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Are you a beginner who has started your blogging journey and wondering what kind of blogging tools you need?
There is no hard-fast rule on what kind of tools you must use, but you need some essential ones to get started. These include; design and file conversion tools. Content writing and proofreading tools. Keyword research, social media marketing, and website builder tools.
In this article, you will find the best blogging tools for beginners (paid and free) to help you efficiently run your blog. I use the tools mentioned in this post in my daily blogging activities, which have helped me manage and increase traffic to my blog.
For the paid tools, start with the free versions. When you start making good money with your blog, you can opt for the paid versions.
With the help of these blogging tools, you will run your blog professionally and keep up with the ever-changing SEO trends in the blogging world.
Let’s get to it!
a) Design Tools
First impressions last! Your blog has to be visually appealing. This will entice your readers to read your content.
The homepage featured images and other graphics you use on your blog all must be visually excellent.
This means you need design blogging tools to help you attain such creativity.
1. Canva
Best blogging tool for graphic designing. Easy to use with a large resource of designs (12.99$ per month)
Canva is graphic design software that helps you create beautiful designs, photos, infographics, and videos for your blog.
Unlike other traditional design tools such as Photoshop, Canva is a drag-and-drop, making it easy to use. It does not require any particular skill to learn.
The interface is simple to understand, with no technicalities involved. It has various libraries from which you can get several elements, such as fonts, images, graphics, and icons, to use in your designs.
You can create a design from scratch or choose a template and tweak it, resize, move, or group elements in whichever way suits your preference.
Canva is one of the blogging tools I use to design most of the media on this site, and it is undoubtedly one of the best beginner-friendly design tools.
Pros
- Easy to use. Drag and drop features.
- Rich resource. It has plenty of templates, elements, and designs to ease the creation process.
- Collaboration with teams is possible.
Cons
- The free version has limited resources
Pricing
Canva is free to use, and one has to opt for the premium versions for extra features to get the most out of this blogging tool.
Canva comes with two paid plans:
- Canva Pro starts at $12.99/month and $119.99/year if billed annually.
- Canva Enterprise, which costs $30/month.
2. Storyset
Best blogging tool for stylish and creative illustrations to supplement designs (Free)
Are you looking to spice up your designs with some illustrations?
Storyset has a collection of creative illustrations that bring life to your designs. Head to the Story set site, place a keyword in the search bar, and Storyset will display related illustrations. These illustrations can be animated and used in videos.
In addition to Canva’s resource database, Storyset is my go-to place when I need graphics for my cover photos.
You have total control over the illustrations. You can hide some elements and add or change the color of the entire illustration.
If you are designing your blog home page, featured images, infographics, or an E-book, Story Set is the best fit for such tasks.
b) File Conversion Tools
Various elements, such as images, impact the loading speed of your blog. Having heavy un-optimized elements will cause your site to load slowly. This will impact your blog’s core web vitals score and affect rankings.
Fast-loading websites competing for the same keyword in Google Search results are advantageous over slow-loading sites.
Fast-loading sites tend to be pushed higher in search result pages, while slower sites are pushed to lower positions.
To optimize images on your blog, you need a file conversion tool to serve images in the recommended format, i.e., Web p.
Web p is a next-level file format for images that is lightweight and fast-loadingāblogs with photos served in Web p load faster.
3. CloudConvert
Best blogging tool for high-quality and multiple file conversions
CloudConvert is a great blogging tool for file conversions. This conversion tool can change files such as videos, images, documents, and audio from one form to another.
CloudConvert is easy to use. It has a simple interface; you need to drag and drop the files you need to convert and select the format you want them to be converted.
Unlike other free conversion tools, CloudConvert allows multiple file conversions simultaneously, a time-saving feature.
CloudConvert allows up to 25 free file conversions per day, which is more than enough for starters. When you get to scale up in the future, you can opt for the paid plan.
Pros
- Supports multiple file conversions
- Efficient
- High-quality conversions
- Simple interface
- Not clustered with ads
Cons
- Allows only up to 25 file conversions per day for an account in the free version.
Pricing
Cloud convert is free. It offers up to 25 file conversions per day. You have to opt for the custom-paid plan or subscription for any quantity more than that.
Tip: To extend this limit, you can create another account with another e-mail, and you will have gotten 50 conversions.
The pricing depends on what amount of conversions you would want. The site has a custom slider to help you find your suiting pricing.
c) Keyword Research Tools
While writing blog posts, keyword research is vital and determines your blog post’s relevancy.
When approached with the wrong strategies, keyword research may get you less or no traffic to your blog.
There are various paid and free keyword tools, which I will cover in this section.
First off,
4. Google Keyword Planner
Best blogging tool for effective Geo-targeted Keyword Research (Free)
Google Keyword Planner is a tool from Google to help people who plan to place paid ads with their keyword research. The tool is entirely free and effective.
To use Google Keyword planner, place your keyword(s) into the tool and find various metrics about that keyword.
You can view the search volume, competitive difficulty, and the amount advertisers are willing to pay to place ads on that keyword. Suppose your blog suffers from ads’ low CPC (Click Per Cost). In that case, Google Keyword Planner can help you gauge the profitable and non-profitable keywords.
You can also place your competitor’s website into the tool to show you all the keywords for which your competitors rank.
After getting the keywords, you can save and keep them for later use. They act as a reference as you write out your content.
Since keyword metrics differ for every country and region, you can also customize the Google Keyword planner to specific Geo-targeting.
Choose the countries you wish your keywords to be analyzed against, and Google Keyword Planner will return individual results depending on your selected countries.
The free versions of most keyword tools will not show you the metrics that Google Keyword Planner gets to show.
For beginners, Google keyword planner is efficient and easy to use.
Pros
- The tool is free
- Powerful metrics such as competitiveness search volume.
Cons
- It lacks some additional metrics that other paid tools offer.
- The creation of a free publisher account can be tricky.
Pricing
Google Keyword planner is a paid tool for individuals running paid ad campaigns.
However, you can easily use it for free when you follow the steps in the guide using a publisher account.
5. Rank Math SEO
Best blogging tool for On-page SEO to skyrocket your site rankings. (59$ per year)
You have probably heard of plugins if you run a Word Press site. Plugins help to add more functionality to your word press site.
After starting a blog, you need to install an SEO plugin to help you manage on-page SEO.
There are various SEO plugins, such as Yoast SEO, All in one SEO plugins, that you can install on your blog.
I recommend Rank Math SEO since the plugin is free. The free version of the Rank Math SEO plugin offers many features that are instead paid for in the premium versions of other SEO plugins, such as Yoast SEO.
You can post optimization features, keyword placement, density, and 404 monitors with the free version.
For extra features in the premium version, you get a custom setup wizard, advanced schema blocks, local SEO integration, analytics tracking e.t.c
I use RankMath Plugin on this blog for Search Engine Optimization; here’s my full Review of RankMath SEO Plugin.
Pros
- You have many more features with the Rank Math Free version than some premium SEO plugins offer in their free versions.
- It is lightweight and doesn’t slow down your site.
- Great for on-page optimizations
Cons
- It can be a bit overwhelming
Pricing
Rank Math is free. For extra features, you have to opt for the paid plan.
Rank Math comprises three paid plans:
- Rank Math Pro, which starts at $59 per year
- Rank Math Business which starts at $199 per year
- Rank Math Enterprise, which starts at $499 per year
Also Read: Best Content Writing Tools for SEO
You must produce quality content for your readers as a professional content writer. Your blog posts should be error-free, without misspellings and typos. Grammar Checkers help you proofread your content.
6. Grammarly
Best blogging tool for catching advanced grammatical errors and misspellings (30$ per month)
Grammarly is a grammar checker that proofreads your content, analyzes any misspellings or typos, and provides suggestions for the right words or phrases.
Grammarly can integrate with various platforms such as Word Press, Google Docs, etc. Grammarly extension can quickly help you eliminate any grammatical errors on the go.
Read my full Grammarly review here
Pros
- Integration on various platforms
- Highly accurate suggestions and corrections
- Real-time corrections
- Available on multiple platforms, such as mobile
Cons
- Costly for beginners.
Pricing
Grammarly has a free version. You can opt for the premium plans for advanced mistake capturing and better grammar suggestions.
Grammarly has two paid plans:
- Grammarly Premium starts at $30/month.
- Grammarly Business which starts at $12.50/month
7. Hemmingway Editor
Best blogging tool for simplifying your content, making it easy to understand ($19.99 one-time fee)
Your readers are looking for solutions that have been presented the easiest way possible.
Unfortunately, some publishers complicate solutions by thinking that writing complex English will move their readers.
No, it doesn’t work that way!
Writing complicated blog posts will not help in any way. That is why you need a tool like Hemmingway editor to help you simplify your content.
Hemmingway editor analyzes your text and shows you the readability score of hard-to-read sentences. It then offers suggestions on the simpler words and the sentences that need to be broken down.
You can use Hemmingway via your Mac, PC, or the online editor. This tool will help you deliver simplified content to your readers.
Pros
- Simplifies content
- Simple interface
- Easy to use
Cons
- Does not have a mobile app
- Lacks a browser extension
Pricing
Hemmingway is free, and you can pay for lifetime access for 19.99$.
8. Linguix
Best blogging tool for catching basic grammatical errors and misspellings (14.99$/month)
For beginners running on a tight budget, Grammarly can be pretty costly. Linux is one of the best Grammarly alternatives you could find.
In my in-depth Linguix review, I analyzed this tool. I found that It is affordable and effective in catching basic grammatical errors and misspellings.
Linguix Grammar Checker is available on desktop, mobile, browser extension/addon, and as an online editor.
To use the Lingui grammar checker, upload your document or copy the text into the editor. The tool will analyze the text for any typos.
Pros
- Simple user interface
- Affordable and effective
- Catches basic grammar and spelling mistakes
Cons
- It Hardly catches advanced mistakes
Pricing
Linguix is free to use. The free version will detect way fewer errors than the paid version will.
Linguix has two premium plans;
- Linguix Premium costs 14.99$/month.
- Linguix Team is a plan suitable for more than one individual. For this plan, you must contact the Linguix sales team to get a customized price to fit your team.
Bottom line: Grammar checkers are meant to polish your writing and make it perfect for your readers. They enable you to deliver your blog posts in an understandable and error-free manner.
Recommended reading: Best Grammar Checkers
e) AI Detection Tools
Tools like ChatGPT have taken the internet by a wave. Many AI content generation tools are being created, and it is getting harder to detect AI content.
You need to use an AI content detector tool to understand whether content is written by a human or an AI tool.
9. Originality.AI
Best for catching AI content. (Starting from $20 per 2000 credits)
I tested Originality.AI, and the tool had pretty reliable results. This tool doubles as both an AI content detector and a plagiarism checker.
The tool uses algorithms, and AI to content other content generated by AI tools.
Pros
- Highly accurate with up to 94% accuracy
- Can catch most ChatGPT content
Cons
- The tool is not completely reliable i.e. it can be fooled by paraphrasing.
Pricing
OriginalityAI can be used for free via a free trial of 50 credits if you download the Chrome extension.
The plans start at;
- $20 for 2000 credits.
- $50 for 5,000 credits.
- $100 for 10,000 credits.
- $250 for 25,000 credits
- $500 for 50,000 credits
1 credit costs $0.01. This, in essence, means 1 credit scans for 100 words.
f) Performance Measurement Tools
You have to measure various metrics on your blog to discover valuable insights. Performance measurement tools help you tell the status of your blog, identify what’s working and what’s not, the progress, and what needs to be improved.
You can measure your blog’s traffic, the location from which your traffic comes, and their devices. Such stats help you determine which things on your site to optimize for.
10. Ahrefs
Best for checking site health and analytics, keyword research, and tracking site rankings. (ā¬89 per month)
Ahrefs is also a site data measurement blogging tool. With Ahrefs, you can do keyword research, and site audit, track your site rankings in various locations, measure metrics such as domain authority, and discover linking sites.
Ahrefs crawler helps you identify broken links on your sites. It measures your site health and helps you tell which links need to be replaced.
Pros
- Offers valuable features in its free version.
Cons
- The free version has limited data.
- The data is not entirely accurate.
- Costly for beginners.
Pricing
Ahrefs has a free version that has limited analytics and reporting tools.
Ahrefs has four paid plans:
- Ahrefs Lite, which costs ā¬89/month
- Ahrefs Standard, which costs ā¬179/month
- Ahrefs Advanced, which costs ā¬349/month
- Ahrefs Enterprise, which costs ā¬879/month
f) Social Media Marketing Tools
You need to promote your content. The process is continuous, and you need to post your article links from time to time. Social media is a great traffic source that can be opted for besides organic traffic.
Content promotion on social media is tedious if the process is manual. You need to connect tools to your blog’s social media accounts and automate everything.
Plan your content and re-purpose it for various social media platforms and forums. This will help your content be easily accessible and grow your site viewership.
To automate content marketing, you need tools such as Buffer to handle such tasks.
10. Buffer
Best social media account management tool ($5 per month)
Buffer is a social media marketing tool that enables you to structure, prepare, schedule, and post content to various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, etc.
It helps you manage all your social media accounts at one point. You can measure the analytics and engagements that your posts are getting.
Pros
- It enables you to manage all social media accounts in one place.
- Content posting is automated.
- Works on multiple social media sites
Cons
- The free version is limited to 10 scheduled posts per month
- It can be costly for beginners
Pricing
Buffer has a free version which is limited with some features.
Buffer has three paid plans:
- Essentials which costs $5 per month
- Team which costs $10 per month
- Agency which costs $100 per month
The paid plan starts at $5/month for each social media platform.
11. TweetDeck
Best for managing, optimizing, and scheduling Twitter posts. (Free)
TweetDeck is a content scheduling tool for Twitter. Unlike Buffer, TweetDeck only works for Twitter, which means the tool is limited to Twitter.
The good thing with TweetDeck is that it is not limited to the number of tweets you can put out, yet it is free.
You can put out as many tweets as you wish. You can add images, links, and threads to your posts. Set the time and date you want them to be sent out.
Pros
- Completely free
- Unlimited posts
Cons
- It is only limited to Twitter
Pricing
TweetDeck is completely free. It costs $0/month.
f) Website Building Tools
12. Strikingly
Creating a website can be overwhelming for newbies. In most cases, as a beginner, you are looking for an easy solution to help you put your site up, even with little or no knowledge of coding.
With a website builder like Strikingly, you donāt have to go through the hurdle of coding a website. Strikingly as a website builder, is a perfect choice if you seek an easy way to establish your online presence.
Strikingly has various beautiful templates you can customize to suit your preferences and brand. The template library is regularly updated with themes that can be displayed across all devices. Strikingly themes are SEO-optimized and mobile-friendly.
If you are looking for a simple one-page website, create a portfolio, landing pages, a business contact page, or learning, and testing site, then Strikingly is your choice.
Read my full Review on Strikingl Website Builder.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Variety of templates for customization
- SEO-optimized and Mobile friendly templates
Cons
- Not suitable for advanced multiple paged websites
Strikingly Pricing
The Strikingly starter pack is free.
- The Limited Plan costs $8/per month
- The Pro Plan costs $16/per month
- The VIP Plan costs $49/per month
You can as well choose to pay for plans monthly or yearly.
Conclusion
As a beginner in the blogging world, you might be overwhelmed by the fancy paid tools around the internet to use for your blog. It is normal to feel that way, but the free tools work effectively as the paid ones.
Build your blog patiently. When it reaches a self-sustaining level, you can invest in the premium versions of various blogging tools.
I hope you found this list of the best blogging tools for beginners helpful. Do you have any blogging tools you love that have not been mentioned in this post?
I’m all ears! I’d like to hear from you!
I use canva, storyset, ahrefs, Grammarly & Rankmath most frequently. ????
Thanks for your feedback Abhishek. Indeed they are great companions!