Are you thinking about starting a new blog but don't know where to start?
Many blogging platforms are available for those who work in tech (or desire to work in tech). Some of them have a built-in audience as well.
This article will discuss each of them.
Let's start.
HASHNODE
Hashnode is the fastest growing free, developer-focused blogging platform.
I might be biased (I probably am!), but Hashnode is my favourite platform out of all of them.
Why?
Because Hashnode makes your life easier.
You only need to focus on writing content. And there is a built-in audience.
Hashnode keeps getting better and better. And they care about their users.
Some features are only accessible if you become a Hashnode Ambassador. You become a Hashnode ambassador when you successfully refer three people to join the platform.
You can still achieve a lot using the basic features.
The advantages of Hashnode are that you can:
- Have your custom domain.
- Back up your articles on Github every time you publish them. If you decide to transfer your blog somewhere else, you can still do so.
- Customise your blog using CSS.
- Turn on a newsletter by turning on the toggle.
- Earn money by adding the Sponsor button.
- Monitor your blog's analytics. They've recently incorporated advanced analytics that helps you monitor your blog's traffic.
- Integrate Google Analytics.
- Import your article from Medium and DEV.
Hashnode also does fantastic in terms of SEO optimisation.
You also have access to the Discord community if you need any help or want to interact with other developers.
The disadvantages of Hashnode are:
You don't own your blog. It still redirects you to their server. That's why backing up your content is crucial.
If you ever desire a new feature, you'll have to request it and wait for it to be created and released to the public.
However, I have to say they're great at listening to their audience, and the platform has added many more features since I joined. I'm sure there will be more to come.
DEV
DEV is a community of software engineers designed to help each other and make software engineering more accessible.
I like DEV because they've successfully built a welcoming community of software engineers.
Software development has been seen as an elitist sector, where only a certain number of people from a specific background and education can access it.
Those days are gone now, and DEV (in my opinion) is helping in ensuring that everyone who wants to have a career in technology can achieve it.
DEV is beginner-friendly, and it has a massive following on Twitter.
The advantages of DEV are:
- You can write content using markdown.
- You can sell your products in their Listing sections.
- DEV does brilliantly in terms of SEO Optimisation.
- It has a large social media following.
Your article will be shared on Twitter if your content gets enough views (more than 1000). This is great because it helps promote your article and your brand.
The downsides of DEV are that:
You cannot have your domain.
It's challenging to export and backup content.
You cannot customise your blog.
MEDIUM
I've never written an article on Medium, even though I interacted many times with the platform.
Medium is an online publishing platform. It's designed for both professional writers and inexperienced writers.
The advantages of using Medium are the following:
- It has a wide readership.
- It takes care of Search Engine Optimisation.
- It allows you to republish your articles.
- It's easy to write and import articles.
- It has blogging statistics.
The problems that I found were:
- It doesn't support code highlighting.
- Your content is blocked behind a paywall.
Overall I think Medium is not designed for software engineers but more for social journalism.
TEALFEED
Tealfeed is another growing platform. It goes beyond developers, though. It's a knowledge-sharing platform with many sections, such as Programming, Software Engineering, Startup, Data Science, etc.
I joined the platform months ago, and it has made some significant improvements so far.
Tealfeed allows you to:
- Write content that's going to be seen by a built-in audience.
- Vote UP or DOWN.
- Incorporate a link to the source of the content.
- Your article will be shared on their LinkedIn and Twitter social media accounts, putting your brand in front of more eyes.
- It's easy to gain followers.
The downsides with Tealfeed are that:
- You cannot personalise your blog.
- You cannot have a custom domain.
freeCodeCamp
Everyone knows freeCodeCamp, and its mission is to make learning how to code more affordable and accessible to everyone.
The great things about freeCodeCamp are that:
- It has a broad audience.
- It has an editorial team that will review your article before it gets released.
The downsides of freeCodeCamp are that:
You'll have to apply as an author if you want to write with them.
You are not allowed to cross-post your articles somewhere else.
BONUS TIP
Hackernoon is also another free blogging platform.
The advantages of using Hackernoon are that:
- They have an editorial team that proof-reads articles before they release them to the public.
- You own your content and license it to Hackernoon.
- It has a large social media following.
The disadvantages of using Hackernoon are that:
- You cannot customise your domain.
- You cannot customise the blog's appearance.
CONCLUSION
I hope you've found this article helpful.
If you feel confused, this is what I would do:
- Start with Hashnode because it allows you to have your custom domain, and you can personalise your blog. You can also backup your content on Github.
- Cross-post your articles on DEV, Medium, Tealfeed, and Hackernoon. Remember always to include canonical links to avoid hurting SEO.
- From time to time, write for freeCodeCamp.
If you enjoyed this article, you'd probably enjoy reading one of my recent articles on how to improve your technical writing skills.
Out of these platforms, which one do you use the most? Let me know in the comments.
Until next time! 🙋🏾♀️
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