Simple Blogging Platforms
Creating valuable blog posts for your audience is one of the best ways to build a reputation in a market and attract new customers.
But, as a fast-moving maker, you don't have time for complexity.
You want to:
- Open your browser
- Start writing
I've had enough of blogging platforms that make you update or configure something every 2 minutes.
Where are all the blogging platforms that just lets you write?
I found them for you.
First, let's cover the obvious:
If you just want to share an idea quickly and get feedback from friends, a Google Doc, a GitHub Gist (with Markdown formatting), or a thread on Twitter will do just fine.
However, if you're intending to build a long-term audience using your blog and want to increase your SEO over time, you'll want a more solid foundation.
My criteria
As a writer, I value: readability, clean typography, and a newsletter sign up form.
As a coder, I love having: code that looks nice and support for custom embeddable code.
As a human, I need: my platform of choice to be around for a while (I don't want to have to switch to another platform 🤦♂️) and it should be updated with features and fixes at least once a year.
The Platforms ✨
Ghost
Albert Henk van Urkalberthenk.com
This is my top recommendation and it's what this blog is hosted on. It takes about an hour to set up, but the default theme is good and adding a new post takes a few seconds after opening a new tab.
It supports syntax highlighting, newsletter signups, and even memberships. The typography is great, and, most importantly, the Ghost platform has consistently evolved to be better each year, unlike others out there (looking at you Medium). Also, they're profitable and will probably be around for a while. It doesn't support comments by default — I'd recommend Commento for that.
I use their hosted plan, even though it's expensive for me. I just don't want to deal with configuring self-hosting and dealing with technical problems. I just want to write.
Bloggi
I really love the completely focused editor this platform has. The whole product has a really minimalistic & simple feel. I'm not sure how sustainable the business is, but it's been made by Hernán Sartorio & has been around for a few years already so I feel pretty confident about it.
If I was switching from Ghost, this is one of the first platforms I'd consider.
It supports code syntax highlighting and has a sustainable business model. Doesn't look like it supports newsletter signups.
MDX.one
This platform is built on top of Notion, but it's built specifically for blogs!
It has a pretty nice design and good typography — and supports custom domains. It also has support for custom code embeds and some pretty cool SEO features. It's also made by a Bhanu, who's active on Twitter and is continually improving MDX.one as he gets more feedback.
I'm really excited to see where this goes. It's a really strong contender for my top choice.
Write.as
This is a really focused & minimalistic platform.
Has beautiful typography, supports custom domain names, code syntax highlighting & offers newsletter signups. It also looks like a financially sustainable business and has a cool community.
Not my favorite option, but definitely a nice product.
Superblog
A nice-looking, fast blogging platform. Has a nice interface and good typography.
Supports custom domains, but not syntax highlighting (as far as I can see). It doesn't offer a newsletter signup, but has a form for collecting email addresses under every post instead. It looks like it has a strong business model & they pride themselves on being a greener blog platform alternative.
It's made by Sai Krishna, a great developer who does a lot of product development on Twitter.
Blot
A very, very cool idea.
- Write with your favorite editor
- Save a markdown file to your Dropbox folder
- Done, you have a blog post!
This is pretty close to my ideal blogging platform — really focuses on having a simple interface, but gives you a ton of flexibility. I would probably have stuck with it if it had nicer themes...
It has pretty good typography, code syntax highlighting and has a good business model, but the themes are a little lacking in my opinion. I pay for this service even though I don't use it that much, simply because I love the idea!
Substack
Substack
I personally don't love this one, but I can say one really positive thing about it: they make it absolutely painless to set up a business based around writing and have supported thousands of writers on their journey to financial freedom.
However, in my opinion, the editor is janky and the typography is so so.
It has support for subscriptions and newsletter functionality out of the box, which is really cool. They'll probably be around for a while, since they're focused on making money (both for themselves and for their authors). So, I imagine the editor's interface and the typography will probably get better with time.
They support basic code syntax highlighting.
Proseful
A new platform. I love how focused and simple it is.
It's regularly updated by the main developer, has gorgeous typography, supports code syntax highlighting, has a business model that looks sustainable, and looks really focused on staying simple.
I really like this platform.
Posthaven
Posthaven has a great idea behind it: it completely abolishes one of the first concerns anyone might have with publishing online: how long will this service be around for? Pay for it for a full year and your writing will stay on the internet forever. Very cool.
It has some pretty good themes, pretty good typography, supports code syntax highlighting, custom themes, and is pretty easy to set up. But it never caught on for me because the interface always seemed a little outdated.
Svbtle
This one's been around for a while. I like the simple interface.
It doesn't offer newsletter signups but it supports custom domains, syntax highlighting, has nice typography and also makes a promise of being around forever.
Micro.blog
Very simple platform, only $5 per month, and has a really nice community.
Supports custom domains, code snippets, but not syntax highlighting.
Potion
This is one of my favorite platforms ever! But it's not exactly a blogging platform.
It's developed by Noah Bragg & lets you turn any Notion page into a full website — along with all linked pages!
It's great for putting together a project very quickly and updating it live as user feedback comes in.
I use Notion for everything, so it fits right into my workflow — and I can even update my site from my phone!
Bear
I like how minimal this is. Super-focused on speed and simplicity.
Supports code snippets, but not syntax highlighting. It's made by Herman Martinus & has a nice community of writers.
Moogle
This is a very simple approach to blogging.
You send them an email and they take care of the rest: formatting your text, making sure your posts show up in search engines (SEO), and handling downloads for your users (just attach them to the email).
I like that you don't have to learn about a new blogging platform to use this.
Typeshare
A cool, new blogging platform with analytics built in and big focus on social blogging.
Not sure which features they support because there's not a lot of info on the homepage.
Brytebook
A simple platform for connecting writers with readers, while monetizing their work.
Made by Samyak.
Typlog
A blog + podcast host with analytics built in. Looks like a really focused and beautiful product.
It has some nice themes, support custom domains but not sure if they support code snippets or syntax highlighting.
Reading Supply
This seems like a pretty good option with a nice community, but might be a little hard to get started with.
If community, conversation, and linked thoughts are your jam, it would probably make it worth it to sign up for this one.
Just like PostHaven & Svbtle, they make a promise they'll be around for the long term. They have a lot of advanced features and looks like they're adding new ones every month.
It has pretty good typography and a nice looking default theme, it supports code syntax highlighting, and will "soon" support custom themes and email subscribers.
Typehut
A new platform. Very simple. I like it. It's very bare-bones on purpose, which is really nice.
I recommended this platform to friends a year ago, but I don't know if I can anymore because it hasn't had a new update in a while.
It supports syntax highlighting, custom domains & newsletter subscribers. Has a business model that looks sustainable, and has a really cool section on their Features page called "Features we won't have" which includes "A powerful editor" and "Plugins". I love this because it means they're dedicated to staying simple and focused!