Even though WordPress is free, you will run into some charges along the way. No worries, these startup costs are affordable, even for students. This tutorial is assuming you have minimum budget of $65 to cover yearly blog hosting costs. Here’s a list of additional costs you may encounter in your quest to building a WordPress blog.
- Domain Name – a domain name generally cost between #10 – $20 for .com, .net, and .org. Different extensions are available for higher prices. Private registration may cost an additional $20/year. Check here to see if your domain is available.
- Hosting – The space where your WordPress blog is stored on the internet is called hosting. Most hosting companies offer free WordPress 1-click-installation, or may offer specialized WordPress hosting. Hosting can cost anywhere from $65 / first year – $300/monthly for private hosting. Some hosting companies allow you to pay monthly, and can be as low as $8 / month.
- Design – Choose a theme for your blog. Premium themes can be found at themeforest.net and range anywhere from $10 – $75 / theme. Free themes are available as well through your WordPress control panel. This website is built with Elementor Pro.
- Infographics & Stock Photos – Photos and infographics are great to use in your blog posts, as different people learn different ways. It’s also a great way to break up long paragraphs of text for easer readability.
- Developer Support – Do you need somebody to help you manage the technical aspects on your blog so you can focus on your writing and not designing / developing? You may also want to work with a graphic designer that can really make your articles and site stand out.
- Marketing costs – Are you going to use Google Adsense or Facebook ads to drive traffic to your site? If yes, make sure you have a strong landing page you can send visitors to.
In conclusion, time is money. You will save a lot of time and energy by investing in your blog startup. Professional products work much easier, and have cleaner code. Higher hosting packages equal faster loading times, more visitor allowance, and space. Working with a designer to get the exact layout you want… all these should be considered when starting this business.
I personally invest about $150 if I start a new web blog – $100/year for domain & hosting, and $50 for Elementor Pro license. However, I have been building blogs with WordPress for 15 years. A fair amount to invest in your WordPress blog startup should be between $65 – $300 / for the first year.
