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The Cost To Starting A Blog: Master Guide

Sezmi

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First Year Blogging Expenses

This article will discuss what I consider to be real-world costs that you need to start a blog in the first year.

A blog costs $124.40 to $2613.88 USD for the first year.

Although it’s quite a broad range, it still covers all possible situations.

Hobby bloggers who do it for fun, professional bloggers who want to build a full-time blog business, or someone just wanting to make a living from blogging.

The order of my list is from beginning to end — I cover everything from the basics of a computer to the tools required for attracting an audience. I don’t assume anything and go into all details. Let’s get started.

1. First Year Blogging Expenses
2. Best Computer For Blogging
3. Internet Connection
4. Web Hosting for Bloggers
5. Domain Name
6. Blog Software
7. WordPress Theme
8. WordPress Backups
9. WordPress Plugins
10. Email and Office Suite
11. Analytics
12. Total costs to start a blog

Best Computer For Blogging

A computer is the first thing you will need. It is possible to create blogs using your tablet or smartphone, but it’s not recommended. It’s more difficult and you’ll need to type a lot. It will be almost impossible due to the small size of the screen.

Statista reports that 74% of Americans have a computer at home, either a laptop or a desktop. You are lucky if you already own a computer. The majority of modern Macintosh and Windows computers are powerful enough for creating blogs. When you start a blog, you don’t necessarily need to have a powerful computer. A computer that is ten years old should be able to be used.

For most of your work, you will be using a web browser.

Keep in mind that you won’t be hosting the blog from your personal computer. You will only be creating your content. Later, we’ll cover the hosting of your blog. All you need is a computer to access your blog and create content.

Microsoft Windows computers make a great choice if you’re looking for a budget computer to blog. However, an Apple Macintosh computer is my personal preference. Apple computers are more costly and require a “Mac Tax”. Even though the software integration is excellent and reliable, it can be frustrating if you don’t already own an iPhone. Steve Jobs once said, “It just works!”

Although I do not recommend using an iPad like Apple’s iPad with an extra keyboard, it is possible. You may need software that isn’t available on the iOS platform as you get older. You’ll be glad you did.

A portable computer for blogging is better than a desktop computer. You can use it anywhere there is a WiFi connection. You can blog anywhere, at any time, at your favorite Starbucks or at the beach.

Microsoft Windows Portable Recommended

1,712 reviews HP Portable (15.6″ HD Touchscreen, Intel Core i3-1005G1, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage With HP Laptops, I have had great success. It has all the best features for blogging. It offers a good amount of power, memory and battery life. Amazon: Buy

Apple Macintosh portable recommended

SALE 15,563 reviews Apple MacBook Air (13″, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD Storage). An Apple Macintosh is my preferred portable device for blogging. The Apple Air is light and portable. Apples are simple to set up and integrate well with Apple iPhones. $899.99 Amazon: Buy

Price — $500 to $1,000

Internet Connection

Most people have an internet connection at their home. Statista also reports that 86% of the population in developed countries has an internet connection. Although this stat does not indicate the quality of the internet connection, it is an important aspect to blogging.

While the average internet price is $35, most Americans pay $60/mo. Broadband. Internet plans in some areas can be much more expensive, with select plans costing up to $100 more. Verizon FiOS includes TV and telephone. I pay $160 per month. The monthly cost of the internet can quickly rise if you add equipment, fees, installation and all other necessities.

You are set if you have an internet connection. If you’re a hobby blogger, there are usually no additional charges.

If you own a business, it is possible to pay at least part of your internet bandwidth fees.

Bloggers need an internet connection to survive. It will be used for all aspects of blogging. You can use it for everything: creating content, communicating with others via email and video sessions, as well as using multimedia.

Your broadband connection must be reliable.

However, it is possible to find other options if your Internet connection is slow or “glitchy”, as my kids like to call them.

Visit your local library is the best option. WiFi internet is available at many local libraries for no cost. You only need a library card and a computer. Many municipalities also offer Wifi to residents.

You can also find free WiFi at many restaurants and coffeehouses, such as Starbucks. You can also enjoy a Frappuccino while you work on your blog.

Cost — Free to $720/year

Web Hosting for Bloggers

The most important part of creating a blog is choosing the right web hosting.

There are many website builders and free blogging options, but I believe it is best to use WordPress web hosting.

WordPress offers you the greatest flexibility in comparison to other services.

You can only do so much with free blogging options. It’s like having an @aol.com address if you’re trying to start a business. Many free services have ad banners or terms that prevent you from running a profitable blog. Hobby bloggers limit the possibilities for what can be done on a blog.

It’s not expensive to blog, as you’ll see. It’s often less than one cup of Starbucks coffee per month. You can afford web hosting if you are able to buy one cup of Starbucks coffee per month.

Another option are website builders such as Wix and Squarespace.

Their ecosystem is the biggest problem. They are often too restrictive in terms of features, and bloggers tend to leave their services eventually.

It is best to begin with a platform that you won’t need to change. This is generally cheaper and more convenient in the long-term.

Bluehost is the best beginner host

Sezmi’s Take

Bluehost is the best choice for anyone just starting out in web hosting. Bluehost gives you a domain name free of charge for the first year. They also offer a quick WordPress installation. In no time, you’ll have your blog up and running.

Bluehost Review

9.5 Out Of 10

Bluehost is the best blog hosting platform to create your blog. Bluehost offers discounts for customers who sign up for multiple years.

BlueHost Key Features

• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Free domain name registration for the first year
• Secure your website with an SSL certificate
• WordPress installation in one click
• For the lowest plan, 50GB of disk space

WP Engine – Best Professional Host

Sezmi’s Take

WP Engine is the web hosting company I turn to when creating a WordPress blog. WP Engine is a WordPress hosting company, unlike many other providers. If you need a host to host your email, you will have to search elsewhere. WP Engine offers many WordPress-specific features, including caching. A content delivery network (CDN), is also included automatically. WP Engine is the right choice if you are looking for reliable, fast and reliable hosting for your WordPress blog.

WP Engine Review

7.5 Out Of 10

WPEngine is a great tool for professional bloggers. WP Engine is a professional blogging tool with over 500,000 users.

WP Engine offers a $300 per year plan.

While this is more than Bluehost’s, WP Engine has many more features. These other options may make it cheaper.

WP Engine hosts WordPress blogs, and only WordPress. WP Engine is a WordPress expert and helps WordPress bloggers.

WP Engine Key Features

• This is a WordPress-specific template.
• Website with fast loading speed and built-in caching. CDN for images, CSS and JavaScript.
• Nightly backups ensure that you never lose any file
• Over 35 SEO-friendly WordPress themes for free (StudioPress Genesis).
• You can create a development, staging, or production environment to prevent your update from going down
• SSL Certificate included for free
• 60-day money-back guarantee

Cost — $35.40/year up to $300/year

Domain Name

Bluehost already includes a domain name in their hosting. There is no additional charge.

WP Engine doesn’t include domain names if you choose my recommended hosting for professionals.

If so, then Namecheap This is a great place to purchase your domain names. You can purchase domain names from them by clicking here .com Domain name , They start at $8.88/year. This is what I recommend. best domain registrar .

Sezmi’s Take

Namecheap, an ICANN-accredited domain registrar, is available. You can do exactly what the name implies: Buy a domain name cheaply. A “.com” domain address can be purchased for $8.88 per annum. Namecheap offers excellent 24/7 customer support that can assist you in getting set up any time of the day or night. You might also consider hosting services from the company, but I recommend you check out my other recommendations.

Namecheap Review

9.0 Out Of 10

Cost — Free to $8.88/year

Blog Software

WordPress is my favorite blogging software. It’s also free!

It is the standard for CMS blogging software. It powers 42% of all the blogs on the internet. It is easy to find web developers and designers who are proficient in WordPress. If you ever need to hire writers or editors for your website, most people are familiar with Gutenberg, the WordPress editor.

There are thousands of themes that can make your site professional, as well as plugins that add additional functionality.

It’s easy to use, and you can quickly get started with WordPress blogging. The best part is that the recommended WordPress hosting can be installed in just one click. There is no need to learn how to install WordPress.

You can start writing on your blog as soon as you place your order for hosting.

WordPress Theme

WordPress themes are one of its best features. Premade templates called themes can be used to modify the appearance and feel of your WordPress site.

There are many free and paid WordPress themes. Elementor is one of the most popular WordPress themes.

Elementor WordPress theme is perfect for anyone who doesn’t know much about blogging. It’s a visual editor that makes creating blog posts easy. Elementor is easy to use if you are familiar with word processors.

Only $49/year

Cost — Free to $49/year

WordPress Backups

Many web hosting providers consider backups an afterthought. Bloggers think backups are an afterthought after they make some money, or after they spend a lot of time creating their blog.

I believe this is a big mistake, and one of the most dangerous things you can do.

Too often, I saw customers make changes to their blogs that broke the whole website. Only to discover later that they had not made any backups. Bloggers lose all their work and must rebuild.

A hacker may also break into the blog, deleting all content and installing malware. The only way to fix it is to start again from scratch because there’s no backup. You must ensure that you secure WordPress from the start.

If you feel it is important enough to blog, it is important enough to back it up.

Bloggers without a backup of their WordPress site can lose hours, days or even months of work. This is a very demotivating event and I have seen bloggers quit after such a loss. This is a terrible situation for professional bloggers as well as hobbyists.

This is a common mistake for new bloggers. Make sure you schedule regular backups.

There is a tool to make backups simple.

I have used BlogVault. BlogVault is a safe and reliable service that stores backups of your blog every night for at least 90-days.

BlogVault does more than backup. It scans your blog for malware. BlogVault will alert you when plugins or themes need to be updated — hackers are known for using outdated software to gain access to WordPress blogs. BlogVault includes:

• Nightly Backups — More than 400,000 WordPress blogs use this feature for backup.
• Malware Scanning — Find out if your blog was hacked using one-click removal.
• Builtin Firewall – Stop hackers from gaining access to your blog.
• WordPress Theme Update – Daily Notifications of Plugin and Theme Changes – You can update your blog’s dashboard with updates directly from BlogVault.
• Uptime Monitor — Receive notification when your blog goes down

BlogVault is your one-stop shop to secure and back up your blog.

Sezmi’s Take

Security and backups are essential to maintaining your WordPress blog. Your web hosting provider should not be relied upon to create backups of your website. You must be in complete control of your site and ensure that you have off-server backups. BlogVault is a simple-to-use backup service and malware security monitoring system.

8.5 Out Of 10

Price — $89/year

WordPress Plugins

WordPress has over 50,000 plugins. It is up to you to decide which plugins are most important.

WordPress is fine out of the box. Plugins are a way to extend WordPress’ functionality.

However, not all plugins can be used equally.

Many are free to download and can be used, but you often pay more. There are also commercial plugins. Which one should you choose?

These are the plugins that I recommend for all installations. You can find a complete list of the top WordPress plugins that I use.

• SEOPress is a popular plugin that can be used in place of Yoast to optimize SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
• MonsterInsights You will need to track visitors to your blog. This plugin can be used with Google Analytics to provide valuable insights that will help you improve the content of your blog.
• Sign up for your mailing list with OptinMonster. This plugin is essential.
• Social Warfare Makes it easy to share posts via social media. This plugin makes your blog posts viral.
• WP rocket – Google and your users are concerned about how long it takes for your website to load. This plugin will speed up your website.

Cost — Free to $275.50

Email and Office Suite

Bluehost includes basic email with all web hosting orders. Although I don’t recommend it. Bluehost, and most hosting providers, don’t focus on email as their main focus.

It’s actually a pain from my experience as a web hosting provider. It’s difficult to manage spam and email delivery issues. My opinion is that hosting providers are not very good at managing email.

Bluehost does not offer a calendar for building your blog business.

The first is to sign up for a free email service such as Google Gmail. Your cost is therefore $0. This is a great option, but it means that your emails will end with @gmail.com. It doesn’t look professional.

You will also need to use other software on your computer to manage your blog. Software such as:

• Email
• Calendar
• Word Processor
• Spreadsheet
• Präsentations

Here you can choose between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.

Both, although I have one. Google Workplace is my favorite of both. It is all online and allows for easy sharing of documents with other editors, writers, web designers, and others.

Sezmi’s Take

Although I do use Microsoft 365, I prefer Google Workspace to Microsoft 365. Blogger, I am always online. Google Sheets and Google Docs are my favorite tools, while Gmail is the best. Google’s anti spam filtering is excellent, and there are many third-party plugins available to extend Workspace.

9.5 Out Of 10

Cost — Free to $72/year

Analytics

Analytics is an important part of measuring your blog’s success. Positive feedback is essential to ensure your blog is doing the right thing. Analytics can help you measure key metrics of your blog.

Google Analytics offers a great, free option. There are also better-paid options like Woopra. Google Analytics is the best option for bloggers who are just starting out, and I will only recommend it.

You can use Google Analytics with WordPress by inserting Javascript code to every page of your WordPress theme. There are also plugins that will do this for you.

MonsterInsights is one such plugin that I recommend. Start with the free option, or choose the Plus option to get more tracking options.

Sezmi’s Take

You can get Google Analytics set up without worrying about Javascript tags being correctly configured or not accurately tracking all events on your blog. MonsterInsights makes it easy to set up Google Analytics.

9.0 Out Of 10

Cost — Free to $99.50/year

Total costs to start a blog

Here is a list of costs associated with starting a blog. It has been broken down into two types of bloggers: Professionals and Hobbyists. You should keep in mind that costs for either option will differ depending on your needs. A professional blogger can do it for $35.40 per year.

This is the amount you will need to start a blog in the first year. Some line items are only for one-time fees, such as a computer.