Everyone knows that it is expensive to host a blog and in every new blogger’s mind the question of costs arises. How much will it cost to build a WordPress blog? There is no upper limit on blog investments, and I am going to share the minimum amount you need to spend to create a blog which you can share on the internet.
How much does it cost to start a blog on WordPress?
You can start your blog on WordPress with little money. WordPress is open source software which you can download for free from wordpress.org website. You don’t need to pay anything to download. It’s free of cost, but still, there are few things which you need to pay to start a blog.
The two most important things which you need to pay for is a domain name and web hosting. Without domain name and web hosting, you cannot start a WordPress blog.
If you are planning, then you can start with a Bluehost which provides a free domain, free SSL and other freebies with their web hosting package.
Domain cost
A price of a domain name varies between different domain name providers. You can buy a domain name from namecheap for $8.88 for a .com name for one year, but I would like to recommend you to purchase a domain name from a company where you plan to buy hosting.
However, if you like to purchase a domain name from another registrar, then you need to change nameserver. E.g., If your web hosting is on Bluehost and domain on namecheap, then you need to change default nameserver of your domain.
Web hosting Cost
This is another service you need to buy while starting your blog. There are a lot of web hosting companies on the internet. They offer a wide range of hosting plans and services like you need to decide whether you need to purchase shared hosting, VPS or Dedicated server.
The price tag is different for each service like for shared hosting you just need to pay $ 3 – $ 5 per month while as in case of Managed VPS, you need to pay more than $ 50 per month. In case of the dedicated server, you need to pay more than $ 100 per month.
I would recommend you to go with the best and reliable shared plan. It’s best for beginners, and the cost is also low. VPS and Dedicated server are usually used by eCommerce or a website having huge traffic.
Below are two hosting providers which are recommended by WordPress on their page.
- Bluehost ( Discount added in Link )
- SiteGround ( Discount added in Link )
Set-up cost
Setting up a WordPress website varies. It can cost you $ 99 – $ 199 per year but if you learn about a WordPress for only an hour or two. Then you can setup it for free. There are a lot of blog posts and videos available on the internet which will help you to set up.
When I was new to blogging, I just set up a WordPress website within minutes. At one side I kept video open and slowly kept following it step by step.
The central part of the setup is installing WordPress. Here I have written how to install WordPress on Bluehost. However, if you still find it too difficult then, you can purchase of setting a WordPress from a Fiverr. On Fiverr, many freelancers will create a database, install a theme and will provide full WordPress setup for around $ 25.
WordPress Theme Cost
Finding the right theme is the most important part to set up a WordPress blog. There are thousands of themes available on WordPress for free. The free version of the theme usually miss some elements. So it’s better to purchase a theme.
An excellent theme will cost you between $ 30 – $ 100 on ThemeForest. There you will find the best themes for the lowest price.
What should you look while purchasing a theme?
- Buy the one with most purchases because they keep updating their themes frequently.
- Check the rating. 4 or 5-star rating is considered excellent.
- Check is it SEO optimized
- Check features
WordPress Premium Plugins
There are a lot of free plugins available on WordPress. These plugins have paid version too. As a beginner, you don’t need to purchase a premium plugin. As your website will grow and you will start to earn, then you can upgrade free plugins to paid ones.
However, if you don’t have any financial issue, then there is nothing wrong to purchase some paid versions of WordPress Plugins but still, I will recommend for first-month use only free versions of plugins.
Wrapping Up
Now let’s check how much does it cost to start a blog on WordPress.
If you do all the work by yourself, then you didn’t need to pay anything besides hosting. With Bluehost, you will get a free domain and free SSL for 1 year.
If you planned to purchase a theme which I recommend, then you need to add the price of the premium theme.
Additionally, if you are planning to purchase a premium WordPress plugin which I don’t recommend right now, then you need to add the price of plugins too.
Grab a calculator and tell me in comments, how much it costs you or if you need any assistance you can comment below. I will try to answer.