A blog needs a fast publishing flow, good SEO defaults, and an editor-friendly UI. Below are five strong options for different types of bloggers — from individual writers to editorial teams.

TL;DR — best picks by need

• Easiest setup (hosted): Ghost (hosted Ghost Pro) or WordPress.com

• Most flexible/extensible: WordPress (self-hosted)

• Fast & minimal: Grav or Kirby (flat-file)

• Jamstack-ready with git workflow: Statamic

Top 5 — quick breakdown

1. WordPress

• Why: Massive ecosystem of plugins and themes; beginner-friendly dashboards; huge community.

• Best for: Bloggers who may scale or add features (membership, ecommerce, complex themes).

• Ops: Self-host or use managed hosts (WP Engine, Kinsta). Maintenance required (updates/themes/plugins).

• Good to know: WooCommerce and many page builders expand its use beyond blogging.

2. Ghost

• Why: Focused on publishing, speed, and newsletters; built-in subscription support.

• Best for: Professional writers and publications that sell subscriptions/newsletters.

• Ops: Hosted Ghost Pro or self-host on a Node.js host. Cleaner, lighter than WordPress.

3. Grav

• Why: Flat-file simplicity, fast performance, simple deployments via Git.

• Best for: Personal portfolios, microblogs, or developers who prefer no DB.

• Ops: Lower maintenance; deploy to static-friendly hosts.

4. Kirby

• Why: Designer/developer-friendly flat-file CMS with flexible templates.

• Best for: Designers who want precise control and a minimal backend.

• Ops: Paid license, excellent local/gitsync workflows.

5. Statamic

• Why: Modern, Git-backed flat-file CMS built on Laravel; smooth editorial UX.

• Best for: Teams that want Jamstack speed with a comfortable editor experience.

• Ops: Paid tiers; works well with static generation and headless setups.

Recommendation checklist for blogs

• If you want the broadest plugin choices and community — start with WordPress.

• If publishing & subscriptions are core — evaluate Ghost.

• If you want a lightweight site and low ops — test a flat-file CMS (Grav/Kirby).

• Want versioning in Git and Jamstack benefits with a friendly UI? Try Statamic.

Short FAQ

What CMS is best for a simple personal blog? — Grav or Kirby for speed and low ops.

Which CMS is best for paid newsletters and subscriptions? — Ghost.

Can I migrate a WordPress blog to a flat-file CMS? — Yes, but test redirects and SEO first.

Common migration & testing notes for all scenarios

Pilot first: Migrate a small section or landing page to test performance and editorial experience.

SEO preservation: keep URL structure or set up 301s; export/import metadata where possible.

Backups & rollback: Always keep healthy backups and a rollback plan during migration.

Performance checks: measure TTFB, caching effectiveness, and CDN usage.