Choosing a Website for Your Video Blog

When you are ready to launch your video blog on a website, you'll find plenty of free and paid sites to choose from. The site you choose is determined by your expectations and plans for the blog, such as whether you plan to monetize the blog and whether it is a video-only blog or you want the option to add text and photos. Most websites provide analytics and have a mobile app or optimized version for mobile devices, but if this is important to you, confirm it with your host.

Video-Only Blog or Host

If you plan to publish video only, your video blog website can be as simple as a YouTube channel or a Vimeo channel, where you showcase videos you make along with videos you like that are uploaded by others.

Many blog hosts share video on their websites by linking to an existing video published on YouTube, Vimeo or another video host, so you may want or need an account with YouTube or a similar website even if you plan to set up a blog that includes text and other features with a different provider.

Setting up a video blog on YouTube or Vimeo is simple. Both sites ask you to provide basic information to set up an account, provide guidelines for your video uploads, ask you to add titles, tags, captions and descriptions for SEO, and provide customization features to personalize your page. Setting up a YouTube account is free. Vimeo offers several hosting packages, one of which is free.

Blogging Websites With Video Support

If you plan to include text and photos in your video blog, you'll want a traditional blogging provider that allows you to embed or link to videos. Blogging site providers come and go, but here are some of the best blogging websites, which have stood the test of time.

WordPress

Wordpress home page

WordPress is arguably the most popular blogging tool on the web, and it has millions of users. Build a blog, website or a combination of the two and take advantage of all the features the site offers including:

  • Hundreds of customizable themes
  • Mobile device compatibility
  • Opportunity to add a custom domain name
  • Automatic search engine optimization
  • In-depth analytics
  • Built-in social sharing
  • 24/7 email support

WordPress has several packages available, one of which is free, but you'll need to purchase a premium package to host video. 

Weebly

Weebly video hosting features page

Weebly was launched to provide a place for users with no technical experience to create a high-quality blog or website using Weebly's drag-and-drop website builder. Millions of users enjoy the feature-rich environment, which includes:

  • Responsive themes for blogs and websites
  • Weebly app for iOS and Android for building and managing your blog from mobile devices
  • Integrated eCommerce platform
  • Customization tools to personalize any template
  • Powerful design tools with no design experience required
  • Advanced Theme Editor that offers full HTML and CSS control for custom development by experienced developers

Weebly has several packages available, one of which is free, but you'll need to purchase a pro package to host video.

Medium 

Medium's Video in Series web page

Among other things, Medium is a blogging platform, where it’s easy to integrate photos, audio, and video into your posts. Offering both a website and an app for mobile devices, Medium is a cross-platform, slightly chaotic but beautiful place to build a blog. In addition:

  • Medium is a free and open platform
  • Publishing tools let you write once, share anywhere
  • The site reinvented the comments section 
  • Encourages participation and diversity of opinion 

Blogger 

Blogger help page on adding video to your blog

One of the older blogging platforms, Google's Blogger is still active with millions of visitors. Blogger provides templates, though not as many—or as customizable—as other services. However, the service is free, stable and allows users to link to YouTube videos or accepts video uploads.

  • Offers apps for iOS and Android devices
  • Supports Google Adsense to provide revenue
  • Supplies HTML template editor

Posthaven 

Posthaven announcement about Video, Audio, and Document support

Blogs posted at Posthaven are destined to live forever according to the company website, which places a high priority on maintaining clients' posts for years. The site works great with text, photos, full photo galleries, audio, and video. In addition, you can:

  • Post by email
  • Autopost to Twitter and Facebook
  • Invite additional authors to contribute to your blog
  • Choose from built-in themes or build your own with full HTML/CSS control.

Posthaven charges a small monthly fee.

Squarespace

Adding videos to your Squarespace site webpage

Squarespace is home to websites built on fully customizable templates, many of which are optimized to support video. Building your site and arranging its content is easy. An app for iOS and Android mobile devices brings Squarespace blogs to the on-the-go crowd.

  • Easy to purchase personal domain
  • 2048-bit SSL built-in improves Google ranking
  • Online store template and features available
  • Free trial available
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Your Citation
Siegchrist, Gretchen. "Choosing a Website for Your Video Blog." ThoughtCo, Nov. 18, 2021, thoughtco.com/video-blog-websites-1082183. Siegchrist, Gretchen. (2021, November 18). Choosing a Website for Your Video Blog. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/video-blog-websites-1082183 Siegchrist, Gretchen. "Choosing a Website for Your Video Blog." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/video-blog-websites-1082183 (accessed March 19, 2024).