Starting a website or blog cost concerns

Every day more and more people start a new blog or some form of website. Sometimes I wonder just how many are out there in cyber world. Probably more than most people could possibly imagine myself included.

Regardless of the software script you decide to use to power your website you will likely seek out tips and other resources to help get the ball rolling. If you are totally new to running a website you might be doing quite a bit of reading and research.

You will find a lot of people and websites tell you to get this thing or that thing for fifty, one hundred dollars, or more. Join this program or that one for guess what? More money of course. Many of these people and sites are affiliate marketers that push some product because they get a commission for every sale. I don’t blame these folks for trying to market a product or program. Everyone wants to make money online. Some of these things might be worth it, while others are a total waste of your time and money. I am not complaining or attempting to discredit any of them. Just be careful because not all of them are worth it. I’m sure there are plenty of decent ones out there though.

There are people who probably have money to burn and buy these things. But, I think a lot of people just getting started with a website, especially those that have little or no experience do not have a lot of money to waste. Many people decide to start a website because they are broke to begin with and they are looking for a way to make money.

It is nearly impossible to slap together a website and take in tons of money the next day. Some people never make any money online or make very little at best. There are people who do have money to spend on marketing. Others have more time or experience and can do most of it themselves.

If you don’t have money to burn on all these things people are promoting you can learn most of it yourself. Of course it can take a considerable amount of time to learn, but the internet is full of free information, tips, resources and just about any kind of help imaginable. Google can be your best friend.

I am not trying to discourage anyone from starting their own website. I am just saying that you really don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to get started if you don’t have it. You can start small. Learn the ropes. Do a lot of reading and research. Once you get the hang of things and it starts to look positive you might consider investing a little money.

If you are trying to keep it free or nearly free, then you will need to be committed to your website. If you can’t be committed you are bound to fail. You do not need to spend hours upon end, but an hour or two per month isn’t going to cut it. What tends to happen when you don’t spend enough time with your site is you forget how to do things, and you end up spending twice as much time relearning what you forgot. I know I do not spend as much time with my own site as some people do, but I do spend more than a few hours per month on it.

I should mention when I say free I am referring to not spending money on products, ebooks, seo, templates, plugins, modifications, and things like that. You should be prepared to spend a few dollars to register a domain name, and a few dollars per month on paid hosting. You can get a domain name for $8-$15 per year, and hosting for $5-$10 per month, which is more than adequate for most new websites.

I would avoid free hosting because what happens is they like to put a lot of accounts on their servers. If you need support you may find that they are not as prompt to respond or help you when compared to paid hosts. There are a lot of other reasons not to use a free host, but I would rather not get into that too much. Save yourself one big headache and spend a few dollars per month for a good paid host. You will be glad you did.

The bottom line is you do not need to spend a lot of money to start a website if you are willing to put in the time to learn.