In this section, you will learn how to start a blog that costs only a few dollars a month. If you are looking for a quick way to get started blogging, then I believe Bluehost is a good place to start. It offers a one-click WordPress setup and costs $3.49 a month if you choose to buy through my link.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Bluehost, and I will receive a commission if you sign up through my referral link. There is no additional cost to you, and you will get a great price and a free domain name through my link.
To get started building your blog on WordPress, click here, then use the tutorial below for step-by-step directions.
If you are looking to start a WordPress blog on the cheap, then using Bluehost for any of your hosting needs might be a good choice. Bluehost is a great web hosting option, and I have had a good experience with them so far.
Benefits of starting a blog
- Earn some money and work from home on your schedule.
- Share information and resources with other people.
- Place your portfolio of what you can do on your blog and include your blog on your resume.
Anyone can make money on a blog and will be able to cover their hosting costs quickly, as hosting is not very expensive.
Bluehost is one of the top web hosting companies this year, and you can start your blog for as little as $2.95 a month (through this link only). Also, if you purchase through my link, you will get your domain name for free if you buy a 12-month or longer hosting plan (a $15 value).
You save a lot of money by getting a 12-month hosting plan through Bluehost. It is affordable, and if you want a better deal, the best value would be to purchase a 36-month plan, as your monthly increase is much lower over a longer period.
Can’t I just start for free on blogger.com?
You might have considered at one point starting a blog on Blogger.com for even cheaper to start your blog. Here are some of the disadvantages of starting on Blogger.com:
- Very simple to use. Anyone can start a WordPress blog easily with my step-by-step tutorial below. Bluehost makes it simple to start a WordPress blog.
- Very poor domain and URL structure
- You don’t own the blog.
- Domain redirection is challenging.
- Very bad customization and no plugins are available.
- Bluehost web hosting provides technical support.
- If you choose Bluehost, you will be self-hosted. If you are interested in monetizing your blog, then you will want to make sure it is self-hosted.
- Your name will come across much more professional to any of your readers or other companies.
You will need to go to Bluehost to complete any of these tutorials. There are several web hosting companies out there; however, Bluehost is one of the best.
If you are looking to start a blog on WordPress, follow along below. Click here to start the process.
How to start your WordPress blog on Bluehost
Register your domain name
Use NameChk, which is the quickest way to search for your username on your site and across hundreds of social networks.
Here are two options that you can use to name your blog:
1. Name: You can choose to name it after your name. So, for instance, mine would be Andrew.com. If you find that your name is already taken, try adding your middle name. Many other bloggers out there have chosen to use their name as their blog site’s domain name.
2. The other option would be to name your blog around a niche or passion that you are choosing to talk about on your blog. This is the way that I chose, which resulted in the blog moneyinflight.com.
3. Extension
Once you have decided on a blog name, you will need to match it with an available extension. The standard go-to extension, “.com,” is overall the best choice, followed by “.org” and “.net.
Does someone have all your domain name choices?
Your domain name might already be taken. This happened to me when I was trying to find the right name before I created the Money in Flight blog. In this case, you can add easy words such as my, the, or even a dash in between the words.
To purchase a domain name and create a blog, click here, and then continue to follow the simple steps below.
The first step is deciding what your domain name will be. Make sure to think about your name carefully.
You can get your domain straight from Bluehost, which makes the entire process very simple. If you do this, you can get a free domain for the very first year as long as you go with 12 months’ worth of Bluehost web hosting. This makes it worth it to get 12 months of hosting, as it can save you a great deal of money this way.
If you choose to get the free domain, simply continue to the next step, as you can buy hosting and get the free domain all at once.
After clicking the Click to host your website option, You will then select from a range of web hosting plans.
Buying hosting for your blog
Setting up a WordPress blog on Bluehost is very simple. First, we will discuss the cost of blogging.
To keep it simple, the basic plan is pretty much all you need. You can skip the plus, Choice plus, and pro and switch to those later if you truly need all the extras.
Some of the things you want to consider having when buying your hosting is domain privacy protection, which is $0.99 per month. This will help keep your contact information safe.
All the extra items you do not need if you have all of the items mentioned above
You should purchase at least a 12-month hosting plan. If you sign up for 12 months, you will get a free domain name and lower pricing, and you don’t have to deal with an expired domain each month. If, for any reason, hosting does not get renewed and your website goes down, you will lose any potent traffic to your website that you could have had by going with a 12-month purchase. The long periods help lower the price of your hosting by a huge amount.
Blog hosting will cost you around $60 a year on average, or 100 for 3 years, which is an amazing deal! If you buy a 12-month plan, your total price is only $60 a year, which is a good price.
Then, after selecting your hosting plan, you will need to determine what your domain name will be.
For some ideas on one-word domains that are the most brandable, check out one-word domains.
A quick step-by-step guide for buying hosting for your blog
- Go to Bluehost and click the Host your site” button.
- Select the Host It Now package that you would like to use.
- Put in the domain name you registered with before, or choose a new domain name here.
- Enter your personal and payment information.
- Next, put in a password. Make sure the password is very secure, as the information on your website is very important.
3. Install WordPress on Bluehost.
If you are looking to start your WordPress blog on Bluehost, then keep reading.
This part is very easy. Bluehost has made it very simple to start a WordPress blog for free.
After you have created your password, Bluehost will guide you step by step through exactly what you need to do to start up your blog.
First, you will need to pick a theme. You can pick a random theme or spend some time picking out one that you like. You can always change your theme at a later time if you want to. There are many free blog themes to pick from. I am currently using a WordPress theme called GeneratePress.
Click on “Start Building.”
On the next screen, you will choose “business” or “personal”; it is your choice. Or you can select “I don’t need help.”
Awesome !! You now have a brand new WordPress blog. You will need to work on the design over time and produce a lot of high-quality content. Best of luck.
Blogging Resources
- Search Wphive to find the top trending and most popular WordPress plugins.
- For helpful WordPress, guides check out WpBeginner who has been creating WordPress guides since 2009.
Personal finance geek and explorer of the web who loves to post in-depth blog posts about his findings.