Traffic is the lifeblood of any ecommerce business, and blogging is one of the best ways to get more of it. 

Moreover, blogging platforms are a great way to build an audience that will go out and generate more traffic for your site. 

Whether or not you should have a blog on your ecommerce site is really beyond debate. However, the mechanics of getting a blog up and running can be a bit complex. 

Beyond that, there are questions about what kind of blog posts you should publish. Should you focus on how-to articles or product reviews? Customer testimonials, giveaways or, competitions?

This comprehensive article will answer these questions and more, plus explore seven top-tier blogging platforms for ecommerce growth in 2023.

When it makes the most sense to invest in a blogging platform

Pretty much anyone that wants to publish content on the web needs a robust blogging platform. 

The amount of time and money you invest in your blog will depend on a multitude of factors, including:

• Your desired features
• How well the blog integrates with your existing website
• Permissions for other writers or content creators in your organization

So when is the best time to invest in a blog? Well, it’s kind of like that old saying, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is right now.” 

It’s never too early to start a blog and just get an MVP (minimum viable product) out to your audience. As you grow, you will likely need to spend development resources on making your blog the best it can be. 

For now, something is much better than nothing. 

How does blogging help my ecommerce business? 

Blogging is one of the most effective ways to attract new visitors to your website and generate more sales for your ecommerce business.

Through blogging, you can reach out to potential customers worldwide with a wide range of different topics that are relevant to your business and industry.

Blogging also helps your ecommerce business by providing you with a platform to build an audience and increase brand awareness. 

It’s also essential for SEO (search engine optimization) because Google loves ranking sites that produce quality, well-researched content.

Further, blogs are an excellent way to attract new customers and prospects and keep your existing ones engaged with your brand.

One of the most effective marketing strategies we’ve seen is the email/blog combo. Here’s how it works: you utilize an email capture form on your blog posts to grow your email list consistently.

As more traffic comes to your site and engages with your content, they’ll give you their email addresses to stay up to date (or receive some sort of free download called a “lead magnet”).

Then, as you publish more content, you push that out to your list to keep your brand top-of-mind. It’s a simple but unbelievably powerful strategy. 

How will blogging lead to more sales? 

There are numerous ways blogging will lead to more sales in your business, both directly and indirectly. 

Blogging helps your ecommerce business by increasing web traffic and visibility, which is great if you want to increase sales with more customers coming through the door. 

In today’s digital age, consumers are constantly searching online before making purchasing decisions.

Blogging also gives you content that you can repurpose for social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Almost all great content starts with the written word — why not repackage it across all your marketing channels?

As mentioned above, blogging also helps keep your brand top of mind for prospects or customers, encouraging repeat business. 

Lastly, blogging is one of the best ways to build a personal brand and give your customers value beyond just your products.

The business benefits of blogging are more than worth the effort it takes to get one up and running.

When to use blogging for more sales

There are some prime moments in your ecommerce business evolution when you want to use blogging to generate more sales, including: 

• When your business is ready to scale and grow
• When you want to create better content and reach more people
• When you don’t have the time to manage a blog yourself
• You want an SEO boost for your site or product pages on Amazon/eBay/Walmart etc.
• You want to increase customer loyalty and keep them coming back for more

How do I choose the right blogging platform?

Different bloggers have different needs, and different blog platforms are good for different things. 

Ultimately, what defines “best” for your case will depend on your situation, what you want to get out of it, and your preferences. 

While they may be like each other in some ways, it’s important that you choose the right blogging platform for your business needs. For example:

• WordPress makes up over 30% of the entire internet, and 60% of the fastest-growing companies use this platform. However, it can be an absolute nightmare when things go wrong, and if you’re not ready to dive deep into the code, you may find yourself with a broken site and lots of headaches. 
• Squarespace is an elegant, no-stress website builder for non-coders. However, it lacks the deep levels of customizability and control some businesses may need for their blogs. 
• Tumblr and Medium are well-designed, easy blogging platforms with vibrant communities. However, they’re hosted away from your business website, robbing your domain of any SEO benefits. 

Each platform has its own pros and cons (which we’ll get into soon), so it’s important to do some research before deciding which one is right for you.

Is there a free blogging platform? 

Yes, there are many blogging platforms available that you don’t have to pay to use. However, the features they offer can be quite limited compared to those with a paid plan.

For example, with WordPress, you can have a custom domain name (e.g., yourbusinessname.com) and access to plenty of free themes.

You can also easily install thousands of third-party plugins, so you have more freedom over customization options for your blog posts and pages.

It’s important to remember that there will always be tradeoffs with free platforms, though — most notably the lack of support if anything goes wrong.

Do all blogging platforms have SEO features?

No, not all blogging platforms have SEO features. In our professional recommendation, it’s best to stay away from these (unless you don’t like receiving free traffic from Google).

However, the ones that do are great for optimizing your blog posts to rank well in the search engines. 

This means you’ll get more traffic from people looking for the content you’re producing.

When considering a platform, it’s important to look for robust SEO features. This includes things like the ability to add keywords, metadata and options to customize your blog title and description.

What features should I look for in a blogging platform? 

There’s a lot of different blogging platforms available, and none of them have the same features. 

While they may vary slightly from one option to the next, here is what you should look for:

1. The ability to add metadata and keywords so your blog posts can rank well in Google.
2. A custom domain name so that people know who’s behind your business (e.g., yourbusinessname.com)
3. A good selection of themes and templates to choose from so you can create a look that matches your brand. 
4. The ability to easily add images, videos, and other multimedia content. 
5. Support for social media integrations so you can share your blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms. 
6. A comments section so your audience can interact with you and each other.
7. The ability to easily publish new content without a lot of hassle. 

These are just some of the features to look for when choosing a blogging platform. As mentioned earlier, it’s important to consider what’s important to you and your business before making a final decision. 

Now, let’s take a deeper look at the seven best blogging platforms and their unique offerings.

The 7 best blogging platforms for ecommerce traffic growth in 2023

1. Squarespace

Launched in 2003, Squarespace powers millions of online businesses. It’s an all-in-one website-building service that’s a good option for bloggers who want to create a digital storefront and sell products directly from their blog. 

It’s a great way to gain additional revenue without having to do much extra work—just link back to the product pages on your ecommerce store or other online shops.

Who’s the best audience? 

Squarespace is great for photographers, artists, and other designers who want their website to look as snazzy as the goods they are showing off on the web. 

However, there is a little bit for everyone if you are a business owner that wants to start a blog and sell your products and services there.

Pros:

• Breathtaking and customizable templates that are mobile responsive out of the box. 
• Mobile apps that let you edit pages, posts, and ecommerce functions while you are on-the-go.
• The ability to restore deleted pages and posts for up to 30 days.

Cons: 

• You are restricted to the features built into Squarespace’s proprietary platform.
• Squarespace’s integrations are restricted to just a few tools and services.
• Since the platform doesn’t autosave, you are prompted to save your work after every save, which can be cumbersome. 

Pricing

Squarespace prices different plans for online marketplaces and websites. For personal website plans, you can expect to pay about $16 a month or $12 a month if you go with the annual payment option.

Same for the business plan. It’s $26 a month vs. $18 a month if you go the annual route. Meanwhile, pricing for online stores begins at $26 a month and goes up to $40 a month.

2. Blogger

Blogger is owned by Google and is the pre-cursor to WordPress. In addition, it’s known to be one of the most popular blogging platforms on the internet, with an estimated 32 million people using the blogs hosted there.

Who’s the best audience? 

Blogger makes it easy to set up a blog that looks professional right from the beginning—no design or coding skills are required. Also, since Google owns it—the company behind search engine rankings—it can be a great way to start building an audience. 

Who is it not good for? 

While you can utilize Blogger to monetize your blog, Google owns the content and can shut things down anytime. Therefore, Blogger is probably not a good part of any long-term business plan. 

Pros:

• Easy to use and get started
• All its features, plugins, gadgets, themes, and functions are completely free to use
• All you need is a Google account
• Themes and templates to personalize and beautify your blog

Cons: 

• It can only really be used for a basic blog (unless you can code)
• If you would like your own domain name, you’ll need to buy one
• Limited to 100 blogs per account
• Google owns Blogger (which includes any content you put on Blogger). You may risk having your blog shut down without any explanation.

3. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the most well-known social media platforms and has hundreds of millions of users. It’s also a great place to promote your ecommerce business because it can be found by many people who are already using LinkedIn for their jobs or businesses.

Who’s the best audience? 

LinkedIn is great for building relationships with professionals in your industry and publishing content relevant to their industry. 

We’ve seen things like long-form business and leadership posts go crazy viral on LinkedIn — those sorts of things are what play best to that audience. 

Pros: 

• Built-in blogging feature for sharing content—similar to a company page, but it allows you to post blog articles directly to your profile
• It can be used for lead generation by offering free resources or eBooks in exchange for people’s contact information

Cons: 

• Content can get lost in a sea of updates since LinkedIn is a social media site as well as a professional network
• Paid advertising is necessary to reach more people than your personal and business connections
• Once again, you’re not receiving any SEO benefits since the LinkedIn platform is separate from your business domain

4. Medium

Medium is a free social media platform and blogging site created in 2012 by Evan Williams, the co-founder of Twitter. Williams made the site with the express purpose of promoting quality writing. Medium is said to have around 100 million monthly readers.

Who’s the best audience? 

Medium can be great for thought leaders who just want to share longer-form content with their audience without an explicit business goal.

For example, a founder’s unfiltered experience with quitting his corporate job to chase the startup dream. Or science-backed productivity techniques.

All you have to do to publish as a business is to set up a profile and subscribe. Each Medium user can own up to seven Medium publications. 

Because Medium is a mix of a blog and social media site, it’s perfect for businesses who want to share their stories and connect with their audience in a more personal way.

Pros: 

• Free to use.
• Great for longer-form, more personal content (which can be harder to find on other social media sites).
• It can be used to drive traffic back to your website.
• Has an existing community and well-established presence online.

Cons: 

• It can be hard to find your content if you’re not already an established writer or business—so it’s best for people who are looking to build their reputation as writers or businesses.
• Medium is also known for its long response time, so reaching out directly via email might be necessary. 
• You need a paid account to get the full range of stats on your posts.
• Just as with Blogger, you have no control over the content on Medium. They can shut down your site with no warning or explanation.

5. Weebly

Weebly is a blogging platform owned by Square’s payment platform that’s specifically designed for ecommerce businesses and bloggers.

Over 625 million subscribers use the platform for features like easy-to-use website building tools as well as your own SSL certificate (which means that users can trust your site). 

Users really like the drag-it-and-drop-it tools of Weebly for building websites and its intuitive dashboard that has a low learning curve. 

Who’s the best audience? 

Weebly makes sense if you’re looking to quickly start a blog, website, or ecommerce store without much fuss.

The blogging features are great if you’re looking to drive traffic back to your main site. Also, the Drag & Drop Editor makes it simple to create a functional website and blog without any coding knowledge at all. 

On the other hand, Weebly isn’t conducive to creating custom designs for your website or blog. It also has minimal templating and SEO features. 

Pros: 

• Free features include custom domain name, 3rd party embed code, SSL certificate, and premium customer support. 
• Responsive and eye-catching design themes.
• Offers ecommerce features for both physical and digital products
• Includes site statistics.
• Change themes without rebuilding the website.
• Unlimited data transfers with all Weebly plans.

Cons: 

• You’re limited to utilizing their templates which might be a bad fit for your tastes or brand. 
• Blogging & SEO features are not as powerful as the ones you get with WordPress.com.
• Limits to theme customization.
• Lacks a reusable photo storage.
• No interface-wide undo feature.

Pricing

Personal use plans for Weebly range from $0 to $6 a month. Professional plans run from $12 to $26 a month with professional plans. The $26/month option is the one you really want to pay attention to since it adds features that drive growth and manage operations for ecommerce stores. 

6. Tumblr

Tumblr is a microblogging platform that first launched back in 2007. The site has more than 550 million monthly users and over 155 billion posts, making it one of the biggest blogging platforms available today—and it’s one of the most customizable, thanks to its simple-to-use editing tools.

Who’s the best audience? 

Tumblr makes sense if you’re looking to create a simple, easy-to-use blog that lets you share your thoughts with the world. However, if we can be blunt, it’s not a serious contender for businesses. 

The site is designed for people who want more of an online diary than anything else, and is known for its young, internet-savvy (and often cynical) community. 

Pros: 

• You don’t need to pay for a Tumblr subdomain with a url like https://example.tumblr.com. You can also get domain names that you custom create. 
• Set up is easy and intuitive. 
• Tumblr lets you have an integrated social media element.
• Tumblr makes it effortless to rapidly watch blog videos, images, GIFs and audio formats.

Cons:

• Tumblr only has a limited number of features that you can’t extend as your blog gets bigger.
• Importing or backing up your Tumblr blog to other platforms is extremely challenging. 
• SEO features are extremely limited. 

7. WordPress.com

More than 455 million sites use WordPress.com, making it the most popular blogging platform. One thing that makes it popular, aside from its ease of use, is its flexibility. The wide range of plugins and themes built by developers is what makes this platform so powerful.

Who’s the best audience? 

WordPress makes sense if you’re looking to start a blog, website, or ecommerce store and want complete flexibility over the design and functionality of your site.

It’s also great for businesses looking to create a more interactive experience with their customers (through features like forums, contact forms, etc.).

WordPress is more than just a blogging platform, though. Most websites that use WordPress use it for their entire web presence. 

Thanks to plugins like WooCommerce and thousands of incredible themes, you don’t need much else.

Pros:

• Flexibility to create any type of website or blog you want. 
• Thousands of plugins and themes to choose from, with more being created every day. 
• Great for businesses who want to create a more interactive experience with their customers. 

Cons: 

• It can be a little overwhelming for beginners. 
• Not as user-friendly as other blogging platforms. 
• Pricing for premium and all the add ons.

Basic pricing

WordPress offers two main plans: a free and premium plan that range from $0 to $40 per month, depending on how many features you need. 

Let’s pause here to make an important distinction. Namely between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. 

WordPress.com is the paid version of WordPress. It’s an all-in-one website builder and blogging platform that includes hosting and a custom domain.

WordPress.org is free, however, you must supply the domain, hosting, database, and install the software to your server yourself (this isn’t as hard as it sounds, and most hosting providers offer a one-click WordPress installation). 

Most businesses opt for WordPress.org to have more control over their hosting provider and domain. 

Total pricing

To cover the basics needed, WordPress.com winds up costing around $11 a month. This option gives users access to support, plugins and themes. However, it’s more realistic to expect to make a one-time payment of about $200, with a monthly charge of $11 to $40 a month added to that. 

Before long, your WordPress costs could quickly inch up into the $1,000 or more mark if you hire a web designer to spruce up your website.

Here’s a breakdown of the main pricing factors to budget for when you use WordPress.org for your ecommerce site:

• Domain name: $12 annually.

• Hosting: Around $2.95 a month.

• Plugins: $0 to $1,000 (ongoing or one-time charge).

• Pre-made themes: Up to $200 (one-time charge).

• Security: Begins at $50 (ongoing or one-time charge).
  
• Developer fees: $0 to $1,000 (one-time charge or ongoing).

What is the highest rated ecommerce platform for business?

Shopify is the highest-rated ecommerce platform for businesses. 

It offers users a wide range of features, such as an easy-to-use checkout process, built-in marketing tools, and a huge app store that lets you add more features to your site.

However, there’s always a balancing act between ease-of-use and customizability. While Shopify is a joy to use, your use of plugins and themes is severely limited compared to WordPress.

On the flip side, while WordPress is more customizable, Shopify has incredible customer support that will help you reach solutions to your tech problems in minutes. 

Who is Shopify best for? 

Shopify makes sense if you’re looking to start an ecommerce store and want a company that provides all the tools you need. 

This includes a basic blog, an array of mobile-responsive themes, and powerful built-in ecommerce features.

Note that Shopify is decently more expensive than a WordPress.org setup — that ease-of-use comes at a price. 

What about custom blogging platforms? 

If you’re looking for a more custom solution and don’t want to use one of the popular platforms we’ve mentioned, then you might want to consider using (or even building) a custom blogging platform. 

This is a platform built specifically for your business and tailored to your needs. These may cost a little more, but they are fantastic for larger ecommerce businesses as they offer a lot of flexibility. 

What about open-source blogging platforms?

Open-source platforms are a great option if you’re looking for a  completely free platform with a lot of flexibility.

The downside is that these platforms can be a little more difficult to use, so they might not be the best option for those who don’t know code. 

It may seem like a fun project (especially if you’ve got an engineer brain), but just make sure you don’t spend more time on your blog than the revenue-generating aspects of your business.

Some popular open-source blogging platforms include Ghost, Jekyll, Joomla, and Drupal.

I’ve got the ecommerce growth covered. Now what?

So, business is picking up after getting your blogging platform up and running. Now, your inventory is coming and going so fast you can barely keep up with things. 

Well, first, that’s a nice problem to have—and the next thing you need to do is put tools in place to get your inventory under control.

SkuVault Core makes ecommerce easy by helping you manage inventory and orders across multiple sales channels, all in one place.

This includes your online store and selling on Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, eBay, etc. It even has integrations with shipping carriers like FedEx and UPS so that you can automate your shipping.

SkuVault Core is the perfect tool to help you grow your ecommerce, and we offer plans for ecommerce businesses at every stage of growth. What’s more? It’s even easier to get started with than WordPress.

Just click here to schedule a free demo and see for yourself how much time and money SkuVault Core can save you.

The takeaways

So, there you have it, the best blogging platforms for ecommerce businesses in 2023. Whichever platform you decide to use, make sure that you take advantage of all the features they offer to get the most out of your blog.

Also, think about investing in a Warehouse Management System with unlimited integrations, API Access, and the flexibility you need for growth. SkuVault Core checks all these boxes and more, and we’d love to show you why! 

Some more FAQs

Q: Which platform is best for blog writing?

A: Basic or free versions of most of the blogs on this list will make great platforms if you are only interested in blog writing.

However, Blogger, Medium and, Tumblr win here since they have such a large community of like-minded bloggers and audiences that want to read and interact with blog writing and videos.

Q: Which blog platform is best for making money?

A: All of the blog platforms on this list offer different features that can help monetize your blog. However, WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace are three of the most popular options for profitable businesses.

Q: Is blogging still relevant in 2023? 

A: Yes, it is more relevant than ever! In the age of social media domination, blogs provide a unique and powerful opportunity to share your story and connect with an audience looking for something different.

Plus, since blogs offer great SEO potential, they can be a major boon for your ecommerce business as you grow.

Q: Which platform is best for blogging websites? 

A: WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace are the best blogging platforms for websites. These two give you a lot of flexibility in terms of what sort of website or blog you can build, and they both come with thousands of themes and plugins that allow you to add all kinds of features to your site.

Q: Which blog platform is best for SEO?

A: Google loves blogs because they are constantly updated with fresh, unique content. So, it makes sense to use a blogging platform for SEO since you can make your blog posts more engaging and interesting by using words that people actually search for online.

WordPress is considered best due to its speed and powerful SEO plugins.

Q: What blogging platform is best for beginners? 

A: SquareSpace is the easiest blogging platform to use if you’re a beginner, but there’s no denying that Tumblr is better suited for those who prefer sharing photos and videos instead of text-based posts. Medium also offers an easy way to create a blog without learning to code.

Q: What is the best blogging platform for a small business?

A: WordPress and SquareSpace are both excellent options for small businesses as they offer a lot of features (such as ecommerce capabilities) that can help you grow your business online.

Additionally, their low costs make them affordable for businesses on a tight budget. And, finally, both platforms are SEO-friendly, so you can start getting traffic from Google right away.

Q: Is it worth it to invest in the premium WordPress theme? 

A: Yes! If you are serious about blogging and want to take your website or blog to the next level,  investing in a premium WordPress theme is definitely worth it. This will give you access to more features and plugins that can help you improve your website’s design, SEO, security, and more.

Q: Do I need my own domain for a blog? 

A: No, you can use your regular website address “as is” to start blogging. However, investing in the premium package from WordPress or Blogger will give you access to a custom domain name that comes with free hosting and SSL encryption (which means all your traffic will be safe).

Q: Which blogging platform offers the best free support? 

A: WordPress offers the best free support out of all the blogging platforms as it has a large community of users who are always happy to help. Additionally, there are a ton of online tutorials and resources that can guide you through the basics of setting up your blog and using its features.

Q: Which blogging platform offers the best support with a paid package? 

A: Squarespace, with its email, live chat, and contact page, offers some of the best support out of all the blogging platforms out there. That is because it comes with an actual team of experts to help you deal with any issues or questions that arise after purchasing its premium plan.