The 2025 Blogger’s Guide: Platforms & Communities Worth Your Time

Is WordPress still the king of blogging platforms?

Absolutely. WordPress.org powers over 43% of all websites, and for good reason. As one experienced blogger puts it: “I have free posts, paid posts, a membership, a community, an online course platform, and a digital product shop… all inside WordPress” (The Side Blogger). The platform’s flexibility with 59,000+ plugins and thousands of themes makes it unbeatable for serious content creators.

Pro tip: Beginners often confuse WordPress.org (self-hosted) with WordPress.com (hosted). As noted by WPBeginner, the self-hosted version gives you complete control, while the hosted version has limitations (WPBeginner).

What’s the best alternative for non-technical bloggers?

Wix remains the top choice for beginners who want beautiful designs without coding. Their AI website builder can create a blog in minutes based on your answers to a few questions (Website Builder Expert). However, be aware you can’t change templates after publishing, which can be limiting as your blog grows.

Squarespace is another strong contender, especially for visual content. Their templates are arguably the most polished in the industry, perfect for photographers and artists (Thrive Themes).

Are forums still relevant for bloggers in 2025?

Surprisingly yes! Forums are experiencing a resurgence as Google now ranks high-profile forums like Reddit and Quora prominently in search results (Wix Blog). They offer several advantages:

  • Community building: Creates loyal followers who return regularly
  • Scalable support: Members help each other, reducing your workload
  • SEO benefits: Forum discussions generate long-tail keywords

As Khoros notes, modern forums like Samsung’s support community demonstrate how brands can turn user discussions into valuable knowledge bases (Khoros).

What are the best blogging communities to join?

Beyond creating your own forum, these established communities can help grow your audience:

  1. Blog Engage: Fantastic for promoting posts and networking with other bloggers (Warrior Forum)
  2. Medium: While its popularity has fluctuated, it still offers exposure to millions of readers (WebFX)
  3. Thinkific Communities: Ideal if you’re selling courses alongside your blog (Thinkific)
How important are SEO features when choosing a platform?

Critical. Website Builder Expert’s 300+ hours of testing revealed Wix and Squarespace offer outstanding built-in SEO tools, while simpler platforms like GoDaddy provide only basic functionality (Website Builder Expert).

WordPress shines here too, with plugins like Yoast SEO that guide optimization. As one blogger notes: “You can easily create SEO-friendly URLs, categories, and tags… plus a wide range of SEO plugins” (WPBeginner).

What’s the most surprising trend in blogging platforms?

The rise of AI integration. Hostinger’s website builder now creates complete blog drafts from just three questions (Website Builder Expert), while Wix offers AI tools for generating post ideas and even full articles.

However, as WebFX cautions: “Check your content if you use AI to generate blog posts” to ensure quality and originality (WebFX).

Final advice for choosing a platform?

Consider these three questions from Thrive Themes: “What do you need right now? What will you need in a year? What can you actually afford?” (Thrive Themes).

For most serious bloggers, WordPress.org remains the gold standard. As The Side Blogger bluntly states: “WordPress rules. It is not perfect, but it gets pretty close!” (The Side Blogger). But if you’re just testing the waters, Wix’s free plan or Medium’s built-in audience might be better starting points.