Introduction to the cheapest way to start a blog
What is the cheapest way to start a blog?
With money so tight these days, everyone is trying to find the cheapest alternative to survive.
You want to start a blog because you need more money to pay for all your living expenses. And yet you have to spend money to get money. Unfortunately, that’s just how it is.
So the next best thing is to find the cheapest way to start a blog, just so you can start generating income. That way you can pay all your bills and have something left to invest back into your blogging business.
Until then, you gotta do what you gotta go. Find the cheapest way to blog. Fortunately for you, there are a few ways to do this.
Starting a blog is a great opportunity to make extra income over time. It is one of the cheapest businesses to start but with huge benefits.
Yes, you can start a blog for free and later go self-hosted. But the goal here is to earn more money to supplement your income and fast.
To do that you need to invest in a business that will guarantee a return on your investment.
How to start a blog on a very limited budget
To keep costs at an all-time low you will only make two purchases. That is all you need to pay to start a blog. You can use a free theme and plugins for now.
You will make more purchases when you start making a profit or have extra income to invest in your blog.
1. Domain name
One of the two most important things you need is a domain name. It is the name of your blog. A domain name is a .com name. The name that you name your blog after. The address of your website that people type in the URL browser.
There are different types of domain extensions. The .com is the most popular.
Namecheap is the best place to buy a domain.
- Their WhoisGuard is always free and they offer free SSL protection at $10 a year.
- The renewal prices are less than their competitors.
- I chose them for my hosting and domain name.
- They have 99.9% uptime
- Great customer support.
- They are overall just a very reliable web hosting company and the domain registrar.
If you choose to go with another hosting company like Bluehost, they offer a free domain for the first year. I would suggest you start with NameCheap from the beginning to avoid any future hassle.
2. Hosting
Hosting is the place where your blog lives. The home of your website. And in that home, you add your furniture which is your blog content.
I recommend you choose Namecheap as your host because they are the cheapest and you can pay monthly instead of yearly.
You can also pick Bluehost, which is what a lot of bloggers recommend. It is very popular and easy to use.
Related posts:
Easy Bluehost Tutorial (Beginners Guide)
How to start a blog in South Africa
How to Launch your Blog Successfully in 15 simple steps
3. Install WordPress for free
WordWordPress.org is the best CMS. A content management system is just a fancy word for a blogging platform. Which is a software service used to publish content online.
It is the best platform for bloggers. It powers almost 40% of all the websites on the internet. And is great when customizing your blog and when you want to add features through different plugins.
It is a bit complicated to understand and navigate in the beginning, but the many functions and monetization benefits outweigh the steep learning curve. It took me many sleepless nights to figure WordPress out.
Bloggers don’t warn you about that. Be prepared and use Google and youtube to guide you through the process. There are tons of good videos that walk you through the steps.
4. Install a free theme
You can choose from a variety of free themes. The Astra theme is excellent and free. You can also buy a paid version of it later.
5. Install free plugins
The most important plugins you need to secure and protect your blog are free. Don’t add too many plugins as they will slow your site down.
6. Write, publish and promote great content
Create your important pages like your about me page and privacy page. Write, publish and promote great content then start monetizing.
Conclusion to the cheapest way to start a blog
This is the cheapest way to start a blog. You don’t need all the expensive add-ons that bloggers promise you to need. Get your domain and hosting and start building your money-making blog business. Provide helpful content to solve a problem and your blog will succeed.