There seems to be a new blog-directory website every few weeks. Sites such as Haozhan and Nilaila are examples of this growing trend. The number of blog aggregators began increasing noticeably after AI-assisted programming became popular last year. Building one is not especially complicated, and AI coding tools make it possible to put together a working prototype in a short time. For bloggers who had already imagined creating a directory of personal blogs, the technical barrier has suddenly become much lower.
There is an old saying that a soldier who does not want to become a general is not a good soldier. Does that mean a blogger who has never wanted to build a blog directory is somehow not a serious blogger? Perhaps not. In the past, being accepted into a blog aggregation site could feel like an achievement. These days, however, there are so many such sites that their quality varies considerably.
Not every directory is really about blogs
Take Haozhan as an example. Its name does not specifically suggest blogs. The site appears to focus on websites in general, with blogs making up only part of its content. Its homepage also includes other kinds of personal websites. That raises a question worth considering: should we be more selective about which blog directories we join?
From a strict SEO perspective, there is no need for every website on the internet to link to our blogs. What matters more is having links from a smaller number of relevant, reliable sites. A directory with no clear subject or editorial focus may not perform especially well in search results itself. A link from such a site may therefore provide limited SEO value, or even affect how a search engine evaluates the relationship between the two websites.
Of course, not every blogger cares much about SEO. I do not pay particularly close attention to it myself. Sometimes it is better to let things happen naturally.
Some aggregators lose momentum
A number of blog directories are created on impulse by individual blog owners. At first, the idea may seem interesting, but after some time the site stops being updated. Maintenance slows down, new features never appear, and the whole project settles into a half-alive state.
Most bloggers will not visit these sites regularly, let alone apply to join them. I have submitted applications to several blog directories at the same time, and their performance and review processes were far from consistent. Some responded quickly, while others took much longer and required a tedious application process. Even the basic steps for submitting a blog could be unnecessarily complicated.
That is why blog directories are best viewed with a certain amount of rationality. There is no need to treat every one of them as an important gateway.
The technology is no longer mysterious
A few years ago, seeing one person build a blog directory could make the project seem impressive. It was easy to admire the site owner for creating a platform that brought together so many independent blogs.
That impression has changed. With current web development tools, especially AI-assisted programming, a person with a clear idea can build a basic blog aggregation project fairly easily. The freedom to create one is no longer limited to highly experienced developers.
This also makes the relationship between directories and independent bloggers rather subtle. Behind almost every blog directory is another individual blogger, and the articles or sites it recommends usually reflect that owner’s personal preferences. If your post or blog is not featured, there is no particular reason to take it personally. You may not know the person running the directory, and the article may simply not match that person’s taste—even if it is perfectly good.
As for why certain bloggers do get featured, the people who receive those recommendations probably understand the reasons well enough.
There is no need to worry about being accepted
Nobody needs to feel anxious about applying to a particular blog directory. In the end, it is only one kind of information platform. If we compare it to a public publishing platform such as WeChat Official Accounts, the relationship becomes more obvious: bloggers are the content publishers, while the platform owner acts as both the reviewer and the person deciding what gets displayed.
The logic behind that arrangement is not difficult to understand. A directory may present itself as a shared space for independent blogs, but its selections will inevitably be shaped by the preferences, standards, and attention of the person running it.
More blog aggregation sites will appear in the future, and many others will disappear. After 2026, neither development should be surprising. Almost every blogger who has spent enough time online has probably imagined creating a directory of their own.
Eventually, the market will sort itself out. The directories that remain focused, well maintained, and genuinely useful are more likely to survive and earn the community’s respect. As for the rest, they can simply be treated as part of the fun of the independent web. There is no need to take the whole matter too seriously.