If you want to start a blog, you can do it for fairly cheap. I'm talking for under $20 and you have two options :
* [[Free|Start a blog for free]]
* [[Paid|Start a blog for $20 or less]]
Choose one above, there are pros and cons to each.**The Good**
* You can start a blog for ZERO dollars.
* However long it takes you to create a new account with your name, email address and a password, is how long it will take you to have your blog up and running.
**The Bad**
* If the free service shuts down, you have to find a new place to put your work or you might lose all of your work completely.
* Some free blog and writing websites allow you to publish what you want, but they own the rights to anything you publish or only allow you to publish with them.
* Unless you know how to make websites or they allow customization, the website/blog templates are limited in features.
* If you would like to make money from your blog at some point, some free blog platforms do not allow monetization, ads, affiliate links, etc.
Do you still want to start a free blog?
[[No WAY! I want to own my work.|Your Own Blog/Website]]
[[Heck Yes!|Free Blogs]]
[[Go Back|How to Start a Blog for $20 or Less]]**The Good**
* You own the rights to anything you create and publish on your blog.
* If you decide to make money from your blog, you can do it anytime you want.
**The Bad**
* It's not free. You can start a blog for under $20, but there are monthly or yearly costs also associated with starting any blog or website. Think about your favorite websites or blogs. Behind the scenes, someone pays a monthly or yearly cost to keep the website running, so you and millions of other people can use it free of charge. If you start your own paid blog, you become a website owner responsible for paying your own monthly or yearly website costs.
* If something breaks you have to fix it yourself, hire someone to fix it, or bug a friend to help you fix it.
* No one will find you for a while. Unless you have a community of followers on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. and tell them about your new blog, you will also be responsible for marketing your blog if you want anyone to read it.
Do you still want to start a blog for $20 or less?
[[Heck Yes! I want to own my work.|Your Own Blog/Website]]
[[No, I'm not ready.|Free Blogs]]
[[Start Over|How to Start a Blog for $20 or Less]]Some free platforms will charge you a monthly or yearly fee and you can build your own website on their site.
The downside of this is really only hoping the website never shuts down, forcing you to find another site to go to or to ultimately build your own platform. If you want to go this route, click the link below to check out the free options that also have premium features:
[[Free Options w/Premium Features|Free Blogs]]
Otherwise, for this reason, I recommend you purchase hosting and a domain from a web hosting/domain provider. Then, after you're logged into your provider's admin area aka cPanel, install the Wordpress blog app from the dashboard.
<h3>What's a domain?</h3>
It's basically the link/name of a website. Examples are facebook.com, instagram.com, google.com, etc.
<h3>What's hosting?</h3>
Websites, like people, need things like food and shelter, otherwise they can't live. You can think of hosting like the food and shelter for a website.
For simplicity of this course, choose one of the below places to purchase hosting and a domain together:
* <a href="https://siteground.com/" target="_blank">Siteground</a> - Recommended if you can pay 1 full year up-front because they have no monthly billing options.
* <a href="https://godaddy.com/" target="_blank">GoDaddy</a> - Recommended if you're on a budget.
Deciding to go with GoDaddy? <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=godaddy+coupon+codes+2017" target="_blank">Click here to search for coupon codes to bring your costs under $20.</a>
<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=web+hosting+options+2017" target="_blank">I don't like either of these companies. Show me some other options...</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I just took an interactive course on how to start a blog on a budget&url=https://daphnelink.com&via=daphnelink&related=daphnelink" target="_blank">Tweet About This Course!</a>
[[Start Over|How to Start a Blog for $20 or Less]]
Any of the below platforms let you create an account and start a blog for free:
* <a href="https://medium.com/" target="_blank">Medium</a> - Recommended
* <a href="https://wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Wordpress.com</a> - Recommended
* <a href="https://www.blogger.com/" target="_blank">Blogger</a>
* <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>
* <a href="https://www.weebly.com" target="_blank">Weebly</a>
* <a href="http://www.wix.com/start/blog" target="_blank">Wix</a>
<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=free+blog+2017" target="_blank">I don't like any of these. Show me some other options...</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I just played a game that teaches how to start a blog&url=https://daphnelink.com&via=daphnelink&related=daphnelink" target="_blank">Tweet About This Course!</a>
[[Start Over|How to Start a Blog for $20 or Less]]