I'm listing some blog platform recommendations for a friend, so figured I should just make that list public. **The following are platforms I'm familiar with:** [Bear Blog](https://bearblog.dev/): Simple and loved in the blogging community. I believe it's free with a paid option. If I didn't have a custom site, I'd probably use Bear, or Write.as. [Write.as](https://write.as): Also simple and loved. No free version though. Price starts at $6/mo. I used write.as for a few months and enjoyed it. [NeoCities](https://neocities.org/): Nostalgia! I love this concept. I haven't been through the set up process, but it looks like you may need to know some basic HTML/CSS. There's a social element with featured blogs. Service is free with a paid option. Some of my favorite blogs are on NeoCities. [Ghost](https://ghost.org/): Feature-rich. Geared toward professional publishers, but anyone can use. If you're just starting out, might be overkill. I used Ghost a few years ago, before its glow-up. It's a great platform. Starts at $9/mo. [Micro.blog](https://micro.blog/): Simple to use but has some cool features. There's also a social element which I like. I use micro.blog daily for sharing interesting links. But long-form works just fine. Starts at $5/mo. [omg.lol](https://home.omg.lol/): Their blog feature "weblog" is still in beta. But I'm adding them to the list because I love their service so much. It's also sort of difficult to explain. You get your own web address, a linktree-esque webpage, a Mastodon account on their server, plus some other cool stuff for $20/year. Not bad. **A few platforms I'm unfamiliar with but looked cool** [Are.na](https://www.are.na/): described as Tumblr meets Wikipedia. [PostHaven](https://posthaven.com/): Up to ten blogs for $5/mo. [Blot](https://blot.im/): Turns a folder into a website. [TypeShare](https://typeshare.co/home): Comes with an idea generator and outliner A few recommends from the Mastodon community after posting: *Note: Some of these perhaps fall on the more technie side and may require some set up.*. [smol.pub](https://smol.pub/): "Your journal on the small net." [prose.sh](https://prose.sh/): "a blog platform for hackers" (hell yeah) [mataroa.blog](https://mataroa.blog/): "Naked blogging platform, for minimalists. Just write." (Love) [telegra.ph](https://telegra.ph/): Opens to a blank canvas and a publish button. Nice.