Whenever we think of blogging platforms, the same few names come to our mind. Names like WordPress, Wix, and Blogger are the ones that get parroted ad nauseam. They all have similar features that include templates and plugins. Some sites do offer SEO tools as well as monetization. But in the evolution of blogging platforms, there are more things to keep in mind.If you are looking for a good blogging platform or want to build one, you should keep certain things in mind that generally tends to enhance the experience of these platforms. 

Community-based sites are back

Blogging is often considered one sided where someone publishes a material and waits as people discover it and goes through it.There is, however, slow evolution of sites that are building small but loyal communities.Certain sites like  Write.as, Bear Blog, etc are trying to build connections between the readers and the bloggers. Such sites do not use the same follow and like systems but instead encourage engagement within the people and design it so that such engagement is possible. 

If you are a writer who wants to build an audience that likes your content, experimenting with an audience-based site might be a good experience. Having an existing network, you will have support, without needing to always think about promotion.

Unseen hosting limits are more important than you know

Many free blogs are available which might seem like a great idea at first. But they have host limitations that you don’t know about until later. For example, blogs will shrink your pictures so much that they are very low resolution. Or they may limit you from inserting video or audio unless you pay to upgrade. Even RSS is limited on some free blogs.

But when you want to start a growing blog, these tiny technical boundaries will kill you. It is worth digging into what your preferred system actually does behind the scenes.

Handling of Privacy by Platforms

A few websites are overly aggressive with tracking without the author really having any control over what happens. That encompasses tracking what people do, geolocation, and even time on a page.

There are certain blogs, however, who monitor none of the data from their users. If you and your readers value privacy and simplicity, working with an environment that values them can be priceless in the long run. They serve clean and simple content without having to optimise it for the interest specificity of each user. This also means that users will get to experience a variety of content instead of being in an echochamber of things they already like. 

Integration of Offline tools into the Platform

Most people use the platform editor available to write thrift blogs. More and more, though, there are offline tools that can upload directly to blog sites. 

This implies that you can write freely here and there and whenever and then upload all of it later. It also protects you from losing drafts because of a poor internet connection or browser freezing. The sites that host such tools provide you with more freedom to write your way.

Improved User experience 

We keep hearing about designing platforms so that they can be  usable on mobiles but more can be done to improve the experience of the user. Some are tailoring for slow networks. Others enable readers to save posts offline or switch to read modes that strip away images and additional formatting.

For the audience and users with slow or limited internet and similar such issues, this is a very important feature that can give a platform an edge over others. Sites that expect more than aesthetics and are concerned with load time or reader exhaustion are worth visiting.

Your perfect blogging platform is not necessarily the one that does the most. It’s the one that works behind the scenes, allowing your writing and uniting you with readers on your terms. Don’t just glance at the homepages, though. Take a bit of time to take a closer look at what’s actually being done in the background on each platform.

Because at the end of the day, an amazing platform should let your voice be heard—your blog look, not.