- You will have ads displayed on your site if you’re using the free plan on Wix
- You are not allowed to switch between Wix website templates.
Wix Affiliate Program Review 2020: Earn $100 Commission on Every Sale
5 – Joomla
Joomla is considered to be one of the best alternatives to WordPress for building websites and blogs. It currently hosts 2+ million sites, while providing access to lots of add-on extensions for users.
It is user-friendly, has lots of templates, and maintains a large community of developers that provides support. Most of the well-known web hosts have support for the easy installation of Joomla.
Reasons for Choosing Joomla Instead of WordPress
- Joomla enables users to create highly optimized pages that are SEO friendly
- Joomla maintains a large community of active developers that provide support for its users.
Joomla Features
- With Joomla, you have a wide range of options for managing your site banners and ads
- There are lots of pre-built features for improving the speed, security, and performance of Joomla sites
- Joomla has a massive library of extensions that you can use to include new functions on your site
- Joomla comes with advanced management and user permission systems.
Joomla Advantages
- You can use Joomla for building different kinds of sites such as e-commerce stores, online learning platforms, and business websites
- You will be able to access thousands of free extensions to customize your Joomla site
- There are lots of learning resources for those who are new to the Joomla content management system.
Joomla Disadvantages
- The Joomla extensions library isn’t as easy to use as that of WordPress
- Joomla doesn’t offer users with official themes or libraries containing designs. If you want to customize any of these, you will have to opt for apps from third-party vendors.
6 – Weebly
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use website builder to create any kind of site, Weebly it is.
You can build business directories, forums, online stores, online learning platforms, and blogs using Weebly. Weebly is a site builder with a massive user base of more than 40 million people around the world.
Reasons for Choosing Weebly Instead of WordPress
- Weebly is a website building solution that comes with powerful website templates and lots of e-commerce tools
- The website builder also features prebuilt marketing tools for SEO and lead generation.
Weebly Features
- The Weebly drag and drop builder offers a simple interface for creating rich-looking websites
- All tools that are needed for building full e-commerce stores are available in Weebly
- Weebly offers an app center from which users can find tools to achieve any design feature they want
- There is free SSL certificate for users plus access to use custom domain names for Weebly hosting
- Access to features such as membership registration, site stats, 500MB storage, password protection, and many others.
Weebly Advantages
- Weebly offers a free hosting plan for users who want it
- There is a thriving Weebly community from which users can access assistance and support
- Lots of marketing tools to use for boosting SEO, driving web traffic, and lead capture.
Weebly Disadvantages
- Users of the free plan on Weebly will have ads displayed on their sites
- The free plan also comes with restrictions such as storage limits plus no access to view site stats.
Conclusion
WordPress is a great content management system that you can use for building any kind of website or blog. It is easy to use and comes with a massive extension library of plugins and themes.
You can customize your website to any level that you want without compromise to any other features. However, WordPress isn’t the only content management system that you can use for building websites.
This post offers our top 6 picks of WordPress alternatives that you can build cool sites with. If you have specific needs that any of the listed websites can handle very well, you can give it a try.
However, when it comes to using a powerfully-integrated CMS (Content Management System) to build a fully-optimized website for search engine optimization and user-friendliness, WordPress is ranked #1. It currently has no rival, even though there are a couple of WordPress alternatives that are mentioned in this post and out there.
WordPress is the most optimized CMS for search ranking and the most-loved blogging platform by Google itself; that’s why you would see the richest bloggers in the world using WordPress to build their business websites.
If you are just starting a website and you don’t have any programming skills, all you need to do is sign up to Wealthy Affiliate and use its SiteBuilder platform. Everything, from setting up through optimizing a WordPress site, has been done for you. You don’t need to learn HTML coding, or any other. Just type the text, and the coding is automatically done for you.