Hashnode is the new medium for the tech community!

Hashnode is where the next wave of tech industry professionals and hobbyists alike are setting up shop and sharing their knowledge.

If you're a blogger in the tech world and you're still not on Hashnode...

I'm sorry, but you're doing it wrong.

No disrespect! Maybe you just haven't heard the word yet. Let's fix that!

By the way: stick around til the end of this article to find out how you can claim a free custom domain to point at your Hashnode blog!

Why Hashnode?

The first and most obvious question you may be asking is, why should I commit to yet another blogging platform?

I get it! I've been blogging for almost 20 years now - Livejournal anyone? - and I've seen a lot of platforms come and go.

But Hashnode is unique. Here's why:

1. It was created by developers, for the tech industry.
2. You own your content on your own custom domain, for free.
3. Plugging into Hashnode's community means you've got an audience on day one.
4. Writers on Hashnode don't have to punish their readers with paywalls to earn money from their work.

Medium Size Does Not Fit All

For many developers, Medium is still seen as the de facto platform for blogging.

I just have to ask:

Why?!

Medium was not designed with the tech industry in mind.

I mean c'mon, they don't even have code syntax highlighting! How can you write about code without that?

Even worse, there's no Markdown support over there. I do pretty much all of my writing in Markdown these days, often in Notion or Obsidian, and it would just be exhausting to comb through my drafts and remove all the markup. Is Medium even trying to keep up with the times on this one?

But I think the most frustrating thing about Medium for me, as a content creator, is that when I publish on such a platform, they reap all the benefits of my hard work.

If I post an article on my Medium blog, guess who builds domain authority over time? It's not me!

All that SEO magic I'm generating through my awesome content belongs to their platform.

And if I want to point a custom domain at my Medium blog, they expect me to pay $50/year for the privilege!

On Hashnode, mapping a custom domain to your blog is completely free. And it couldn't be easier to set up.

My frustrations with Medium also extend to the user experience as a reader, which is, well, ...just, awful. I don't know how else to say it!

I can't tell you how many times the paywall has prevented me from accessing some crucial piece of information that potentially could've solved a coding problem I was having.

As a writer, why would you cut yourself off from your audience like that?

Writers should be able to monetize their work in a way that's mutually beneficial to them and their readers.

Paywalls are audience killers.

I write because I want to connect with people.

Putting up a paywall between me and my readers accomplishes the opposite of that.

Can you make money with the paywall model?

Sure - assuming you have tens of thousands of readers eagerly awaiting your next post. The vast majority of us writers will struggle to earn enough to cover the monthly subscription fee.

At this point, if you know a thing or two about building websites, you may be thinking, why not just build my own custom self-hosted blog?

I'm glad you asked. :)

Don't Get Stuck on WordPress Island

There are plenty of perfectly good reasons to build your own custom blog from scratch. It can certainly be a fun project to take on.

But how is anybody going to find you on your tiny remote island out there in the oceanic Internet?

I've maintained several WordPress and Squarespace blogs over the years. I also built my own blog from scratch with Ghost CMS and Next.js once upon a time.

Don't get me wrong: these are all great tools when used in the right context.

But I don't think your technical blog is the best use case for any of them.

Think about it: why are you blogging in the first place?

Well... you want people to read what you write, right?

When I was thinking about migrating my blog over to Hashnode from my custom Ghost site, I ran a few experiments.

What I found is that if I published a new piece to my custom blog and shared it through my socials, I'd get maybe a couple dozen hits at best - mostly friends checking it out, I imagine.

But if I posted that same article on Hashnode, I could reach hundreds or thousands of readers in a matter of days.

That's just not possible with a self-hosted blog, unless you already have a massive audience to begin with. Even then you may still struggle to reach new people consistently. And if the domain is brand new? Forget about it!

I enjoy coding. I think building websites is fun. But when my goal is to publish, I don't want to waste my precious time fussing with the code behind the scenes. I don't need to impress anyone with my HTML skills. I just want to get my work out to as many people as possible.

Hashnode Rewards Creators

What I've outlined so far amounts to a lot of reasons why you're better off avoiding the alternatives. But what makes Hashnode special?

Hashnode won me over as a writer thanks to their ongoing commitment to rewarding bloggers for publishing on the platform.

Between coffee giveaways for the top writers, healthy cash prizes for hackathon winners, and the new Sponsorship program, Hashnode really goes out of its way to see to it that writers are able to make real money through their content - no paywalls necessary!

When a Sponsor sends you a tip to thank you for your work, Hashnode doesn't take a cut. It's your money. You earned it!

And your readers will always be able to access your work without paying a penny to the platform.

You're Missing Out

Hashnode is growing, fast.

You wouldn't believe me if I showed you the numbers. Our heads are spinning over here, to be quite honest.

I am blown away by how quickly the tech community has gravitated to Hashnode.

That tells me that the platform is meeting our community's needs in a way that the alternatives simply do not.

In my few short months on Hashnode, I've already connected with thousands of amazing readers and writers from all around the world who might have been out of reach otherwise.

Hashnode is an incredibly diverse global community of folks from every corner of the tech world.

And we are eagerly waiting for you to join us!

Start Today

Hashnode makes it as simple as possible to start blogging right away.

If you already have a blog on Medium, Hashnode's got a 1-click import tool so you can migrate your entire archive over with zero friction.

And if you're new to blogging, I can't imagine a better place to start than Hashnode.

Now's the best time to join the next wave of developers, designers, and tech industry pros who are already sharing and growing together here on Hashnode.

FREE Custom Domain Giveaway! 🎁

Our community is super friendly and welcoming!

We would love to have you.

So much so, in fact, that if you're one of the first 100 people to take action here and migrate your blog from Medium to Hashnode, we'll set you up with a free custom domain on the house so you can start building up your platform the right way.

Already have your own domain? No sweat - we'll cover your renewal fee so you can keep rocking for another year.

Start your Hashnode blog today, and if you're migrating from Medium, drop us a line through this form to claim your free domain. Happy blogging!