A few weeks ago, I received an email to check out a new site builder called PhrasePress. If you have never heard about it, that’s probably because it’s a fairly new program. The site claims to have all the tools you need to build a successful blog. Is that really the case? Let’s find out more in this PhrasePress blogging platform review.
What’s Inside This New Blog Publisher?
Not to be confused with drag-and-drop website builders, PhrasePress is a blog editor that organizes content using certain functions. It’s very much like WordPress, except that it doesn’t need any plugins since all these features are built in.
Upon signing in to your dashboard, the blogging functions would be on the left-hand column and the blogging editor would be on the right.
As for the subscription, there are four types of pricing plans to choose from;
- Free – Free forever (10 blogs, 10 subdomains)
- Premium Starter – $2.99/month (10 blogs, 10 subdomains, priority support)
- Premium Professional – $7.99/month (20 blogs, 20 subdomains, allow customization)
- Premium Business – $19.99/month (50 blogs, 50 subdomains, no PhrasePress branding)
Curious to know its functionality, I decided to give it a go and discovered a few advantages worth mentioning about the platform.
The Pros
(1) Navigating from one page to the other is surprisingly fast and the transitioning between editing doesn’t suffer any hiccups like other simple website builders would.
(2) It has a clean and organized interface and the commands are quite clear on what needs to be done.
(3) There’s a simple 7 steps that walk you through the setup process from customizing the blog to writing your first article.
(4) It connects to Google Analytics easily, but if that comprehensive tool is way over your head, they also have a mini analytic tracking (showing the number of views) on the user dashboard.
(5) If you want to publish ads, there’s also a section that allows you to control easily the placement of the ads.
(6) What I also like is that all the plans come with built-in SEO features and security SSL, which is quite rare for a new blogging platform.
(7) Besides, the program is equipped with engagement tools such as email popup, floating bar and even a live chat program. Usually, you only see them with premium plans, but these features are actually available even in the free plan. That’s pretty impressive.
(8) As far as support is concerned, PhrasePress does respond quickly to inquiries. From my experience, within an hour or so.
The Cons
(1) For a new platform, the program doesn’t offer a lot of transparencies about their company or the technical aspects of things. We don’t know when it was established or who created it and their knowledge base is severely lacking. Somehow, I feel that this could lead to potential credibility issues should there be any problems with the platform down the road.
(2) The appearance of a blog is determined by layouts and there are 12 types to choose from.
As you can see, layouts are pretty structure oriented; they don’t play a huge role in design which means all blogs built with this program can look pretty much the same. This is a huge disadvantage if you want your blog to appear unique OR more attractive.
(3) In terms of editing, the content doesn’t auto save so you must manually save while typing which can be a bit troublesome.
(4) Although the Premium plans allow the use of custom domains, they are not provided in-house and you need to buy from domain registrars like NameCheap or GoDaddy. That’s all fine, but keep in mind that changing name servers for a domain can be technically challenging.
(5) What’s even more daunting is the recommended (yet complicated) SSL setup for your blog. By just reading their tutorial page, I know it would take me forever to understand the process.
(6) While it’s a good thing to be linked to Google Analytics, I wonder why there’s no connection to Google Search Console. I mean, if you are truly interested in building a successful blog, this free tool can show which keywords you are ranking, what pages get the most clicks and what type of errors that could be occurring on your blog.
How could you possibly conquer SEO without having this type of knowledge?
(7) Comments are good for engagement, but the program uses Disqus, a third party tool which requires a user to create an account first and sign in, before they can leave any comments on your blog. For me, this creates a barrier and it’s just cumbersome for some people.
(8) Another thing that’s not my favorite here is the PhrasePress branding. If you are serious about your own online presence, you don’t want any of these on your blog. It makes you look cheap. However, it seems to me that the only way you can unlock this feature is, if you upgrade to the highest premium plan.
So, Is PhrasePress Worthy of Your Time?
I wish I could recommend this platform, but the cons seriously outweighs the pros and I think that the program still needs more improvement before it is deemed stable for long term use. They do have some catchy features, but to me, that’s about it.
If you are really serious about blogging OR running an online business for that matter, I would go for WordPress because it’s supported by a huge community, the resources are endless and the platform is constantly up-to-date.
Wealthy Affiliate offers powerful hosting for WordPress and it also comes with training on how you can make the most out of your blog. Here’s is just a glimpse of what you can expect from their training;
I do hope that my PhrasePress blogging platform review has given you a better idea on what it takes to build a successful blog. If you need any help, check out how to create a WordPress site with SiteRubix OR leave a comment below and I would gladly respond to you.
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Hi Cathy,
The PhrasePress blogging platform is very timely. There are things about WordPress that are starting to bug me and I was looking for a different one. PhrasePress was one that was under consideration. Now that I’ve read your article, it is off the list. The deal breakers are the difficulty setting up SSL, Disqus, and the PhrasePress branding.
SSL is a must have and the WealthyAffiliate / WordPress SSL setup is enabled by a single click. Forcing people to sign up to email in order to leave a comment turns them off and anything that discourages people from leaving comments is a no go.
I want my website to be clean looking and branding would not work well at all. So, I guess I’ll stick to WordPress for now.
Hi Ed, WordPress can be a bit challenging to manage at the beginning. What problems are bugging you? Perhaps I could lend a hand.
Glad that I found this article. I was in the process of deciding which platform to go with to host my website and PhrasePress is one of them that I’ve shortlisted. I appreciate the details especially the pros and cons so that I could weigh in and out things that is good to have and those that I must have for my website.
Looks like PhrasePress has a bit of growing to do. While on the surface it doesn’t appear to be a scam, there seems to be a lot of room for improvement, as evidenced by your healthy list of cons. I particularly like your comparison chart vs. WA. I think we’re in the right place.
I thought so too Joe. I would definitely give some time for the new platform to grow before recommending it. Hosting technologies are constantly changing and if they can’t keep up with their competitors, they might go out of business and this could put your website at risk, if you are with them.
I heard some people talk of PhrasePress Blogging and so I’m glad you have this review. I’m getting the feeling this platform is fairly new? I’m especially concerned that they don’t offer many layouts which is not going to help a site look attractive. It seems very limited. Even their comment structure, I think it is more of a turn off to have to sign in just to leave comments.
Hi Monica, there are some dangers to using blog comment hosting service such as Disqus. Some bloggers have complained about comments being approved without their permission and the influx of spam comments. It just doesn’t look nice so I would definitely stay away from using such service.
Thanks for this interesting review. Obviously, Wealthy Affiliate is the best place to be if one really wish to start an online business. If you are a starter, it’s better to find everything in one place and have access to the tools you need (like keyword tool, blog training and etc) right at your fingertips.