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Starting A Blog: How Much Does It Really Cost

Sezmi

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Blogging is a great option for side hustles. Blogs are one the most cost-effective business ventures.

First Year Blogging Expenses

This article will talk about what I consider real-world costs to start a blog within the first year.

The first year of a blog costs $124.40 to $2613.88 USD.

Even though it covers a wide range of situations,

Bloggers who blog for pleasure, professionals who want to start a full-time business, and people who just want to make a living blogging.

My list goes from beginning to end. Let’s get started.

Best Computer For Blogging

You will first need a computer. Because of the small screen size, it will almost be impossible to use your smartphone or tablet to create blogs.

Statista reports that 74% Americans own a computer at their home.

You will use a web browser for most of your work.

You won’t be hosting your blog from your computer. Only you will be creating the content.

Microsoft Windows computers are a great option if your goal is to blog on a budget. ”

While I don’t recommend an iPad like Apple’s with an extra keyboard or a larger screen, it’s possible.

Blogging on a portable computer is more convenient than using a computer at home. Blog anywhere you like, including at Starbucks, the beach, or anywhere else.

Microsoft Windows Portable Recommended

1,696 Reviews HP Portable (15.6″ HD Touchscreen, Intel Core i3-1005G1, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage I’ve had great success with HP Laptops. It offers all the top features for blogging. It has a lot of power, memory, and battery life. Amazon: Buy

Apple Macintosh portable recommended

15,190 reviews Apple MacBook Air 13″ with 8GB RAM and 2GB SSD Storage. My preferred device for blogging is an Apple Macintosh. The Apple Air is lightweight and portable. Apples are easy to set up and integrate with Apple iPhones. Amazon: Buy

Prices — $500 to $1,000

Internet Connection

The vast majority of people have an internet connection at home. While this statistic does not reflect the quality of an internet connection, it is a crucial aspect of blogging.

The average internet price is $35. However, the majority of Americans pay $60 per month. My monthly internet bill is $160. Add equipment, fees, and other expenses to quickly increase the cost.

All you need is an internet connection. Hobby bloggers usually don’t have to pay additional fees.

It is possible to pay a portion of your internet bandwidth fees if you are a business owner.

Bloggers must have an internet connection in order to survive. This can be used for creating content, communicating via email, video, and using multimedia.

You must have a reliable broadband connection.

It is possible to find alternative options if you have a slow Internet connection or are “glitchy”, like my children call them.

Go to your local library. Many municipalities offer Wi-Fi internet.

Free WiFi is available at many coffeehouses and restaurants, including Starbucks. Enjoy a Frappuccino as you write on your blog

Price — Free up to $720/year

Web Hosting for Bloggers

Choosing the right web hosting is the most important step in building a blog.

While there are many website builders, and other free options for blogging, I think it is better to use WordPress webhosting.

WordPress gives you the most flexibility compared to other services.

There are limits to what you can do with free blogging tools.

Web hosting is affordable if you can afford one cup of Starbucks coffee per day.

Other options include website builders like Wix or Squarespace.

The biggest problem with their ecosystem is . Bloggers tend to leave their services after a while.

Start with a platform you will not need to modify.

Bluehost is the best beginner host.

Our Take

Bluehost is the best option for those just starting in web hosting. They give you a domain name for free for the first year. You can also install WordPress quickly and easily.

Bluehost Review

9.5Out Of 10

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Bluehost provides the best blog hosting platform. Bluehost offers discounts to customers who sign up for more than one year.

BlueHost Key Features

• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Registration of a domain name for free in the first year
• Get an SSL certificate to secure your website.
• WordPress Installation in One Click
• 50GB disk space is the minimum plan.

Best Professional Host – WP Engine

Our Take

WP Engine has been my go-to web hosting company when I was creating WordPress blogs.

WP Engine Review

7.5Out Of 10

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WPEngine can be a great tool to professional bloggers. WPEngine has over 500,000 users.

WP engine offers a $300/year plan.

Although this is more than Bluehost, WP Engine offers many more features.

WP engine hosts WordPress blogs and only WordPress. WPEngine is a WordPress expert who assists WordPress bloggers.

WP Engine Key Features

• This template is WordPress-specific.
• Website with built-in caching and fast loading speeds CDN for images and JavaScript.
• Nightly backups make sure that you don’t lose any files.
• 35 SEO-friendly WordPress themes (StudioPress Genesis)
• To prevent your update from being lost
• SSL Certificate included with your
• 60-day money-back guarantee

Price — $35.40/year, up to $300/year

Domain Name

Bluehost already include a domain name with their hosting.

WPEngine doesn’t include domains if you choose my recommended professional hosting.

If so, then Namecheap This is a great place for domain names to be purchased. Click here to purchase domain names. .com Domain name , They start at $8.88 an year. This is what I recommend. best domain registrar .

Our Take

Namecheap is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar.

Namecheap Review

9.0Out Of 10

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Price — Up to $8.88/year

Blog Software

WordPress My favorite blogging software.

It’s the standard for CMS blogging software. Most people are familiar with Gutenberg the WordPress editor.

There are many themes and plugins to make your website professional.

It is easy to use and you can quickly start WordPress blogging. You don’t need to know how to install WordPress.

Your blog can be started as soon as your hosting order is placed.

Free

WordPress Theme

WordPress themes are among its most powerful features. Premade templates, also known as themes, can be used to change the look and feel of your WordPress website.

There are many WordPress themes that you can choose from. Elementor, one of the most used themes.

The WordPress theme is great for beginners.

Just $49/year

Price — No Charge up to $49/year

WordPress Backups

Backups are often an afterthought for web hosting companies. Bloggers believe backups should be considered after they have made some money or spent a lot time creating their blogs.

This is a huge mistake and one of most dangerous actions you can make.

Too often, customers made changes to blogs that caused the entire website to go down. Then, they discover that Blogger did not have backups.

Hackers can also hack into blogs, deleting content and installing malware. It is impossible to repair it if there is no backup.

Back up

Bloggers who do not have a backup of WordPress can lose hours, days, or even months of work. This situation is both for professionals and hobbyists.

This mistake is common for new bloggers. Schedule regular backups.

Backups are easy with this tool

I have used BloggerVault. BloggerVault is a reliable and safe service that backs up your blog every night for at most 90 days.

BlogVault is more than a backup. BlogVault does more than backup.

• Nightly backups – More than 400,000 WordPress blogs use this feature to back up their data.
• Malware Removal – Find out if you blog has been hacked with one-click removal
• Builtin Firewall Stop hackers gaining access your blog.
• WordPress Theme Updating – Daily Notifications for Plugin and Theme Modifications – Your blog dashboard can be updated with updates from BlogVault.
• Update Monitor – Get notified when your blog goes down

BlogVault can be your one-stop shop for protecting and backing up your blog.

Our Take

Backups and security are crucial to the maintenance of your WordPress blog.

8.5Out Of 10

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Price — $89/year

WordPress Plugins

WordPress contains over 50,000 plugins You decide which plugins you are most interested in.

WordPress works fine. Plugins allow you to expand the functionality of WordPress.

But, not all plugins are equal.

Many plugins are free and easy to use, but it is worth paying for.

These plugins are my top recommendations for all WordPress installations.

• Search Engine Optimization is a well-known plugin that can be used to replace Yoast.
• MonsterInsights To track visitors to your site, you will need to use Google Analytics. These plugins can provide valuable insights to help improve your blog’s content.
• Register for your mailing list using OptinMonster. The plugin is vital.
• Social Warfare Allows you to share your posts via social media.
• WP Rocket Google and users are concerned about the time it takes for websites to load. The plugin will speed up website loading.

Free up to $275.50

Email and Office Suite

Bluehost offers basic email with all web hosting orders. Bluehost and many other hosting providers don’t have email as their primary focus.

I have found it to be a hassle as a web hosting provider. I believe that hosting providers don’t know how to manage email.

Bluehost doesn’t offer a calendar to help you build your blog business.

Sign up for Google Gmail, a free email service. However, your emails will end at @gmail.com. It does not look professional.

To manage your blog, you will need other software such as

• Email
• Calendar
• Word Processor
• Spreadsheet
• Prasentations

You can choose Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

Both. Although I only have one. Google Workplace. This allows you to share documents with other editors, writers and web designers.

Our Take

I use Microsoft 365 but I prefer Google Workspace.

9.5Out Of 10

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Price — Free up to $72/year

Analytics

Analytics is a key part of measuring the success of your blog. Analytics will help you to measure key metrics for your blog.

By adding Javascript code to each page of your WordPress theme, you can integrate Google Analytics with WordPress. You can also use plugins to do this.

MonsterInsights, one of my favorite plugins, is recommended. You can start with the free option or go for the Plus option to have more tracking options.

Our Take

Google Analytics can be set up without Javascript tags being incorrectly configured or not accurately tracking every event on your blog.

9.0Out Of 10

Learn More

Price — Free up to $99.50/year

How Much Does it Cost to Start a Website

This is a list of the costs involved in starting a blog. A professional blogger can do this for $35.40 per annum.

This is how much you’ll need to start your blog within the first year. Some line items can only be used for one-time fees like a computer.we