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How to Cross-Post Your Blog to Medium, DEV and Hashnode

By PostMediaAI5 min read

To cross-post a blog article to Medium, DEV and Hashnode without competing with your own site, publish on your blog first, then republish on each platform with a canonical link pointing back to the original URL. Medium does this automatically when you use its Import a story tool; DEV uses a canonical_url setting; Hashnode asks whether you are republishing and takes the original URL.

Republishing gets your writing in front of audiences that browse these platforms every day. The canonical link tells search engines which version is the original, so the copies help people find you instead of replacing you in results.

What a canonical link does

A canonical link is a tag on a page that says “the original version of this content lives at this other URL.” Google’s Search Central documentation describes rel=canonical as one way to indicate your preferred URL for duplicate or very similar pages.

Two caveats are worth knowing. First, canonical is a signal, not a command, and search engines weigh it with other signals. Second, Google’s Publisher Center help, written for news syndication, says the canonical element is not recommended between syndication partners because syndicated articles are often quite different from the original, and suggests partners block indexing instead. On Medium, DEV and Hashnode you do not control the page’s code, so the canonical or original-URL setting each platform offers is the practical tool available.

Step by step: Medium

Medium’s help center describes two ways:

  1. Import a story. From your Stories page, choose Import a story, paste the URL of your original article and import it. Medium brings in the content and adds a canonical link to the original source.
  2. Set it manually. If you pasted the content yourself, open the story’s settings, select “This story was originally published elsewhere” and enter the original URL.

Check formatting after importing. Code blocks, embeds and image captions sometimes need fixing.

Step by step: DEV (dev.to)

DEV’s help page explains that in the Markdown editor you add canonical_url to the front matter at the top of the post, with the full URL of your original article. In the rich editor, the canonical URL is in the post options next to Save draft.

DEV also offers a way to publish from an RSS or Atom feed, documented in its editor guide. If you use it, check that the canonical URL is set on imported posts before publishing them.

Step by step: Hashnode

Hashnode’s own blog explains that its platform lets you add the original URL when republishing. In the editor’s draft settings, look for the option that asks whether you are republishing, and enter the original article’s URL.

Do you need all three platforms?

Not necessarily. Each has a different readership:

  • Medium is general-interest, with readers across many topics beyond technology.
  • DEV is a developer community where posts are organized by tags and discussed in comments.
  • Hashnode is a developer blogging platform, which some writers use as their main blog and others for republishing.

If you write about software, DEV and Hashnode are natural fits. If you write about business, careers or design, Medium may matter more. Start with the one where your readers already are, measure whether republished posts bring readers back to your site, and add a second platform only if it does. Each extra copy is one more page to keep updated.

A simple republishing workflow

  1. Publish on your own site. This is the version you want people and search engines to treat as the original.
  2. Give it time if search matters. Many writers wait until the original has been indexed before republishing. Check with a site: search or Google Search Console.
  3. Republish on each platform with the canonical or original URL set.
  4. Adapt the opening. A short note such as “Originally published on my blog” helps readers, and some platforms’ audiences respond better to a slightly different introduction.
  5. Use each platform’s tags. Tags drive discovery on DEV, Hashnode and Medium.
  6. Link to related articles on your own site, not to the platform copy.
  7. Announce once, link to the original. On LinkedIn, X or Bluesky, link to your site.

What to cross-post, and what to keep on your site

Good candidates:

  • Tutorials and how-to guides that platform readers search for.
  • Opinion pieces and lessons learned.
  • Release write-ups for open-source projects.

Better kept on your site only:

  • Pages built to convert, such as product or pricing pages.
  • Content that changes often, where maintaining several copies is a chore.
  • Very short posts, which add little on a long-form platform.

Common mistakes

  • Republishing before the original is indexed when search traffic is the goal.
  • Forgetting the canonical setting on one platform. Check all three after publishing by viewing the page source and searching for canonical.
  • Updating the original but not the copies, so readers find outdated instructions.
  • Linking social announcements to the platform copy instead of your site.
  • Pasting without fixing formatting, so code blocks or images break.
  • Leaving a Medium story behind the paywall when you want every reader to see it. Hashnode’s republishing guide reminds writers to untick that option when publishing an import.
  • Republishing someone else’s work. Only republish articles you wrote or have the rights to.

Announcing the article on social media

Republishing covers long-form platforms. You still need short posts that point people to the article. Write one per network: a few lines of context for LinkedIn, one sentence for X and Bluesky, a carousel of key points for Instagram, and a short note for your Discord or Slack community. The workflow for adapting one message to many networks is in How to Post to Multiple Social Media Accounts at Once, and the difference between cross-posting and repurposing is explained in What Is Cross-Posting on Social Media? Meaning and Tips.

Where PostMediaAI fits

PostMediaAI lists Medium, Dev.to, Hashnode and WordPress among its 30+ channels, alongside social networks like LinkedIn, X, Bluesky and Instagram (see the full channel list). Give it the link to your article and AI drafts a version of the announcement for each channel you choose, which you edit and schedule on one calendar. Before relying on any tool, including PostMediaAI, to republish full articles, check that the original-URL (canonical) setting is applied for each long-form platform. Plans and channel counts are on the pricing page.

FAQ

Does republishing on Medium hurt SEO?

Duplicate copies can compete with your original in search. Setting the canonical link, which Medium adds automatically when you import a story, tells search engines which version is the original and reduces that risk.

How do I add a canonical URL on Medium?

Use Import a story with your original URL, or in an existing story’s settings choose “This story was originally published elsewhere” and enter the original URL, as described in Medium’s help center.

How do I set a canonical URL on DEV?

Add canonical_url with your original article’s full URL to the post’s front matter in the Markdown editor, or enter it in the post options in the rich editor.

Should I wait before cross-posting my blog?

If search traffic matters, wait until the original is indexed, then republish with canonical links. If you mostly want platform readers, you can republish sooner, still with the canonical set.

Related guides: What Is Auto Posting? How Social Media Auto-Posting Works, Cross-Post Reels to TikTok and YouTube Shorts the Right Way and AI Auto Posting Tools: What to Look For Before You Buy.

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