Are you thinking of starting a blog in 2023? If yes, let me start by saying that that is a great idea. Blogging is a great way to make money and to build something you can call your own, unlike owning an IG account, where there is a possibility of your account getting banned, or lets face it, closed down for whatever reason.
I am not sure how many blogs exist in South Africa currently, but according to Orbelo, there are currently over 600 million blogs in the world, as of 2023. Now, that is a LOT of blogs, and with good reason. Everyone is trying to get that piece of the pie, including me, and you should be too.
There are many different blogs that you can start in 2023, and depending on your goals and what you are looking to accomplish for that blog, you are looking at plus minus R500 to set up one for the entire year. This factors that fact that you have a computer already, a tablet or a phone that you own already. If not, your costs of starting a blog in 2023 in South Africa has just gone higher. The price will increase into thousands of Rands.
How Much Does it Cost to Start a Blog in 2023 in South Africa – Blog Costs Breakdown
Starting a blog can be very lucrative, and getting started doesn’t have to break the bank.
If you are looking to start one, jut as a hobby or just for one, you can even start one for free. All you would need is a PC/smartphone to get started on a platform like Blogger/Wix/Wordpress.com. However, if you want to turn this into some money, then you need the initial capital to get a proper blog, with a proper domain and proper hosting.
A domain which in my case is xihluke.com in South Africa costs about a R200, which is very affordable. A co.za domain is even cheaper at R100, and depending on which audience you are looking to attract, that will determine the extension of your domain. co.za is geared at the South African audience, while .com is geared at the international audience.
My personal recommendation is to keep the costs at a bare minimum, when you first get started. You can upgrade everything at a later time. Things like fast hosting, premium themes and such can wait until you are making money on the blog.
However, if you have a vision for your blog and you are committed into making it a success, then you can go all in, as you know the end goal. Assuming you already have a computer, and a phone, this part of your blogging journey will be sorted.
However, you have to consider your domain, the blogging platform, your hosting plan, your blog theme, who will design the blog and more.
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Actual Blogging Costs for 2023 – for South Africans
A computer/laptop – If you want to be a serious blogger, you should have a laptop not a desktop. That’s because a laptop does not force you to work at home, you can have your laptop on the go which will give you great convenience. You can get a good laptop from R5000 to about R12 000.
Hosting Costs – You can get great hosting for under R100 a month. Stay away from free hosting sites, so that you can own your blog and the content in it.
Domain name – A co.za is R100 per year and a .com domain is R200 per year.
Blog Theme – For starters, you can choose a premium free theme which will cost you nothing. And for a premium theme, you will spend from R300 to R1500.
WordPress Plugins – For most bloggers, a good blog theme will come packaged with the plugins that you need to run your blog. And most plugins are free . . . so you can be able to do your blog site without spending a lot of money on plugins.
These are the primary costs for running a blog, however there are other costs associated with email marketing, caching plugins, WordPress forms, woocommerce, SEO, security plugins, keyword research plugins and many more. Opt for the free version until you absolutely need the premium plugin.
I hope this blog post has given you the answer to your question, ” How much does it cost to start a blog in 2023 in South Africa”, and as a result you can see that it’s affordable and should not be a stumbling block.
