Is Blogging Back From the Dead? Here's How (and Where) to Start Your Own From Scratch

Social media platforms, such as Bluesky, Facebook, and X, are fine for quickly spreading short-form updates. But if you want to go in-depth on a topic, you need a blog. Blogging isn't as in vogue these days as becoming a YouTuber, Instagram/TikTok influencer, or a podcaster , which simply require pointing a camera or microphone in your direction. But blogs are where real writing happens, whether for personal or professional reasons.

What Is a Blog?

A blog is a regularly updated website consisting of posts typically shown in reverse-chronological order, so the newest entry is the first one you see. Sometimes blogs are embedded in bigger websites. Other times, the blog is the entire website. The content can be anything from diary-style personal essays to full-blown reporting. It can be written by one person or a group, where individuals take turns making entries.

Blogging differs from what social media has become. Bluesky is called a microblogging service because its posts are short. Facebook 's status updates are much the same, though you can write longer pieces there. Although you can (and should) have images on your blog, no one would call Instagram or TikTok a blogging service, even if you can create clever hashtags on each post. 

Blogs are first and foremost for writers who want to get info out quickly and receive instant feedback. If that's you, but you have no idea where to start, here are the things you need to consider, and the services you should try.

The Blogging Basics You Need to Know

Launching a blog can be daunting. Here's a quick list of things you should consider (with thanks to the article by Ryan Robinson at RyRob.com , which you should read).

• What will you write? Picking a topic is key, unless you plan to make an online diary all about you, which is a legit approach, depending on your goals.

• What will you call it? A catchy blog title can get you noticed.

• Will you have a custom domain name? The pros have a unique domain (you know, like PCMag.com). That will cost a few bucks a year, but it may be worth it as a domain instills a level of trust. However, it isn't required if you're blogging for personal reasons.

• Consider your schedule. The success of a blog hinges on a lot of things, such as writing skills and interesting topics, but regular updates are key. If you can't commit to a schedule, don't bother. Remember: the average blog post takes almost four hours to create ! But the more time spent on a post, the better the results. The average blog post as of 2025 is about 1,333 words, according to Orbit Media Studios .

• Create About pages. You're going to need more than blog posts on your blog. It should have permanent bio(s), contact pages, and more, depending on your vision. They tell your potential audience what your blog is about.

• How will you build an audience? We can't help with this one much—there are plenty of articles and advice on how you can do that. And if you want to achieve the ultimate goal—financial independence through blogging, aka  making money from writing— you'll want to consider all the options. Your chances of that are about as remote as you writing a novel and instantly getting Stephen King-level success. But you have to start somewhere.

There are other things to consider. Will you blog with a group? If so, you need tools that allow multiple users. Will you have an audio component, such as a  podcast ? You'll need a web host that supports such uploads and indexes the audio in podcast syndication lists (if podcasting is the whole point, use a podcast-specific host like  SoundCloud , Buzzsprout, or Transistor).

Many decisions are influenced by which service you choose as your blog publishing tool, aka your content management system (CMS). Sometimes the CMS goes hand in hand with the full creation of a website; sometimes it doesn't. That's what we'll tackle next.

Website Builders and Web Hosting Services

Website builders make creating a full site a near-effortless affair. You visit the service's website, set up an account, and build pages in your browser . Almost all of them offer a blogging option. With most, the blog is a secondary aspect of creating a traditional website .

Two of our Editors' Choice-winning website builders are Duda and Wix . With them, you can schedule posts, apply tags, offer RSS feeds, manage comments, and compose posts entirely in a dedicated blog-posting interface. (But don't do that. Always write your blog posts out in a word processor first. Losing a long blog post in a web-based form is maddening.)

Notably, Wix's blog feature lets you add photos and videos and format everything to your liking. There are plenty of pre-built templates, so you don't have to design anything. Try it for free. Meanwhile, Duda's premium blogging tool lets you customize CSS and HTML code to make your posts perfect down to the pixel. Webflow also deserves a shout-out here for its unique CMS features, which let you efficiently create and manage content in ways perfectly suited to fast blogging.

The other website builders we've reviewed typically offer blogs. Many  web hosting services , such as Bluehost and GoDaddy, also include web-building tools and built-in blog features. If you already have a website with one of them, adding a blog is an easy option. Most use WordPress; more on that below.

WordPress, Blogger, and Other Blog-Specific Platforms

The blogosphere isn't what it used to be, but there are still sites and services that cater to those who'd like to build a blog and not much else. These platforms are more for tech-savvy types who can code HTML and handle scripting issues, depending on the service.

Let's talk about  WordPress . You can find the open-source version, WordPress.org, preinstalled with many web hosts. The hosts sometimes throw in extras like data backups to keep your blog secure. However, you're unlikely to find it easier to use than the version at WordPress's own commercial hosting endeavor: WordPress.com. For a complete breakdown of WordPress.org versus WordPress.com, read  How to Get Started with WordPress .

An estimated 40% or more  of the internet runs on WordPress , powering about 15% of the top 100 websites. So learning it is an excellent skill to have as a budding professional blogger. Plus, WordPress is one of the few tools that make it somewhat painless to transfer your blog to a new service, should you want to do so in the future.

We include it in our roundup of website builders because it's more than a blogging tool. WordPress is famed for supporting plug-ins that expand its functionality far beyond the basics, adding everything from e-commerce to photography galleries.

There are other blog-specific platforms. The Google-owned Blogger is free, and all the sites there are  name .blogspot.com domains unless you buy a domain, and you can use Google tools to add advertising and (hopefully) make money. Postach.io lets you create a blog from a notebook full of content stored in Evernote .

Ghost bills itself as a "professional publishing platform." It has plans that power individual bloggers (starting at $180 per year) as well as full teams, if you want Ghost to host the site. You have the option to install the Ghost software on your own web hosting servers. This is the CMS you probably want for a minimalist group blog that may be going places, especially if you find WordPress too busy or complicated and don't need the extras it offers.

There are also several high-end CMSes, such as Drupal and  Joomla , which provide blogging capabilities and developer-oriented functionality. Keep in mind that working with these tools will take more effort, but if you're someone who likes everything "just so," they're probably the way to go.

Some people subscribe to the process of " lazy blogging "—writing up their thoughts in Google Docs or whatever cloud-based word processor they prefer, then sharing the doc with their friends. Their opinion is all you probably want, anyway, and it's less public than doing a note on Facebook. Naturally, this could also work in an email.

If you want a blog-like journal that's  only for you —a true online diary—stored entirely online for access anywhere, check out  Penzu . It's free, unless you want multiple journals or extra security beyond the password access. The Pro version is $20 per year.

AI Tools

Artificial Intelligence is trying to prove its usefulness in everything these days, including blogging. Many of our top website builders now offer AI tools  to speed up site creation, and those benefits also apply to their blogs.

For example, you can post a lot more frequently if you let your AI assistant generate images and SEO-optimized text for you based on prompts. But if that sounds like slop, it's because, unfortunately, it is. If you want your blog to be an online space that truly represents you, especially as a writer, we say ditch the AI and embrace the messy, creative human touch.

Third-Party Publishers

When you use a third-party publishing service, you're limiting yourself to being a small fish in a larger bowl. The upside is that you become part of a site that has a built-in audience already—people who might clamor for your writing if you market it right (that's right, you'd be an influencer) . The biggest plus is that you can concentrate mainly on the writing itself and not worry about the site maintenance.

One example of this is Medium. If you're a reader, it has more content than you could ever consume. But you'll quickly be annoyed by the $5-per-month requests to read it all, even if you can open an Incognito mode window to access it. As a writer, Medium is a fantastic option for simple writing; its minimalist interface generates easy-to-read, beautiful posts. Which makes sense, since Twitter and Blogger co-founder Evan Williams essentially founded Medium as the anti-Twitter. You don't even need a password to get a Medium account.

You can use Medium to create your own "publication" or submit your work to other Medium publications in the hope of being "published"—but you have to write the entire thing first without any guarantee of it being picked up. The term for this is writing "on spec." Any online search will display as many posts telling you why Medium is a bad idea (you don't have full control, promotion is hard, limited features) as it will urge you to use it (simplicity, analytics, built-in audience, partner program for making money).

Another rising star is Substack, which explicitly pitches itself as a place for writers to make real money off their hard work. Substack has lured several prominent independent journalists to the platform, writers who cover everything from global politics to the video game industry. But you don't have to be a bigshot to join Substack. Anyone can use it to start up their own newsletter full of posts, videos, and podcasts.

Substack's pages are clean, straightforward, and highly legible on the web and mobile. Its analytics tools help you grow your audience, and its subscription features let you convert that audience into paying customers. The service has faced criticism for somewhat lax content moderation. But the emphasis on subscriptions helps you foster the readership you truly want while filtering out the dregs.

Now, Start Blogging

No matter what tools you use to blog, the goal is to stick to it, share your writing, and try to get your work noticed. Depending on your goals, blogging may lift you out of obscurity or help spread the word about your product or service. Regardless, it's a practice you should lean into, one that gives you more writing freedom (and fewer distractions) than Facebook, X, and other social media platforms.

PCMag and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.