In June 2024, after roughly five years of blogging on a traditional WordPress website – the one you’re reading right now – I decided to hedge my bets and branch out by launching a Beehiiv newsletter. This wasn’t because I was particularly passionate about newsletter creation, rather, I applied to Mediavine’s ad management network ‘Journey’ several months prior and still hadn’t heard back.
Frankly, I was a bit burnt out and frustrated with ‘traditional blogging’ and wanted to decouple from it. Google had also rolled out a handful of algorithm updates over the years that saw bloggers completely wiped off the face of search result pages and I knew it was time to stop putting all my eggs in one basket. A major professional shift in my life also meant that I could take content creation more seriously, in a more ‘full-time’ role. So, it seemed like a win-win to launch a new venture and continue with the old.
Since then, I’ve hit the ground running, blogging heavily on WordPress and publishing a weekly newsletter with Beehiiv. And it sure has been a blast. There have been countless learning curves for both but that has ultimately led to a somewhat sound understanding of each platform and how they fit into my content creation process and output.
I’ll be honest. I wrote roughly 1/3rd of this article in a way that was just too excessively complex – too complex for myself. I spent several hours just sitting and trying to make sense of what I wrote and if it was actually cohesive or not. Hint: it wasn’t.
While this may not be the most in-depth review of both WordPress and Beehiiv, it reflects my understanding of both and analyzes the features, strengths and weaknesses, and other bits that have been particularly relevant in my blogging (and newsletter) publishing tenure.
Consider this a launching point for novices unsure of what platform to use when beginning their upcoming blogging journey.
Pale Ale Travel Note: This post is comparing Beehiiv to WordPress.org NOT WordPress.com. The core difference between the two boils down to who is hosting your website. WordPress.com handles all hosting, while WordPress.org requires you to self-host/host your own website (ex. This is typically done through Bluehost, GoDaddy, and other third-party hosting platforms).
Continue reading “Beehiiv vs. WordPress.org For Blogging: an Honest Review”…