Text Only Blog?

I was looking for the best way to blog -- meaning I need to consider not just the platform's features and aesthetics, but also how practical it fits into my everyday habits. The platform has to be lightweight, secure, works on multiple devices and fuss-free as much as possible. It has to be either free or reasonably priced.

I've tried various platforms in the past, including Wordpress.org. While they do the job, and I even learned some CSS on the way, it was too much mental load for my lazy brain which just wants to focus on writing. So when I found Listed, I thought it was a nifty idea: as well as ticking my basic requirements, it is 'backed' by Standard Notes so you can choose to convert a portion of your notes into a public blog. Yes, you can do this with other platforms like Jekyll, but for a noob like me, it's great to be able to not worry about anything except to write.

I was ready to transfer my digital notes to Standard Notes (currently I use Apple Notes, Quip, SimpleNotes, iAWriter, Samsung Notes -- I know!) The only catch, which I realised just now, is Standard Notes does not allow for images and tables. Which is very weird for me, and off-putting to be honest, because most of us are visual. For myself, there are some ideas which are just better expressed in diagrams than in words. I did read about why this is the case -- the creator said in Reddit they want to focus on the essentials first, and anyway their philosophy is pure text. Fair enough.

To have the ability to add images, I need to subscribe to the Extended package. It sounds mean at first, but when you look at the deal carefully, it's not so bad: $150 for five years which includes more fancy plug-ins, domain name, SSL certificate, unlimited storage, etc. And yes it's always good to support the creator. I've never been a fan of expecting others doing things for free -- it's just not fair, we all have to live and eat. But some creators have taken advantage of this; they gradually overprice things, and even transform the product into a 'lock-in' system so it becomes harder for you to exit. That's mean. Looking at their general philosophy, I don't think Standard Notes come under that category though.

Still, I'd like to play around first before fully committing to the Extended package. I'm no stranger to text-only formats (HN, Pinboard) so I am curious about how much I can get away with writing just text.

Consider this musing a test post ;)