7 Best Free Blog Sites for Students to Build a Blog in 2023
Why sit home and hide your talent? Why not let the world see all the wonderful things you are capable of? We all go through a phase in our lives when we showcase our skills.
The time when we feel like a butterfly who should spread its wings and let people see its colors. For many youngsters, blogging is the way to let loose their wings.
Not only that, but blogging can also be a platform to educate people about various events. Many students have taken up blogging to let people know what’s going on in their minds.
However, not all blog sites are for free. In this article, I will be talking about the 7 best free blog sites for students.
7 Best Free Blogging Sites for Students
To be honest, you cannot use any blog site completely for free as there are certain limitations.
But you can still carry out your work using their free plan if you just want an online diary or a small website to share your work.
1. WordPress
WordPress is the boss of all free blogging sites. You can build and design the site on your own however you want it. The website building tool allows users to access so many different features.
There are two versions of WordPress you can choose from:
- WordPress.com which is free
- Self-Hosted WordPress which requires you to purchase hosting
Like most free website builders, in the case of free WordPress.com, you can start a blog on a WordPress subdomain (like yourname.wordpress.com) and there'll be WordPress trademark at the bottom that you can't remove.
However, this isn't a deal breaker given that the free version comes with all the features you need, good theme designs, lots of plugins, and a smooth user experience.
If you want to get more controls, you'll need to go with self-hosted WordPress. For that, you need to purchase a domain name as well as hosting.
You can use BlueHost, as it provides a free domain name with hosting and allows WordPress users to have the easiest interface.
BlueHost also provide users with free SSL and unlimited bandwidth too which will come handy if you want to start a serious online business.
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Pros:
- The best free website builder for both newbie and veteran bloggers
- Has a simple and easy interface
- Plugins can be easily downloaded
- Lots of theme designs to choose from
- Secure and fast
- You can start a professional website with self-hosted WordPress
Cons:
- You can't remove the WordPress trademark
- Limitations on installing third-party WordPress themes/plugins
2. Wix
If you want to start your blogging career with a free site, choose Wix! Wix has the most flexible drag and drop option. You will also get a large variety of free templates to work with.
Wix gives all its users a free space of at least 500 MB and 1-1.5 GB bandwidth. Its intuitive design and style will draw you into it. It is one of the best sites for newbies because it allows free hosting
Pros:
- It is the most user-friendly blog site
- Contains a lot of templates
- It is colorful and has nice themes
- You can edit after publishing too
Cons:
- Wix is filled with advertisements
3. Weebly
Weebly is similar to Wix and contains a drag and drop options too. It also comes with a WYSIWYG editor.
Weebly allows people to customize, and add photos, videos, and slideshows to their blog.
Weebly also has media elements, sidebars, ad spaces, and many other options. You can also add your social media account to your blog.
You can also create a separate section to get feedback from your readers. It also allows its users to personalize their domain.
Pros:
- It has great responsive themes
- Comes with built-in analytics
- Very simple to understand and use
Cons:
- Not rich in terms of customizations
- Does not have enough rich features
4. Medium
Medium is another popular multipurpose free blogging site. The best feature of Medium is that your blog and articles will get a lot of traffic. Medium is visited by 60 million people every month.
As a result, many CEOs and other inspirational leaders are active in a medium. Having an account in Medium means your article will be read and taken into account by professionals from different backgrounds.
Medium has been created by twitter’s founders. It has a clean style and a simple layout like Twitter. You will feel as if it is an upmarket magazine, and available for everyone.
Pros:
- You do not need to set it up from scratch
- Had the most number of people viewing it
- Tags and reference focused, means your articles will be noticed
Cons:
- Posts cannot be customized
- You will not be given an individual site
5. Blogger
Blogger is currently owned by Google. So if you have a Gmail ID, you can easily log in to the server using your ID and pass. It will take a couple of seconds to have an account.
Blogger has customizable features, themes, and layouts just like all the other blogging sites. You do not have to spend time sorting it out, as it comes with several free templates.
Pros:
- Has nice customizable features
- Takes the least amount of time to create an account
- You can add gadgets and sites to your account
Cons:
- Does not have many advanced features
- You won’t have complete ownership of your blog
6. Joomla
Joomla allows users to have their own domain. This means you can use it for free, however, you need to pay for the domain. Joomla is easy to use and requires less or no experience of coding to use it.
You can download free templates and also use the override system to customize the templates. It comes with a free SEO tool.
Pros:
- Has extensions in 70 different languages
- Has several enhancing options
- Comes with a built-in SEO tool for bloggers
Cons:
- It has a complex interface
- Selecting extensions are tough
- Has compatibility issues
7. Typepad
Typepad is flexible and allows the blogger to have full control. It too has integrated easy access to Google Analytics. Typepad has a blog hosting solution and allows users to get money from their blogs. It gives users a custom email address.
It has a different style, users can edit, add images, or write directly from the dashboard. Users can optimize their articles as much as they want.
Pros:
- It comes with a signature module
- You can check spellings and grammar too
- You can autosave your work
Cons:
- Does not support iOS
- You need to buy plans for advanced features
How to Start Your Own Blog for $2.65/month
There are many free blog sites available for students. If you want to start blogging at the lowest cost, we would suggest you opt for BlueHost.
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Bluehost is a famous web hosting company. They have millions of domains under them. Bluehost allows users to publish articles, videos, etc. in WordPress without paying any additional money.
All newbie WordPress users who install WordPress through Bluehost will be given a free domain. They will also get an SSL certificate from Bluehost.
Besides that, you can also get 50 to 60% off from their first month’s plan. That means, just start your own blog with your own domain for free then pay only $2.65 every month. Pretty convenient, right?
How to Install WordPress With Bluehost
First of all, you need to create an account in Bluehost. Then login to the site and then you will find the My Site section in the dashboard.
In the top right corner, you will see the Create site tab. Click on it. Now you need to insert your preferred Domain that you want on your site.
After you are done, click Next to proceed with the installation. After this, you have to click on Login to WordPress and you are all set to go.
Quite easy, right? Takes less than 5-6 minutes to install WordPress with Bluehost.
Free Blogs vs Hosting Your Own Blog
Pros of Free Blogs
- You can use it for free and are quite functional
- Anyone can work comfortably using them and users do not need previous coding knowledge.
- Contains auto spelling and grammar check features
- Allows users to create content and connect with many people
- Users do not have to set up the layout of their site, as it will be done automatically
Disadvantages of Free Blogs
- The URL will be after the name of the blog site and not yours
- The URL tends to be longer, and unattractive in most cases
- Contains lack of free templates
- Requires money to access certain features
- Not all free blogs have good SEO strategies. SEO will help people get directed to the website, but not always to your blog.
- You might need to pay for your domain
- Users may have a lack of bandwidth, limited video time, etc.
Pros of Hosting your own blog
- The first and foremost benefit is that there will be a strong correlation between your blog and your company. It does not look professional if your company has an address starting with “wix.com/chefcooking.com” right?
- Great for SEO and attracts a lot of traffic
- More flexible in terms of design, layout, structure, and placement
- Users will have full control over their blog
Cons of hosting your own blog
- Can be overpowering or stressful for newbie bloggers
- You will have to invest some amount of money
Final Thoughts
Are you ready to start blogging? Have you decided which free blog site you want to start with? Free blog sites are best for students who want to take their skills to the next level. Best of luck you young people!
