Plenty people assume that an online business venture is a costly one, but creating a blog is an extremely financially-friendly option, in 2018 we have the best free blogging platforms available to us.

In fact, other than paying for your Wi-Fi bill each month, it can cost you absolutely nothing. Yes, that’s right, blogging can be free.

There is a plethora of platforms designed to offer opportunities to people that want to be a blogger, but don’t have funds available.

There’s no catch; just sign up to their platform, build your blog and start adding content.

Plus, if you ever do want to get more serious, most of those platforms provide a seamless transition to a paid plan. Here are the top 3 that we’ve conjured up:

The drag-and-drop nature of Wix has risen to prominence in recent times, with thousands of aspiring bloggers choosing Wix as their go-to platform.

But, if you’re not comfortable with creating your own blog yet, the Wix ADI will help you out. It asks you some simple questions, then builds your blog around your answers.

Moreover, a wonderful part of Wix is the way they provide free stock images for you to jazz up your site from the get-go.

The big downside to Wix is the fact that you get very limited storage, though. So, if your blog suddenly sky-rockets, you may be pushed into upgrading to the premium plan.

Blogger

Blogger is arguably the platform that pays most attention to those just starting out on their blogging journey.

There’s a vast array of done-for-you templates to choose from, and all of the are already optimized for mobile users. Another great aspect of Blogger is the intuitive dashboard which can monitor your whole blog from.

That includes handy information of what portions of the world your blog is reaching, and how much traffic you’re receiving.

Although, if you want more in-depth information, you may struggle because Blogger isn’t incredible when it comes to plugins.

Is WordPress one the best free blogging platforms?

WordPress is a platform that has been around for years, hence why so many successful bloggers choose it as their trusted provider.

The one differentiator to other platforms is that WordPress allows you to build your blog from a menu and doesn’t have a drag-and-drop function.

You simply have everything you need to start blogging. Plus, you have the power and world-class hosting which will never, ever let you down.

Another advantage to WordPress is their active community where you can always seek guidance and support.

There’s an awful lot more you can learn about each of these platforms, plus there’s others that might suit you better.

Subsequently, we thought we’d source a post that not only listed these sites – plus more – but also provided plenty of information on them.

Of course, considering they’re all free, it can be a hard choice, but some of them offer different things.

Anyway, here is the article which you can have a read through at techradar.com

Weebly

+ Drag-and-drop your way to a smart looking blog

+ Simple but powerful blog building

+ Neat extras like post previewing

– Limited to 500MB of storage

Weebly takes a modular approach to blog-building, with a drag-and-drop editor that lets you choose which elements to add to your site, and where.

Pick a basic template, then plonk various types of content onto the page, including social media links, text, images, maps, and sections of code.

It’s a refreshingly simple way to build a blog that feels unique to you, but doesn’t require any messing about with menus.

It’s worth noting, however, that certain content blocks can only be positioned in certain areas; it isn’t a total free-for-all.

This makes sense – forcing you to stick within the confines of your chosen template stops the page looking messy – but you might find it limiting.

Blog posts are made in the same way: drag text boxes, picture frames, buttons and page breaks into position, then click to edit them.

One particularly nice feature is the ‘secret draft link’, which lets you preview your unpublished post, and even share it with others via email before releasing it into the wild.

Weebly has some other interesting tricks up its sleeve too, including an area for pasting in Google Analytics tracking code (though it doesn’t offer analytics itself).

As with Wix, you’re only given 500MB for uploaded content, so photographers might want to look elsewhere. Weebly puts an ad in your site’s footer, but it doesn’t obscure any of your content.

Try it online: Weebly

Penzu

+ A secure journal for your private thoughts

+ Emphasis on privacy and security

+ Free mobile apps

– Some pressure to upgrade to paid version

Whereas the other free blogging sites are designed to get as many eyeballs on your posts as possible, Penzu is the equivalent of a locked diary stashed in a safe.

Penzu is a journal platform that makes your posts private by default and locks them down with at least one password (even after you’re logged in, you need a second one to read or edit your posts).

That’s because it’s designed for private thoughts and personal reflection. There are free apps for iOS and Android that enable you to update your Penzu diary anywhere, but the contents are for your eyes only.

Penzu isn’t a tool for self-promotion, so although it’s far from ugly, it understandably focuses on function rather than looks.

Custom colors and backgrounds come at a price – currently $20 (about £14, AU$25) per year.

It’s a shame that 128-bit AES encryption is also limited to the paid-for version, and there’s a fair amount of pressure to upgrade.

Extra options are often dangled under your nose then yanked away, but the core offering is a good one, and if you simply want a place to record your thoughts and practise writing, Penzu could be just what you need.

Try it online: Penzu

I think you'll agree each platform has a little for everyone and depending on what you need will help you choose the right one for you.

To read the rest of this great article head on over to techradar.com and enjoy!