How Much Does It Cost To Start A Blog?

Have you ever wondered how much it costs to start a blog? Maybe you’re looking to promote a product or business and want to write about it, or maybe you have an interesting life story you want to share. Whatever your reason for wanting to start one, I can break down just how much it cost us to start a blog.

Below are the steps we took to get our blog started.

1. Find A Relevant Domain Name:

• Pick a domain name that is relevant to what you want to blog about. For instance, if you’re wanting to write reviews about the best cat treats or something, you could pick a domain like www.bestcattreatreviews.com or www.topcattreatreviews.com.
• Get a .com extension. Why? Most people see .com as more relevant and legitimate and also top search engines like Google will favor .com’s.

Our total cost: $30 for two websites ($15 each). Recurring yearly purchase.

2. Get Hosting:

You will need a service to host your blog unless you have a dedicated server at home with a beefy internet connection. There are several companies that offer a hosting services, such as BlueHost.com and HostGator.com. We went HostGator since we’ve used them in the past and have been very satisfied with the customer service.

We ended up spending more on hosting then we otherwise would have because we started another website first and I wasn’t sure how successful that site would be. If I had this blog in mind at first, we would have gone with a 2 or 3-year subscription to reduce the overall costs.

Our original cost was $76.11 for a year, which comes out to $6.34 a month, but just for the first website. Once we wanted to add a second domain we had to upgrade to the unlimited domains package, which cost an additional $37.22.

Our total cost: $111.33/year or $9.3/month. Recurring yearly purchase. 

3. Design A Website Logo:

I got a logo created from a marketplace called Fiverr. If you haven’t heard of Fiverr, it’s a peer to peer website where you can buy certain services such as graphic design for only $5. Having a logo can add a lot of value to your blog. Remember, you’re creating a brand. Everyone brand out there has a logo (golden arches for McDonald’s, target sign for Target, etcetera).

Our total cost: $5. One-time purchase.

4. Upgrade To A Premium Theme:

At this point you have hosting and domain and just need to install a blogging platform such as WordPress to get started, however, the themes that come free with WordPress are very limited and offer very little functionality. I had first started with one of the “Twenty-something” themes and found it very lackluster, leading me to search for a premium theme. I searched around and looked at various top-rated themes and settled on a theme called Highend.

I ended up going with this theme mainly because it was the highest reviewed theme on the MOJO Marketplace.  I’ve been fairly satisfied with it for the price we paid, but there have been some minor complaints. One of the downsides of the theme is that I don’t feel like it’s truly designed for a blog. The main selling point of the theme is really the additional functionality it can provide such as:

• Portfolio style websites, such as a photography or graphic design.
• An e-commerce store front
• Local businesses with integrated maps

So overall, I’m fairly happy with the purchase since it provides additional flexibility in case I decide to expand the blog more. But there are many, many premium themes out there. Below are a few links to some reviews on the top premium themes in 2017.

• 43 Best Responsive WordPress Themes (2017)
• 2017’s Best Selling WordPress Themes
• 40 Best Premium WordPress Themes

Our total cost: $59. One-time purchase.

There is a plethora of plugins that you can purchase for your blog, but this is really all you need to get started. I hope this helps shed some light on the costs on starting a new blog in case you’re wondering the total commitment before jumping in.

The total cost to start our blog: $200.33

Image from: theblogstarter.com