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blogging Article

Lately, we've been seeing a shift towards simple, responsive, minimalist blogging platforms. More and more, people are looking for solutions that help them focus on their writing and offer distraction-free environments that enable them to do so quickly and effectively.
For years, WordPress has been the star of the show when it comes to blogging, but lately it seems to be developing into a more complex CMS than it was initially intended for when it was first released. Scores of plugins, themes and addons have, according to some, turned it into a more bloated solution than is necessary for the simple task of blogging.
Some of the differences you will find with these solutions in comparison to other blogging platforms are the editing interfaces and the reduction in features to focus on the primary goal of blogging; the writing. As opposed to more complicated editors, they tend to use Markdown for writing blog posts. Markdown is an easy to use text formatter that converts plain text into HTML and produces very readable content using plain text. You'll see what I mean when you try one of these blogging platforms. It's very easy to use.
For those who are finding it hard to find a blogging platform that suits their needs or are looking to start a new blog, this post will offer you some excellent alternatives to popular platforms like Blogger and WordPress. Here is our list of the best minimalist blogging platforms available.
<h2><a href="http://postach.io">Postach.io </a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_postachio960x0.png" alt="minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_postachio" />
I had to put Postach.io first simply because it's my personal favorite and one that, in my opinion, offers the most unique approach to blogging. Postach.io lets you store your content in either Dropbox or <a href="https://www.evernote.com/referral/Registration.action?uid=1238466&amp;sig=2de3b5d66a8d847e2d62e1425282eab5">Evernote</a> or both. This lets you choose whichever interface suits you the most (Dropbox files obviously needing to be edited in a text editor and uploaded whereas Evernote has a built in text editor) and work on your content within.
Publishing a post with Evernote is as simple as connecting your account to Postach.io, telling it which notebook in Evernote will contain your posts and then simply writing in that notebook and using the tag “published” when you are done. This tells Postach.io to put the post up on your blog and that's all there is to it. To add images, simply attach them to the note and it will be inserted in your blog post instantly.
The nice part to using the Evernote connection for Postach.io is you can take advantage of the many awesome Evernote apps for mobile devices and tablets that already exist which makes blogging with it a true pleasure.
Postach.io also has perhaps the most features of any of the other platforms I've mentioned so far including:
<ul>
<li>A number of pre-designed and attractive themes.</li>
<li>The ability to easily embed tweets, vine videos, youtube videos, instragram photos, flickr photos, slideshares, about me pages and tons more.</li>
<li>Disqus commenting</li>
<li>Google Analytics integration</li>
<li>You can even share your posts automatically on Facebook or Twitter simply by tagging them in Evernote or Dropbox (you can even customize the tag you use)</li>
<li>A full integrated source code editing interface</li>
</ul>
While Postach.io is free, you can upgrade for $5 / month or $50 / year and get the ability to have multiple sites, multiple authors and a secure website.
Postach.io is a must see and I strongly recommend taking a look to see how amazing it is.
Price: Free
<h2><a href="http://www.medium.com">Medium </a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_medium794x0.png" alt="minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_medium" />
Medium is a very interesting and unique alternative. What's nice about it is that it is designed to help you find an audience and to help you write better content. With a very simple and easy to use interface, Medium is a pleasure to use and gets rid of distractions such as sidebars, widgets and plugins while focusing on allowing you to share your stories and quips with the world.
Rather than overwhelm you with formatting, Medium offers you just enough to do what you need to do and nothing more. This makes the writing process painless and so distraction free that you'll likely want to write more just so you can use the editor. It truly is a beautiful setup. Furthermore, you don't need to worry about whether your website on Medium is responsive. Everything scales to all devices so you will never need to worry about how it's going to look on your phone or tablet again.
It's also a <a href="https://medium.com/about/8304190661d4"> collaborative tool </a> that lets you share your drafts with others and collaborate with them to produce better content. You can even thank those who helped you proof read or add ideas to your content.
My favorite thing about Medium, however, is the way your content is handled once you hit publish:
<blockquote>
We think great ideas can come from anywhere and should compete on their own merits. On Medium, you can contribute often or just once in a blue moon, without the commitment of a blog. And either way, you’re publishing into a thriving, pulsing network — not a standalone web site, which you alone are responsible for keeping alive.
Through a combination of algorithmic and editorial curation, posts on Medium get spread around based on interest and engagement. Some get hundreds of thousands of readers — and not because they were written by famous people. Medium is not about who you are or whom you know, but about what you have to say.
</blockquote>
I've seen this in action on some of my own writings on Medium where people who I do not know have added comments and shared their thoughts with me. If you write great content, you have a great opportunity to find an audience on Medium.
Price: Free
<h2><a href="https://svbtle.com/">Svblte </a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_svbtle910x0.png" alt="minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_svbtle" />
Svtle is similar in some aspects to Medium in that the platform uses Markdown for formatting content and is very distraction free. If you can't tell by the screenshot of the Svblte.com homepage above that this is a minimalist blogging platform, I'd be surprised.
Svblte has been designed in a way to let you dump your ideas into the dashboard and save them as inspiration for future work. It lets you write very distraction free content using an incredibly simple editor with minimal formatting required. It also offers some features such as custom domains and avatars for instance. You can also customize the accent colors of your blog but that's about it. The intention, like most of the others in this list, is to reduce the distractions caused by themes and plugins and to simply help you get your content out to the world.
Your content also has an opportunity to get picked up and spread throughout Svbtle in a similar manner as Medium although they don't give much for details on how this works so I'm not super familiar with the process for curation.
Price: $6 monthly
<h2><a href="https://ghost.org/">Ghost </a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_ghost835x0.png" alt="minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_ghost" />
Ghost is quickly becoming a strong up and comer in the world of blogging and is following in the footsteps of WordPress in that it offers both a downloadable version of the platform to install on your own server or you can use their online blogging platform (similar to Medium, WordPress.com and others) and get up and running with no software to configure. The latter is a paid service, however, and costs typically would range between $5 / month and $80 / month depending on how much traffic and how many blogs you want to have. Pricing is pretty reasonable and you always have the option of downloading Ghost and installing it on your own server if you feel more comfortable managing the software yourself.
The writing interface that Ghost offers is unique from some of the others we've shared so far in that it offers you a split pane look where you write on the left and the right shows a live preview of the text as it's being formatted for comparison. See the screenshot below for an example:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2013-11-11_07_05_55-ghost_blogging_platform_features835x0.png" alt="ghost - writing interface" />
Some other differences between Ghost and platforms such as Medium and Svble is that it supports themes. My personal opinion is that themes can end up being a distraction for some people but if you are interested in them, there are already plenty of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.comhttps://www.cmscritic.com/themeforestcategory/blogging/ghost-themes?ref=cmscritic"> themes for Ghost </a> available.
Price: Free (if downloaded) or $29-199 / month (if hosted)
<h2><a href="https://www.silvrback.com/" target="_blank">Silvrback </a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/silvrback_kvkndg.png" />Silvrback is interesting in that its creator, Damian Sowers, aimed to fix the problems he saw with Medium and Svbtle by simply creating what he ideally wanted from a blogging platform for himself. He has now made this available at a reasonable cost of $29.99 / year in the form of Silvrback.
Here's how Damian describes his reasoning for creating Silvrback:
<blockquote>
I built Silvrback because none of the existing blogging platforms satisfied me completely.
Medium is great for readers but it is bad for writers. Readers are steered away to other articles/authors after they are done reading your article. Moreover, the analytics of Medium are extremely basic and you have no idea how people found your article. You really shouldn't use Medium if you want to build any kind of brand with your writing.
Svbtle is closer to what I wanted out of my blogging platform. However, it is taking the elitism approach and heavily restricting its users. I actually just received an invite to Svbtle but I have grown tired of their UI and I'm wary of any blogging platform that doesn't charge for the service. As the saying goes, “If you aren't paying for something then you aren't the customer, you're the product being sold.”
</blockquote>
Due to his lack of satisfaction with the other tools on the market, Damian created Silvrback with the following features:
<ul>
<li>A clean and modern UI (front and back-end).</li>
<li>Markdown powered and as simple as possible.</li>
<li>Support for custom domains and external analytics.</li>
<li>Hosted. People shouldn't spend any time configuring a server for a blog. Also, you shouldn't have to worry about traffic spikes crashing your server.</li>
<li>The platform should have brand awareness in mind (e.g. provide a better way to show and consolidate a person's distributed accomplishments).</li>
<li>Trustworthy. I don't want my efforts and content to be sold to advertisers.</li>
<li>Hacker friendly. Nice syntax highlighting.</li>
<li>Precise control over the journey of a new reader (direction of article discovery).</li>
</ul>
Silvrback was sold to Verde Places LLC, who currently own and run it now and continues to be updated regularly.
Pricing:
<ul>
<li>Annual: US$34.99</li>
<li>Quarterly: US$9.99</li>
<li>Monthly: US$3.99</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://write.as/" target="_blank">Write.as</a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/writeas-review-1_f8stqn.png" alt="Write.as Review - 1" />
Write.as is a distraction-free publishing platform that is less about the social media aspect of writing (the likes and follows that we all inadvertently seek) and more about getting your thoughts down fast. The platform’s simplicity is refreshing, but not ideal for complex blogging, especially if you don’t know any code.
On the other hand, because Write.as is open source, technically-minded individuals can change it to suit their needs. Read our <a href="/write-as-review-no-frills-ad-free-publishing/">Write.as Review</a> to learn more.
Price: 
<ul>
<li>Free</li>
<li>$5 month</li>
<li>$200 month</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://authpad.com">Authpad </a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_authpad.png" alt="minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_authpad" />
Authpad appeals to my inner coder for some reason. Perhaps it's because you can edit the styles directly from within the interface but if there's one thing that Authpad is, it's minimal. I would call this the blogging platform for pure minimalists. It's so fast it's ridiculous and, while the interface is very text heavy, it does the job its intended to do incredibly well.
Still in beta but with plenty of features including, as I mentioned earlier, the ability to directly edit forked styles from within the interface, this is sure to appeal to bloggers with a bit of a technical background as well as those looking for a very minimal experience.
There's not much else to say, Authpad is as basic as you can get and I strongly encourage you to check it out and see how simple blogging can truly be.
Price: Free
<h2><a href="http://pen.io/">Pen.io</a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_penio960x0.png" alt="minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_penio" />
Pen.io is a bit different. You don't get your own website per say but rather, you create a page for your article. You sign up with a URL and a password with no other information, click to edit your title, click to edit your content and that's it. If you need to add images, simply drag and drop them into the page. If you need a multi-page post, simply insert the “:page” tag to do so. There's nothing complicated about it, there's no real blogging aspect to it and there's no way to get back to it other than to find it on Google or remember the page url.
This is unique for those who want to quickly pound something out or feel the need to write but don't want the complication of setting up a blog so if you need an outlet for your creativity, Pen.io is there. Don't expect to find any help or assistance, however as the website is as stark as the article creation process and there's no help system at all.
Price: Free
<h2><a href="https://posthaven.com/">Posthaven</a></h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_posthaven883x0.png" alt="minimalist_blogging_platforms_-_posthaven" />
Posthaven was created by two of the founding members of Posterous, which was acquired by Twitter in 2012. After being “bummed” that it was shut down, they decided to start Posthaven and make it available forever to anyone who wants an easy to use blog platform. While the platform does charge a monthly fee, it offers a good set of features including:
<ul>
<li>Post by email</li>
<li>Post by web, with photos, music, video and documents</li>
<li>Private sites with passwords</li>
<li>Pages and links</li>
<li>Autopost to Facebook and Twitter</li>
<li>Image gallery upload and editing</li>
<li>Commenting with automatic antispam</li>
<li>Blog following with email notifications</li>
<li>Multiple contributors per blog</li>
</ul>
Currently, the fee to use Posthaven is only $5 / month and the founders promise to only adjust to cover server costs and nothing more. The goal is to maintain the service for as long as possible so users can avoid having their services shutdown constantly thanks to acquisitions and the like. One thing I do like is that if you decide to stop paying, the content will not be lost, it will stay online but you won't be able to edit or add to it until you restart your subscription.
Price: $5 month
There you have it.  Our list of Minimalist Blogging Platforms that let you focus on writing your content and getting it online in the easiest possible way with the least distracting interfaces.
Are you aware of one we missed? Please share it in the comments below and we'll expand this list accordingly. What are your experiences with these (or other) tools? Let us know in the comments below.

Blogging Platforms That Encourage You To Write

mike-johnston

When it comes to tracking down the best ad network, it can be tough to weed through the garbage. There are quite a few out there that pay very little and aren't worth your time. For that reason, I've put together this guide to the absolute Best Ad Networks for Bloggers.
CPM, for those who are unaware, stands for Cost per mille (latin / italian for thousand). Don't ask me why CPM became the term of choice as opposed to CPT (cost per thousand) but it is what it is. ?
This means that for every thousand visitors you get to your website, you earn a certain dollar amount. A good ad network will pay over $10 CPM. A poor one will pay under $1 CPM. So for instance, if you had 100k visitors to your website and were with a good network that paid $10 CPM, you would earn $1000. $10 multiplied by 100 (because each thousand earns you $10).
Here's a quick video explaining it for those having a hard time:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V4kMIUuSOqs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Make sense? Cool.
<h2>Why Should You Trust My Opinion on the Best Ad Networks?</h2>
Before I get into who the best ad networks are, let me explain why you should trust my advice on which one to choose.
My wife runs a popular food blog called <a href="https://www.thekitchenmagpie.com" target="_blank">The Kitchen Magpie</a> which receives in excess of 1.5 million monthly visitors. As such, we needed the best ad network to help monetize this quantity of page-views. We had to weed through quite a few in order to find the best of the best. We have tried most of the networks out there before ending up with AdThrive (which we were actually invited to).
Between my wife and I, we've both been blogging since 2009 and do so for a living. That means we're 100% full time employed by our websites, no other jobs. We make all of our revenue from advertising and working with customers on sponsored content, videos, etc. Therefore, we are very much driven to make sure we earn as much as we can from our websites. I hope that helps set the tone for this article a bit and gives you some confidence in my recommendations. Now lets get on with it shall we?
Note: If you are looking for the best ad network that allows you to become part of Google's AdXchange (meaning you earn more as Google advertisers will have an opportunity to bid on your inventory) then check out the first 3 choices in this list. AdThrive is the strongest and largest player on the block here but is solely focused on blogger websites. The same goes for Mediavine. Ezoic, however, has lower entry requirements (10k visitors per month minimum) and also allows you to join Google's network making it the easiest path of entry for most websites (they are also not blogger specific).
<h2>#1 – AdThrive</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/adthrive.png" alt="Best Ad Networks - Adthrive" />
AdThrive is, without a doubt, the absolute best ad network for CPM based advertising for bloggers. We've been working with them on The Kitchen Magpie for a while now and no network has even come remotely close to earning as much as we do with AdThrive. I know at one point they had a waiting list of bloggers wanting to join their network and I do know they are picky about who they choose, primarily because they want the best of the best in order to keep their advertisers happy. You can sign up on their website if interested and see if you are accepted.
According to Comscore, AdThrive is now ranked #20 out of all internet entities in the world. AdThrive publishers reach upwards of 92.5 million unique viewers monthly, which is more reach than massive companies like Snapchat and Pinterest! In addition, AdThrive publishers rank #1 in Food, #1 in Family and Parenting, #1 in Lifestyle, and #2 in Home. These are some impressive stats! (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/adthrive/photos/a.760734290738765.1073741828.307243179421214/1165759476902909/?type=3" target="_blank">source</a>)
<h3>Benefits:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Hands down, AdThrive has THE best staff. Ever. 
These guys are not only incredibly smart and helpful but they are also the most well versed staff in the advertising arena. I've thrown question after question at them and they don't just answer them, they go above and beyond to help improve your site earnings. I've even had them go so far as to help with site problems that had nothing to do with advertising. They are THAT good. No word of a lie. They offer courses to help boost your RPM and they work night and day to get better and better at what they do.</li>
<li>Huge earnings. 
We've tried all of the other ad networks and nobody has come close to paying as well as AdThrive. Our earnings are far and above what we were making elsewhere so if you are lucky enough to get on board, I wouldn't suggest leaving. Yes, we've tried Mediavine (#2 on our list) as well but they didn't come close to earning as much for us.</li>
<li>Google Certified Ad Partner. 
This one is big. There are only a couple of ad optimization companies in the entire world chosen for Google's prestigious Certified Partner Program. Being certified means that AdThrive's practices, policies and results are Google-approved. This means you won't be running ads that are going to cause you to be penalized or that aren't Google compliant.</li>
<li>Community Engagement. 
AdThrive offers a Facebook group where they offer tips and tricks and their publishers can get together to discuss strategies, troubleshoot problems and more.</li>
</ul>
Website: <a href="http://www.adthrive.com/" target="_blank">AdThrive</a>
<h2>#2 – Ezoic</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/images_ldzift.png" alt="Best Ad Networks - Ezoic" />
CMS Critic uses Ezoic. Read on to find out why.
We use Ezoic and there's a reason why we use them as opposed to AdThrive. Where AdThrive is strong is within the US market. When it comes to monetizing US traffic, nobody beats them in my opinion but when you run a tech blog like this one with a variety of topics that appeal broadly and not just do a specific demographic, AdThrive isn't the best choice.
Basically, if you have less than around 60% of your traffic coming from the US, you'll want to go with Ezoic. They've got an easy interface, excellent staff and they are also part of the Google Ad Network. Furthermore, they have a lower entry requirement and aren't as picky on geography).
Ezoic is a Google Certified Publishing Partner just like AdThrive, the main difference here is that they accept blogs with traffic that is around 10k visitors per month. As I mentioned, they also don't limit you based on US traffic so if you have a blog like this one, where we have a wide variety of traffic from many geographies and the US only accounts for around 30% or so of the traffic, then Ezoic is the choice for you.  What I like about Ezoic is that they have a solid interface that incorporate Adsense as well as a backup plan for the instances where they can't fill your ads.
They are definitely the best ad network for sites like ours and those of you with slightly less traffic.
Website: <a href="https://www.ezoic.com/" target="_blank">Ezoic</a>
<h2>#3 – Mediavine</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/mediavine.jpg" alt="Mediavine" />
Mediavine is also one of the best ad networks for bloggers because they offer solid earnings and support. If you aren't able to get on with AdThrive, I recommend checking out Mediavine, especially if you are in the food, travel, fashion, lifestyle or entertainment niches as they tend to do well. From my experience, Mediavine didn't offer as high an earning potential as AdThrive but your experiences may vary. They definitely have a large network of publishers and advertisers so you can't go wrong giving them a try and seeing if they are the right fit for your needs.
<h3>Benefits:</h3>
<ul>
<li>They are publishers too. 
The folks behind Mediavine are also publishers that own The Hollywood Gossip, TV Fanatic and Food Fanatic websites. They test their solutions on their own websites first before offering them to their network of publishers, meaning you get tried and tested solutions.</li>
<li>Solid earning potential &amp; sponsored opportunities. 
Mediavine publishers make good money. I am aware of a large number of big bloggers that are with Mediavine that earn a living from their advertising revenue so they certainly don't pay poorly. They are a great alternative to consider if you are in the market for a CPM ad network. They also offer sponsored opportunities that come their way. They also offer sponsored opportunities for influencers.</li>
<li>Community Engagement. 
Mediavine has an exclusive Facebook group where publishers and Mediavine employees work together to network, troubleshoot, discuss strategies and more.</li>
</ul>
Website: <a href="https://www.mediavine.com/" target="_blank">Mediavine</a>
<h2>#4 – Monumentum / Blogher (Geared towards Women)</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/momentum-logo.png" alt="Monumentum" /> 
Monumentum, otherwise known as the Blogher publishing network, is another very large and popular advertising network for bloggers. It is, however, primarily geared towards women so if you are a male blogger, you are most likely out of luck. We were with Blogher for a while with The Kitchen Magpie but left to be exclusive with AdThrive. During that time, it was a pretty solid network so definitely worth checking out.
<h3>Benefits:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Advertising and Sponsored Content opportunities 
Momentum by SheKnows Media is a very large network of primarily female bloggers that has been around for many years. Momentum also offers their bloggers sponsored content opportunities, however I'm not sure how often or how many they have.</li>
<li>Great exposure through the Blogher Conference 
They are the force behind the Blogher conference which is one of the largest blogging conferences in North America and a very popular destination for bloggers from around the world. There are some great keynote speakers and tons of opportunities to network with potential clients so it's a great opportunity to connect. If you are with the network of couse, even better.</li>
</ul>
Website: <a href="http://www.blogher.com/momentum" target="_blank">Momentum</a>
<h2>#5 – Adbuff</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/adbuff_blog_large.png" alt="Adbuff" />
Adbuff is a good option to consider if you are not a blogger or prefer not to go with one of the other networks above. They are slowly gaining momentum and becoming more and more popular (and recommended) due to their claim of high CPM rates and 100% fill rate so it's definitely one to try out and see how it performs.
<h3>Benefits:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Realtime reporting dashboard 
Adbuff has a realtime reporting dashboard with stats that are updated every second, so you can make informed decisions in real time. For those of you that are stuck on numbers, this is a big benefit over some of the other networks that offer next day stats.</li>
<li>100% fill rate (as advertised) 
A few things about fill rate. It's great that networks like Adbuff offer 100% fill rate but I just want to point out that it doesn't mean much if your CPM is super low. You can have 100% fill rate at 0.05 CPM and you are basically making 5 cents for every thousand visitors, which is next to nothing, so keep that in mind. If your CPM is reasonably good, however, then you want the highest fill rate possible. Adbuff offers both 100% fill rate and make the following claim “Our CPM rates for banner ads are among the highest of any CPM ad network today. We pay the highest CPM rates to publishers with traffic from US, Canada, UK and Australia.” – While I can't speak to how accurate this statement is, if they pay as well as they claim, you should be making good money in no time with them.</li>
</ul>
Website: Adbuff
<h2>#6 – Media.net</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/352a103d80664e0a922fe61c806b47d0600x0-is.png" alt="Media.net" />
Media.net is one of the largest advertising networks in the world but it's not exclusively geared towards bloggers. If you are looking for a solid network with good earnings but are not happy with AdThrive or Mediavine, this one is a good alternative. Media.net was recently purchased by a large conglomerate as well for a whopping $900 million making it the third largest ad tech deal ever. That's a hefty amount! Media.net is part of the Yahoo! Bing network and has a very large pool of advertisers in it's arsenal.
<h3>Benefits:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Huge network of popular publishers. 
Some of the world's largest publishers work with Media.net. Names like Elle, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Forbes, Reuters, Better Homes and Gardens, Esquire and a whole lot more. With brands like that using their network, you can bet they are with them for a reason. This also means, however, that you are fighting some tough competition for the top dollar, so be aware of that.</li>
<li>Large array of ad options. 
Media.net offers a huge array of ad placement options including in-content ads, mobile docked ads, contextual ads, desktop interstitial and more. This means you have a large number of possibilities for ad placement when it comes to your website.</li>
<li>Excellent reporting mechanisms. 
Media.net offers a solid reporting dashboard that lets you monitor your ad impressions on a near real-time basis. The reporting interface allows you to view earnings with drill-downs by sites, ad tags, and date range. This means you can monitor the revenue impact of your ad customizations and spot trends quickly.</li>
</ul>
Website:<a href="http://www.media.net/" target="_blank">Media.net</a>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
There are a ton of “best ad networks for bloggers” articles out there. The sad reality is, most of them are full of it. A large number of these articles are there to drive sponsored content for advertising networks. If you look around, you'll see that next to none of them mention the first three networks above yet the bulk of bloggers who are earning big money use them. Suspicious isn't it? I didn't write this article to make money referring people. I wrote this article to give you actual advice. 
I'm not a huge fan of many other networks. I've tried the ones listed by the other bloggers out there and honestly, most of them are pretty poor and don't offer much at all for bloggers. They are mostly generic ad networks that offer low paying CPM so they aren't ones I'd typically consider. However, that doesn't mean they won't work for you so if you can't find any within my list that will work for you, perhaps give them a try.
If you truly want to start earning top dollar for your blog, take my advice and try to get on with one of these networks. I welcome your comments below; whether you agree or disagree. Also, I'm happy to help answer any questions you have, simply leave me a comment and I'll keep an eye out for them. Best of luck and I hope you find the best ad network for your needs.

Best Ad Networks for Bloggers and Others

Penzu is a private, 100% customizable online journal that is used by millions of people across the world. In this Penzu Review we're going to take you through the various features and functionality of the product to provide you with an overall idea of the strengths and weakness of the offering.<h2>Penzu Pricing</h2>There are three tiers of pricing for Penzu – each offering a different set of features but for the majority of people, the free offering is going to be more than enough. Here's a breakdown of the current pricing from their website.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-pricing-table_kpyp6y.png" />Penzu Pricing TableIn the grand scheme of things, if you do decide you want the full selection of features, $50 / year is pretty darn cheap so it's definitely NOT out of reach for the average person which is nice.<h2>Penzu Features</h2>Each pricing tier offers a different selection of features and while I feel that for the average user, the free option is quite extensive in it's feature set.. the Pro and Pro+ both have quite an impressive set of features as well.Here's a screenshot of the feature breakdown in each tier:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-feature-chart_rrnfsn.png" />Penzu Feature Chart<h2>Getting Started with Penzu</h2>Getting started is easy, just click the Get Started button and fill in the information required and an account will be instantly created for you.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-getting-started_zaysi3.png" />Penzu – Getting StartedOnce you've filled in the info above, you'll be taken to a wizard that has been designed to help you begin your writing experience with Penzu.The first item the wizard prompts you for is your first entry, which suggests that you write about why you are starting a journal in the first place. You can skip this if you choose using the Skip this Step link underneath the entry box.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-getting-started-wizard_zwz4mr.png" />Penzu Getting Started WizardOnce you've filled in your first entry (or clicked Skip) you'll be taken to the next screen where you can customize the font (or other options if you've purchased Pro or Pro+).<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-customizing-your-entries_q6foix.png" />Penzu Customizing your EntriesNext up, you are asked if you want to change the Journal cover color and if you wish to password protect your journal.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/customizing-your-journal_tibpe7.png" />Customizing your JournalFinally, once you've finished all of your customizations (which are pretty basic in the free version) the wizard will complete and you'll be taken to the main screen of your journal.<h2>Your Penzu Journal</h2>This will be the main screen where you write all of your entries and manage your journal.There are limited options here but that's OK because Penzu was not designed to waste your time with themes, plugins and such that other tools like WordPress offer. It was designed first and foremost as a writing tool to help you gather and share your thoughts.<h2>Settings</h2>You can access basic settings (such as the few that you saw in the wizard) by clicking on the gear icon on the left.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-settings_kzu2yx.png" />Penzu Settings<h2>Using the Penzu Editor</h2>The editor is very nice and easy to use with a few interesting options. You can click on the paintbrush icon to open up a background selection tool which allows you to choose a background (if so desired).<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-background-selection_cwe8i5.png" />Penzu Background SelectionYou can also choose pad styles which will change how your journal entries themselves look. For example:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-pad-styles_z98c7l.png" />Penzu Pad Styles<h2>Journal Prompts</h2>You may notice within the editor there are a number of icons you can choose from. The light bulb icon within the editor inserts a <a target="_blank" href="https://penzu.com/journal-prompts">Journal Prompt</a> which is described in the help section as:<blockquote>a simple statement designed to inspire you or offer you an idea of what to write about.</blockquote>This is an example of what a prompt looks like:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-journal-prompts_bczpw6.png" />Penzu Journal PromptsYou can switch prompts by clicking on the refresh icon (two arrows in a circle) or, if you are a Pro user, you can click Select and browse the prompts to find some inspiration. For Pro users, there are over 1,000 hand picked prompts to choose from – which is a pretty impressive amount!<h2>Penzu Time Capsule</h2>The next icon you'll see is an hour glass and activates a feature called Time Capsule. This cool feature allows you to email an entry to your future self and is a pretty neat option to have if, for instance, you set goals for yourself in your journal and want to send yourself a note 3 months down the road to see if you achieved them (for example).<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-time-capsule_xvdwto.png" />Penzu Time CapsuleThere are lots of things this can be used for. You can use Penzu as a way to set reminders and notify yourself on a certain day to do something or perhaps you want to send yourself motivational content down the road. Either way, it's an interesting and handy feature.<h2>Other Editor Icons</h2>The remaining icons allow you to tag your content (pro users only), upload images, format text, view entry versions or activate Zen Mode (distraction free writing – for pro users only).<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-editor-icons_dwgqnq.png" />Penzu Editor Icons<h2>Support / Help Options</h2>There are plenty of support options available which can be located by clicking on your name in the top right of the screen. Their FAQs are quite extension as is their help section and given the simplicity of the tool, there shouldn't be much support needed to use it. It is, however, nice to know it's there.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/penzu-support-help-options_u7zpvh.png" />Penzu Support &amp; Help Options<h2>Conclusion</h2>Penzu is an impressive and interesting journaling platform. I found myself drawn to the simplicity of the tool and how it removes the user from the sometimes overwhelming feature overload found in some modern tools. I like the pricing of the tool and think it's more than reasonable for the features offered and the integrated features such as Time Shift, Journal Prompts and more really add to the uniqueness of the platform.I'm giving it a 5/5 on the basis that it not only serves it's purpose as an excellent journaling platform but also because it goes one step further with thoughtful features and options that you might not even realize you need.You can learn more about Penzu or sign up for an account here: <a target="_blank" href="https://penzu.com/">Penzu Website</a>If you found this review helpful, check out our other reviews such as this: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/ghost-pro-review/">Ghost Pro review.</a>

Penzu Review

For those of you who've recently updated to WordPress 5.1, you may be screaming in frustration due to an issue getting back to your dashboard once the upgrade is complete.
Numerous users are reporting issues with this particular screen below creating a loop and preventing them reaching their dashboard.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot-2019-02-22-at-81110-am.png" /></figure>
If you click continue on the screen above, it redirects to your homepage and a second attempt to enter your dashboard will reach the same screen.
<h2>The Fix</h2>
The only way to fix this is to log into your cpanel or hosting provider back-end and find the object-cache.php file located in the /wp-content/ folder and rename it to object-cache.php.bak.
Once you've done this, retry accessing your dashboard. You'll get the same screen telling you you are up to date. Click continue and you should now be able to access everything.
I have to say I'm rather shocked that this major issue slipped by the QA process but hopefully Automattic will get their butts in gear and resolve it quickly.
Let me know if this helps and if so, spread the word for others!

WordPress 5.1 "No Update Required" Bug - We've got the Fix!

As an advertiser or marketer, you have a lot on your plate. And it’s not just you; <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/10/the-drum-launches-webinar-tackle-overworked-marketers">53% of marketers</a> say they have “too much to do with too little time.”
You’re probably looking for ways to streamline your work and get marketing results faster. You don’t want to spend hours monitoring and analyzing metrics like time on page, bounce rates, etc. to determine the quality of traffic coming into your site.
And you don't have to anymore.
The <a href="https://www.finteza.com/en/integrations?utm_source=www.cmscritic.com&amp;utm_campaign=0773.en.finteza&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_term=finteza.wordpress.plugin&amp;utm_content=learn.more">Finteza WordPress plugin</a> provides a faster and better way to track traffic quality.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/finteza-1.png" /></figure>
It saves you hours you’d have wasted monitoring multiple metrics to determine traffic quality. It does this by analyzing visitors’ behaviour on your pages, showing you what percentage of them — from specific sources — are relevant and non-relevant.
Finteza displays traffic quality this way:
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/finteza-2.png" /></figure>
The colours in the traffic quality bar represent the following:
●      Green represents quality traffic.
●      Yellow indicates visitors coming from proxy servers, VPN, Tor Browser, etc.
●      Red symbolizes traffic you don’t want; it covers traffic from spammy IP addresses or hackers and visitors trying to falsify request parameters and cookies.
●      The grey colour represents traffic from social networks, instant messengers, and search engine bots.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/finteza-3.png" /></figure>
You can also dig deeper by tracking the quality of traffic from specific sources like Facebook Ads, Instagram Stories and so on.
For example, here’s how the tool shows the rate of quality vs inferior traffic from Facebook Ads for a certain site:
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/finteza-4.png" /></figure>
This way, you get the real gist of how much quality traffic is coming from every channel you’re spending your advertising and marketing budget on.
Even more, the plugin is free; you can download it <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/finteza-analytics/">here</a> or simply search for the Finteza plugin from your WordPress admin dashboard and install it.
To use the Finteza WordPress plugin, you’d need to get a website ID which you can easily register in the plugin’s settings page.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/finteza-5.png" /></figure>
Once you’re registered, you can begin tracking your site traffic quality right away.
<h2>In conclusion</h2>
You need a web analytics tool that gives you blatantly accurate reports. The more accurate reports you have, the better you’re able to allocate your marketing spend. And the better you’re able to allocate your marketing budget, the more revenue you’re able to make.
Get your <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/finteza-analytics/">Finteza WordPress plugin here</a>.

Track Your Referral Traffic Quality Via the Finteza WordPress Plugin

<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/cms-265127_1920_b1emzl.jpg" /><figcaption>Image source: <a href="https://pixabay.com/en/cms-wordpress-265127/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
Content marketing is one of the most discussed topics among marketers and for a good reason. People have noticed that blog content is more than just a bunch of words on the screen. <a href="/why-a-good-cms-is-the-backbone-of-content-marketing/">High-quality content</a> is a combination of talented writing and psychology and those who are able to produce such content have the key to success in any business.
Considering that blogs are used as a means of communication with readers in almost all industries, the question of how to write an engaging blog content is what troubles many. If you are an inspiring WordPress blog owner, the following tips will give you some direction and show you how to bring your content to perfection.
<h2>Apply Headings and Subheadings</h2>
There is no need to mention the importance of an eye-catching headline, you probably already have that figured out. What is not prioritized enough is the use of headings and subheadings.
By clearly organizing your thoughts with their use, the readers will find your content easier to grasp.
Christopher K. Mercer, digital marketer and founder of <a href="http://citatior.com/">Citatior</a> explains this in the following manner:
“People usually skim the text before they start reading. If you offer them a long continuous text without any sectioning or highlights, the content will seem too tiring and they will give up right away. To sum up, never underestimate the importance of headings and subheadings.”
You need to present a readable content and a clear structure if you want to keep the readers’ attention.
Believe it or not, but this is one of the key parts of a <a href="/formulating-content-marketing-strategy/">successful content marketing strategy</a>.
<h2>Use Short Paragraphs</h2>
There is a simple rule that all the best content writers know and that is that short paragraphs make for a readable text.
It will be easier to keep the readers engaged if you organize your thoughts into short sections. That means that you can use 3 sentences max within one paragraph.
Not to mention that having this constraint in mind will help you to be consistent throughout the text.
Syed Balkhi in his article on <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/306076">Entrepreneur</a> claims that “Most of your website visitors spend less than 15 seconds on your website, meaning people quickly skim through the content instead of reading word for word. If your content is hard to scan, meaning it contains long sentences and paragraphs, it's likely that your visitors won’t stick around.” He also adds, “Breaking down your content into short paragraphs makes it more digestible for your readers.”
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/blackberry-2690107_1280_m0adwg.jpg" />
Remember that you’re not writing a novel and mobile web browsing has overtaken desktop
Image source: <a href="https://pixabay.com/en/blackberry-priv-mobile-phone-qwerty-2690107/">Pixabay</a>
<h2>Aim for the Quality, not Quantity</h2>
Don’t focus on the length of the article that much, focus on what you are writing. 
James Daily, the Head of the content department at <a href="https://flashessay.com/">FlashEssay</a> explains, “Throwing a bunch of facts and information at your reader just to fill out the norm will only get them confused.”
Aside to that, your point will be easily lost.
You need to ensure that your title fulfills the promise, so use it as a guideline and keep it in the back of your mind during the whole writing process.
If you get stuck, don’t hesitate to use some online tools and here is the list of services that can work into your advantage:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://readable.io/">Readable</a> – This is one of the most useful tools to make your text clear and easy-to-read. It uses readability algorithms to assess content and make a copywriter’s job simple. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.essaysupply.com/">Essay Supply</a> – In case you’ll need a little writing assistance, this online website can provide you with customized and original content. Just send them the general idea of the section you have trouble with and the experts will take on from then.</li>
<li><a href="https://alconost.com/en/services/professional-online-translation?source=google&amp;medium=cpc&amp;campaign=Nitro_EN_new&amp;adgroupid=translation_service&amp;keyword=translation%20services&amp;matchtype=e&amp;adposition=1t3&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMInNSz5dz93QIVz7ztCh2wQgqaEAAYAyAAEgImoPD_BwE">Alconost</a> – If you found an amazing text with relevant facts you would like to cite but it is in a foreign language and you are not proficient enough to provide a valid translation, don’t give up on that. You can use this service and get any type of text translated professionally. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.marstranslation.com/promotion/professional-translation-agency?utm_medium=cpc&amp;network=google&amp;adgroup=50766652785&amp;utm_campaign=1045008447&amp;search_keyword=translation%20service&amp;matchtype=e&amp;adposition=1t1&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiMb0st793QIV4ZXtCh3hFwpZEAAYASAAEgK0TvD_BwE">Mars Translation</a> – Here is another great translation service that can be of great help. They work with native translators who guarantee to deliver quality translation.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Proofread</h2>
You can’t achieve high-quality content without <a href="https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/10/proofing-editing-content/">proofreading</a>. It is like a safety net for all the mistakes you possibly made.
“The content you post must be brought to perfection if you don’t want to jeopardize your professional credibility,” says Christine Jordan, a content editor at <a href="https://resumescentre.com/resume-writing-service">Resumescentre.com</a>.
Editing and proofreading will help you to spot all the errors that may have occurred during the writing.
Try not to proofread the content as soon as you finish it. Leaving some time in between will make you look at it more objectively and realize the problematic areas much faster.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
The issue of how to improve blog content and its performance is what <a href="/15-myths-about-content-marketing/">concerns most blog owners</a>. You won’t have to be one of them if you apply these tips.
Instead of just thinking about will this help you or not, simply apply all the methods and wait for the results. There is no better proof then experiencing it for yourself. So, make a cup of coffee, get seated, and start writing.
Author’s bio: Jessica Fender is a professional freelance writer and independent blogger. She is passionate about content marketing and leading other marketers to success in this new age of digital marketing. You can find her articles on Freelancer.com and Addicted2Success, and follow her on Twitter @fender_jess.

Content Writing Tips to Improve Your WordPress Blog

How Do You Get a Blog?

Ghost has always been an excellent blog platform but since the <a href="/ghost-3-0-brings-subscriptions-memberships-and-more/">release of Ghost 3.0</a>, the development team has been slamming out the features on a regular basis to make it even better.
This latest feature is the ability to send native email newsletters with Ghost using their new Members &amp; Subscriptions feature (which you can read more about <a href="https://ghost.org/members/">here</a>).
The way this works is simple; when you write a new post, you can now choose to deliver the post to subscribers via email as shown below.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/image.png" alt="Ghost 3.0 Native Newsletters" /></figure>
This isn't just a quick email notification, however, you can even set a custom subject line, preview the email before it goes out and send yourself a test one to make sure everything looks OK.
The dev team have included a stunning new email template that does a great job of making the content look beautiful. If you use the members function within Ghost to offer paid subscriptions, then content specifically marked as paid only will only go to that subset of users and the same goes for free content of course. 
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/image-1.png" alt="Ghost Email Template" /><figcaption>Here's a look at the email template.</figcaption></figure>
There is an unsubscribe link within each email and users can, of course, choose whether or not to subscribe from within their profile on your website.
There's more information about this feature over on the Ghost blog where they first shared the news so <a href="https://ghost.org/blog/native-email/">go check it out</a>.

You Can Now Send Email Newsletters Natively With Ghost

cms-critic-staff

Semrush - Be an SEO hero

Be an SEO hero with Semrush

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If you are looking to start a food blog and have no clue how to go about making that happen, this article may be for you. Today, I'm going to share with you the process I used to kick start my wife's successful food blog, The Kitchen Magpie. So, want to learn how to start a food blog? Let's begin.
It doesn't matter if you are looking to share recipes, restaurant reviews, or generally just want to spread your passion (and pictures) of the wonderful food you've eaten or enjoy.. you can do so with a food blog. You can even, with the right amount of effort and patience, make a living doing it if you so choose. I know because my wife does and we made that happen by applying the process below.
To start your food blog, you need to decide which method suits you best. You can either:
 Hire a Designer and Developer. There's nothing wrong with going this route, just be prepared to spend a few thousand dollars for a quality design and to hire the developer to take that design and convert it into a well-coded food blog. A great place to find inexpensive designers and developers is <a href="https://www.fiverr.com/" target="_blank">Fiverr</a>.
 Build it yourself.  My personal preference. I am a coder at heart so I prefer to learn by doing. When we first kicked off Karlynn's blog, I built it on WordPress using the method below and got it up and running. Once it became successful and she started getting crazy amounts of traffic and earning money from it, we then hired a designer and a WordPress development team to create a unique look for her site. Feel free to go check it out:  <a href="https://www.thekitchenmagpie.com/" target="_blank"> The Kitchen Magpie </a> .
<h2>How to Start a Food Blog: The Steps Involved</h2>
These are the steps I'm going to cover in detail, for those of you who can't wait to find out the process. I'll cover them in more detail as you read on.
<ol>
<li> Come up with a name for your food blog and register it as a domain name. 
Before you can start a food blog, you need to consider what your blog will be about. Will you be sharing recipes, posting pictures of food you've eaten, writing restaurant reviews? Once you know the general concept, you can start thinking of what name you want to use for your food blog. Then you'll need to register this name as a domain.</li>
<li> Find a website hosting company that offers a well-priced, affordable hosting package with excellent support. 
I've written before about who I think are the best web hosts out there but I'll outline which ones are the best ones to use to get started with and then, once you have some decent numbers under your belt (visitors to your website that is), which option you should switch to.</li>
<li> Install WordPress 
Yes, there are other options but realistically, WordPress is the best choice if you are looking for a food blog. There's no better option when it comes to building up solid SEO and getting ranking well in the search engines; both of which are critical to being successful.</li>
<li> Configure WordPress 
I'll touch on a few minor settings changes you should make once you have it up and running.</li>
<li> Find and Install a WordPress Theme 
While there are some decent free themes for WordPress out there, I'd recommend choosing a well-known WordPress theme developer and purchasing a premium theme. This way, you get support as well as regular updates.</li>
<li> Install and Configure WordPress Plugins 
There are a few plugins that are absolute must haves when it comes to WordPress, I'll explain which ones you should be using as well as point you to a few food blog specific plugins you should be installing.</li>
<li> Other Services and Tools 
Once you have WordPress running and configured, there are a few other tools you may wish to consider setting up and signing up for.  I'll break them down for you and offer both free options and premium ones. You can then choose which suit your needs the most.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Step 1 – Decide on a Name an Register the Domain </h2>
This is perhaps the toughest part, coming up with a name. You want to make sure that the name you come up with fits what the food blog is about, so think carefully about what you plan to write about before you decide on a name.
You want something that is:
<ul>
<li>Easy to remember.</li>
<li>Catchy and fun.</li>
<li>Won't be confused with another business or brand.</li>
<li>Isn't too long.</li>
<li>Describes your food blog.</li>
</ul>
If you've ever had a nick name or somebody has said something to you that sounded like a good idea, this might be a good place to start. Perhaps you are writing about desserts? Then maybe you should try to incorporate that into the name. Good food blogs have names that describe the personality of the author and the topic of the blog (or a blend of both). The Kitchen Magpie monicker that my wife goes by was a combination of her love to be in the kitchen and her desire to collect pretty, shiny things. We combined two things into the name and now it's a catchy name people remember.
Coming up with a name can be tough but once you've done so, you'll need to register it as a domain name. Contrary to what people say, and the opinions vary heavily on this, a .COM is the best domain name you can get and it's always the best option.
Once you have a list of potential ideas, you'll need to see if any of them are available for you to use.
Most of the time, a domain name will cost you between $10 to $15 per year but when you purchase a hosting package together with it, it's usually cheaper or free. I recommend somewhere inexpensive like <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/" target="_blank">GoDaddy</a> for cheap hosting to get you started.
To do so, enter the potential domain name (complete with the .COM part) into the box below and check its availability. If it's available, it will let you register it immediately. If not, it'll tell you it's taken. Nice and simple.
If you prefer to register your domain separately, you can do so at <a href="https://www.namecheap.com/" target="_blank">Namecheap</a>. They are one of the least expensive registrars and they offer easy to use domain management tools. Believe me, domains registered through other services tend to be difficult to configure and set up.
<h2>Step 2 – Find a web host for your food blog</h2>
If you've already registered your domain above, then this step is already complete and you've got this hosting package already. If you haven't, it's very important to make sure you select an affordable hosting package from a reputable hosting provider that offers excellent support. We've had plenty of experience with the good ones and the bad ones and when it comes to reliability and cost, I think GoDaddy likely is the better option.
GoDaddy is one of the largest and most popular web hosts out there. They offer a very reasonably priced hosting package and have a great support team that can help you resolve any issues you might have down the road. GoDaddy has a slick managed WordPress offering (which basically means the site is built quickly for you without having to install WordPress yourself.
I've had poor experiences with Hostgator and others in the past, so I'd personally recommend avoiding them at all costs.
<h2>Step 3 – Install WordPress</h2>
This is one of the reasons I recommended hosting through GoDaddy, to begin with. For those new to food blogs or blogging in general, installing an application (even one as simple as WordPress) can be a bit daunting. GoDaddy does this automatically if you buy their managed WordPress offering which is priced between $2 and $15 per month (which is crazy cheap).
If you are not on GoDaddy, installing WordPress is still pretty simple. Here's the official installation guide: <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress"> Installing WordPress. </a>
<h2>Step 4 – Configure WordPress</h2>
WordPress comes pre-configured to be pretty much ready to go minus a few simple things. The only real setting change you need to make is to change the permalinks. These determine how your posts will look on the web.
Follow these steps to change them from the default setting:
<ul>
<li>Log into the WordPress Dashboard.</li>
<li>Go to Settings -&gt; Permalinks and select Post name.</li>
<li>Click save</li>
</ul>
Once this is done, you are good to go.
<h2>Step 5 – Find and Install a WordPress Theme</h2>
The ideal WordPress theme should be:
<ul>
<li> Responsive 
 Responsive themes are simply designed to work on every type of screen from your laptop or desktop all the way down to your smartphone. A proper responsive theme will make it easy for the reader to still read the content (without squinting) and access menus, etc no matter what device they are using. This is very important nowadays. You’d be surprised how many people will read your website on their phone or tablet!</li>
<li> Well Supported 
Finding a WordPress theme is easy. Finding a WordPress theme with great support can be a challenge. There are all kinds of free ones out there but you will be out of luck if you need help unless you are willing to pay for it. I personally recommend going with one of the options I’m going to list below. This way, you’ll get an amazing theme that also offers great support and fits all of these requirements.</li>
<li> Beautifully Designed 
 It goes without saying that you want a theme for your food blog that not only matches the look and feel you want to achieve but that is also good looking, easy on the eyes and designed by a professional that knows their stuff.</li>
<li> Search Engine Optimized 
 It’s a bit of a daunting term but in a nutshell it means that the theme you are using has been coded so that search engines understand it and will rank your site well. You don’t want a theme with sloppy code because it will prevent you from achieving a good ranking on Google in comparison to one that is well coded. A cleanly designed theme can do wonders for your visibility on the web.</li>
<li> Easy to use 
 You are going to be the one using your theme the most so you might as well make sure its going to be easy for you to use and offers the features you want. Unless you understand code, you won’t want to have to mess around with it in order to achieve simple tasks. Choose a theme that comes with easy to configure options (changing colors, adding a logo, etc) in order to save yourself some headaches early on.</li>
<li> Updated regularly 
 With WordPress, there are regular security updates released. As a result, you’ll want to make sure the theme you choose is updated regularly (easiest way to do this is to go with a reputable theme firm like the ones I’ll outline below) in order to make sure it remains compatible with future updates of WordPress.</li>
</ul>
With Karlynn's website we use the amazing Genesis Framework and built a custom design on top of it. When we first started out, however, we used one of their many <a href="https://www.studiopress.com/">beautiful themes</a> as a starting point. The thing with themes based on Genesis is that they are fast, well coded and Google loves them. All of these things are critical to a well performing food blog.
Any of their themes would be a great choice but if you want a really solid head start, try out one of these ones:
<h3>Foodie Pro</h3>
<a href="https://www.studiopress.com/themes/foodie/" target="_blank">Foodie Pro</a> is pretty much THE go-to for someone starting a food blog. It's very well designed and developed and contains everything you need to perform well on Google (while also being nice to look at). It showcases photography nicely which is also the key to a successful food blog.
<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/foodie-pro_vnsjiq.jpg" alt="start a food blog with foodie pro" /><figcaption>start a food blog with foodie pro</figcaption></figure>
 
If these don't work, you can always look through their other themes to see if one of their others fit your needs.
I'm also a big fan of <a href="https://envato.com/">Envato</a>. It's one of the largest marketplaces for themes and plugins for WordPress so if you can't find something here, you aren't looking hard enough ;).
<h2>Step 6 – Recommended plugins for your Food Blog</h2>
There are four plugins that I recommend installing right away on your blog in order to maximize the value of your blog for your future readers. They are:
<ul>
<li> AddThis. AddThis gives you buttons on your posts so people can share them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social networks. It’s critical to have this capability and definitely a top notch plugin that you should install on any blog you have.</li>
<li> Akismet. This is an important plugin to install. It helps prevent spam comments from appearing on your blog by blocking them entirely.</li>
<li> WP Recipe Maker. WP Recipe Maker makes recipe entry a breeze. It’s quick. It’s easy. The recipes look great. Your recipes will have ratings and print features and most importantly you have a much better chance for your recipes showing up in Google’s Recipe View search results. It's also pretty much mandatory if you want to start a food blog. Without it, don't expect your site to do well.</li>
<li> Yoast SEO. This is probably the most important plugin you can install. It automatically does all of the things you need in order to make your website show up in Google and other search engines in the best possible way. Take your time and go through the wizard to learn how to set it up and you’ll be well-positioned to succeed!</li>
</ul>
To install a plugin:
<ul>
<li>Log into your WordPress dashboard</li>
<li>Go to Plugins -&gt; Add new</li>
<li>Type the name of the plugin in the search box and hit enter</li>
<li>Find the plugin and click Install now</li>
<li>Once the plugin is installed, click Activate</li>
</ul>
( <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins"> Read this how to article on installing plugins</a> if you need help. Each of these plugins has a configuration setting that it will add to your dashboard. Some will show up under Settings and some may create new menu entries. Be sure to visit their settings and configure them to your needs. If you need help, use Google to find recommended settings or leave your questions in the comments here and I'll do my best to assist.
<h2>Step 7 – Other Services and Tools</h2>
To use most of the free services that Google has available, you’ll need a Google account and potentially, a Gmail account for your food blog. If you don’t have one, set one up here first: <a href="https://accounts.google.com/SignUp?service=mail&amp;continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F&amp;ltmpl=default&amp;hl=en"> Set up a Gmail account. </a>
 Once you have done this, head to these places to log in and set up these free tools: 
<ul>
<li> Google Webmaster Tools: This free service will make sure your food blog isn’t down and alert you of any issues Google finds with it. This is critical for any blog or website. You can install the code it provides you within the settings for the WordPress SEO plugin I recommended above.</li>
<li> Google Analytics: Google Analytics will provide you with statistics on who is visiting your blog, how many visitors you are getting and where they are coming from. It’s a free service and most websites use it for this reason so be sure to set it up.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Get Blogging!</h2>
Once you've followed all of these steps, you'll be ready to start blogging so get going and please let me know if you found this article helpful. If you did, please share it so others can find it too and leave a comment with any questions you may have. If you've used this article to help create a blog, let me know, I'd love to hear about it.

How to Start a Food Blog

Postach.io is a blogging platform with a difference. The whole premise of Postach.io is to negate the need for users to use a separate blogging tool, and it works with the note management system – <a href="https://evernote.com/">Evernote</a> – to achieve this. Postach.io turns Evernote into a content management system, which allows users to sync notes directly to their Postach.io blog. My inside scoop on Postachio.io will show you how it works and to help you decide whether it could work for you. Read on for the full review.
<h2>Signing Up</h2>
To sign up to Postach.io, you’ll need to select your Postach.io domain name, and insert your full name, email address, and password. If you don’t have Evernote, you will also need to set up an Evernote account. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/postachio-review-1_crfcpl.png" alt="postachio-review" /> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/postachio-review-2_cr1wlc.png" alt="postachio-review" />
Once you have your Evernote account set up, you’ll be asked to log in and write a test post which you’ll tag with ‘published’. This post will then automatically sync with Postach.io.
<h2>Usability</h2>
Once you’ve signed up, you can access your blog in two ways. You can log in via Evernote to write blog posts or log in to Postach.io to manage the blog. This sounds a little awkward, but it’s actually fine because you’ll likely be using Evernote most of the time anyway. 
There are two main menus on Postach.io which are easily found. The first one is displayed when you log in, on the right hand side of the page. This menu offers navigation to the Sites, Account, and Help sections.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/postachio-review-3_xyytlo.png" alt="postachio-review-3" />
The Sites section allows you to manage your websites, the Help section offers some useful FAQs and the Accounts section allows you to control your billing. Evernote is a freemium service so you can only manage 1 account on the free option. If you need to add more than this, you’ll have to upgrade to a premium account. The pricing is quite reasonable and starts at $5 a month for 5 websites – with a 2 months free option if you sign up for a year. This package gets you your own domain, password protection, premium themes, source code access, and priority support. However, if you’re a premium Evernote user then you should be taking that cost into account too.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/postachio-review-4_sbknuu.png" alt="postachio-review-4" /> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/postachio-review-5_q0w5ts.png" alt="postachio-review-5" />
The second menu on Postach.io will take you to a menu for managing Details, Themes, Add-ons, and Source Code. To view this menu simply click on the edit button on the Sites section and you’ll automatically be directed to the Details page, where you can select a customer domain, change your Evernote notebook title or author, add social links, and other extras such as adding a cover photo and bio.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/postachio-review-6_rgsniu.png" alt="postachio-review-6" />
<h2>Add-ons</h2>
There are now 5 add-ons available which is a big improvement from the 2 available when they first launched. These include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Disqus, and Google Analytics. For some reason, Postach.io developers decided that you have to actively add Disqus to allow comments on your blog. It seems odd to me that this isn’t the default setting, but it’s simple to add it in this tab. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/postachio-review-7_k8udov.png" alt="postachio-review-7" />
<h2>Themes</h2>
The themes available are all professional looking and quite sleek, but if you’re particular about your website design then you might not be too happy because there are only 15 to choose from, however you can customize these if you upgrade to a premium account. 
What you may not have known – if it weren’t for this blog post – is that you can also upload your own theme via <a href="https://github.com/postachio">GitHub</a>. So, that solves that issue. Or, if you’re of the tech savvy variety, then the Source Code section will allow you to customize your site to look exactly how you want it.
<h2>So, what’s the scoop?</h2>
If you’re already a regular Evernote user, then I highly recommend trying out Postach.io. It’s a great extension of Evernote and it’ll really streamline your content management process. However, I think it might feel like unnecessary hassle for anyone who isn’t already using Evernote on a daily basis. There are tons of blogging platforms out there, and it’s important to choose one that fits in well with your current content management process. 
To sum it up, this is a great platform for Evernote users and anyone thinking about adding Evernote to their workflow. If you love Evernote, you’ll love Postach.io.
Are you thinking about trying Postach.io, or have you already signed up? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Postachio Review

Like many writers on Google+, I want to increase my AuthorRank so my work will gain credibility and reach a wider audience. I've been looking into how to get Google Authorship working with WordPress, not the version you install on your own domain, but a blog hosted on WordPress.com. I was surprised to find little information on the subject that was reliable and therefore felt compelled to share what I've learned. I'm a technical person and I have to admit that I've tried researching what to do, wading through conflicting or old information online and trying the various tips only to give up twice. Some of this has come about by Google changing the way in which you link your work to your Google+ account, so some things that used to work now no longer do. On my third attempt however I managed to <a href="https://www.radicalmarketingsolutions.com/how-to-claim-google-authorship/" target="_blank">pursue this issue further</a> and by piecing together information from various different sites I found the answer by trial and error. I know how off putting this process has been for me, and I am a web developer by trade, so I can only imagine the confusion of millions of writers who prefer to host their blogs on WordPress.com and also want Google Authorship.
<h2>Why Use WordPress.com?</h2>
<a href="https://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEyLzEyLzA0L2I4L3RoZWJlZ2lubmVyLmFCai5qcGcKcAl0aHVtYgk5NTB4NTM0IwplCWpwZw/0f408018/c56/the-beginner-s-guide-to-wordpress-multisite-18fcb53fac.jpg"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wp-760x427-620x348.jpg" alt="WordPress" /></a> click to enlarge image
I started out with WordPress because I wanted to write rather than spend my spare time developing a website in order to do so. I do have a hosting provider that gives me access to ‘One Click Installs', one of which is WordPress. I installed it on a couple of domains and found, because of all the updates required to keep the websites secure, I easily put those projects on the shelf until I had time to do so. In the end they got so horribly out of date our web host disabled them for security reasons. By this point I had already decided to go with WordPress.com blogs instead, and I stayed because I also liked how quickly Google ranked the posts I wrote. I now have 15 blogs hosted by WordPress.com and although some of them are likely to be replaced over time with <a href="https://drupal.org" target="_blank">Drupal</a>, until such a time I want the writing I've done so far to be picked up by Google Authorship.
<h2>Why is so hard to set-up Google Authorship on WordPress.com blogs?</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/google-plus-in-wordpress.jpg" alt="Google Plus with WordPress" /> click to enlarge image
The main issue is  the fact that you do not own the domain your WordPress.com blog is on so you can neither alter the blog code itself nor use an email address on that domain. Email verification is the easiest way now to set-up Google Authorship, particularly on multi-author websites. In fact it is the default option when you go to <a href="https://plus.google.com/authorship" target="_blank">Google's main page on Authorship</a>. Some of the newer WordPress themes provide a text field to allow you to add a link on the post that can be used to link to your Google+ profile, but you can't rely on that always being there in every theme. If you are like me and prefer the style of an older theme then you will likely find it is not an option. Also WordPress, for security reasons, strips the required bit of code “rel=author” (see Set-Up Instructions below) from the end of your links in your author bio, thus making it even harder to link to your Google+ account. This can be overcome if you have your blog hosted on your own domain by <a href="https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/allow-rel-and-html-in-author-bios/" target="_blank">installing a plugin</a> to disable this behaviour, but you can't install it on WordPress.com. All these in combination could cause many WordPress.com bloggers to fall behind in their AuthorRank and I for one don't want to see that happen.
<h2>Why Use Google Authorship Anyway?</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/google-authorship-620x249.jpg" alt="Google Authorship" /> click to enlarge image
Google wants to find great content that is relevant to their users. The more Google knows about you, the more it can do for you. Google is very good at generating traffic to your blogs, much more than Twitter or Facebook can often do. Getting to the top of a Google search result page is not just about hitting the right combination of keywords (or paying for ads) any more, it is about <a href="https://www.copyblogger.com/google-plus-authority/" target="_blank">authority within your Google network</a>. You may have seen AuthorRank in action when you do a search and people with their profile pictures accompany the search results in the top slots. Just the image alone catches your attention amid a sea of text links. People are much more likely to click on a search result if they recognise the author from their Google+ stream (as along as you have a good standing relationship). If someone had enough interest to circle you then chances are they will be willing to look at your content both inside and out of Google+. Remember this is only the beginning, who knows how advantageous it will be in the future to have Google Authorship behind you. The sooner you sign up to Authorship the longer Google has to promote your work above others who haven't made the switch yet.
<h2>Set-up Instructions</h2>
Before you go further you will need a Google+ profile with a picture and tag line set. You should ideally have built an audience by adding circles and people who match your temperament and topic areas, but this can just as easily be done afterwards. I will demonstrate how to set-up Google Authorship with a WordPress.com blog I haven't converted yet. Just to prove this you can see in the screen shot below that it says under ‘Authorship Testing Result' that ‘Page does not contain authorship markup'. You will also note that my Google+ profile is also missing from the preview.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2013-02-26-hs-before-620x340.png" alt="Hermit Studio Before Google Authorship" /> click to enlarge image
You will need to find the URL address to your WordPress.com author bio. This is typically in the following format:
https://mysite.wordpress.com/author/username
You will need to replace the text in red above; ‘mysite' with the sub-domain of your blog and ‘username' with the username you log in to WordPress with. So in this example my WordPress author bio link would be:
<a href="https://hermitstudio.wordpress.com/author/niamhbrown" target="_blank">https://hermitstudio.wordpress.com/author/niamhbrown</a>.
Then you need to go to your about page on your Google+ profile. Click the blue ‘Edit Profile' button at the top  of the screen. This will put you into editing mode. Scroll down until you reach the section called ‘Contributor to' and hover your mouse over it until you see the block highlighted and then click to edit it. Towards the bottom of this block you will see the option to ‘Add Custom Link' you will need to click on this. Copy the WordPress bio link we created above and put that in the text field called ‘URL'. You can then give the link a label, which you can call whatever you like. In the end it should look something like this:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2013-02-26-hs-add-author-bio-link1-620x429.png" alt="Hermit Studio Add Author Bio Link on Google+" /> click to enlarge image
Make sure the contributor to section is shared to the public and then save it. Click on the blue button at the top of your profile called ‘Finished Editing' and you are done for this step. It is worth noting however that there has been some confusion online over what this link should be. I found it wasn't always clear in the articles I read that you needed a link to your WordPress author bio and NOT to the main blog address. This is how Google knows you are an author on this sub-domain.
Next we need to get your Google profile ID. This is the long number in the URL to your Google+ profile, as shown below.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2013-02-26-google-profile-id-620x34.png" alt="Google+ Profile ID" /> click to enlarge image
So my profile ID is the number 101942254766672606204, but yours will be different. (Don't use my ID otherwise I will get credit for your work!) Save your number somewhere and we will come back to it. Now we go to your WordPress blog. Go to your blog dashboard and click on Appearance &gt; Widgets. Drag a text widget onto one of your slots available on your theme, such as a ‘sidebar' or ‘footer' etc. In that text box add the following code using the profile ID number we got from Google+ as mentioned above.
&lt;a href=”https://plus.google.com/profileid/about?rel=author”&gt;+AuthorName&lt;/a&gt;
The ‘+AuthorName' should match exactly the name you use on Google Plus. So for example in my case I would use:
&lt;a href=”https://plus.google.com/101942254766672606204/about?rel=author”&gt;+Niamh Brown&lt;/a&gt;
 Once you have saved the widget you are done and it should look something like this:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2013-02-27-wordpress-authorship-widget-620x192.png" alt="WordPress Authorship Widget" /> click to enlarge image
<h2>Further Information</h2>
When you set up Google Authorship it will take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for your details to show up in search results. Be aware that just because you set-up Google Authorship does not guarantee your image will show up in search results.  So in order to be sure you have set-up your website correctly there is a handy <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets" target="_blank">Structured Data Testing Tool</a> you can use. Here is what it should look like when you have set-up your blog correctly.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2013-02-27-authorship-test-620x282.png" alt="Google Authorship Test" /> click to enlarge image
And that's about it. I recently found a great community on Google+ called <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/104474428845467390263/stream/f6a897a4-219f-46a8-ac7c-fa6b1189a343" target="_blank">Google Authorship &amp; Author Rank</a>, which I would suggest you join if you have any questions or have other information to share.
Do you have any more interesting tips about Google Authorship on a WordPress.com blog?

How To Set up Google Authorship on a WordPress.com Blog

niam-brown

Write.as is a no-frills ad-free publishing platform that lets you write down your thoughts, even if you don’t have an audience in mind. You can keep your posts private or share them anonymously, but you can also create a public blog. That being said, Write.as isn’t suitable for more complex blogging, content marketing, or building a website. Read on for our full review on Write.as below.<h2>Getting Started</h2>Getting started with Write.as is easy. You don’t even need to register for a member account. Simply click on the “Start Writing” button on the homepage to create a blog post without an actual blog.When you publish your post, it will open up in a web browser with a unique and anonymous URL. You can keep this URL to yourself or share it with others. Write.as automatically saves everything that you write, regardless of whether you have an account with them or not.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/write-1691172472611.png" />When you’re ready to start a blog, select “Get Started” to begin your free trial or buy the Pro plan. Either way, you don’t have to give your email address (but you can if you want to). Once you sign up, you can sync your anonymous posts to your account.<h2>Design</h2>Write.as has a clean design and interface, with zero unnecessary features. The text editor lets you write in plain text only, and you can choose from just three different fonts (serif, sans-serif, monospace). There’s also a word count function and a light/dark toggle.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/write-1691172472698.png" />To format your text, you need to use <a target="_blank" href="https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/">Markdown</a>, a plain text formatting syntax that lets you add headers, bold text, links, images, and so on. There’s no way to preview the post, which is annoying.Write.as is committed to simplicity, but it still lets you customize your blog. With Write.as, you can:<ul><li>Change the title of your blog.</li><li>Add a blog description.</li><li>Pick a preferred URL (write.as/username/, username.writeas.com, or your own domain if you’re on the Pro plan).</li><li>Add static pages like an “About Me” or “Contact”.</li><li>Group your posts with hashtags.</li><li>Select your desired publicity level (unlisted, private, password-protected, or public).</li><li>Customize how plain text renders on your blog (Markdown or MathJax).</li><li>Enable custom CSS and Javascript.</li></ul>Change the format of your site from a blog to novel (oldest posts, with no dates, are shown first) or notebook (latest posts, with no dates, are shown first).<h2>Usability and Support</h2>Write.as is minimalist in design and is therefore super easy to navigate. When you log into your account, Write.as brings you to a blank page so that you can start writing immediately.In terms of support, Write.as has detailed writing guides that cover everything from sharing your posts to formatting quotes to adding images to your blog. There’s also a Write.as <a target="_blank" href="https://discuss.write.as/">community forum</a>.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/write-1691172472758.png" />You can also ask for help on social media (Write.as is on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn) or via email (Write.as support hours are Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern US time). Customer support representatives typically respond very promptly — I received a reply to my query within four hours on a Monday morning.<h2>Key Features</h2>Write.as focuses heavily on privacy and security, which is why all blogs are unlisted by default. However, you can make your blog public and cross-post your posts to other social media sites (like Twitter or Tumblr) or read.write.as, a separate “read stream”.You can also see the number of people that visit your blog and where they come from, as well as determine your most popular posts, via the statistics function.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/write-1691172472813.png" />With Write.as, you can write a post via email and then send it to your blog. In this case, the subject line becomes the title of the post, and the body of the email becomes the post. This feature, which is only available to paying members, is useful if you want to post to your blog from your phone (Write.as has an app for Android and iOS, but they don’t support blogging).Speaking of email, Pro users get access to Write.as Letters, a beta feature that lets readers subscribe to your blog updates. New posts are sent out in the form of a beautiful email 15 minutes after publishing or when scheduled.Pro members can also host their photos via Snap.as, a Chrome and Firefox browser extension. The extension pops up a window to drag a photo to, irrespective of where on the web you are.When the photo is uploaded, the Markdown for it is copied to your clipboard. You can then paste it wherever you want the photo to appear.Additionally, <a target="_blank" href="https://snap.as/">Snap.as</a> lets you create shareable photo galleries and photo essays. Here is an example from Write.as founder’s, Matt Baer’s Snap.as account:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/write.png" />Write.as also offers <a target="_blank" href="https://submit.as/">Submit.as</a>, a paid add-on that enables you to collect submissions, review them, and then publish them straight onto an online publication.<h2>Pricing</h2>Write.as has three pricing tiers:<ul><li>Free</li><li>Pro</li><li>Teams.</li></ul>The free plan brings with it basic publishing features, total anonymity, and unlimited monthly views. It supports Markdown and MathJax and lets you publish three Write.as posts per month to social media channels like Twitter and Tumblr. However, you only get one free blog (you can purchase as many additional blogs as you want for just $12 a year).Write.as Pro ($5 per month when billed annually or $6 month-to-month) comes with a built-in audience, full customization features, and Snap.as image hosting. It also gets you three free blogs and early access to new features.Teams ($9 per user per month) supports unlimited writers and group publishing. It also comes with priority support. However, it doesn’t let you add extra blogs, cross-post to social media sites, or publish to read.write.as. If you have multiple teams, Write.as can create a custom enterprise plan for you.Payment options include credit card, PayPal, and cryptocurrencies. There’s a 14-day refund policy.<h2>Final Verdict</h2>Write.as is a distraction-free publishing platform that is less about the social media aspect of writing (the likes and follows that we all inadvertently seek) and more about getting your thoughts down fast. The platform’s simplicity is refreshing, but not ideal for complex blogging, especially if you don’t know any code. On the other hand, because <a target="_blank" href="https://write.as/">Write.as</a> is open source, technically-minded individuals can change it to suit their needs.

Write.as Review - No Frills, Ad-Free Publishing

laura-martisiute

If blogging is your profession, you need to build yourself a personal blog. A blog which you update on topics which are important to you, or perhaps on topics which you wish to write about for clients. However, not only does your blog need to look good, but it also needs to work well for you when you’re typing up content and it needs to work well for your visitors when they eventually read through it.
This then begs the following question, “Which content management system (CMS) is best for blogging?”
Here are my top picks.
<h2><a href="https://wordpress.org/" target="_blank">WordPress (Self Hosted)</a></h2>
Most bloggers do so from a WordPress-powered website.. There’s a good reason for that.
WordPress is quick to set up (especially when using <a href="http://bit.ly/cc-godaddy" target="_blank">GoDaddy</a>), allows you to manage content and digital assets easily, and has a pretty simple admin panel to boot. The learning curve is there, but it’s relatively minimal.
However, the main benefits of WordPress lie in its flexibility. Because it is the most popular CMS in the world, you will find thousands upon thousands of templates and plugins to make your blog look and feel unique. Many WordPress plugins can also be used to extend WordPress' functionality, allowing you to create online stores, communities, and so forth. There's almost nothing it can't do.
Does this mean it's the best blogging platform? Not at all. Some blogs end up overloaded with plugins, bloat and unnecessary addons that are unnecessary and one thing WordPress has started doing is trying too hard to be a full scale CMS. As such, it's virtually impossible to use it without any plugins (none of which are vetted by WordPress themselves) therefore, for those wanting a simple blogging platform that works well and doesn't require tons of plugins to get things done, it's not the best choice. (<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wordpress-joomla-and-drupal-are-not-the-best-cms/">learn more about these issues here</a>)
<h2><a href="https://ghost.org/" target="_blank">Ghost</a></h2>
Launched in in late 2013, Ghost is designed with one purpose in mind; to be the best blogging platform out there and it does this well. So well in fact, that I've switch this very website over to it entirely this year so now CMS Critic is entirely powered by Ghost.
Dedicated to being a platform for bloggers specifically, Ghost has been built around the needs of a wordsmith. The admin panel is nothing less than beautiful. Ghost maintains a deep focus on content creation above anything else. It really is built for blogging.
There are already a fair number of sleek (and free) <a href="http://bit.ly/ghost-templates">Ghost templates</a> on offer and new platform features are released regularly. With time, I can see Ghost becoming a serious player in the blogging world – if it isn't so already. You can opt to either self host Ghost, or make use of their cloud-hosted solution, Ghost Pro.
<h2><a href="http://www.medium.com/">Medium</a></h2>
Medium is a very interesting and unique alternative. What's nice about it is that it is designed to help you find an audience and to help you write better content. With a very simple and easy to use interface, Medium is a pleasure to use and gets rid of distractions such as sidebars, widgets and plugins while focusing on allowing you to share your stories and quips with the world.
Rather than overwhelm you with formatting, Medium offers you just enough to do what you need to do and nothing more. This makes the writing process painless and so distraction free that you'll likely want to write more just so you can use the editor. It truly is a beautiful setup. Furthermore, you don't need to worry about whether your website on Medium is responsive. Everything scales to all devices so you will never need to worry about how it's going to look on your phone or tablet again.
It's also a collaborative tool that lets you share your drafts with others and collaborate with them to produce better content. You can even thank those who helped you proof read or add ideas to your content.
<h2>Weebly</h2>
For those looking for a simple and easy way to launch a blog quickly, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/weebly">Weebly</a> is a great choice given how easy it is to choose a theme and get something up with little to no technical knowledge.
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/weebly">Weebly</a> offers the ability to expand your blog in the future and incorporates a lot of necessary elements such as analytics, stock photography and a whole lot more. If you need a quick website, Weebly is definitely something to consider.
<h2><a href="https://withknown.com/" target="_blank">Known</a></h2>
Known is a relative newcomer to the blogging sphere. It allows any number of users to post to a shared site with blog posts, status updates, photographs, and more.
Its robust open source framework can be used to build fully-fledged community sites, or a blog for a single user. It's up to you. It's fully responsive and works on any device with ease and is generally quite nice to work with. If you haven't given it a shot, you should (at least to try it out).
<h2><a href="https://write.as/" target="_blank">Write.as</a></h2>
Write.as is an interesting beast. The intent here is not to help you build some elaborate blog but rather to give you a way to quickly get your thoughts down and share them with the world. It offers a very minimalistic writing interface thats sole purpose is to get your content online fast and easily.
Your writing automatically saves as you type. It'll always be waiting, even if you don't “save” before leaving. You can choose to write without a blog or put all of your thoughts together in one place. It's rather cool and worth a look.
<h2><a href="https://postach.io/">Postach.io</a></h2>
Postach.io lets you store your content in either Dropbox or Evernote or both. This lets you choose whichever interface suits you the most (Dropbox files obviously needing to be edited in a text editor and uploaded whereas Evernote has a built in text editor) and work on your content within.
Publishing a post with Evernote is as simple as connecting your account to Postach.io, telling it which notebook in Evernote will contain your posts and then simply writing in that notebook and using the tag “published” when you are done. This tells Postach.io to put the post up on your blog and that's all there is to it. To add images, simply attach them to the note and it will be inserted in your blog post instantly.
The nice part to using the Evernote connection for Postach.io is you can take advantage of the many awesome Evernote apps for mobile devices and tablets that already exist which makes blogging with it a true pleasure.
<h2><a href="http://www.typepad.com/" target="_blank">TypePad</a></h2>
Typepad has been around for a while, and it's a reliable option more than anything else. It's known to be a very secure platform, one that hackers tend to avoid.
It is a hosted solution, comes with integrated analytics, easy design customization features and a relatively small but highly dedicated community. Joining Typepad kind of feels like you joined a writers club, especially since all Typepad blogs have the chance to be featured on the Typepad website. It feels very inclusive and homely.
The downside here is that for its limited functionality, it comes with some fairly heaving pricing. TypePad isn't exactly much of a looker compared to other platforms either
<h2>“But What About MY Favourite CMS?”</h2>
Many of you will now be wondering why I didn’t include the likes of Blogger, Tumblr, Joomla and Drupal somewhere on this list. I can already hear the screeches of, “How are they not even honourably mentioned?!”
The fact is, Blogger and Tumblr aren’t considered robust enough to be worthy of competing with WordPress, Ghost and the rest on a professional scale. If you want to blog about how much you love your kittens, they may be viable options. But I’d never recommend them to serious bloggers.
As for Joomla and Drupal, The former is clunky and not exactly optimized for blogging, whilst the latter is far better suited to large-scale websites. Neither belong on this list, despite having their own uses and strengths.
So, with that being said, I’d recommend sticking to the names listed above. Each one is respected, easy to use, feature rich and optimized for being your blogging playground.

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