Planning on building a WordPress website and wonder how much it may cost you this year? Then you should find this post very helpful.
What attracts many people to WordPress is its (apparent) zero dollar price tag. This is open-source software that anyone can obtain from the official website and install on their machine without spending a dime.
However, it is not as simple as it sounds. The truth is that you will have to incur expenses to keep your site running and adapt it to your business needs (the reason why we used the word “apparent” in the paragraph above). What matters is how much you will have to pay, and that hinges on certain criteria.
So if you are looking for an answer to the question “How much does a WordPress site cost?”, we will discuss the main price factors for you below. Let’s get started.
Let’s be clear right from the start. We are talking about the cost of a WordPress website based on the wordress.org platform as opposed to wordrpess.com.
The latter is a managed SaaS (Software as a Service) platform where all of the technical aspects are handled by the platform’s team. There is also a subscription fee that covers the entire range of website maintenance operations.
In contrast, wordpress.org is a self-hosted content management system (CMS), meaning that the user (not the platform’s team) is responsible for all the technical aspects, from installation to maintenance.
To see the key distinctions between the two WordPress varieties, check out this page.
To that end, we can divide the cost to build a WordPress website (wordpress.org) into two groups of expenses: those you can’t avoid and those you can if you see fit. Let’s talk about them in more detail.
Downloading and installing WordPress on your local computer is only the first tiny step along this winding online road. For your audience to find the site on the Internet, you need to put it on a web server or web host as it is also known. No website is visible online unless it is hosted on one of the millions of servers across the globe.
There are several web hosting types that exist:
We discussed those types in detail on our blog a while back. Shared hosting is probably the most popular and a relatively inexpensive option, although you have to share the server resources with other websites.
The hosting service cost for your WordPress website depends on your specific needs. Before you decide which hosting type to choose, consider these aspects:
How important are those for your site?
For example, if you are planning on launching an online store, security is a must for you. Therefore, you might consider selecting a provider who offers the highest level of protection against cyber threats, even though it definitely augments the cost of your WordPress website.
Depending on the hosting company, hosting type, and your requirements (speed, performance, etc.), prepare to spend at least $50.00 per year on web hosting.
Need advice on choosing an optimal hosting provider or hosting plan for your business? We can help. Reach out to us.
Another important aspect to consider when answering the question, “How much does a WordPress website cost?“ is a domain name. In case you have not heard of a domain name before, these are the words and characters you see in the browser address bar such as getdevdone.com.
The “com” part that follows the dot is a Top Level Domain (TLD). Choosing a perfect domain name and TLD for your website is paramount to its success.
You can find a plethora of online domain name generators for inspiration, but we recommend that you coin your own domain name by discussing it with your team and following best practices.
For instance, your domain name should be short and easy to say and type. It should also contain keywords, have no hyphens or doubled letters, and so on.
Picking the right TLD matters a lot as well. It should be consistent with your business type. If you are in eCommerce, the .com extension is probably the best fit. A charity? Go for .org. Technology company? Select .tech.
Domain names along with TLDs are priced differently by different hosting companies. In general, a domain name will cost you somewhere between $15 and $100 per year.
As you can see, technically, you can have a WordPress website moving along the online freeway for as little as $65. Let’s be honest though, it will have a cookie-cutter look, have no interactive features, and be extremely limited in its functional capabilities.
For most businesses, this kind of arrangement is clearly inadequate to achieve their marketing goals. That calls for additional spending.
Two other significant factors that impact the cost of a WordPress website are a theme to give your site a desired look and plugins to make it more functional and meet your unique business needs. Let’s look into those optional expenses next.
A plugin is essentially a piece of PHP code that adds a certain feature to your WordPress website, such as a currency converter, search filter, or calendar.
Currently, the official WordPress plugin repository contains over 60,000 plugins that cover everything from creating backups or improving search engine visibility to strengthening website security. You can also obtain plugins from independent sources.
There are tons of free plugin add-ons to choose from. Using them will certainly reduce your WordPress website cost but don’t get carried away too soon. There are quite a few downsides to using these free extensions.
Many come without technical support or documentation, receive no updates on a regular basis, or can be unsuitable for the latest versions of the CMS. That can pose serious threats to your website’s security among other “less serious” problems.
That’s the reason why most businesses prefer premium plugins. While the cost to build a WordPress website with paid extensions is higher, their benefits fully justify the investment.
The bulk of paid plugins are well-tested and secure. They also get frequent updates so you can be confident that they work well with the most recent WP editions. In addition, you can count on getting professional technical assistance whenever you need it.
How much is a WordPress website with premium plugins? It depends on the development company and the number of plugins you want to install. Some vendors charge on a monthly basis while others sell annual subscriptions. As such, giving an exact amount is hard or even impossible.
Take the WP Rocket caching plugin for example. It’s a great tool that allows you to improve the speed and performance of your WordPress website drastically. To take advantage of its features, though, you need to purchase a subscription that starts at $49 per month.
In general, expect to spend from as little as $10 to as much as $400 and more on premium plugins, considering your needs and goals.
Need help selecting the most appropriate and cost-effective plugins for your WordPress website? Reach out to us.
A theme defines the way a WordPress website looks and feels. Since it is the first thing your visitors see when they land on your homepage, a theme has a huge significance. A dull, looks-like-thousands-others theme is a surefire way to turn your visitors off your website.
In contrast, an engaging, well-designed theme with useful features, interactive effects, and animations is a good incentive for visitors to explore your site further and hopefully convert.
At the moment of this writing, the WordPress theme repository offers more than 10,000 free themes to suit every taste. You can also search for free themes elsewhere online.
You might be tempted to install a free theme since it will surely bring your WordPress website cost down. However, remember that you are not the only one who may decide to go down this path. Therefore, your website may end up resembling thousands of others. If you are in eCommerce, that is nothing short of a disaster.
The majority of free themes also come with only basic functionality and are not extensible. If you decide to add a feature afterwards, you won’t be able to. On top of that, if the developer stops maintaining the theme, your website will be exposed to all kinds of security issues.
One alternative is to purchase a paid theme. It should give you everything a free template can’t: flexibility, extensibility, a professional look, prompt technical assistance, and security.
The prices of premium themes vary. Depending on the vendor, number of features, and design complexity, you can find themes that cost from $50 to $300 and above.
| Unavoidable Expenses | |
| Web hosting | $50+ |
| Domain name | $15-$100 |
| Additional (Optional) Expenses | |
| Plugins | $10-$400+ |
| Theme | $50-$300+ |
Using premade WordPress themes and plugins is all good and well. If you want your website to be truly unique (something that even the best premium template can’t always give you), scalable, and easily updatable, though, you will soon realize that you need to go the custom way.
We have discussed the benefits of a custom WordPress theme over readily available themes on our blog. Here are the key points.
A custom theme:
All those advantages combined can give your business a significant competitive edge. However, you have to face it that crafting a custom WordPress theme with all the right bells and whistles is a job for professional web developers who know the system inside and out. That’s one of the reasons to choose a WordPress development company over the DIY approach that we discuss in this post.
For advice on how to find a reliable service provider, visit this page.
For an exhaustive guide on writing a compelling brief for your custom WordPress website development project, visit this page.
If you’re looking for tips on how to collaborate with a WordPress development company, check out this helpful guide.
In this case, the WordPress website development cost will certainly be higher compared to using premade solutions. However, the list above illustrates that every cent you invest is well worth it. And another big plus is that you can save on subscription fees. Additionally, with white label WordPress development, you’ll own the website code fully.
So how much does a custom WordPress website cost? Let us show you how we at GetDevDone.com come up with an estimate.
We estimate a WordPress project cost and time based on these characteristics:
When a website has pages with a large number of sections, quite a few unique elements, and lots of animations and features, such as a carousel, filter, or others, we provide a detailed WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) that covers three development stages:
Take this landing page, for example:
This is a simple landing page with a standard layout, a minimum number of sections, a few animations, and some basic functionality. Overall, we estimated the project development to take 24.5 hours, including:
With our current development rate being $37 per hour, the total cost of the entire project amounted to $960.
This example project is quite straightforward. If you need a more elaborate layout, a broader array of features, and complex interactive effects such as the ones we created for eezy.com, the cost of WordPress development goes up. In any case, we partner with various agencies and outsource WordPress development projects of any complexity.
Note that the time it takes to complete the WordPress stage may vary depending on the page builder. By default, we use Gutenberg but can also use another tool like Elementor at your request. The development process with Gutenberg or a different builder is almost the same with some slight variations.
No matter the type or scope of your project, you can always expect a free quote from us within one business day. Just send us your designs and/or requirements and get back a precise quote and timeline for your landing page, website, or online store.
Have questions? Get in touch with us.
Yes and no. When talking about the wordpress.org platform, you can download and install the software on your local machine absolutely free. That being said, you will have to purchase a domain name and pay for web hosting. Those are unavoidable expenses.
In addition, you may want to install a paid theme and a number of plugins to enhance the functionality of your website, or decide to collaborate with a professional WordPress development company. That will increase the cost of your WordPress website.
The answer is: it depends. If you just need a simple static website, you can pay for the domain name and hosting and use a free theme and plugins. That will cost you from $65 and up.
Otherwise, if you need a more complex, unique design and a wider range of features, you can either subscribe to premium plugins and purchase a paid theme or hire professional WordPress developers to create a custom solution for you. In that case, the exact amount is determined by your specific needs and requirements.
It’s hard to give a straightforward answer to this question. Apart from your hosting fee (from $50 and up), you may have to pay for using the premium plugins you have installed. For example, a monthly subscription to the WP Rocket plugin starts at $49. Depending on the number of plugins, the cost of your WordPress website maintenance can be larger or smaller.
It depends on the provider, the hosting type, plan, and your requirements. For example, a dedicated server costs more than shared hosting. A blog needs less storage space than an online store. That determines the ultimate price. In general, prepare to budget a minimum of $65 on hosting and a domain name.
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