I’ve started several blog websites over the past few years using many of the top website builders. I have found WordPress to be the best option, but my first try setting up a website with WordPress was my most expensive. With the tips and tricks I include in this article you can probably avoid my mistakes and save a couple hundred dollars a year on your new blog website.
A few of the things I will be discussing are my WordPress.com mistake, comparing hosting providers, my recommendation for a premium theme that will save you a ton of time getting your website design set up and increase your websites speed. I will tell you where I get my content outsourced from for 1/5 the price of a normal outsourced Blog post content.
Now before I get into the nitty-gritty details of setting up your blog website I want to let you know that when I set up my first WordPress blog website I spent way too much money. That is why I am writing this blog post so that other people do not make the same mistake I did. I hope that by sharing my personal experience and this information with you that you are able to set up your blog website on a budget.
Getting started with WordPress
First of all I want to make this very clear because it can be kind of confusing. If you want to save money setting up a blog website I recommend staying away from WordPress.com. You can use the WordPress software for free. WordPress.com is a separate company that will charge you much more than the average hosting company to host your website.
I totally understand the confusion. I made the same mistake myself. I heard people say well if you’re going to start a blog website you better use WordPress.
So what did I do?
I went straight to WordPress.com and started building my website. I am certain I’m not the only one who has fallen into this trap. I will try and clarify throughout this blog post how you can avoid making the same mistake I did.
The main idea I want you to walk away with is that WordPress.com charges much more than the average hosting company. You can easily set up a WordPress blog website without using WordPress.com.
What is WordPress?
If you’re going to start a blog website my number one recommendation to build it on is WordPress. WordPress is an open source software that a good majority of blog website to use to help them create more professional and beautiful websites. You should know the difference between the WordPress software and WordPress.com. This is where a lot of people get into trouble and I myself got into trouble.
The WordPress software itself is open source. This means anyone can download, alter and use it. What WordPress.com does is offer hosting and other services that are built onto the WordPress software. However, WordPress.com has payment tiers that each offer more options for your website.
Understanding Website Hosting
If you were to get your hosting somewhere else it would be cheaper than WordPress.com and all the the options, features and plugins that WordPress.com would charge you for are free to use from the get go.
You see, when I started my first WordPress website I went to WordPress.com which seems like the thing you should do, it is not. WordPress.com does have a free plan but the limitations on that plan or so detrimental to your website that it makes you look unprofessional.
As this is what I did with my first website I quickly found that the free option just wasn’t going to cut it so I slowly worked my way up to their payment options to the highest. This ended up costing me hundreds of dollars a year.
If I had known I could have had so much more freedom creating my website from the start if I had just taken some time to understand website hosting, I would have saved a lot of time and money.
My Recommended Website Host
At this time I think one of the best website hosting providers is SiteGround. I heard about his website host through a forum. I am a huge fan. I tend to use customer support more than the average guy and SiteGround crushes it every time. Often my problems are solved quickly and professional using their chat support.
SiteGround also makes it very easy to set up your new WordPress blog website. You can check out SiteGround through my affiliate link below. This affiliate link does pay me commissions if sales are make through it.
https://www.siteground.com/index.htm?afcode=396e6bef564936572a09158dc1fa4373
SiteGround Vs. WordPress.com (Price Plans)
| WordPress.com Plans | Monthly Cost | Yearly Cost |
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Personal | $4 | $48 |
| Premium | $8 | $96 |
| Business | $25 | $300 |
| eCommerce | $45 | $540 |
There are a lot of short comings to the free WordPress.com plan. I will list a few below.
- You can not have a custom domain
- You will have the full date in every URL
- You can not contact or use support
- You can not use plugins
- You are limited in theme options
- You can not connect Google Analytics
If you want to use your own domain you have to upgrade to the next plan, The Personal Plan. This plan also gives you access to support but not live support. Below are some short comings of this plan.
- You can not contact live support
- You can not use plugins
- You are limited in theme options
- You can not connect Google Analytics
If you want to connect Google Analytics to your website you will need to upgrade to the next plan, The Premium plan. This plan also allows you to have access to more design tools and custom CSS. Below are some short comings of this plan.
- You can not contact live support
- You can not use plugins
- You are limited in theme options
If you want to use WordPress plugins you will need to upgrade to the next plan. This is the plan I ended up on. It is quite a price jump from $8 a month to $25, just so I could use plugins! This plan also gives you access to more themes and live support but at what price!
SiteGround Perks
When I found out that if only I had found my own website hosting provider I would have had none of these limitations. With SiteGround from day one you have the following.
- Your custom domain
- Access to all themes
- Access to all WordPress plugins
- The ability to connect Google Analytics
- Live Support Chat
- Easy WordPress website set up
That is the way it should be.
| SiteGround Plans | Starting Price Per Month | Regular Price Per Month |
| StartUp | $3.95 | $11.95 |
| GrowBig | $5.95 | $19.95 |
| GoGeek | $11.95 | $34.95 |
I recommend two things when picking a SiteGround hosting plan.
The first recommendation is if you plan on creating more than one website go with the GrowBig plan. It allows you to create unlimited websites.
The second recommendation is pay for as much as you can up front. SiteGround offers a special starting price and lets you pay for 3 different options. These options are 1 year, 2 years or 3 years. If you can, paying for the 3 years at the introductory price would save you quite a bit of money. About $15 a month for 3 years. Thats $540 if my math is right.
My Recommended WordPress Theme – Acabado
There are tons of WordPress themes out there. Finding the one that is just right can take tons of time and then you have to spend a ton more time editing it. I have found a WordPress theme that lets me quickly set up my website and then get to work creating content. Not only is this theme simple to set up and use it looks great and loads stupid fast.
Not only do I use the Acabado theme on this website, I use it on all my websites. I simply have not found a better, faster, or easier to use WordPress theme.
You can get the Acabado theme by clicking on my affiliate link below. This affiliate link does pay me commissions when sales are made using it.
Low Cost Blog Content
Not long ago I did a case study on several Fiverr blog content writers. If you would like to read this post you can do so by clicking the link below.
Best Blogging Course On the Internet
There are a lot of online courses out there. I have never found one like Project 24. Project 24 teaches you how to create blog websites that can earn real money. If you follow the course you should be able to create a full time income in 24 months.
I am a member of this course and it has totally changed the game for me. The guys behind Project 24, Jim and Ricky, have made 1000’s of blog post, received over a million total page views and made a ton of money along the way.
Now they are teaching others, step by step, how to do the same. With Jim and Ricky as my guides I have been able to take my future into my own hands on my terms creating content I care about. It really is amazing what these guys are teaching.
I have created a blog post about Project 24 which I will link to below.
If you would like to sign up for Project 24 you can do so though my affiliate link below. This affiliate link does pay me commissions when sales are made through it.
Conclusion
I have my recommendations will save you some time, headaches and money. Have a great day and best of luck with your new blog!
