Who knows the pleasure of a dog being stroked – standing absorbed in the pleasure of it.
There are lots of applications with which to write and be published on the Web.
Here is a list of now-defunct ones that I used to have in the active list.
Refly
Draftin
Hackpad
Also, Known, from Withknown.com was available generally but it seems to have changed direction, so I have taken it out of the active list.
Hopefully this list of defunct ones will remain short, but its existence illustrates a truth, which is the danger of placing all one’s digital eggs in one basket.
Who Is Hosting This?
For almost all of the platforms I describe, hosting is included. That is, your blog is hosted on the platform to which you are paying for the blog. Or in the case of free blogs, the platform that is hosting your blog for free.
This blog where you are reading this, is hosted on the servers belonging to Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com.
Does it make me nervous that I am not fully in control of the destiny of my blog. Not in the case of WordPress.com because it is so very well established and because moreover, it has made a pledge that it itself cannot break. Well, ‘cannot’ is a bit like ‘forever home’ – there is a touch of romance about it.
But of all the hosts, WordPress.com is the one I believe one can rely on most.
Of the ones I describe below, well they may continue and they may not. If they pack up business you are left with nothing.
That said, the owner of Bear Blog has promised to keep it going indefinitely. That’s good, but then he has a natural lifespan.
I think Pagecord will be here in the longer run.
Bottom line – choose your platform wisely and think about what you will have if the platform ceases to operate. At the very least, keep local copies of everything you write.
OK. So here is the list and you might want to check back in a year to see what the list looks like then.
Telegraph
Telegraph is web based and it is so minimal that someone is bound to like it. Just start writing,.
Write As
Write As is another web-based offering. Again it is so minimal that someone is bound to like it. Just start writing.
Bear Blog
BearBlog is a proper blogging platform. I use it but I find the navigation a bit circuitous. The paid version that gives you more options is $49 a year, but the free option offers most of what you are likely to want.
Pika
Pika is easy to get going. You can write up to 50 posts to see if you like it. When you’re ready, subscribe to Pika Pro for unlimited posts and other Pro features.”
The Pro features cost $60 per year or $6 per month.
Pagecord
Pagecord is my personal favourite because the developer is very responsive to suggestions and the setup is very easy to negotiate. The ‘classic’ version is free and the paid version with more options is $29 a year.
Neocities
Neocities is free and you can make as many blogs as you like. You need a little bit of HTML knowledge but not much. You have a folder on your computer in which you write files, and then you drag them to Neocities and it updates your blog.
Blot
What a name. Blot is a bit like Neocities. You have files or a folder with files in it that you keep in your Dropbox account or somewhere similar. When you update the content of the files it updates the live blog. It costs $6 a month.
HTMLy
You need a web host for HTMLy but then it operates like Neocities or Blot – you change your local files and they are updated on your blog. HTMLy is an open source databaseless PHP blogging platform. No database means the whole setup is simpler, and easier to keep secure. Most commercial web hosts will have a script that will set up HTMLy so you don’t have to do the work to set it up.
Colophon
This post was written by me, David Bennett, and last updated on 1st January, 2026.
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