The following graphic is a list of the most popular blogging platforms that allows for publishing online content, developing a portfolio, and networking with other writers. Although similar blogging experiences can be obtained particularly through Facebook, Google+ and other social media platforms, said platforms are generally used for more casual forms of blogging and primarily for content distribution. However, the following blogging sites listed below are suitable for writing for the web as they are much more versatile. Ultimately, the purpose of this list is to make the writing platform selection a bit simpler by outlining the pros and cons of each.

• A WordPress blog is probably the most commonly used platform for journalists looking to create an online portfolio of their work.

• Choose a theme – some really geared for writing, some responsive, others not – 100s to choose from.

• Free to use although with this service there are no options for custom domains and you are limited on space.

• Premium account allows custom domain and lots more space should your site grow considerably.

• Decent support network as well should you get stuck.

• Most themes have really good archiving / categorization settings allowing users to find older posts easily.

• Cool Feature: Since WordPress is so adaptable, it can be a good place to start if you think you may want something beyond a portfolio site somewhere down the line. That way, when you realize that you want to be both a freelance writer and a makeup artist, you’re not stuck on a platform where you can’t show off your other skills.

• Price: FREE for a basic blog, the sky’s the limit for more creative options.

• Pros: Completely customizable; Scalable (up-to a certain extent); Huge community support; Tons of Plugins and Themes.

• Cons: Becomes highly complicated once scaled.

• Examples: Salam Pax, SandMonkey

• Blogger, formerly Blogpost is Google’s own publishing platform. One of the older blogging platforms on the web. Choose a template and then edit via simple drag and drop system, in the editor you can choose from a variety of layouts, edit colour schemes, typefaces etc.

• Price: free to use with a gmail account. Now uses a sign in through Gmail/Google Apps.

• Pros: Very focused on blogging, that’s really what is is designed for, rather than larger websites; Backed by Google, so it integrates well with other Google blogging services like Feedburner, and various Google products; It’s among the most easy to use platforms out there, and many beginning bloggers prefer it; Blogger’s template designer allows users to edit and change their site designs without touching any HTML or CSS code; Like WordPress, Blogger is popular, and has a large community of writers already there.

• Cons: The templates seem to be a little dated although they are responsive to different devices (mobile / tablet); If you have some experience blogging, the platform might seem worn; To have access to some of the more advanced features available in Blogger, including the new Template Designer, you have to use Blogger in Draft, where new features are tested. 

• Examples: Egyptian Chronicles, Baheyya, An Arab Citizen

• Tumblr was arguably the first mainstream service to combine blogging and social media.

• the short-form blogging and social networking site remains one of the most popular microblogging platforms of our time. Users can quickly and easily share text, photos, audio, and pretty much any other kind of multimedia you can imagine with a simple click of the mouse, trackpad, or touchscreen device. 

• Price: the site is completely free to use and features some of the most visually appealing layouts and designs of any blogging platform out there right now. 

• Pros: Tumblr makes it easy to Reblog posts, while adding your own commentary, or not.

• Cons: it does take a little while to get a handle on the thing.

• Example: Arab Swag, ACtivism

• Developed by Twitter to allow for longer articles rather than the 140 characters you are allowed with a tweet.

• A place to blog that is taken very seriously, quite sophisticated articles a lot of the time.

• Login via Twitter, Facebook or Google +.

• Price: Completely free to use.

• Pros: Benefits of writing here are that your posts will be circulated within the Medium network; there is already an audience there to read your writing; Very easy to use – Simple, great interface – a highly polished experience.

• Cons: You can’t customize your Medium column the way you can with almost all of the other platforms.

• Examples: Insurge Intelligence, Abdulrahman

• Claims to be “world’s largest journalism portfolio site.” Founded in 2011 initially geared towards freelance journalists.

• Simply sign up for a portfolio and add each item of work with a click.

• It has multimedia capabilities, i.e. online articles, PDFs of scanned articles, video, audio.

• By adding “description tags”, your portfolio becomes accessible in the searchable journalist directory.

• Price: The basic version is free, but the professional version has more features for $4.99 per month.

• Pros: Clippings.me is made for writers and journalists, so adding content is easy.

• Cons: The free version doesn’t have many features, including the ability to add a downloadable resume. For that, you have to upgrade to the professional version.

• Examples: Jake Bleiberg, Naomi Conrad

• Ideal for Journalists

• Journo Portfolio is easy-to-use and mobile-friendly. Choose from multiple themes, create pages (i.e. one for each portfolio category, plus a resume or “about page”, etc.), and add social media links.

• Price: Free basic package or monthly fee for upgraded packages.

• Pros: It’s visually  appealing, easy to use and mobile friendly as you’ve probably heard your professors stress about. It allows you to upload your work using PDF’s or a link. You can also blog directly on this platform.

• Examples: Jamie Fullerton, Charlie Green

• Wix is popular for creating journalism portfolios.

• Over 510 beautiful & professional templates for different industries – You’ll find one that fits your needs.

• Pure drag & drop website builder – insert any content anywhere – Maximum flexibility, no coding required.

• Comprehensive support – email, phone, knowledgebase help center, forum support.

• Price: The basic version with ads is free. If you upgrade to the unlimited version, it’ll cost you between $12 and $15 per month.

• Pros: Ready-made design templates that look great and are easy to put together.  It’s easy to add multimedia clips, too.  You can embed videos and audio clips onto the page.

• Cons: If you use one of the templates, don’t be surprised if someone else’s portfolio looks like yours. Also, the free version has ads all over the page.