When starting out, you should know that blog investment has no limits. Every blogger is faced with the dilemma of how much it will cost to start a blog.
If you’re worried, you should know that you can still start a blog for free, but it is recommended to put in a bit of an investment if your goal is to make a profitable and well-customized blog.
Simply put, all free things have limitations. This could lead to a small or slightly more significant effect on your blog.
If you are confident that you can blog using the right strategies, your investment will be returned many times over in the future, and you’ll be able to make a profit with your writing.
What is the cost of starting a Blog?
Your initial blog costs will vary depending on what type of blog you plan to start. It will cost between $35.40 and $200.
In the beginning, there isn’t a huge audience who will read your blog the first time you publish it. To achieve your audience goals, you must promote your blog using the right strategies.
You only need to understand exactly what you require and are willing to pay for.
You can begin with a small investment, and then you can add more elements to your blog as you grow.
This will allow you to gradually build your business as a full-time blogger.
Let’s see what the essentials are and which extras you should buy if you start a blog today.
1. Web Hosting Prices (WordPress along with Bluehost): $35.40
The first thing you should consider when you start a blog is the right blogging platform and web hosting plan.
It’s better to use the most popular blog platform if you want to make blogging a serious endeavor.
You can combine Bluehost and WordPress to make it easier for you to get started with your web hosting and blogging platforms respectively.
WordPress is a free CMS (content management system) that you can use to manage the content of your blog. So, web hosting is the only thing that you will need to pay for.
You only need to buy BlueHost’s basic Plan for a new blog. It costs $2.95/month for the first year.
Bluehost also offers a variety of plans that include package extras, such as Cordguard Basis for daily backups. All plans are charged annually and can be renewed at regular prices.
Are you ready to set up your blog with Bluehost?
2. Domain name cost – $0
Registering a domain name is necessary to put your website online. Every blogger must pay a small fee to register a domain name.
You’ll receive a free domain name and an SSL certificate if you choose Bluehost to be your hosting provider. You’ll need to renew your domain name every year for around $10. If you choose Bluehost, the domain cost for the first year you start a blog will be $0
Bluehost’s domain checker tool can help you locate and also determine the availability of your preferred domain name.
Here are some other places besides BlueHost to buy a domain name.
- Domain.com – The most popular domain registrar. You can purchase domain names starting at $9.99
- Namecheap – The cheapest provider for web hosting and domain name registration. For your first year, you will need to pay $5.98 for (.com) domains.
- NameSilo is a popular domain hosting provider, which has been in existence since 2009. For your first year registration, you will need to pay $8.99 for (.com) domains
Note: It may be difficult to put together your domain name and hosting if you are purchasing them from different providers.
3. WordPress Theme Prices – $59
WordPress offers tons of free, easy-to-use themes. If you plan to personalize your blog with more user-friendly options, you may have to purchase a premium theme.
This means that if you are a beginner blogger, you can start your blog using a free theme like the Astra WordPress theme. As your blog grows, you can also pay for premium features.
Free themes aren’t customizable and don’t get updates. Depending on your needs, you can purchase a premium theme.
The Astra theme PRO addon is $59/year. You can also select premium themes from marketplaces such as ThemeForest.
You can also use WordPress page builders such as Elementor to enhance your blog’s appearance with drag-and-drop page building tools. You will have to pay about $49 per year.
4. WordPress Plugins Prices – $0
WordPress plugins are a great way to add functionality to your WordPress blog. WordPress offers thousands of premium and free plugins.
These plugins allow you to do unlimited things with your blog. Example: The WooCommerce plugin can help you sell your products within your WordPress blog.
Most plugins are free, but you will need to purchase some to access premium features.
5. Logo Cost – $9.99
Logos can help your blog look professional and increase brand recognition. There are two options available if you want to quickly and easily create your blog logo.
First, you can hire a graphic designer to create a professional logo design for your blog. The second is to make it on your own.
It’s better to do it yourself when you start out. A logo generator such as Tailor brands can help you design a simple, clean and icon-based logo.
Tailor Brands allows you to download a low-resolution version of your logo free of charge. You can also download a high-resolution logo file by signing up for their premium plan, which starts at $9.99 per month. You can cancel your plan at any time and your logo will remain yours forever.
6. Email Marketing costs – $20
An email marketing service provider is essential if you want to make money blogging. This will enable you to increase your email list so you can send newsletters. You can also sell products, services, or provide further updates to your subscribers with these email lists.
There are many ways to build your email list, but the easiest way is to embed a signup form in your blog posts.
ConstantContact offers a free 60-day trial of email marketing (for users in the US or Canada) and features that are easy to use so you can manage your email lists.
You can renew your subscription at $20 per month after the trial ends. Your monthly price will depend on how many contacts you have.
7. Social Media Management costs – $12.99
Bloggers know that building a blog and social media presence is essential to growing their online presence and driving blog traffic.
You need the right tools to analyze your audience and to communicate with them when managing social media accounts.
Simply put, social media promotion is key to building a community around your blog. You will need to create and manage engaging social media content for your audience.
To create social media posts, you can use online tools such as Canva along with their premium Content planner feature. You can then schedule them for any social media account, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, for an entire week.
Basic Canva is completely free with unlimited DIY features to create wonderful graphics. But, the Canva PRO plan has many more benefits, and it also includes the Content planner that we talked about.
Canva, the most popular online graphic design platform, offers a 30-day free trial for Canva PRO.
It costs about $12.95 per month to renew your subscription if you wish to continue after the trial ends.
Blog Costs Summary:
Don’t be worried. It’s cheap and easy to start a blog. Many companies out there offer a variety of tools that can be used without technical knowledge for anyone to start a blog.
The cost of starting a blog depends on the results you are looking for. You will need the right tools if you want to make your blog profitable.
The minimum initial cost to start a new blog is $35.40 (This is for the first year).
This price only includes your domain or web hosting costs with Bluehost. For $35.40, you can get started.
To make your blog more successful in the long term, you should focus on these fundamentals if you are just starting out.
- Create great SEO-friendly content for your blog
- Promote your blog using the right methods
- Monetize your website
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity. The most important thing to remember is that you should never stop learning about blogging. You can improve your skills by taking a variety of courses on platforms such as Udemy.
You just need to keep learning new things, and then use that knowledge to generate income through your blog.
Happy blogging!
