This chart was created by Richard Byrne to help teachers quickly identify the blogging service that meets their needs.
Note, WordPress.com and WordPress.org are not the same thing. WordPress.com provides hosting for your blog and all of the software necessary to blog. WordPress.org is simply the software. The only way to use WordPress.org is to own a domain and have a place to host the blog. Self-hosting a WordPress.org blog is the most expensive option and most time-intensive option on this list, but it does give you the most flexibility and control over your blog.
Blogger Blogger.com | WordPress.com | Edublogs.org | WordPress.org | SeeSaw seesaw.me | |
Technical knowledge required? | No | No | No | Yes, but many easy-to-follow tutorials are available. | No. |
Manage students’ accounts? | Yes, but only in Google Workspace for Education domains. | No | Yes. | Yes, but you are responsible for managing all aspects of the account. | Yes. |
TOS states “13 or over?” | Yes. Exception for Google Workspace for Education. | Yes. | No | No, you manage all aspects of accounts. | No. |
Offers native iPad and Android Apps? | No | Yes. | Yes. Through the WordPress app. | Yes. | Yes. |
Supports embedding media from 3rd parties? | Yes. | Limited. | Yes. | Yes. | Limited. |
Displays advertising? | No. | Yes. Ads can be removed for a fee. | No. | No. | No. |
Custom domain mapping (use your own domain). | Yes. $10-20/year | Yes. $13-$26/year | Yes - for a fee. | Yes, it’s your only option. | No. |
Theme / layout customizations | Limited | Limited | 100+ for free. | Unlimited. | Limited. |
My ranking of these services:
1. Blogger - It’s free and easy to set-up. It can be integrated into your Google Apps for Education account which means that you and your students can use the same usernames and passwords that they use for all other Google tools. You can make your blog private (up to 100 members invited by email). The drawback to it is that a lot of school filters flag it as “social media” and
block it on those grounds.
1a. Edublogs - Probably the best option for elementary school and middle school use. Blogs and individual blog posts can be made private, password-protected, or public. You can create and manage your students’ accounts. The latest version of Edublogs allows all users to include videos in blog posts. Outstanding customer support.
2. SeeSaw.me - SeeSaw was originally launched as a digital portfolio tool. The addition of a blogging component was made in January 2016. The blogging component of SeeSaw allows you to import and display your students’ digital artifacts publicly or privately. There is not much you can do with SeeSaw in terms of customization of layout and color scheme.
3. WordPress.org - If you have the technical acumen or the time to learn it (it’s not that hard), self-hosting a blog that runs on WordPress software will give you the ultimate in control and flexibility. You will be able to create and manage student accounts, have a nearly infinite variety of customizations, and you’ll be able to move your blog from server to server whenever you want to. That said, you will have to pay for hosting (or convince your school to give you server space) and you will be responsible for maintaining security updates and backing-up your blog regularly.
4. WordPress.com - It’s easy to use and is free, but with some serious limitations at the free level. The free version displays advertising on your blog which you cannot control. The free version also doesn’t allow embedding content from many third-party sites.