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Top 10 Blogging Platforms in 2025 (All Play Nice with Subdirectories)

A 2025 comparison of the top 10 blogging platforms BlogPath supports—WordPress, Ghost, Webflow, Blogger, and modern headless stacks—and how to run each at /blog with a reverse proxy.

Dec 9, 2025
• BlogPath Team
comparison cms seo
Top 10 Blogging Platforms in 2025 (All Play Nice with Subdirectories)

Top 10 Blogging Platforms in 2025 (All Play Nice with Subdirectories)

If you are choosing a blog platform in 2025, the question is not only “Which CMS has the best editor?” It is also “Which one can I run at /blog without rebuilding, while keeping Core Web Vitals healthy and SEO authority consolidated?” Every platform below is one BlogPath already fronts for customers—no speculative picks. For each, you will see where it shines, where to watch for friction, and how BlogPath slots the blog into your main domain via reverse proxy so you do not need to migrate templates first.

Table of Contents

How we evaluated platforms

  • Editorial velocity: how fast non-technical teams can publish.
  • Performance: out-of-box TTFB/LCP and how easily edge caching helps.
  • Extensibility: plugins/components, theming, and API surface.
  • Governance: role-based workflows, auditability, staging.
  • Cost/TCO: licenses + maintenance + likely add-ons.
  • Proxy readiness: how cleanly we can front it at /blog without theme rewrites.

1) WordPress.org (self-hosted)

  • Best for: teams that want the largest plugin/theme ecosystem and total control.
  • Strengths: mature editor, REST and GraphQL options, multisite, huge community.
  • Watch for: performance drift from plugins, patch cadence, and security hardening.
  • BlogPath fit: We proxy your existing WordPress origin to /blog, apply WAF/bot controls, and edge-cache static assets so Core Web Vitals rebound without ripping out plugins. Canonicals and sitemaps are rewritten to the subdirectory, keeping link equity on the main domain.
  • 2025 note: Full Site Editing is stable; pair it with object caching + edge caching to keep TTFB low while editors keep their familiar workflows.

2) WordPress.com Business/Commerce

  • Best for: marketing teams that want WordPress flexibility without server ops.
  • Strengths: managed updates, backups, CDN bundled, native support for plugins on Business/Commerce tiers.
  • Watch for: limited server-level tweaks; some plugins need plan upgrades.
  • BlogPath fit: Point a custom domain (e.g., blog.example.com) to WordPress.com, and BlogPath proxies it under /blog while preserving WordPress.com’s CDN headers. We add cache rules tuned for HTML and media so you keep managed hosting benefits and gain subdirectory SEO.
  • 2025 note: New playground and staging tools reduce deployment risk; BlogPath handles the live cutover so experiments stay contained.

3) Ghost (Pro or self-hosted)

  • Best for: lean editorial teams that want speed and a clean writing UX with memberships/newsletters built in.
  • Strengths: fast-rendering themes, native email, built-in memberships.
  • Watch for: smaller plugin ecosystem; deeper customizations need code.
  • BlogPath fit: Ghost’s static-ish output proxies cleanly. We route /blog/* to your Ghost origin, edge-cache assets, and respect membership/auth routes. Canonicals point to /blog, so you avoid subdomain authority splits.
  • 2025 note: Ghost’s new theme API and paid tier experiments pair well with BlogPath’s origin shielding to keep login/admin endpoints protected.

4) Webflow CMS

  • Best for: design-led teams that need rapid visual iteration and CMS collections.
  • Strengths: visual designer, component libraries, fast publishing, CDN included.
  • Watch for: export friction, limited dynamic logic without custom embeds, cache headers that can be conservative.
  • BlogPath fit: We target your Webflow-hosted domain, normalize cache headers, and serve everything at /blog. This keeps designers in Webflow while marketing gains subdirectory SEO and consistent analytics. Rollback is as simple as DNS if a design push misbehaves.
  • 2025 note: Webflow Logic and localization features are maturing; BlogPath ensures hreflang and localized paths stay aligned under /blog.

5) Blogger

  • Best for: lightweight blogs with minimal engineering involvement.
  • Strengths: no-cost hosting, simple templates, built-in feeds.
  • Watch for: limited extensibility, older theme ecosystem.
  • BlogPath fit: We proxy your Blogger custom domain into /blog, add CDN caching for images, and secure forms/comments by bypassing cache where needed. Canonicals and sitemaps point to the subdirectory so you do not lose authority to a blog. host.
  • 2025 note: Blogger remains stable; the biggest gains come from moving off the subdomain and tightening performance via edge caching.

6) Next.js + Contentful

  • Best for: teams that want structured content, enterprise governance, and React-based delivery.
  • Strengths: strong content modeling, roles/permissions, preview APIs, excellent developer tooling.
  • Watch for: build times on very large sites; preview caching; higher enterprise pricing.
  • BlogPath fit: We front the deployed Next.js app (Vercel, Netlify, or your own) and serve it at /blog, adding CDN caching and origin shielding. Contentful webhooks keep revalidation working; BlogPath caches assets and normalizes headers for consistent TTFB.
  • 2025 note: App Router and partial prerendering reduce build strain; BlogPath adds cross-cloud portability so you can switch hosts without SEO risk.

7) Next.js + Sanity

  • Best for: content teams that want real-time collaboration and portable schemas.
  • Strengths: live collaboration, GROQ flexibility, portable text, fast previews.
  • Watch for: GROQ learning curve, managing image pipelines if self-hosted.
  • BlogPath fit: We proxy whichever host runs the Next.js frontend and keep /blog paths consistent. Cache policies are tuned so Sanity previews bypass cache while published content benefits from edge caching. Canonicals and sitemaps are rewritten to the subdirectory for authority consolidation.
  • 2025 note: Sanity’s Content Lake updates make real-time previews faster; BlogPath ensures those preview routes stay un-cached while public HTML is accelerated.

8) Next.js + Strapi

  • Best for: teams that want self-hosted headless flexibility with REST/GraphQL.
  • Strengths: customizable content types, role-based access, self-host or managed, plugin ecosystem.
  • Watch for: ops burden if fully self-hosted; need to harden auth and file uploads.
  • BlogPath fit: We shield the Strapi API and frontend origin, route /blog/* through the proxy, and cache static assets while respecting authenticated routes. Moving to /blog often boosts organic traffic without changing Strapi schemas.
  • 2025 note: Strapi’s recent stability and cloud offering make it friendlier for marketing teams; BlogPath adds the SEO lift with no template rewrites.

9) Prismic + Slice Machine

  • Best for: teams that want component-driven content with tight developer workflows.
  • Strengths: slice libraries, editorial scheduling, good DX with Next/Nuxt.
  • Watch for: build step discipline; ensuring preview and production cache separation.
  • BlogPath fit: We front the Prismic-powered frontend at /blog, keep preview routes un-cached, and cache published slices aggressively. Canonicals and sitemaps stay on the main domain so link equity is not split.
  • 2025 note: New Prismic scheduling/publishing improvements reduce editorial friction; BlogPath keeps performance consistent across slice-heavy pages.

10) Hugo or Jekyll (static sites)

  • Best for: docs-style blogs, engineering-led teams, and sites where build pipelines are owned in-house.
  • Strengths: very fast HTML, version-controlled content, predictable builds.
  • Watch for: non-technical editors need Netlify CMS/Decap or Git-based workflows; scheduled publishing needs CI help.
  • BlogPath fit: We sit in front of any static host, cache HTML and assets at the edge, and route everything to /blog with rollback-friendly DNS. Because output is static, cache hit ratios are high and Core Web Vitals are easy to keep green.
  • 2025 note: Static + edge caching remains the gold standard for raw speed; adding BlogPath gives you WAF, shielding, and unified analytics without rebuilding.

Quick comparison snapshot

  • Fastest baseline: Ghost, Hugo/Jekyll, well-optimized Next.js builds. BlogPath evens out the rest with aggressive asset caching and optional HTML caching.
  • Best editor UX for marketers: Webflow, WordPress.com, Ghost; Contentful/Sanity with tailored content models for structured teams.
  • Most extensible: WordPress.org, Strapi, Next.js + Contentful/Sanity.
  • Lowest ops: WordPress.com, Ghost(Pro), Webflow, Blogger.
  • Governance and workflows: Contentful, Sanity, Prismic excel with roles and previews; BlogPath overlays security and logging without code changes.

Proxy, SEO, and migration notes

  • DNS-only cutover: All ten platforms can stay where they are; BlogPath proxies them to /blog with a reversible DNS change.
  • Canonicals and sitemaps: We rewrite them to the subdirectory so Search Console and crawlers see /blog as the primary location.
  • Caching strategy: Static assets get long TTLs with versioning; HTML can be cached for anonymous users and bypassed for previews/auth.
  • Security: Origin shielding, WAF, and bot controls protect WordPress, Ghost, and headless APIs alike.
  • Analytics: Keep one Tag Manager/GA property for root + /blog; BlogPath preserves referrers so funnels stay intact.

FAQ

Do I need to rebuild to move from a subdomain to /blog?

No. BlogPath front-ends your existing host (WordPress, Ghost, Webflow, Blogger, or any of the headless stacks above) and serves it at /blog with DNS changes only. Templates and CMS workflows stay intact.

What about performance differences between these platforms?

Ghost and static sites start fastest; WordPress can match them with caching; headless stacks vary by build pipeline. BlogPath standardizes performance with edge caching, Brotli/Gzip, and smart cache keys.

How do previews and auth behave behind the proxy?

We bypass cache for admin, preview, and auth routes across every platform. Published content benefits from caching; editors see fresh data instantly.

Can I change platforms later without losing SEO?

Yes. Because the audience-facing path stays /blog, you can swap origins (e.g., Webflow → WordPress or Contentful → Sanity) while keeping URLs, redirects, and analytics stable through BlogPath.

Why choose BlogPath.io

  • Works with every platform above—no rebuilds, just DNS and routing.
  • Global CDN caching, origin shielding, WAF, and observability tailored per CMS.
  • DNS-only, reversible cutovers so migrations are low-risk and fast.
  • Unified analytics and Core Web Vitals monitoring across platforms.

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