The Definitive Guide on Where Developers Should Blog in 2023

If you‘re a developer looking to share coding tips, showcase expertise, and amplify your personal brand – blogging is a must. Developer-focused blogs, newsletters and community sites represent phenomenal channels for exactly that.

But the landscape has exploded with so many potential options to consider. How do you even begin to narrow it down? Just take LinkedIn alone – their platform hosts over 62 million developers as of 2022 according to SlashData research.

That‘s why I‘ve compiled this comprehensive 2800+ word guide evaluating the 8 best blogging platforms specifically for developer audiences as we head into 2023. I‘ll compare them across four key criteria:

  • User Experience – How polished and well-designed are the content tools?
  • Reader Experience – Does the platform effectively showcase code and technical subject matter?
  • Community – How engaged and supportive is the built-in readership?
  • Monetization – What options exist to publish premium content or run sponsorships/ads?

For each platform, I share actionable insights from my experience as a long-time developer blogger including:

  • Clear signup instructions
  • Content formatting capabilities
  • Audience size and reach
  • Tips to maximize your experience

Let‘s get started with the best blogging platforms for developers looking to share knowledge and amplify expertise!

Why Blog as a Developer?

But first – why even devote time to blogging in the first place as a busy programmer or engineer? What‘s really in it for you?

As it turns out, quite a lot:

  • Demonstrate skills – Showcase your programming competencies and domains of expertise through tutorial articles, project walkthroughs and technical explainers.

  • Build authority – Consistently publishing high-quality articles elevates your status as a thought leader.

  • Market services – Freelancers and consultants attract clients by prominently featuring their blogging content across digital channels to signal capabilities.

  • Enhance communication – Regular writing strengthens concise and compelling communication across mediums.

  • Get feedback – Blog comment sections and social shares supply validation or critique on new libraries, side projects and product launches.

  • Network opportunities – Exposure leads to job inquiries, partnership requests and exciting collaborations you‘d never expect.

  • Passive income – Once your blog audience hits critical mass, introduce sponsorships, affiliates, premium subscriptions, or sell your own digital products.

Clearly blogging delivers meaningful professional and financial upside for developers who embrace it. Now let‘s explore the leading options out there to reach fellow technologists.

1. DEV.to

DEV.to bills itself as "where programmers share ideas and help each other grow". Counting over 2 million monthly visitors, it‘s become the preeminent online community for developer content and discussion.

dev-to-homepage

Some unique advantages for members:

  • Cross-posting – Reach expands by republishing existing articles from personal blogs. Reposted pieces often outperform original instance.

  • Code embedding – Markdown editor makes it trivial to embed executable code samples.

  • Discussion – Comment sections under posts facilitate community dialogue.

  • Newsletter – Opt-in weekly digest showcases top trending posts.

And an array of integrations further bolster engagement:

  • Twitter – New posts auto-tweet for followers.

  • GitHub – Projects link directly to live repositories.

  • Mailchimp – Sync email lists for centralized audience communication.

The signup flow is delightfully quick:

  1. Visit dev.to and click "Join"
  2. Select a registration method from GitHub, Twitter, Google etc
  3. Provide a username, short bio blurb and profile picture
  4. Indicate technology tags that match your skills and interests
  5. Start reading and posting!

With a focused community and top-notch user experience, DEV earns its reputation as the premier destination for developer bloggers.

2. Medium

Medium dominates as the de facto standard for multi-interest blogging, counting 170 million global monthly readers.

But nested within that broader audience lies a thriving community of developers and technologists. Programming-oriented publications curate exceptional content while customized feeds surface relevant stories based on selected topics of interest.

Medium Homepage

Some factors that make Medium effective for developers:

  • Publications – Sites like Better Programming editorialize the best software engineering stories.

  • Algorithm – Following #coding and #softwaredevelopment tags trains recommendation engine.

  • Code embed – Clean formatting for code blocks using Markdown.

  • Membership – Upgradable account unlocks additional reading, comments and newsletter.

Let‘s get you registered to publish:

  1. Navigate to Medium.com and select "Get started".

  2. Choose a registration method via Facebook, Google, Email etc.

  3. Pick a unique username that identifies your work.

  4. Highlight interests like software engineering, programming etc to personalize recommendations.

Just be sure to skim their editorial policy to understand content moderation guardrails before you invest heavily in posts.

With an addressable market over 100X that of DEV, Medium offers unmatched reach for developers seeking to bolster personal brand amongst industry and mainstream audiences alike.

3. Hashnode

Hashnode caters specifically to the developer segment as a code-focused blogging platform built by and for programmers.

Some standout capabilities for technical content creators include:

  • GitHub backup – Automatically commit blog posts to a GitHub repo for safekeeping.

  • Markdown composer – Intuitive editor to embed images, tweets, code blocks etc.

  • Dev connections – Active user base of early adopter engineers and hackers.

  • Newsletter sponsorship – Get paid for sending email digests to engaged subscriber list.

Hashnode takes just minutes to setup:

  1. Visit hashnode.com and click the "Write" button.
  2. Select a registration method from Google, GitHub, Facebook etc.
  3. Provide name, username, tagline and profile links.
  4. Pick developer as account type and any experience level.
  5. Choose a custom post subdomain and subjects like Programming, JavaScript etc.
  6. Start blogging on trending dev topics!

A terrific option for programmers looking to directly address a technical audience.

4. HackerNoon

HackerNoon launched in 2016 and has quickly emerged as a leading publication for developer tutorials, technology narratives and startup stories focused firmly on the pro technical crowd.

Some benefits afforded to HackerNoon contributors:

  • Editorial oversight – Human editors provide input on drafts pre-publication.

  • Promotional support – Best performing stories receive social media amplification.

  • Newsletter inclusion – Top picks reach 120k+ inbox subscribers.

  • Commentary – Posts feature Disqus moderated commenting.

Putting yourself in front of these fast-growing channels just takes a few steps:

  1. Visit HackerNoon and click "Create Account" in the nav bar.
  2. Select "Community Writer" and fill out profile including skills and interests.
  3. Familiarize yourself with the complete Writer‘s Guide.
  4. Compose articles within their custom editor.
  5. Submit drafts to the HackerNoon team for pre-publishing review and refinement.

With a honed niche, significant reader base and amplification pathways, Hacker Noon empowers developers to make an outsized impact from the very start.

5. FreeCodeCamp

freeCodeCamp leverages an enormous community to teach developers via interactive coding challenges, guided projects and thousands of lessons.

But an often overlooked asset lies within their popular publication arm which tallies over 300,000 subscribers as one of the largest and most engaged developer blogs around.

FCC Blog Header

Posting to the freeCodeCamp blog unlocks:

  • Promotion across social media channels to their 600k+ Twitter and 300k YouTube followers.
  • Visibility within their community forum which facilitates discussion.
  • Prestige associated with a highly selective contribution program.

To earn a coveted blogging spot:

  1. Thoroughly review the stringent Style Guide.
  2. Craft 3 sample articles showcasing your abilities.
  3. Submit links and await approval based on capabilities assessed.
  4. If granted access, collaborate across draft iterations incorporating editor input.

While extremely competitive to penetrate, freeCodeCamp drives immense readership and community endorsement for published developers.

6. Indie Hackers

IndieHackers serves as the hub for developers, makers and founders to discuss bootstrapped businesses, side projects and startup journeys.

The conversational Q&A format lends itself nicely to deconstructing challenges, milestones, and lessons surrounding building independent tech products.

indiehackers popular posts

Reasons developers rally around IndieHackers:

  • Founder transparency – Creators share real data, experiences and intimate details.

  • App exchange – Showcase software in the Products section to spur trial and feedback.

  • Advice access – Big names like Pieter Levels and Courtland Allen participate regularly.

  • Work opportunities – Connect around contract gigs, partnerships and open-source collaborations.

To share your own story:

  1. Sign up for a free account.
  2. Introduce yourself in the Newbies section.
  3. Check the Writer‘s Guide for top tips.
  4. Draft your story chronicling product lessons learned.
  5. Submit to admins and engage with commenters!

If side hustling or launching startup experiments outside your 9 to 5 sounds appealing, Indie Hackers can connect you with fellow independent developers to swap ideas, experiences and battle scars.

7. DZone

DZone boasts one of the oldest and most visited developer hubs, engaging over 1.5 million visitors monthly.

Content runs the gamut from educational guides, business analysis to emerging tech – all centered firmly on the programmer lens. Their focus rests squarely on serving working practitioners.

DZone Homepage

What makes DZone unique:

  • 22,000+ published articles – Massive tech learning library from past decade of community wisdom.

  • 150 DZone zones – Self-moderated groups facilitate specialized discussion. Examples: Java Zone, Agile Zone, Cloud Zone etc.

  • Daily editorial newsletter – Curated news roundup goes out to 315k opt-in subscriber inboxes.

To contribute developer-focused stories:

  1. Sign up for free membership with DZone.
  2. Consume content around chosen subjects of interests.
  3. Participate in relevant Zones through conversations.
  4. Prepare original articles offering technical education or analysis.
  5. Submit completed drafts to their editorial board.

With an entrenched audience over its long history, DZone grants developers access to a truly engaged readership hungry for actionable programming expertise.

8. LinkedIn Articles

While LinkedIn focuses primarily on professional networking and corporate news, there still exist phenomenal blogger opportunities for developers:

  • Self-publish longform articles targeting 62M+ developers and technologists already registered on the platform.

  • Join niche LinkedIn Groups centered around coding topics to share posts and participate in discussion threads.

  • The LinkedIn algorithm suggests relevant articles to users based on profile keywords like skills, education, interests etc so your pieces can achieve targeted visibility.

LinkedIn Article Post

Let‘s cover how to publish your first developer story:

  1. Click "Write an article" from LinkedIn homepage. Provide a compelling title and self-identify as the author.
  2. Compose your post body within their online editor. Embed relevant links, images, code blocks etc.
  3. Preview the rendered version, tweak as necessary until satisfied.
  4. Submit to LinkedIn for content moderation – expect about 24 hours for approval.
  5. Share published piece across your other social channels and within relevant LinkedIn Groups.

The built-in audience of professionals makes LinkedIn an unmatched destination for developers to showcase expertise and demonstrate thought leadership.

The above platforms represent prime destinations for programmers, hackers and technologists to stake their claim in 2023 across the exploding developer blogosphere.

I encourage you to survey multiple options from the list to determine which best align with your goals around audience, content capabilities, and community.

Every blogger needs to start somewhere. So rather than overanalyzing, simply pick 1 or 2 that resonate, setup your accounts, and begin publishing quality content consistently over time.

The more insight, knowledge and experiences you share through posts, the quicker your personal brand and Dev Thought Leadership expands exponentially.

Soon colleagues, peers, future bosses will all take notice of your capabilities as showcased across channels. New opportunities to monetize, job inquiries and partnership requests will all start trickling in.

So what are you waiting for? The next great developer blog is out there waiting to be created…by you!

Choose your platform battlefield and start writing today. Your future technologist community eagerly awaits.